Lower realms

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Lower realms refers to the unfortunate rebirth destinies (durgati) within Buddhist cosmology.

Buddhist cosmology typically speaks of six rebirth destinies, of which:

  • two or three are considered fortunate rebirth destinies, a.k.a "higher realms" and
  • three or four are considered unfortunate rebirth destinies, a.k.a "lower realms."

The "higher realms" (fortunate rebirth destinies) are:

The "lower realms" are: