'abodes of beings'.

In the sutta-texts (e.g. D.33; A.IX.24) 9 such abodes are mentioned:

"There are, o monks, 9 abodes of beings, namely:

1. There are beings who are different in body and different in perception, such as the human beings, some heavenly beings, and some beings living in the world of suffering (vinipātika).

2. 'There are beings who are different in body but equal in perception, such as the first-born gods of the Brahma-world (i.e. at the beginning of each new world-formation; s. deva II).

3. 'There are beings who are equal in body but different in perception, such as the Radiant Gods (ābhassara, s. deva II).

4. There are beings who are equal in body and equal in perception, such as the All-Illuminating Gods (subha-kinha; s. deva II).

5. There are beings without perception and feeling, such as the unconscious beings (asañña-satta).

6. There are beings who, through the complete overcoming of perceptions of matter (rūpa-sañña), the disappearance of perceptions of sense-reaction (patigha-sañña), and the non-attention to perceptions of variety thinking: 'Boundless is space', are reborn in the sphere of boundless space (s. deva III; jhāna 5).

7. There are beings who, through the complete overcoming of the sphere of boundless space, thinking: 'Boundless is consciousness', are reborn in the sphere of boundless consciousness (s. jhāna 6).

8. There are beings who, through the complete overcoming of the sphere of boundless consciousness, thinking: 'Nothing is there, are reborn in the sphere of nothingness (s. jhāna 7).

9. There are beings who, through the complete overcoming of the sphere of nothingness, are reborn in the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception (s. jhāna 8) (A.IX.24).

According to the Com. to A., the beings of the Pure Abodes (suddhāvāsa) are not mentioned here, for the reason that they exist only in those world-periods in which Buddhas appear. Cf. viññāna-tthiti.