Thirty-six abodes of the desire realm

The thirty-six abodes where sentient beings live in the desire realm are:

• the six heavens of the gods in the desire realm
• the twelve abodes of human beings
• the abodes of animals
• the abode of pretas
• the sixteen hells.

We count thirty-seven abodes when the demi-gods are classified separately. Some powerful nagas are also included within the gods, while the other are animals.

For the location of these abodes according to the Abhidharma literature, see Six classes of beings.