Introduction

The ability of our minds is very swift in responding to external stimulus: every
hour, every minute is different.
Buddhism is about ordinary daily lives of ordinary human beings it has to cope
with this feature of our lives. And the concept of The Ten Worlds is a result.
The Ten Worlds are not objective places but subjective states inside our head,
states of mind.
It could seem difficult to reduce a vast range of our constantly shifting responses
to just 10 states but trust me, it is true.
Buddhism teaches that happiness and suffering come not from external factors of
our lives but from deep within. Once we know which of the ten worlds we are in,
we can better elevate ourselves from that state.
The life state where we in from moment to moment affects everything in our life:
how we feel, think, act, how we look, not to mention how environment responds.

The Ten Worlds

Not emotional ladder where we move up and down in a progressive way.
10 worlds - entire universe of our mind, we move from one its part to another.
Each of us possesses the potential for all ten, and we shift from one to another at
any moment. At each moment, one of the Ten Worlds is being manifested and the
other nine are dormant.
Bearing this caution in mind lets look briefly at this 10 life states Lower Worlds
(or 6 Paths) 1. Hell 7. Learning or Absorption 2. Hunger 8. Realisation 3.
Animality 9. Bodhisattva 4. Anger 10. Buddha or Buddhahood 5. Humanity or
Tranquillity 6. Rapture or Heaven

Higher (Noble) worlds . 7. Learning or absorption 8. Realisation 9.

Bodhisattva 10. Buddha or Buddhahood

1. Hell
State of suffering and despair
Filled with frustration, rage, helplessness and destructive impulses

 We perceive we have no freedom of action

A feeling of being imprisoned by ones circumstances
There are graduations of this state: from unbearable day at work to the grief for a
lost relative

+ Having experienced hell helps us maintain a desire to better our circumstances.

Empathy, understanding the sufferings of others.

2. Hunger
Permanent dissatisfaction of how your life is now, because your desires are out of
control
Out of control part is a problem
Always craving for something: money, power, status or whatever. But the feeling
doesnt go away.
While desires are inherent in any of the Ten Worlds, in this state we are at the
mercy of our cravings and cannot control them. We end up chasing one desire after
another without feeling fulfilment or satisfaction. As soon as the desire has been
achieved, a hunger seeks for another object to be possessed.
It is an addiction and as most addictions it is associated with suffering not only
for oneself but also for those around us.

+ Huge amount of drive and energy is locked up in a Hunger state. If redirected to

the needs of others, can achieve great good. For example, people fighting tirelessly
for nuclear disarmament are hungry for peace.

3. Animality
Driven by instinct, lacking in reason and moral considerations
Those who are strong (or who knows) take advantage of those who are week (or
unaware) in order to satisfy own ends regardless of the rights or the morality of the
situation
No consideration on the anxiety or sufferings inflicted on those around them.
Absence of humanity is fundamental to this life state
Absence of wisdom and lack of judgement, no adherence to rules and regulations

+ Protective instincts, for example, that we need more sleep. Preservation of self
or others.

Three evil paths

Hell, Hunger and Animality - three evil paths
Not because they are associated with evil in the conventional sense but because
they are a root cause of huge amount of suffering. They can tear life lives apart or
render them unbearable
People in this life states are not aware of the effect on the people, creating pain
and suffering in their own lives and lives of those close to them.
One of the great virtue from the knowledge of the Ten Worlds is that it can make
you aware of the reality of the situation and act as a powerful stimulus to lift you
out of it.
Few people would want to continue to remain in these life states once they realise
where they are.

4. Anger
As a Buddhist text describes it: "Since those in the world of Anger desire in
every instance to be superior to everyone else and cannot bear to be inferior to
anyone. At the same time, outwardly they seek to display the virtues of
benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom and fidelity."
Not simply the domination of the external manifestations of anger: shouting,
threats storms of temper, but constant demands of ones ego
At its heart there is a sense of the superiority over others with all the distortions of
prospective
There will the sudden outburst of the anger, that may seem come from nowhere
often surprising the owner of the anger as much as the victim
But there will be also other destructive behaviours like intolerance, cynicism,
sarcasm, lack of gratitude, constant criticism of other peoples work

 People in this state often find as difficult to live with themselves as other people
find it to be with them, because they seem of not having real control of the source
of the anger
Destructive to personal relationships
On a wide scale of society anger as a sense of superiority of self lies as the root of
the whole range of injustices, from racism, religious intolerance to the depression
of women and minority groups.
+ Anger is a great achiever. Can be powerful driver towards change, fighter for
injustice, dignity of the individual or the passion to fight authoritarian behaviour.
The key to overcome the destructive side of the anger has to come from selfawareness. It cant be just switched off or redirected from outside.

