By Venerable Bhikkhu Mihita, Ph. D.

Introduction

When a Buddhist devotee offers  alms to the sangha and/or participate  in any other religious activity, the expectation is to earn enough punna merit to gain a berth  in Heaven (sagga), obviously by way of  having  a qualitatively better life than on Earth.  Fair enough! But   where is heaven? Based in a study of the Tipitaka Tricompendium, this writer has  come to identify Heaven  as being nothing but the Sky! And hence the term    Sky-Heaven as used in this article.

So here then is the basis. As in the Ratana Discourse,   a territory hit by a severe drought and hunger, the Buddha   implores to the deities to have compassion on the human population (mettam karotha maanusiyaa pajaaya). He addresses Whoever  beings (yaaneedha bhootaani) assembled (samaagataani) [to hear his Dhamma], on Earth (bhummaani)  or   ‘going through air’ (antalikkhe), meaning Space. So  what could  air, or Space be, as contrasted with Earth,  other than the Sky?

This comes to be clear in another line.  The pleading is done in   the name of the Triple Gem – Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha. Declares the Buddha,   Whatever treasure there is, here or there [idha vaa huran vaa], or Heaven .. [saggesu vaa],  there is none equal to the Buddha”. Taking the reference to ‘here  or  there’ being to Earth,  would Heaven then not mean as contrasting with   Earth?   If this is based on language analysis, heard of  rukkha devatas ‘tree devas’ or ‘ground-based’ bhummattha devas? So there we go! Convincing enough?   

And so it is based in Canonical evidence   that I have ended up writing the  paper, Sky as Heaven, but Temporary Abode: as in  Buddhianscience” (<https://hdl.handle.net/1807/127073>). A point to remember is that just as is life on Earth is temporary, so is life in Sky-Heaven,     lasting  a few months or years, or    even  eons! 

Sky-Heaven as in the Buddhadhamma is made up of four   realms  – sense-based, form-based, non-form-based and beyond-world (kaamaavacara, roopaavacara, aroopaavacara, lokuttara). In my paper, I parallel them to  the four-plus levels  of the Space above Earth as in Westernscience – (0 km to 500 km).

I	II	III	IV	V
SENTIENT      TYPE	REALM	REALMS IN                  BUDDHIANSCIENCE	SPHERES IN         WESTERNSCIENCE	KM FROM  EARTH
Deva	Celes-tian (Sky)	Exosphere (lokuttara)   Formlessphere (arūpāvacara)    Formsphere (rūpāvacara)    Sensesphere (kāmāvacara)	Exosphere   Thermosphere   Mesosphere   Stratosphere   Troposphere	500 +   50-400     30-50          10-30        0-10
Human   Animal	Terres- trian (Earth)	[Sensephere (kāmāvacara)]	Troposphere	0-10

                              Sky Spheres in Buddhianscience Paralleling Sky Spheres in Westernscience

Is  it not of interest that  the prefix ‘exos’,  in Line 1 Column 4 of the Chart, well parallels ‘beyond-world’  as is the literal translation of ‘lokuttara’  in the Buddhianscientific characterization? That then should speak to the reality of the realms as in the Tricompendium being in the Sky, beginning from right under our very feet, at  0 km.

A Spontaneous, Parentless Rebecoming in Sky-Heaven

Now that we have an understanding of the Sky-Heaven,   the next relevant question is how an Earthly human being   passing away ends up in Sky-Heaven, if sufficient merits earned. This then is my most recent paper, linking  Buddhadhamma to Physics and Biology.  It is titled CittaDNA, Higgs Field and Psychomorphic Resonance Co-conditioning a Rebecoming in  Sky-Heaven  – a  Buddhianscientific  Exploration in Relation to Westernscience)”    <https://hdl.handle.net/1807/141920>.

A human being (if also an animal) is a  ‘Mindbody’ naamaroopa,  as is the  Buddhian term. While Westernscience recognizes only the five  physical senses – eye, ear, nose, tongue  and body, Buddhianscience recognizes a sixth, and indeed the primary, namely the mind sense, behind the other five senses as well. So clearly a human  is made up of a visible body, which is guided by  a mind behind it. 

          The death of a person then  means the mind being separated from the body. In the final stream of consciousness, without continuing on to the end, halfway through, the mind, Citta, this  being the Abhidhammic   term, bids goodbye to the body, exiting it, and so it is called   the exit-mind (cuti citta).

