Japanese

Noun

六道 ‎(hiragana りくどう, romaji rikudō)

1. Alternate reading for 六道 (ろくどう, rokudō).

六道 ‎(hiragana ろくどう, romaji rokudō)

1. (Buddhism) The six planes, realms, or domains of existence into which souls are reborn in the cycle of samsara:
   1. 地獄道 (じごくどう, jigokudō): ****
   2. 餓鬼道 (がきどう, gakidō): life in starvation (one of the Buddhist hells)
   3. 畜生道 (ちくしょうどう, chikushōdō): life as a beast
   4. 人間道 (にんげんどう, ningendō) / 人道 (にんどう, nindō): life as a human
   5. 阿修羅道 (あしゅらどう, ashuradō): life as a demigod
   6. 天上 (てんじょう, tenjō): heaven

• Note that the Theravada Buddhist tradition only recognizes five planes of existence, as Theravada does not distinguish between the ashura and heaven planes.

See also

• Desire realm on Wikipedia.Wikipedia (containing these six planes)
• Buddhism on Wikipedia.Wikipedia