Ven. Acariya Mun - Spiritual Biography + photos

The terms ‘going up’ and ‘going down’ are relative, conven-
tional figures of speech, referring to the behavior of gross physi-
cal bodies. They have very little in common with the behavior of
the citta, which is something so subtle that it is beyond tempo-
ral comparison. In terms of the physical body, going up and going
down require a degree of earnest effort, but in terms of the citta,
they are merely figures of speech with no degree of effort involved.
When we say that the heavens, the brahma realms, and Nibbãna
are progressively ‘higher’ and more refined levels of existence or
that the realms of hell consist of progressively ‘lower’ levels of
existence, we are in fact using a physical, material standard to
measure that which exists in a spiritual, psychic dimension. We
might say that hell and heaven, which are considered to be lower
and higher respectively, are in some respects analogous to hard-
ened criminals and petty offenders who live together in the same
prison, which itself is located in a community of law-abiding cit-
izens. There’s no distinction in kind between the two types of
prisoners because they all live together in the same prison. And
there’s no distinction in kind between them and law-abiding cit-
izens because they are all human beings living on the same land
in the same country. What distinguishes them is the fact that
they’ve been kept separated.
At least the prison inmates and the general public can use
their normal sense faculties to be aware of each other. But beings
in the different spheres of existence are unaware of each other.
Those living in the hell realms are unable to perceive those who
are in the heavenly realms; and vice versa. Both groups are unable
to perceive the brahma world. And human beings, in turn, are
unaware of all who are in these different realms of existence. Even