traidhātuka[tedhātuka] the triple universe, division of the world into three parts in accordance with their properties. The divisions are the sensuous world (kāmadhātu), the world of forms (rūpadhātu), and the formless world (ārūpyadhātu) [āruppadhātu]. In the first division the living beings are dictated by their desires. In the second they have a physical form but they are free from desire. In the third division neither desire nor a physical form exists. Only a state of consciousness exists, and nothing else exists.

Buddhānusmṛti - A Glossary of Buddhist Terms