Tavatimsa

[wenjaforever]

My dad told me a story that my grandparents and one of my uncle had seen the afterlife.

My uncle was in a motorbike accident in the 80s or something, and he went to a coma. And when he woke up he told them that he seen 2 path there, one lead to an arid place and one leads to a beautiful place. But it was empty he didn't see people in tavatimsa.

My grandmother told my dad that someone took her to a tour to see heaven and hell. They're all at mountains. One mountain serves as hell, one as heaven. But the guide told my grandmother that they can't get close to heaven. It's forbidden or something so they only watched it from a distance.

The 3rd mountain served as an afterlife bank? That's what she said. Not sure why you need a bank in the afterlife though.

My grandfather met the guardian of heaven but he told him to go back because his time hasn't come yet.

So my conclusion is that tavatimsa is like a local heaven. It's a very beautiful and happy place but not a lot of people are in it. And the devas in them can't go anywhere else. They just live in that one place on mountains.

Reminds me of one topic here. I think it was a Russian person asking if you tend to get reincarnated in nearby places.

While Yama devas can probably go to different places since they are able to fly. So what do Yama devas do? Do they steal food from tavatimsa? Not exactly stealing since they are never short of food. Do Yama devas just float in the sky if they're sleepy?

[TRobinson465]

How do you know it was Tavatimsa? Couldnt it have been Catumaharajika or even just deva realms on the earth such as tree, and air devas

[tamdrin]

That does sound like one of the near death experiences (NDE) I have read about.

[confusedlayman]

I wont take anyghing seriously that comes without jhana as basis

[wenjaforever]

How do you know it was Tavatimsa? Couldnt it have been Catumaharajika or even just deva realms on the earth such as tree, and air devas

Because the inhabitants are people. Besides tavatimsa is just your normal everyday heaven as portrayed in monotheism. Not sure why you think it's super or something. Yama dwellers can fly but not tavatimsa. Catumaharajika is filled with dragons, and giants, dwarves guarding treasures, and gandabas playing music. They're asura devas.

[yamadwipa]

Yama devas are exponentially more desirable. Apsaras basically throw themselves at a Yama deva. They're so much more superior even to Sakka.

[TRobinson465]

How do you know it was Tavatimsa? Couldnt it have been Catumaharajika or even just deva realms on the earth such as tree, and air devas

Because the inhabitants are people. Besides tavatimsa is just your normal everyday heaven as portrayed in monotheism. Not sure why you think it's super or something. Yama dwellers can fly but not tavatimsa. Catumaharajika is filled with dragons, and giants, dwarves guarding treasures, and gandabas playing music. They're asura devas.

There are these things called bhumadevas who live in the earthly plane and still look human. Catumaharajika also has human looking devas, but they also have a mix of the animals you talk about. Im saying its possible he could have just seen one of those abodes and since he didnt see the rest of the realm didnt know what else was out there. If he did see the rest of the realm in its totality and only saw human devas, then yeah, i suppose your probably right it was tavatimsa.

[Gwi II]

Just a dream

[yamadwipa]

There are these things called bhumadevas who live in the earthly plane and still look human. Catumaharajika also has human looking devas, but they also have a mix of the animals you talk about. Im saying its possible he could have just seen one of those abodes and since he didnt see the rest of the realm didnt know what else was out there. If he did see the rest of the realm in its totality and only saw human devas, then yeah, i suppose your probably right it was tavatimsa.

Catumaharajika is the metaphysical equivalent of the human realm. As is the peta realm to the animal realm. One is physical and one is astral. They're equal in term of kamma level. While heaven and hell doesn't have physical versions. Catumaharajika is only referred as heaven because of the 4 kings that are guarding the 4 entrances to the mountain where tavatimsa, the real heaven is located. North, south, east and western gates to tavatimsa.

[Ontheway]

Don't take it serious. I once read if really near death and sees mountain, normally it is going to reborn as ghost.

To be reborn in heaven, one sees his/her own good deeds, shining light, or auspicious sight.

There was an incident recorded in petavatthu, a Puthujjana man mistaken a hell as a heavenly city and mistaken a rotating blade as decorative flower. This man asks an inhabitant whether the beautiful city is heaven, but the inhabitant said it is not heaven; the Puthujjana man laughs at this inhabitant. Then he asked for the decorative item on the head of this inhabitant, but the inhabitant said are you losing your mind? Can't you see this is a sharp weapon hurting my head? But the Puthujjana insisted to have it. Then the inhabitant thought that maybe his Kamma comes to an end, pluck out the rotating blade easily (to his surprise as it cannot be done previously) and give it to the man. The Puthujjana man, seeing it as beautiful decoration item, happily put on it, but once he put it on his head, it turns into weapon severing his head. He will be staying there, suffers there for a long long time. The beautiful city is actually a Hell, the beautiful decoration is actually a weapon; and the inhabitant was a hell-being.

Vision can be deceiving.