Human beings in

Buddhism

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Humans in Buddhism (Sanskrit manuṣya,

Pali manussa) are the subjects of an
extensive commentarial literature that
examines the nature and qualities of a
human life from the point of view of
humans' ability to achieve enlightenment.
In Buddhism, humans are just one type of
sentient being, that is a being with a
mindstream. In Sanskrit Manushya means
an Animal with a mind. In Sanskrit the word
Manusmriti associated with Manushya
was used to describe knowledge through
memory. The word Muun or Maan means
mind. Mind is collection of past experience
with an ability of memory or smriti. Mind is
considered as an animal with a disease
that departs a soul from its universal
enlightened infinitesimal behavior to the
finite miserable fearful behavior that
fluctuates between the state of heaven
and hell before it is extinguished back to
its infinitesimal behavior.

In Buddhism, humans have a very special

status: only a human can attain
enlightenment as a fully enlightened
Buddha. Enlightenment as an arhat can be
attained from the realms of the
Śuddhāvāsa deities. A bodhisattva can
appear in many different types of lives, for
instance as an animal or as a deva.
Buddhas, however, are always human.[1]

Qualities of human life

The status of life as a human, at first is
seen as very important. In the hierarchy of
Buddhist cosmology it is low but not
entirely at the bottom. It is not intrinsically
marked by extremes of happiness or
suffering, but all the states of
consciousness in the universe, from hellish
suffering to divine joy to serene tranquility
can be experienced within the human
world.

Humans can be seen as highly favored, in

that they have an immediate reason to
seek out the Dharma and yet also have the
means to listen to it and follow it. Among
the lower realms, Pretas (aka hungry
ghosts), and dwellers in the Narakas
(Buddhist hell(s)) are gripped by pain and
fear, and can only endure their lot but
cannot better themselves. Animals are
intellectually unable to understand the
Dharma in full. The way of life of the
Asuras is dominated by violence and
antithetical to the teachings of the
Dharma. Most of the Brahmas and Devas
simply enjoy reaping the fruits of their past
actions and think that they are immortal
and forever to be happy and so they don't
try to practice the Dharma. When their past
karmas have all had their result, these
devas will fall into lower worlds and suffer
again. The lowest sorts of devas deal with
strife, love, and loss just as humans do,
but even so they lack the spur of imminent
mortality that can lead humans to seek,
not merely a better future life, but an
escape from saṃsāra altogether. However,
there are stories of beings in these realms
deciding to practice and reaching
enlightenment.[2][3]

For this reason, life in the world of humans

is known as "the precious human rebirth".
Born close to the pivot point of happiness
and suffering, humans have a unique
capacity for moral choices with long-term
significance.[4]

The human rebirth is said to be extremely

rare. The Majjhima Nikaya (129
Balapandita Sutta) compares it to a
wooden cattle-yoke floating on the waves
of the sea, tossed this way and that by the
winds and currents. The likelihood of a
blind turtle, rising from the depths of the
ocean to the surface once in a hundred
years, putting its head through the hole in
the yoke is considered greater than that of
a being in the animal realm, hungry ghost
realm or hell realm achieving rebirth as a
human. This is because, according to the
sutta, in these realms there is no Dhamma
(Sanskrit Dharma), no practicing what is
right, no doing what is wholesome, and no
performing of merit. However it is
generally implied that if one is already
living as a human they will continue to be
reborn in the human world based on good
works and so they will be one again and
again as long as they are moral and good
in the ways described in Buddhist rules
regardless of whether or not they are
Buddhist themselves. The idea is that one
must be good and moral because falling
below the human realm is dangerous as
the odds of one becoming a human again
with any great frequency is slim.[5]

Among humans there are also better and

worse conditions for attaining
enlightenment. Besides being born as a
human, the favorable conditions for
obtaining enlightenment are:

Being born a human at a time when a

Buddha has arisen, has taught the
Dharma, and has left a Saṅgha that
carries on the teachings; at such times
there is a chance to learn the Dharma.
Being born a human in countries where
the Dharma is known. Buddhist
commentaries contrast the "central
lands" where Buddhism is known and
can be practiced (originally just northern
India, but now including a much larger
portion of the globe) with "border
countries" where Buddhism is unknown
or cannot be practiced due to legal or
practical impediments, for instance, a
lack of qualified teachers. Technically a
"central land" is one which possesses
any one of the Buddhist saṅghas of
bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas or
upāsikās.
Being born a human who has the
physical and intellectual capacity to
grasp the basic message of the Dharma.
Accepting the relationship between
good or evil actions and their
consequences, believing that good
actions will lead to a happier life, a
better rebirth or to enlightenment.
Confidence in the moral teachings
conveyed in the Vinaya.
Avoiding crimes against people and
against the Dharma.
Having sincere compassion for other
people.[6]
Just as it is difficult to obtain birth as a
human, it is also difficult to be born at the
time when a Buddha's teaching is still
available. Out of the infinite kalpas
(incredibly long periods) in time, most have
no Buddhas appearing in them at all. The
present kalpa is called "Fortunate"
because it is said that 1,000 Buddhas will
appear in it, something that is very
unusual.[7]