           But then, alas, the mind, not having a body,  is orphaned,  having lost its lifelong buddy the bosom body!!! So how can it survive? With  no  physical counterpart with which it can link, there would be no mindbody.  And so it is   Westernscience that I turn to, specifically Physics and Biology,  the Figure below introducing the specifics:

                              Triple conditions for a Rebecoming in Sky-Heaven

captured in the form of a cell

As in  the Figure, the three components that then come together towards conditioning a Rebecoming in Sky-Heaven are CittaDNA, Higgs Field and Psychomorphic Resonance.

         To explain CittaDNA, while what left the body at the point of death as above is ExitCitta, what links up with Higgs Field is what   I have come to call CittaDNA!  DNA is the genetic code inherited  from parents. Likewise is  Citta   the bearer of the history of a given   individual. Hence the name change.   

           But now, CittaDNA is  orphaned. And there would be no continuing on without a mass. This is where Higgs Field, named after British Physicist Peter Higgs,  one of the three  founders,   comes to the rescue. It is

a field of energy that is thought to exist in every region of the universe. [It] is accompanied by a fundamental particle known as the Higgs boson, which is used by the field to continuously interact with other particles, such as the electron. Particles that interact with the field are given” mass and, in a similar fashion to an object passing through ….. Higgs bosons contain the relative mass in the form of energy.

Let us note how particles that interact with the field   are given” mass and, and also  an object passing through. And so it is that the CittaDNA comes to be given   mass, and no longer orphaned, but in interaction with mass.  

However, while the mind is now linked with  a mass, it has no  specific shape. This is where Morphic Resonance pitches in.  Advanced by British Biologist Rupert Sheldrake, it is  a process whereby self-organizing systems inherit a memory from previous similar systems”. But given that mind is the forerunner, as in Buddhianscience, it is to capture this dimension that I have called it Psychomorphic Resonance.

So the memory of Devas in  Sky-Heaven , literally ‘shining ones’, now joining the CittaDNA-Higgs Field   joint duo,   there comes to be a Rebecoming in Sky-Heaven! And, would you believe,  it is spontaneous, meaning instantaneous!!

           The Buddhian   formula of  ‘conditioned co-origination’ (paticca samuppaada) well explains the process of three strangers ending up as an amicable  single unit.  It is a co-origination, since the outcomes emerges conditioned in a mutual relationship  of    A <>B <> C.   If A serves as the mind  dimension, B is the Higgs Field  physical dimension.  But it is C, Morphic Resonance,   that gives shape to the Rebecoming.    

         To draw a rather mundane analogy,        a mother  hugs baby  who hugs mom. Happiness emerges for both, co-conditioned by each other. Likewise in relation to the  threesome.  To give a rather material parable, let’s say an artist  thinks of doing a painting of the scene of Prince Siddhartha leaving the palace, and getting a horse back ride with Channa at the ropes.    There then is the mind dimension. So  he gets the material for it – brush, paint and paper. And now he begins to draw the horse. So what guides him?  Would it not be the memory of the Prince on horseback, and other details?  So based in memory, the picture of Prince Siddhartha on  horseback with Channa in front holding on to the reins, and the horse in galloping stride   emerges on paper!  So, the thought to build is the mind dimension (CittaDNA), the material the physical (Higgs Field),    and   Psychomorphic Resonance the memory.

The end product of the union of the threesome is called a Rebecoming, and not      a birth, since it is parentless. Rebecoming is, as above,  spontaneous, the Buddhian  term  ‘Opapaatika’ literally meaning  ‘falling near’; that is, instantaneous, since there is  no birth process.    

Interestingly, we get the explanation and justification of the Buddhian concept of spontaneity  in Westernscience:

… when …  a system is far from equilibrium, or where it is at a much higher temperature than its environment, new types of structures may originate spontaneously. The result is that new dynamic states of matter, namely, organic life, are created.

This then is the complex process of how, an earthly, terrestrial being, as in the chart,  upon passing away,   would end up in Sky-Heaven. Anyone voting to go through the process? Yes, you all will all,   if enough merit gathered and    are looking for  a happier life!

