Twenty-eight heavens
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twenty-eight heavens
二十八天 (Jpn nijuhatten or nijuhachi-ten )
Subdivisions of the world of heaven—the six heavens in the world of desire, the eighteen heavens (subdivisions of the four meditation heavens in the world of form), and the four immaterial realms in the world of formlessness. The six heavens in the world of desire are the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings (Skt Chatur-maharaja-kayika), the Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods (Trayastrimsha), the Yama Heaven, the Heaven of Satisfaction (Tushita), the Heaven of Enjoying the Conjured (Nirmanarati), and the Heaven of Freely Enjoying Things Conjured by Others (Paranirmita-vasha-vartin).
The eighteen heavens in the world of form are the Heaven of Brahma's Retinue (Brahmakayika), the Heaven of Brahma's Aide (Brahmapurohita), and the Heaven of Great Brahma (Mahabrahman) in the first meditation heaven; the Minor Light Heaven (Parittabha), the Infinite Light Heaven (Apramanabha), and the Light Sound Heaven (Abhasvara, also known as the Utmost Light and Purity Heaven) in the second meditation heaven; the Minor Purity Heaven (Parittashubha), the Boundless Purity Heaven (Apramanashubha), and the All Pure Heaven (Shubhakritsna) in the third meditation heaven; and the Cloudless Heaven (Anabhraka), the Merit Increasing Heaven (Punyaprasava), the Large Fruitage Heaven (Brihatphala), the Heaven of No Thought (Asamjnin), the Heaven of No Vexations (Avriha), the Heaven of No Heat (Atapa), the Reward Appearing Heaven (Sudrisha), the Heaven of Clear Perception (Sudarshana), and the Akanishtha Heaven in the fourth meditation heaven. The four realms in the world of formlessness are the Realm of Boundless Empty Space (Akashanantyayatana), the Realm of Boundless Consciousness (Vijnananantyayatana), the Realm of Nothingness (Akimchanyayatana), and the Realm of Neither Thought Nor No Thought (Naivasamjnanasamjnayatana).