Is there a chance that we are Devas in Sagga?

[AdvaitaJ]

It occurs to me that the existence many of us lead in this technologically advanced world could seem like we are Devas and this is heaven. Imagine telling someone 2,500 years ago that you can travel 600 miles in one hour. Or that you can speak and hear someone on the other side of the planet. That you've never been hungry. That you can make things frozen or boiling hot as you wish. TV, stereos, computers, and on and on and on.

To someone living in the Buddha's time, would they not have thought our existence today qualifies as divine and that all of us who live this lifestyle today are truly benefiting from vast amounts of positive kamma?

Is there anything in the suttas that says rebirth happens immediately on death? What if "time" is literally not a factor and a positive rebirth is actually achieved by being born now or even 500 years from now (assuming we don't trash the place between now and then )?



AdvaitaJ

[bodom]

Theres too much suffering here for this to be heaven.

[Heavenstorm]

It occurs to me that the existence many of us lead in this technologically advanced world could seem like we are Devas and this is heaven. Imagine telling someone 2,500 years ago that you can travel 600 miles in one hour. Or that you can speak and hear someone on the other side of the planet. That you've never been hungry. That you can make things frozen or boiling hot as you wish. TV, stereos, computers, and on and on and on.

Wrong, [some] people living [in certain regions] are notably worse than animals. Some humans may live like devas but they are still humans and is subject to occasional illness, hunger and unfortunate accidents. The last time I read, deva is immune to illness, hunger and accidents.


[Replaced offensive generalizations — Dhammanando]

[Individual]

No, we're not devas. I had a similar speculation, myself, but when you look at Buddhist cosmology, it's pretty clear we aren't. The various cosmologies, though, I think are best understood as overlapping. The human realm does seem to be somewhat special in that we share characteristics of many realms and mentally gravitate towards different realms. So, some aspects of our life is "like" the various six realms, but despite that, we are not beings of those other realms, just as dogs and monkeys aren't humans.

It occurs to me that the existence many of us lead in this technologically advanced world could seem like we are Devas and this is heaven. Imagine telling someone 2,500 years ago that you can travel 600 miles in one hour. Or that you can speak and hear someone on the other side of the planet. That you've never been hungry. That you can make things frozen or boiling hot as you wish. TV, stereos, computers, and on and on and on.

Wrong, [some] people living [in certain regions] are notably worse than animals. Some humans may live like devas but they are still humans and is subject to occasional illness, hunger and unfortunate accidents. The last time I read, deva is immune to illness, hunger and accidents.


[Replaced offensive generalizations — Dhammanando]

I wouldn't say immune to "accidents". They aren't hungry, but they have to eat (some of them at least) and if they forget to eat, they could die.

Brahmajala Sutta

Bhikkhus! There are devas known as Khiddapadosikas who, absorbed in merry-making and pleasure-seeking for a long time, forget to take nutriment and through such forgetfulness die in that abode of the devas.

This could be called "accidental" starvation. I'm sure there's probably other ways they can die, too, like some manner of illness, dying from over-intoxication, etc., but it wouldn't correspond to "illness" as in the human realm.

[clw_uk]

If we were devas then nibbana would become even more harder to attain if not impossible as it is only in human existence, with the balance of pain and pleasure can nibbana be found.

[bodom]

If this is heaven then i sure dont wanna see hell.