Life in Sky-Heaven

So is   there any record of Sky life in the Tricompendium? You bet!  One night, a young man appears before the Buddha,  and speaks in verses, beginning with

This indeed is that Jeta’s Grove,                                                                                                    The Resort of the Order of Seers,

Dwelt in by the Dhamma King,

A place that gives me joy.

He immediately disappears. Buddha relating the experience to monks  the next day, Ananda wonders if that was not Anathapindika, the Buddha’s greatest benefactor, who had died the day before. The Buddha confirms.  

Then there is the deitess Devata in the Mahaamangala Blessings Discourse, who lightens up the entire Jeta grove” in the night, and appears before the Buddha, and beseeches him:

      Many a deva and human  have wondered about the Blessings.                                                     For their benefit, may the Blessings be please spelled out.

So the Buddha does.   And you have heard them at paritta ceremonies, even though you may not have known the meaning of the words.

So does the fact that both Deity Anathapindika and the nameless Deitess appear in human form, and also communicate in language, indeed poetic diction, not speak to the presence of the six senses in them?

But if the examples above are taken from the Tricompendium, would you believe if evidence comes from the 20^th c. Westernscience? To give an example, one day, at about 6 am,  a grandson  gets a call from his brother living in a different city, Picking up the phone, he immediately asks,  

Did grandpa die”?

Yes. How did you know?”

He says that awakened from sleep  up at 1.10 am,  he  saw grandpa smiling,  the dark room  well-lit up. The brother confirms that that is when he died.

So first it is clear that Rebecoming in Sky-Heaven has been in the form of a sentient-being – i.e., one with senses, in a sentient form as are humans,  with six senses. This then renders the Sky-being Deitesses and Deities (devatas and devas) a phenotype, just  as animals are, too.  And this would be under the genotype satto, meaning ‘Sky-being’ (plural sattaa).

      To give mundane parallel, let us take the term ‘vehicle’.  Taking it as  a genotype;  several are those that fall under it: 2-wheel bikes, baby tricycles, 4-wheel cars and buses and multi-wheel trains, all  as phenotypes on Earth. But not to be forgotten airplanes as phenotypes in the Sky!

         And the Buddha makes the  distinction between the two types absolutely  clear. You may remember the term naamaroopa ‘mindbody’ as above. And ‘roopa’  reference here is to ‘body’ in general. But in relation to a specific body,   the term used is  kaaya. In mindfulness meditation, e.g., one begins with ‘kaayaanupassnaa’ i.e., reflecting on one’s own specific body.

Above then is the evidence for the reality of Sky-beings, Devatas and Devas, paralleling Earth-beings, female and male! Hope you have well grasped it.  

Incidentally, if by chance you are intrigued by my term Buddhianscience as replacement for  the misnomer ‘Buddhism’, please go to my article, Buddhianscience: Truth Yesterday, Truth Today, Truth Tomorrow” https://hdl.handle.net/1807/128886.

Closure

So my intent in presenting this media piece is, first, to give a realistic picture  of that goal of  Sky-Heaven that temple goers and  alms-givers eternally aspire to. A second is to bring to  the general reader, regardless of religion, some Westernscientific theories  that is only in the hands of scholars. A third is  to give a hint, with a specific example,  of  the scientific nature of the Buddhadhamma, a reality rarely  dealt with if ever,    even in scholarly literature,.

And so I invite  anyone interested to go deeper, and the sources quoted in this piece, particularly those with a background in Westernscience, to look up the article itself (as above), but also my book length treatment,  Phenotype  Devas  in Sky-Heaven  Paralleling Humans under the Genotype ‘sentient beings’ <https://hdl.handle.net/1807/141697>. Hope my short piece  establishes the reality  of Sky-Heaven, and  demolish the sceptical doubts   about  Sky-Heaven, taking it to be     mythological. But finally, it is to show how Sky-Heaven in Buddhianscience has no associations with divinity – i.e., a creator God, Angels, etc., .       

However, for all the advanced  knowledge gained, let us in this Wesak Season, listen  to the  words of the Buddha in the Agganna Discourse (see Wikipedia for a quick access), where  he outlines the Devolution and Evolution process of the Universe (see my paper, under my pre-ordination name,   <https://hdl.handle.net/1807/65093   >.  But   the  advice at the end of it all is straightforward – that is that  living the Dhamma far outweighs  gaining the highest knowledge! 

