Understanding Ascetic Practices and the Pursuit of Brahmā Realms : หน้า 81/263

The ascetics who subscribe to this dogma and who have developed a certain degree of meditation, may acquire the ability to recollect their previous lives and will know what form they had taken in previous lives. When passing away, the highest realm in which they can be reborn will be the Form-Brahmā world1. Ascetics subscribing to this dogma believe that Brahma is the Ultimate Truth. Thus, having taken human birth, they spend all their time trying to develop the absorptions in order to try to be born in the Brahmā world next time round. Such an attitude is driven by craving for the Brahmā world and the Lord Buddha enumerated it as one of the Noble Truths of the Origin of Suffering. 3. **Craving for the Formless Realms [vibhavatanhā]** Craving for the Formless Realms is the dogma of those who wish to be reborn in the formless Brahmā-world or the formless Realms2 [arūpabhāva]. Such people believe that being able to attain the formless Brahmā-world will allow them to escape eternally from rebirth in lower realms and that it will allow them to attain Nirvana. The ascetics who subscribe to this attitude, who have developed a certain degree of meditation, may acquire the ability to know what awaits them after death. The limits of the 1. The Form-Brahma world [rūpa- Brahma] bhava] which is the realm of Brahmas who have arisen as a result of their ability to develop the form-absorptions [rūpa-jhāna]. There are a total of sixteen realms within this sphere: 1. Brahmāpārīsajja; 2. Brahmapuṛhita; 3. Mahābrahmā; 4. Parittabhā; 5. Appamaṇabhā; 6. Abhassara; 7. Parittasubhā; 8. Appamaṇasubhā; 9. Subakhiṇha; 10. Asaṇṇisatta; 11. Vehapphāla; 12. Aviha; 13. Atappā; 14. Seusaddi; 15. Sudassi, and; 16. Akaniṭṭha. 2. The Formless-Brahma world [arūpa-(brahma) bhava] which is the realm of Brahmas who have arisen there as a result of their ability to develop the formless-absorptions [arūpa-jhāna]. There are a total of four realms within this sphere: 1. Ākāsaṇāñcāyatana (realm of the infinity of space); 2. Viññāṇañcāyatana (realm of the infinity of consciousness); 3. Ākiñcaññāyatana (realm of nothingness), and; 4. Neva saññāsaññāyatana (realm of neither perception nor non-perception)