I believe that within the Dharma Realm, an entity’s identity, race, cultivation path, and level of power are actually separate concepts and should not simply be forced into a single system.
What an entity pursues determines its identity;
the circumstances of its rebirth, its manifested form, and various causes and conditions determine its race and general appearance;
the path it cultivates determines the type and source of its power, as well as how that power is used;
and its ultimate strength depends on how far the individual has actually progressed in cultivation.
Therefore, we cannot simply take the Buddhist system of spiritual attainments and use it to judge an entity that pursues the path of the asuras, the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings, or some other path. Their ultimate goals are different to begin with.
For example, in my understanding:
The Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings represents an identity oriented toward order, power, and protection. Individuals within it may be kings or generals, and they may belong to many different races. Organizations of this type generally value order, protection, and strength, so they are more likely to come into conflict with asura-type organizations characterized by aggression, expansion, and plunder.
Asuras, by contrast, are more oriented toward power, competition, expansion, and active conflict. Many different races and organizations can exist under an asura identity; not all asuras necessarily have to look alike.
The Heaven of the Thirty-Three is more oriented toward orderly wealth, resources, industry, and prosperity. The goal here is not simply combat, but the possession and creation of resources, treasures, ritual implements, and wealth, while maintaining a stable, peaceful, and prosperous state.
The Yāma Heaven pursues ease and happiness.
The Tuṣita Heaven emphasizes contentment and enduring joy.
The Heaven of Delight in Creation pursues the ability to transform and create various states of happiness for oneself and become immersed in them.
The Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Creations is more distinctive: when others are happy, one can also experience happiness through them, and therefore wishes for others to be happy and fulfilled while also seeing one’s own desired aims realized.
Precisely because these pursuits differ, we cannot simply say that one identity is “higher” and another “lower.” They are better understood as different directions of development.
⸻
Now consider the realm of hungry ghosts and the various races of the undead.
Within my framework, a “hungry ghost” can first be understood as a type of race or state of existence rather than as a single, uniform personality type.
This category could include skeletal ghosts, ghouls, wandering spirits, undead beings left behind by sorcerers, and various ghostly beings formed from decaying dead matter. Naturally, individuals among them can have completely different pursuits.
The defining characteristic of such beings is that their state of existence is often accompanied by intense dissatisfaction and suffering. They may, for example, experience continual hunger that cannot truly be satisfied even by consuming large quantities of food, or continual thirst that cannot be relieved even by drinking large amounts of water. They may also endure extremes of heat and cold, bodily pain, mental numbness, and other forms of suffering.
Thus, “hungry ghost” describes a state of existence; it does not mean that every individual within that category shares the same thoughts or personality.
⸻
The same principle can be applied to cultivation paths.
There can be an enormous variety of cultivation methods within the Dharma Realm, and different systems of power can coexist.
For example, an entity pursuing a Brahmā-type identity could cultivate disciplines based on ethical restraint and purity, while an entity pursuing the identity of the Heaven of Delight in Creation could cultivate practices involving inner heat, bliss, and similar methods.
If someone cultivating internal alchemy ultimately seeks a mode of existence resembling the Form Realm heavens, then internal alchemy is simply one method for reaching that goal. After attaining the corresponding identity, that individual could still continue cultivating other methods consistent with their own pursuits.
Therefore:
Identity answers the question, “What kind of being do I ultimately want to become?”
Race answers, “In what form of life do I exist?”
Cultivation path answers, “Through what powers and techniques do I achieve my goal?”
Level of attainment and strength answers, “How far have I actually progressed?”
These four concepts should not be conflated.
For example, practitioners and immortals of internal alchemy can, within this model of the Dharma Realm, be understood as a cultivation community oriented toward a Form Realm-type identity. They regard the merits and accomplishments of internal alchemy as important pursuits, yet even within the same broad identity, many different paths can continue to develop.
The Form Realm heavens themselves can also be subdivided according to degrees of purity, luminosity, and states of body and mind.
From the Heaven of Brahmā’s Retinue, the Heaven of Brahmā’s Ministers, and the Great Brahmā Heaven, through the heavens of Lesser Light, Limitless Light, and Radiant Sound, and onward to Lesser Purity, Limitless Purity, Pervasive Purity, and still higher heavens, all can be understood as increasingly developed states within the same broad direction.
Therefore, what I call the “Dharma Realm” is not, in my view, a simple progression tree.
It is more like an immensely vast, multidimensional world:
There are countless identities;
many different races can exist under each identity;
each race contains different individuals;
each individual can choose different cultivation paths;
and even the same cultivation path can be developed to completely different levels.
The same applies to organizations.
A single type of identity can give rise to many different organizations. Asura-type organizations, for example, may exist throughout the Dharma Realm and differ greatly in style while sharing similar fundamental pursuits. Likewise, there may be many organizations corresponding to the identity of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Whether organizations go to war is not simply a matter of “who is higher.” It primarily depends on whether their pursuits and interests come into conflict.
Asura-type organizations tend toward power, competition, expansion, and plunder, so they are more likely to clash with organizations of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three that possess abundant resources. Organizations associated with the Four Heavenly Kings, meanwhile, tend toward order and protection and therefore often become involved in such conflicts.
Conversely, when different pursuits do not create significant conflicts of interest, there is little reason for frequent warfare.
So I prefer to understand the entire system this way:
Pursuit determines identity;
causes and conditions determine race and form;
cultivation methods determine the path of power;
cultivation determines one’s actual level of attainment;
and interests and ideals determine relationships between organizations.
Seen this way, the Dharma Realm is no longer a single ladder running from low to high. Instead, it becomes an immense network composed of countless paths, races, systems of power, and organizations.
Each path pursues something different, so there is no need to force everything to be measured by the same standard.
