Heaven

====Mahayana====
=====According to the Śūraṅgama Sūtra=====
====='''The Form Realm:''' The First Dhyana, the Second Dhyana, the Third Dhyana and the Fourth Dhyana.=====
*'''The Third Dhyana'''

:'''The Heaven of Pervasive Purity'''
::Those for whom the world, the body, and the mind are all perfectly pure have accomplished the virtue of purity, and a superior level emerges. They return to the bliss of still extinction, and they are among those in the Heaven of Pervasive Purity

:'''The Heaven of Limitless Purity'''
::Those in whom the emptiness of purity manifests are led to discover its boundlessness. Their bodies and minds experience light ease, and they accomplish the bliss of still extinction. They are among those in the Heaven of Limitless Purity.

:'''The Heaven of Lesser Purity'''
::The heavenly beings for whom the perfection of light has become sound and who further open out the sound to disclose its wonder discover a subtler level of practice. They penetrate to the bliss of still extinction and are among those in the Heaven of Lesser Purity.

*'''The Second Dhyana'''
:Those who flow to these levels will not be oppressed by worries or vexations. Although they have not developed proper samadhi, their minds are pure to the point that they have subdued their coarser outflows

:'''The Light-Sound Heaven'''
::Those who take in and hold the light to perfection accomplish the substance of the teaching. Creating and transforming the purity into endless responses and functions, they are among those in the Light-Sound Heaven.

:'''The Heaven of Limitless Light'''
::Those whose lights illumine each other in an endless dazzling blaze shine throughout the realms of the ten directions so that everything becomes like crystal. They are among those in the Heaven of Limitless Light.

:'''The Heaven of Lesser Light'''
::Those beyond the Brahma heavens gather in and govern the Brahma beings, for their Brahma conduct is perfect and fulfilled. Unmoving and with settled minds, they produce light in profound stillness, and they are among those in the Heaven of Lesser Light.

*'''The First Dhyana'''
:Those who flow to these levels will not be oppressed by any suffering or affliction. Although they have not developed proper samadhi, their minds are pure to the point that they are not moved by outflows.

:'''The Great Brahma Heaven'''
::Those whose bodies and minds are wonderfully perfect, and whose awesome deportment is not in the least deficient, are pure in the prohibitive precepts and have a thorough understanding of them as well. At all times these people can govern the Brahma multitudes as great Brahma lords, and they are among those in the Great Brahma Heaven.

:'''The Heaven of the Ministers of Brahma'''
::Those whose hearts of desire have already been cast aside, the mind apart from desire manifests. They have a fond regard for the rules of discipline and delight in being in accord with them. These people can practice the Brahma virtue at all times, and they are among those in the Heaven of the Ministers of Brahma.

:'''The Heaven of the Multitudes of Brahma'''
::Those in the world who cultivate their minds but do not avail themselves of dhyana and so have no wisdom, can only control their bodies so as to not engage in sexual desire. Whether walking or sitting, or in their thoughts, they are totally devoid of it. Since they do not give rise to defiling love, they do not remain in the realm of desire. These people can, in response to their thoughts, assume the bodies of Brahma beings. They are among those in the Heaven of the Multitudes of Brahma.

<div class="center" style="width: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">'''The Six Desire Heavens'''</div>
<div class="center" style="width: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">The cause for birth in the Six Desire Heavens are the [[ten virtuous actions]].</div>

'''The Heaven of the Comfort from Others’ Transformations'''
:Those who have no kind of worldly thoughts while doing what worldly people do, who are lucid and beyond such activity while involved in it, are capable at the end of their lives of entirely transcending states where transformations may be present and may be lacking. They are among those born in the Heaven of the Comfort from Others’ Transformations.

'''The Heaven of Bliss by Transformation'''
:Those who are devoid of desire, but who will engage in it for the sake of their partner, even though the flavor of doing so is like the flavor of chewing wax, are born at the end of their lives in a place of transcending transformations. They are among those born in the Heaven of Bliss by Transformation.

'''The Tushita Heaven'''
:Those who practice constant silence, but who are not yet able to control their impulses when stimulated by contact, ascend at the end of their lives to a subtle and ethereal place; they will not be drawn into the lower realms. The destruction of the realms of humans and gods and the obliteration of the kalpas by the three disasters will not reach them. They are among those born in the Tushita Heaven.

'''The Suyama Heaven'''
:Those who become temporarily involved when they meet with desire but who forget about it when it is finished. While in the human realm, one is less active and more quiet, abiding in light and emptiness where the illumination of sun and moon does not reach. By the end of their lives, these beings have their own light. They are among those born in the Suyama Heaven.

'''The Trayastrimsha Heaven'''
:Those whose sexual love for their wives is slight, but who have not yet obtained the entire flavor of dwelling in purity, transcend the light of the sun and moon at the end of their lives, and reside at the summit of the human realm. They are among those born in the Trayastrimsha Heaven.

'''The Heaven of the Four Kings '''
:Those with no interest in deviant sexual activity and develop a purity such that one produces light. When their life ends, they draw near to the sun and moon and are among those born in the Heaven of the Four Kings.

Ou Yi Zhixu<ref name="bookgb.bfnn.org">{{Cite web|url=https://bookgb.bfnn.org/books/0888.htm|title = 大佛顶如来密因修证了义诸菩萨万行首楞严经文句（文句卷第八）}}</ref> explains that the Shurangama sutra only emphasizes avoidance of deviant sexual desire, but one would naturally need to abide by the 10 good conducts to be born in these heavens.