Sattavasa
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Sattāvāsa: Nava sattāvāsa: '9 abodes of beings'. In the sutta-texts e.g. D. 33; A.IX, 24 9 such abodes are mentioned:
There are, o Bhikkhus, 9 abodes of beings, namely:
- There are beings who are different in body and different in perception, such as the human beings, some divine beings, and some beings living in the world of suffering vinipātika.
- There are beings who are different in body but equal in perception, such as the first-born gods of the Brahma-world i.e. at the beginning of each new world-construction; s. deva II.
- There are beings who are equal in body but different in perception, such as the Radiant Gods ābhassara see: deva II.
- There are beings who are equal in body and equal in perception, such as the All-Illuminating Gods subha-kinha see: deva.
- There are beings without perception and feeling, such as the unconscious beings asañña-satta.
- There are beings who, through the complete overcoming of perceptions of matter rūpa-sañña the disappearance of perceptions of sense-reaction patigha-sañña, and the non-attention to perceptions of variety thinking: 'Infinite is space', are reborn in the sphere of buundless space see: deva III; Jhanas.
- There are beings who, through the complete overcoming of the sphere of Infinite space, thinking: 'Infinite is consciousness', are reborn in the sphere of Infinite consciousness see: jhāna 6.
- There are beings who, through the complete overcoming of the sphere of Infinite consciousness, thinking: 'Nothing is there, are reborn in the sphere of nothingness see: jhāna 7.
- There are beings who, through the complete overcoming of the sphere of nothingness, are reborn in the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception see: jhāna 8; A. IX, 24.
According to the Com. to A., the beings of the Pure Abodes suddhāvāsa are not mentioned here, for the reason that they exist only in those world-periods in which Buddhas appear. Cf. viññāna-tthiti.
References
Maha Thera Nyanatiloka. Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines, Buddhist Publication Society, first edition 1952.