Editing Theravada (section)

=== Cosmology ===
[[File:018 Sakka in Tavatimsa Heaven (30583616922).jpg|thumb|240px|Sakka in Tavatimsa Heaven, Wat Yang Thong, [[Songkhla]], Thailand]]
[[File:Ngaye (Naraka) in Burmese art.jpg|thumb|240px|A Burmese depiction of a hell scene]]
{{Main|Buddhist cosmology of the Theravada school}}
The Pāli Tipiṭaka outlines a hierarchical cosmological system with various [[Plane (esotericism)|planes existence]] (''bhava'') into which sentient beings may be reborn depending on their past actions. Good actions lead one to the higher realms, bad actions lead to the lower realms.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1t" /> However, even for the gods (''devas'') in the higher realms like [[Indra]], there is still death, loss and suffering.<ref>Crosby (2013), pp. 15-16.</ref>

The main categories of the planes of existence are:<ref name=":2">Sunthorn Na-Rangsi (2011). ''[https://www.bps.lk/olib/wh/wh462_Na-Rangsi_Four-Planes-of-Existence-in-Theravada-Buddhism.pdf The Four Planes of Existence in Theravada Buddhism.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210706234409/https://www.bps.lk/olib/wh/wh462_Na-Rangsi_Four-Planes-of-Existence-in-Theravada-Buddhism.pdf |date=6 July 2021 }}'' The Wheel Publication No. 462. Buddhist Publication Society.</ref><ref name=":1t">Gethin, Rupert. ''Cosmology and Meditation: From the Aggañña-Sutta to the Mahāyāna'', in "History of Religions" Vol. 36, No. 3 (Feb. 1997), pp. 183-217. The University of Chicago.</ref>

*'''''Arūpa-bhava''''', the formless or incorporeal plane. These are associated with the [[Dhyāna in Buddhism|four formless meditations]], that is: infinite space, infinite consciousness, infinite nothingness and neither perception nor non-perception. Beings in these realms live extremely long lives (thousands of [[Kalpa (aeon)|kappas]]).
*'''''Kāma-bhava''''', the spiritual plane of desires. This includes numerous realms of existence such as: various [[hell]]s ([[Naraka (Buddhism)|''niraya'']]) which are devoid of happiness, the realms of animals, the hungry ghosts ([[Preta|''peta'']]), the realm of humans, and various [[heaven]] realms where the [[Deva (Buddhism)|devas]] live (such as [[Trāyastriṃśa|Tavatimsa]] and [[Tushita|Tusita]]).
*'''''Rūpa-bhava''''', the plane of form. The realms in this plane are associated with the four meditative absorptions (''jhanas'') and those who attain these meditations are reborn in these divine realms.

These various planes of existence can be found in countless world systems (''loka-dhatu''), which are born, expand, contract and are destroyed in a cyclical nature across vast expanses of time (measures in kappas). This cosmology is similar to other ancient Indian systems, such as the [[Jain cosmology]].<ref name=":1t" /> This entire cyclical multiverse of constant birth and death is called [[Saṃsāra|samsara]]. Outside of this system of samsara is ''[[Nirvana (Buddhism)|nibbana]]'' ({{lit|vanishing, quenching, blowing out}}), a deathless (''amata'') and [[Transcendence (religion)|transcendent]] reality, which is a total and final release (''[[Moksha|vimutti]]'') from all suffering (''dukkha'') and rebirth.<ref>Buswell Jr., Robert E.; Lopez Jr., Donald S. (2013), ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', pp. 589-590. Princeton University, {{ISBN|978-1-4008-4805-8}}</ref>