rūpa-dhātu

(Sanskrit; Pāli). The Form Realm, being the second of the Three Realms in Buddhist cosmology and meditation theory. The Form Realm comprises seventeen heavens, subdivided into four groups which parallel the four levels of trance (dhyāna), where the faculties of smell and taste, sexual organs, physical suffering, and certain unwholesome mental factors are absent. The highest of these heavens is Akaniṣṭha. These states can also be reached through meditation, hence their association with the four trances (dhyāna).