<p>The Theravada school teaches the <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sagga/loka.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">thirty one planes of existence</a>.</p>

<p>These 31 planes are separated into three major categories:</p>

<ul>
<li>Immaterial or formless world (arupa loka)</li>
<li>Fine material world (rupa loka)</li>
<li>Sensuous world (kama loka)</li>
</ul>

<p>The sensuous world is divided into:</p>

<ul>
<li>Happy destinations (including the human realm)</li>
<li>Unhappy destinations (including hell and the animal realm)</li>
</ul>

<p>The immaterial world has beings with mind but no body. This world is above or beyond the gods (brahmas and devas). The realms here include:</p>

<ul>
<li>Neither-perception-nor-non-perception</li>
<li>Nothingness</li>
<li>Infinite Consciousness </li>
<li>Infinite Space </li>
</ul>

<p>It appears that devas (a type of god) and humans live in the happy sensuous destinations, while there are brahmas and devas (types of gods) living in the fine material world. Brahmas are superior to devas.</p>

<p>Those who have reached the level of non-returners (anagamin) would be reborn in the upper five realms of the fine material world. After this, they gain enlightenment there and would no longer be reborn, after passing.</p>

<p>All beings, whether formless beings or gods or humans or animals or ghosts etc. are not immortal. The gods like the Maha Brahmas may live for a very long period of time, that they may assume that they are immortal, according to <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.11.0.than.html#bigbrahma" rel="nofollow noreferrer">DN11</a>. All unenlightened beings would face death and rebirth, while enlightened beings would no longer be reborn after physical death.</p>

<p>The Buddha is said to be the highest type of being of them all, who is enlightened and has psychic powers allowing him to teach gods and humans in the fine material world and sensuous world. But even he is not immortal or permanent.</p>

<p>The only thing that is not impermanent is Nibbana. <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.8.01.irel.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Udana 8.1</a> describes it as:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>There is, bhikkhus, that base where there is no earth, no water, no
  fire, no air; no base consisting of the infinity of space, no base
  consisting of the infinity of consciousness, no base consisting of
  nothingness, no base consisting of
  neither-perception-nor-non-perception; neither this world nor another
  world nor both; neither sun nor moon. Here, bhikkhus, I say there is
  no coming, no going, no staying, no deceasing, no uprising. Not fixed,
  not movable, it has no support. Just this is the end of suffering.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-24T16:42:29.933Z
2018-02-24T16:48:48.373Z
2018-02-24T16:48:48.373Z
ruben2020
<p>It may depend on the school of Buddhism; for example:</p>

<ul>
<li>The Theravada school may teach something like <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sagga/loka.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Thirty-one Planes of Existence</a>, with the proviso that the gods' (a.k.a. brahmas' and devas') time in the heavens is impermanent.</li>
<li>There are other traditions called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_land" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Pure Land Buddhism</a> which are a bit different.</li>
<li>And so on -- see for example <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_deities" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Buddhist deities</a>.</li>
</ul>

<p>I think that, in Buddhism, enlightenment might often be regarded as greater than or beyond heaven -- but again, see <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlightenment_in_Buddhism" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Enlightenment in Buddhism</a>, doctrine on this varies some from school to school.</p>

<p>Or perhaps you're asking about <em>Dhyāna</em> or <em>Jhāna</em> states (see <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhy%C4%81na_in_Buddhism" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Dhyāna in Buddhism</a>). Or on the subject of "infinite awareness", some of the doctrine mentions "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%B9%9Addhi" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Divine Eye</a>", a supernatural power attributed to the Buddha.</p>

<p>But (except to the Pure Land schools) I'm not sure that these doctrines are of central importance to Buddhism -- i.e. writing about them might, I don't know, misrepresent what's central to Buddhism.</p>

<p>Perhaps more importantly, I suspect that all schools agree on something like, that heaven and hell and such-like are "mind-made", that there are mental "defilements" or "obscurations" (e.g. pride, avarice, and ill-will and so on), and that a goal at least for humans is to clean the mind of these. IMO one of the Zen stories illustrates that: <a href="http://www.ashidakim.com/zenkoans/57thegatesofparadise.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Gates of Paradise</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-23T21:46:25.977Z
2018-02-23T21:46:25.977Z
ChrisW
<p>The Buddha himself is beyond all gods. He is referred to as <strong>'Satta deva manussanam'</strong> which means, he is the teacher to gods and humans. The word deva refers to both the gods and brahmas. And in that field he was incomparable. He was the supreme teacher and a vast number of gods, brahmas and human beings received his teachings, his advice, his guidance and they liberated themselves from this mass of suffering as a result of that. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-24T00:09:52.453Z
2018-02-24T00:09:52.453Z
Sankha Kulathantille
<p>After have studied Hinduism, and more modern reality creation referring to concepts such as higher vibrations, higher realms that exists beyond our material, such as the astral or heavenly.  Also having witnessed fruits of human/divine will and the power of creative imagination, such as people being healed. </p>

<p>However I have yet to truly study Buddhism, but I have a lingering sense that, unlike Hinduism, which is concentrated on an entity. That there must be something beyond the Gods, who most likely exist on a heavenly, but nevertheless, on a lower plane. </p>

<p>What is beyond that? Oneness of all concepts and Gods?  Infinite awareness?  Is it experiencial only?  What does Buddhism state when it comes to this?</p>

<p>Thanks guys. </p>

<philosophy><nirvana>
What is beyond the realm of Gods.
# What is beyond the realm of Gods.

