Tushita heaven - stone relief carving - pakistan

Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita Maitreya Detail

Tuṣita (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

and

Pāli Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a classical Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Therav� ...

) or Tushita is one of the six

deva Deva may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deva, List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monster * Deva, in the 2023 Indian film ''Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefir ...

-worlds of the Buddhist

Desire realm The desire realm (Sanskrit: कामधातु, ''kāmadhātu'') is one of the trailokya or three realms (Sanskrit: धातु, ''dhātu'', Tibetan: ''khams'') in Buddhist cosmology into which a being caught in '' '' may be reborn. The o ...

(Kāmadhātu), located between the Yāma heaven and the heaven. Like the other heavens, Tuṣita is said to be reachable through

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

. It is the heaven where the

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

''Śvetaketu'' ("White Banner") resided before being reborn on Earth as

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

, the historical fourth Buddha. It is, likewise, the heaven where the Bodhisattva ''Nātha'' ("Protector") currently resides, who will be reborn as the future fifth Buddha

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...

. Most Buddhist scriptures state that Queen Mayadevi died seven days after giving birth at Lumbini to her son Prince Siddhartha, who became

or the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

, and that she was reborn in the Tushita Heaven. Then seven years after the Buddha's enlightenment, Mayadevi came down to visit Tavatimsa Heaven, where the Buddha specifically preached the

Abhidharma The Abhidharma are a collection of Buddhist texts dating from the 3rd century BCE onwards, which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. It also refers t ...

to her, and to the other gods in the realm. In

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, the Tushitas are referred to as one of the nine

gana The word ( ) in Sanskrit and Pali means "flock, troop, multitude, number, tribe, category, series, or class". It can also be used to refer to a "body of attendants" and can refer to "a company, any assemblage or association of men formed for t ...

deities:

adityas In Hinduism, Adityas ( ) refers to a group of major solar deities, who are the offspring of the goddess Aditi. The name ''Aditya'', in the singular, is taken to refer to the sun god Surya. Generally, Adityas are twelve in number and consi ...

, visvedevas, vasus, tushitas, abhasvaras, anilas,

maharajikas The maharajikas () refers to a class of minor deities in Hinduism, numbering 220 or 236 members. Description The Puranas feature the maharajikas among the nine classes (''gaṇas'') of deities, among the adityas, rudras, vasus, visvedevas, ...

, sadhyas, and the

rudras Rudras refer to the forms of the god Rudra, whose traditions have since been associated with lord Shiva. They make up eleven of the thirty-three gods in the Vedic pantheon.Hopkins pp. 172-3 They are at times identified with the storm deities ref ...

Descriptions

Like all heaven realms in Buddhism, the Heaven is the residence of divine beings or ''devas''. According to the ''Visakhuposatha Sutta'' of the

Pali Canon The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...

,Visakhuposatha Sutta
(AN 8.43) time runs much differently than on Earth:

Buddhist View

In Mahayana Buddhist thought, the Heaven is where all Bodhisattvas destined to reach full enlightenment in their next life dwell for a time. One such reference can be found in the Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life, a Mahayana text: The heaven is therefore closely associated with Maitreya, and many Mahayana Buddhists vow to be reborn there so that they can hear the teachings of the Bodhisattva and ultimately be reborn with him when he becomes a Buddha. Other

Bodhisattvas In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, ''Enlightenment in Buddhism, bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal n ...

dwell in this heaven realm from time to time. is part of the same world-system as Earth, and so is relatively close, whereas the

Pure Land Pure Land is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddhahood, buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and Other power, sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places ...

of Amitabha Buddha is treated as a separate world-system entirely.

References

Buddhist cosmology {{cosmology-stub