three worlds　三界 Refers to the three forms of life within unenlightened, samsaric existence, consisting of the realm of desire (kāma), form (rūpa), and formless (ārūpa), each with its upper, middle, and lower regions. The world of desire consists of sentient beings driven by insatiable appetites and greed, and contains the five or six evil courses. The world of form is beyond that of desire, a world of pure form inhabited by beings free of all blind passions. The world of the formless is the highest realm of the spirit, transcending all material existence and attachments to them.