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-02-23)

After have studied Hinduism, and more modern reality creation referring to concepts such as higher vibrations, higher realms that exists beyond our material, such as the astral or heavenly. Also having witnessed fruits of human/divine will and the power of creative imagination, such as people being healed.

However I have yet to truly study Buddhism, but I have a lingering sense that, unlike Hinduism, which is concentrated on an entity. That there must be something beyond the Gods, who most likely exist on a heavenly, but nevertheless, on a lower plane.

What is beyond that? Oneness of all concepts and Gods? Infinite awareness? Is it experiencial only? What does Buddhism state when it comes to this?

Thanks guys.

**Tags:** philosophy, nirvana


---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-02-24. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

The Buddha himself is beyond all gods. He is referred to as **'Satta deva manussanam'** which means, he is the teacher to gods and humans. The word deva refers to both the gods and brahmas. And in that field he was incomparable. He was the supreme teacher and a vast number of gods, brahmas and human beings received his teachings, his advice, his guidance and they liberated themselves from this mass of suffering as a result of that.


---

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-02-24. Score: 2

The Theravada school teaches the [thirty one planes of existence](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sagga/loka.html).

These 31 planes are separated into three major categories:

* Immaterial or formless world (arupa loka)
* Fine material world (rupa loka)
* Sensuous world (kama loka)

The sensuous world is divided into:

* Happy destinations (including the human realm)
* Unhappy destinations (including hell and the animal realm)

The immaterial world has beings with mind but no body. This world is above or beyond the gods (brahmas and devas). The realms here include:

* Neither-perception-nor-non-perception
* Nothingness
* Infinite Consciousness
* Infinite Space

It appears that devas (a type of god) and humans live in the happy sensuous destinations, while there are brahmas and devas (types of gods) living in the fine material world. Brahmas are superior to devas.

Those who have reached the level of non-returners (anagamin) would be reborn in the upper five realms of the fine material world. After this, they gain enlightenment there and would no longer be reborn, after passing.

All beings, whether formless beings or gods or humans or animals or ghosts etc. are not immortal. The gods like the Maha Brahmas may live for a very long period of time, that they may assume that they are immortal, according to [DN11](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.11.0.than.html#bigbrahma). All unenlightened beings would face death and rebirth, while enlightened beings would no longer be reborn after physical death.

The Buddha is said to be the highest type of being of them all, who is enlightened and has psychic powers allowing him to teach gods and humans in the fine material world and sensuous world. But even he is not immortal or permanent.

The only thing that is not impermanent is Nibbana. [Udana 8.1](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.8.01.irel.html) describes it as:

> There is, bhikkhus, that base where there is no earth, no water, no
> fire, no air; no base consisting of the infinity of space, no base
> consisting of the infinity of consciousness, no base consisting of
> nothingness, no base consisting of
> neither-perception-nor-non-perception; neither this world nor another
> world nor both; neither sun nor moon. Here, bhikkhus, I say there is
> no coming, no going, no staying, no deceasing, no uprising. Not fixed,
> not movable, it has no support. Just this is the end of suffering.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-02-23. Score: 1

It may depend on the school of Buddhism; for example:

* The Theravada school may teach something like [The Thirty-one Planes of Existence](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sagga/loka.html), with the proviso that the gods' (a.k.a. brahmas' and devas') time in the heavens is impermanent.
* There are other traditions called [Pure Land Buddhism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_land) which are a bit different.
* And so on -- see for example [Buddhist deities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_deities).

I think that, in Buddhism, enlightenment might often be regarded as greater than or beyond heaven -- but again, see [Enlightenment in Buddhism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlightenment_in_Buddhism), doctrine on this varies some from school to school.

Or perhaps you're asking about *Dhyāna* or *Jhāna* states (see [Dhyāna in Buddhism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhy%C4%81na_in_Buddhism)). Or on the subject of "infinite awareness", some of the doctrine mentions "[The Divine Eye](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%B9%9Addhi)", a supernatural power attributed to the Buddha.

But (except to the Pure Land schools) I'm not sure that these doctrines are of central importance to Buddhism -- i.e. writing about them might, I don't know, misrepresent what's central to Buddhism.

Perhaps more importantly, I suspect that all schools agree on something like, that heaven and hell and such-like are "mind-made", that there are mental "defilements" or "obscurations" (e.g. pride, avarice, and ill-will and so on), and that a goal at least for humans is to clean the mind of these. IMO one of the Zen stories illustrates that: [The Gates of Paradise](http://www.ashidakim.com/zenkoans/57thegatesofparadise.html).


---

