Brahmaloka

Brahmaloka (T. tshangs pa'i 'jig rten ཚངས་པའི་འཇིག་རྟེན་; C. fanjie), literally "Brahma worlds," is used in two senses:

• in the narrow sense, it refers to a first division of the form realm (rūpadhātu), which consists of three sub-realms
• in a general sense, the term is also sometimes used to refer to all of the sub-realms of both the form realm (rūpadhātu) and the formless realms (arūpadhātu)

In the narrow sense of brahmaloka as the first division of the form realm, this division has three sub-realms:

• Great Brahma (Mahābrahmaṇa)
• Ministers of Brahma (Brahmapurohita)
• Attendants of Brahma (Brahmakāyika)

The beings in the "Brahma worlds" are said to live in the state of the bliss of the first meditative absorption (dhyana). The ruler of these three realms is referred to either as Brahmā or Mahābrahmā, and he mistakenly believes himself to be the creator of the universe.