For this reason, Buddhist teachers say that

one's present condition as a human should
be valued very highly, and not allowed to
slide by, as the combination of existence
as a human and the presence of a
Buddha's teaching may not come again for
a very long time. Any human, in this view,
who finds himself or herself in a position
to learn the Dharma, would be remiss if he
or she did not take advantage of it. This
view also stands in contrast to those who
would claim that, if one is to be reborn
multiple times, there is no need to worry
about one's actions in this life as they can
always be amended in the future; rather,
there is no assurance that in a long series
of lives one will ever obtain the right
circumstances for enlightenment, so it is
important to seize the day.
With regard to a fortunate human life,
Pabongkhapa Déchen Nyingpo said:
"Instead of feeling so much regret when
we lose our money, we should develop
regret when we waste our human life." [8]

Myth of human origins

According to the Aggañña Sutta (DN.27),
humans originated at the beginning of the
current kalpa as deva-like beings reborn
from the Ābhāsvara deva-realm. They were
then beings shining in their own light,
capable of moving through the air without
mechanical aid, living for a very long time,
and not requiring sustenance.

Over time, they acquired a taste for

physical nutriment, and as they consumed
it, their bodies became heavier and more
like human bodies; they lost their ability to
shine, and began to acquire differences in
their appearance. Their length of life
decreased, they differentiated into two
sexes and became sexually active.
Following this, greed, theft and violence
arose among them, and they consequently
established social distinctions and
government and elected a king to rule
them, called Mahāsammata, "the great
appointed one". Some of the kings of India
in the Buddha's day claimed descent from
him.

Nature of the human realm

In the visionary picture of the human realm
presented in Buddhist cosmology, humans
live on four continents which are, relatively
speaking, small islands in a vast ocean
that surrounds the axial world-mountain of
Sumeru, and fills most of the Earth's
surface. The ocean is in turn surrounded
by a circular mountain wall called
Cakravāḍa (Sanskrit) or Cakkavāḷa (Pāli)
which marks the horizontal limit of the
earth. Because of the immenseness of the
ocean, the continents cannot be reached
from each other by ordinary sailing
vessels, although in the past, when the
cakravartin kings ruled, communication
between the continents was possible by
means of the treasure called the
cakraratna (Pāli cakkaratana), which a
cakravartin and his retinue could use to fly
through the air between the continents.

The four continents are:

 Jambudvīpa (Sanskrit) or Jambudīpa
(Pāli) or 南阎浮提洲 (阎浮提 is also
translated as 赡部 in Chinese) is located
in the south.
Pūrvavideha or Pubbavideha or 东毗提
诃洲 (毗提诃 is also translated as 胜身)
is located in the east.
Aparagodānīya or Aparagoyāna or 西瞿
陀尼洲 (瞿陀尼 is also translated as 牛
货) is located in the west.
Uttarakuru or 北俱卢洲 is located in the
north.

Notes
 1. JOL 14
2. Pali Canon (Samyutta Nikaya, Digha
Nikaya, Majjhima Nikaya, Anguttara
Nikaya, Kuddaka NIkaya)
3. JOL:14-15, BOTV:63
4. JOL:18
5. Majjhima Nikaya 129
6. JOL:15-16, BOTV:59-61
7. BOTV:61
8. Joyful Path of Good Fortune , by
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Page 133

Further reading
 Bhikkhu, Thanissaro. "Chiggala Sutta:
The Hole." Access to Insight, n.d. Web.
Bodhi, Ven. Bhikkhu. "A Buddhist
Response to Contemporary Dilemmas of
Human Existence." Access to Insight, n.d.
Web.

Sources
sGam.po.pa, The Jewel Ornament of
Liberation, Chapter 2, translated by H.V.
Guenther. JOL
Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrub, The
Beautiful Ornament of the Three Visions,
 translated by Lobsang Dagpa and Jay
Goldberg, Section A2. BOTV
G.P. Malalasekara, Dictionary of Pāli
Proper Names
Thus Have I Heard: The Long Discourse
of the Buddha, translated by Maurice
Walshe. DN

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