Heaven of Freely Enjoying Things Conjured by Others
Heaven of Freely Enjoying Things Conjured by Others
[他化自在天] (Skt Paranirmita-vasha-vartin; Jpn Takejizai-ten)
Also, sixth heaven. In ancient Indian cosmology, the sixth and highest of the six heavens in the world of desire. Its dwellers make free use of things conjured by others for their own pleasure, hence the name of this heaven. Their life span is sixteen thousand years, one day of which is equal to sixteen hundred human years. Their life span is therefore equal to about 9.3 billion human years. The Heaven of Freely Enjoying Things Conjured by Others is the abode of the devil king, called Mara in Sanskrit, and therefore it is known as the Heaven of Mara or the Heaven of the Devil. The devil king abiding in this sixth heaven at the top of the world of desire is often referred to as the devil king of the sixth heaven. He is said to harass practitioners of Buddhism himself or through his subordinates to dissuade them from practice and prevent their attaining Buddhahood. See also devil king of the sixth heaven.