5. Humanity (Tranquillity)
Life state when we are calm and in control of ourselves
Neutral state where nothing is excited or upset or requires a passionate response
Its also called a state of rest, recharging our batteries
Positive qualities like reasonableness and self-judgement, consideration for
others, ability to see clearly between truth and false
Actively seeking to achieve compromise, rather than conflict. For example, it
might be a moment of apology after fly of temper or perhaps working hard not to
loose your temper when somebody is being totally unreasonable
- Negative aspect : one might accept the things as it is and might not strive to
realise his fullest potential

6. Heaven (Rapture)
Heaven represents what is described in Buddhism as relative happiness
Its a wonderful act of joy and exhilaration, which we experience when we
achieve something that we desire strongly
It bring with it a sense of personal fulfilment, the zest for life and outburst of
energy e.g. setting on a holiday of falling in love
But however wonderful exhilaration might be, however it enriches our lives the
reality is that by its own nature the rapture is short-lived.

 Although some people equate this transient state with the highest possible state of
life, trying to make it permanent in their lives, Buddhism teaches that the idea of
permanent rapture is simply unreal.
The desire to make this life state permanent leads to suffering.

Six Lower Worlds

The six states from Hell to Heaven are called the six paths or six lower worlds.
They have in common the fact that their emergence or disappearance is governed
by external circumstances.
They very closely interlinked and we can easily step from one to another
As we fluctuate between this states we are at the mercy of our environment: like a
boat on waves
Any happiness or satisfaction to be gained in these states depends totally upon
circumstances and is therefore transient and subject to change
In these six lower worlds, we base our entire happiness on externals

Four Noble Paths

They could be described as representing a great potential in human life, not
simply responding to movements in our external environment.
Taking control of our lives to make the very most of them
Marked by the considerable effort required from us to achieve them

7. Learning
Learning is mainly about studying, seeking the truth through the teachings or
experience of others
We take knowledge and insight of others and apply them to our own life
It is also an attitude of wanting to learn, desire to discuss, ability to absorb
knowledge: A practical skill A mastery of our work The development of an
interest
It can be dual. It can lead:

 To immensely beneficial findings if based on the desire to improve human

conditions
To exploitation of others, destruction of the environment and life itself if based
on the desire of a profit

8. Realisation
It enables us to work on the knowledge that we have acquired or the experiences
we have been through to achieve a different level of understanding of life. In this
sense it may be equated with wisdom or intuition
Having a wisdom or insight, an understanding of an aspect of life from our own
observations and experiences.

Learning & Realisation Negative Sides

Knowledge can bring a sense of superiority over those who dont have it: doctors
for patients, professors for students, scientist for the general public
If our lives are strongly influenced by these two worlds:
We may find that we become arrogant and stubborn
We may become self-satisfied and think we know it all, and have no further
need to improve ourselves.
We may feel we have escaped the six lower worlds and are better than the
people in those worlds. At this point we begin to become gripped again by the
lower worlds.
Can lead to self-centredness and separation from others
In the Lotus Sutra people of Learning and Realization were taught they could
only enter the realm of Buddhahood only through faith, not through the intellect.

9. Bodhisattva
Its a technical term from Buddhist texts: Bodhi (enlightenment) and sattva
(beings) - aspired to achieve enlightenment
The meaning behind this term is caring for others.
Giving yourself to support and improve the lives of others
The immediate path out of the life states such as hell, hunger and anger is to find
some way to contribute to the lives of others

 Determined to enable all other beings to do the same

This brings us to a life state of Buddhahood

10. Buddhahood or Buddha

The highest state of life of which the human being is capable.
It can be difficult for us to believe that this life state can be attained by ordinary
people going about their ordinary daily lives.
It is a deeper and richer understanding of of our life as it already is - everything
that we already involved, even a suffering and struggling as well as happiness.
Find fulfilment in our daily activities and come to understand the purpose of
being alive
A condition in which we enjoy: the highest life force, wisdom, compassion,
courage, together with a good fortune

All the Ten Worlds are Necessary

Establishing Buddhahood as our basic life-tendency does not mean we rid
ourselves of the other nine worlds.
All 10 Worlds are integral and necessary aspects of life. Without experiencing the
sufferings of Hell ourselves, we could never feel true compassion for others.
Without the instinctive desires represented by Hunger and Animality, we would
forget to eat, sleep and reproduce ourselves, and soon become extinct.
Even if we establish Buddhahood as our fundamental life- tendency, we will still
continue to experience the joys and sorrows of the nine worlds.
However, they will not control us, and we will not define ourselves in terms of
them. Based on the life-tendency of Buddhahood, our nine worlds will be
harmonized and function to benefit both ourselves and those around us.

Taking Responsibility for Our Lives

Message: we can bring out the strength, the hope and the life force of our
Buddha nature challenge our situation and begin to turn it around.
It is taking responsibility for our life. We always have the choice of how to
respond.

 Like a weight lifter: we cannot develop the stronger muscles except by lifting
heavier weights. We cannot grow our strengths except by overcoming obstacles.
True happiness is not the absence of suffering. Happiness does not mean to have
a life free of difficulties but whatever difficulty arise we can bring out the
unshakable courage and conviction to fight and overcome it.

How Chanting Helps

We have our dominant state of life
Our life is made of decisions and actions based on these decisions Out state of
life influences what decisions we make
Chanting changes state of life
Hence, our decisions change and as a consequence, our actions
We make new causes, which produce new effects
We change our life, we change karma