In Buddhism, living beings are divided into six categories: heavenly beings, asuras or demi-gods, human beings, animals, hungry ghosts, and those in hell. It is generally understood that each category of living beings has its own realm of existence. Migration through these six realms is known as samsara, a Sanskrit term for wandering. However, viewed from another angle, one can find these six modes of existence in just the human realm alone. Many of us have experienced these states.
The heavens referred to here are the heavenly realms that contain materiality. Those who dwell there develop their wisdom only slightly. When their lives are about to end and they discover their weaknesses, they are shocked and extremely anguished. The asuras or demi-gods have a natural disposition to be jealous and fond of arguing. They engage in quarrels and disputes their whole lives. They have no opportunity to investigate spiritual questions, much less deeply solve these questions. Animals are naturally ignorant. They lack clear and awakened wisdom. They struggle for existence their entire lives and are often forced to become slaves of other living beings. The desires of hungry ghosts can never be satisfied. Since their natural disposition is to be stingy, therefore, although they ceaselessly seek food and clothing, they nevertheless are only able to obtain through much difficulty leftover food and worn out clothes and worse. Those living beings who dwell in hell are totally under the control of their own hatred. They therefore experience all kinds of extremely brutal torture and acute pain.
Although these problems exist to some extent in the human realm, human beings have a sufficient amount of intelligence which enables them to occasionally extricate themselves from the painful and fruitless struggle of worldly life and give rise to wisdom which transcends the mundane. Therefore, the human realm is the most convenient realm in which to practice the Buddha-dharma that can enable them to escape this aimless cycle of reincarnation. When one thinks of the vast amount of living beings in this universe and how there are countless more non-human living beings than there are human beings, one can realize that to be born as a human being is truly a rare and fortunate thing.
However, with this understanding it is wrong to doubt the existence of these realms. It opposes the cycle of reincarnation and the inevitable law of impermanence that are the core concepts of what the Buddha taught. It is also wrong to think that we can create a Pure Land or holy place in the human realm. As Buddhist we strive not to reach a most pleasant life as a human or heavenly being, but to escape the suffering of samsara entirely. The detailed answer to why samsara and its six realms or reincarnation and suffering do exist is offered in Evil View #17. Click title to read it.
Evil View No. 17: Acknowledging that transmigration within the six realms is a legend that is untrue. Those with this view regard the six realms of heaven, asura, human, hell, animal, and hungry ghost as existing only in legend. They think that such realms do not actually exist. They think that there are no ghosts and that none of the six realms exist. Won’t such a concept lead to the conclusion that all causes and effects are meaningless and false and that the law of cause and effect is not true? You must understand and think clearly about this. Sakyamuni Buddha stated that the six realms of reincarnation are real. He spoke of the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death, and the five turbidities of an evil age. You are all living in that reality now. Could it be that this is not the case? Such are the facts. One who denies the existence of the cycle of reincarnation is opposing the Buddha. Such people can describe the human world with the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death as the Pure Land of the West. I will give you an example. There truly are people who want to change this world of suffering into a human Pure Land. This type of following what is good, promoting benevolence toward others, and guiding people to be good and do good is implementing of the four limitless states of mind. However, if you believe that this world can be made into a real human Pure Land, then you believe in something that goes against the teachings of the Buddha. There is no method that can change the laws of cause and effect and reincarnation that exist in a world. No matter what method is used to create a desired result, that result will not be a Pure Land. The human realm is the human realm. A Pure Land is a Pure Land. The difference is like that of heaven and earth. One is a holy world and the other is an ordinary world. The Pure Land is a world where there is no arising or ceasing. Beings there get clothing when they think about clothing and get food when they think about food. There is no form of impermanence there. On the other hand, a so-called Pure Land in the human realm would still be full of all of the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death. People would not get clothing or food just from thinking of clothing or food. People would still have to work and make money to obtain such things. They could not rely upon visualizing such things to obtain them. In this world, people do not want the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death, but such sufferings truly exist. It is inevitable that this world be filled with such sufferings. No matter what method is used, the result will still entail the attribute of impermanence inherent in a world within samsara. Nobody can change the impermanence that exists in this world caused by arising and ceasing. No ordinary person, regardless of how smart he may be, can escape the sufferings of five turbidities because that is the inevitable law of impermanence that exists in the six realms of reincarnation. Therefore, the six realms of reincarnation do exist.
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