The question of where human beings come from and where they go upon the moments of birth and death has long been a mystery of life; and this mystery can only be unraveled by an awakened sage.

Some say we become ghosts after we die, some believe we simply vanish once we die. Such views are erroneous and far from being true. Once we die, we may not actu-ally become ghosts or vanish. No one can be exempt from the cycle of birth and death no matter whether you are a man or woman, rich or poor. Sometimes we may be reborn in the realm of heaven, sometimes in hell, sometimes in the human realm, and sometimes in the realm of animals. Without transcending the cycle of birth and death, you will always be traveling between the six realms of rebirth: realm of heaven, realm of human beings, realm of asuras, realm of animals, realm of hungry ghosts, and realm of hell.

1)The Realm of Heaven

Residing in this realm are the most fortunate and hap-py beings amongst all six realms. They possess gigantic physical forms that range from 90 zhan （1丈 = 3 and 1/3 meters） to 256,000 li （1里 = 1/2 kilometer） in height. Their lifespan is very long, the shortest being 900 hundred human years（also said to be 500 years in heav-en) and the longest is 8,000 great kalpas （the time it takes for our world to be formed and then destructed 8,000 times repeatedly）. They experience extreme joy and comfort, some may be the joy of desire while some the joy of Ch an. Within this realm, there are no chaoses or disturbances of any kind, nor any troubles or worries. These beings possess tremendous power in meditation, and only when such power is exhausted will their life in heaven come to an end. As the saying goes, “one re-quires the right merit to be reborn in heaven, and no one can become a heavenly being just by praying.” This shows that the realm of heaven is the most supreme a-mongst all six realms of rebirth.（待續）



【Keywords： 關鍵字】
Rebirth / Cycle of birth and death ：生死輪迴／

Awakened ：覺醒的、覺悟的／Ghost ：鬼魂／Heaven： 天／Human being ：人／Asura：阿修羅／

Animals：畜生／Hungry ghosts： 餓鬼／

Suffering ：苦／Hell ：地獄／kalpa： 劫／

Joy of desire：欲樂／Joy of Ch an：禪樂