Buddha indicated that there were three worlds: kama dhatu, rupa dhatu and arupya (arupa) dhatu. The region of nirvana exists above these three worlds. In his lecture of September 30, 1905, Rudolf Steiner spoke about seven regions of the universe, viz. physical world, astral world, devachan, buddhi sphere, nirvana sphere, parinirvana sphere and mahaparinirvana sphere. (Pari means perfect, maha great) (10).
Kama dhatu, the world of desire, contains hell, the region of hunger and greediness, the animal world, the Asura world, the human world and six heavens (11). Rupa dhatu, the world of spiritual forms, has seventeen or eighteen heavenly regions and arupya (arupa) dhatu, the formless spiritual world, has four regions.
The physical world was a part of kama dhatu for the Buddhists. Theosophists distinguished the physical world from kama loka or the astral world, and they designated rupa dahtu and arupya (arupa) dhatu as devachan or divine region. (Loka and dhatu have the same meaning “place".)
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Nirvana does not mean disappearance into Nothingness. Buddha said that vibhava tanha, the longing for nonexistence, was “a bad desire". The region of Nothingness is the third region of arupya (arupa) dhatu, and the Nirvana sphere is more exalted than it. Steiner, in his lecture of October 11, 1905, called the deed of man who was free from karma, deed from Nirvana (12).
Beckh understood the Buddha's Nirvana in the following way: the Buddha in his later years informed his disciple that He was to unite with the destiny and future of the earth. But his disciple could not understand Buddha's meaning. Thus Buddha had to advance alone to the world of Nirvana. However, Buddha did not disappear into Nirvana. Moreover, five hundred years from Buddha's experience of Nirvana, Buddhism had changed and the new stream of Buddhists: Mahayana Buddhists, saw the spiritual activity of Buddha in higher worlds. The path of salvation of the earth, the path of uniting oneself with the destiny of the earth, arose in Buddhism instead of the path of personal salvation. (Buddha's Death in Die Drei, March 1926 which was also contained in From the World of Mysteries, 1927)
Kama dhatu, the world of desire, contains hell, the region of hunger and greediness, the animal world, the Asura world, the human world and six heavens (11). Rupa dhatu, the world of spiritual forms, has seventeen or eighteen heavenly regions and arupya (arupa) dhatu, the formless spiritual world, has four regions.
The physical world was a part of kama dhatu for the Buddhists. Theosophists distinguished the physical world from kama loka or the astral world, and they designated rupa dahtu and arupya (arupa) dhatu as devachan or divine region. (Loka and dhatu have the same meaning “place".)
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Nirvana does not mean disappearance into Nothingness. Buddha said that vibhava tanha, the longing for nonexistence, was “a bad desire". The region of Nothingness is the third region of arupya (arupa) dhatu, and the Nirvana sphere is more exalted than it. Steiner, in his lecture of October 11, 1905, called the deed of man who was free from karma, deed from Nirvana (12).
Beckh understood the Buddha's Nirvana in the following way: the Buddha in his later years informed his disciple that He was to unite with the destiny and future of the earth. But his disciple could not understand Buddha's meaning. Thus Buddha had to advance alone to the world of Nirvana. However, Buddha did not disappear into Nirvana. Moreover, five hundred years from Buddha's experience of Nirvana, Buddhism had changed and the new stream of Buddhists: Mahayana Buddhists, saw the spiritual activity of Buddha in higher worlds. The path of salvation of the earth, the path of uniting oneself with the destiny of the earth, arose in Buddhism instead of the path of personal salvation. (Buddha's Death in Die Drei, March 1926 which was also contained in From the World of Mysteries, 1927)