So recognizing that Sky-Heaven is  only a temporary abode, and that   returning  to Earth would mean  continuing suffering,  would you be not be interested in   modifying  your goal of getting a berth in Sky-Heaven, to experiencing  Nibbana?     And, if interested,    the first step towards this is letting go of the ‘body is me’ view (sakkaayaditthi).    And this is by coming to see that there is no ‘I’ or ‘me’, but that the body, as is the mind,   a mere process of constant change (anicca), and  on auto-pilot, i.e.,  with no doer behind, as e.g.,  a ‘soul’.  And that the body will end up as nothing more than a worthless log of wood fallen dead, as in the Buddhian  parable. The book, Thoughts without a Thinker,   by Mark Epstein well speaks to it. But you may also read up my short piece, Fetters in Tatters  Towards Sotàpanna” <https://hdl.handle.net/1807/139402>.

Looking to end up in Sky-Heaven would mean a coming back to Earth again and again, continuing in the samsaric life-cycle of, would you believe,  suffering and suffering and suffering!  And the outcome  of letting go of the ‘body is me view’ would be   coming to be a Stream-entrant, i.e., a sotāpanna.  Just as a stream goes only one way, as guaranteed by the Buddha,  once a sotāpanna,    there will   only be a maximum of 7 lifetimes, and only 4  on Earth before attaining Nibbàna.  We can see it   in an arithmetic chart:

LIFETIME	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Celestian (Sky-Heavenly)	——	In Sky-Heaven as Born Stream-entrant	——–	In Sky-Heaven as Born Stream-entrant	——-	In Sky-Heaven as Born Once-returner		In Sky-Heaven born Non-returner > Nibbàna
Terrestrian (Earthly)	Becoming a Stream-entrant (sotāpanna)	——	Born-Stream-entrant	——	Born Stream-entrant > Once-returner (sakadaagaamin)		Born Once-returner > Non-returner (anaagaamin)

An Arithmetic Chart:  Stream-entry to Nibbana

However, the earthly lifetimes could be even less, becoming a Once-returner in Earthly life 2, and coming to be a Non-returner in 4, and attaining Nibbàna    in life-time 5, while in Sky-Heaven. And indeed, if one were to  walk the Path even more diligently,  a Stream-entrant, Once-returner  or Non-returner could come by the experience of Nibbàna  in that very lifetime.   This, however, would not be  as a householder, unless living in an Empty House, with all relationships with the world cut  off.   Any interest?

The beginning for all this, however,  is  living  by the Five Self-Training Principles (Pancaseela)    diligently, undertaking them willingly in a self-discipline:

1. to abstain from taking life (killing);
2. to abstain from taking what is not given (i.e., stealing);
3. to abstain from sexual misconduct (infidelity);
4. to abstain from language abuse (lying, back-biting, gossip, foul language);
5. to abstain from going overboard on liquor & drugs.

Taking to  meditation would be helpful as well.  Even for 20 minutes daily  might be a good  beginning, to help keep one’s calm.  But there would be no need to be at a temple or forest retreat. Home would be just as good.

If this is in a self-care,   as in the Buddhian  advice, not to be forgotten is other-care.  And this is through the four Noble Abidings –  Metta, Karuna, Mudita, Upekkha (friendliness, compassionate action, joy in the joy of others and equanimity). If living  guided by them   is certainly an other-care, would you be happy to hear that  the beneficiary would be yourself as well, with good, healthy cells coming to be formed in your own mindbody!?     

So while aspiring to end up in Sky-Heaven would certainly be a good goal,   when compared to being born an animal or into a woeful state, would not ending suffering for ever not be the far better?  And so it is hoped that you would take to    walk the Path diligently towards Nibbàna  Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu!

Thank you, Metta!   

Ven. Bhikkhu Mihita  is a US Fulbright scholar, Interdisciplinarian Buddhist scholar and Lifetime Buddhist practitioner. Formerly at University of Toronto, and Founder of Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies, Toronto, and Visiting Professor, University of Havana,   he was to get ordained at the prime age of 83, introducing Theravada to Cuba as well.   Pioneer in Canadian  Buddhism,  he was to bring World Buddhism  under one umbrella, holding  the first North American Pan-Buddhist Wesak in Toronto in 1981.