'abodes or supports of consciousness'. The texts describe 7 such abodes (e.g. A.VII.41):

• (1) "There are beings who are different in body and different in perception, such as men, some heavenly beings, and some beings living in states of suffering (s. apāya). This is the 1st abode of consciousness.

• (2) "There are beings who are different in body but equal in perception, such as the first-born gods of the Brahmaworld (s. deva II). This is the 2nd abode of consciousness.

• (3) "There are beings who are equal in body but different in perception, such as the Radiant Gods (ābhassara-deva). This is the 3rd abode of consciousness.

• (4) ''There are beings who are equal in body and equal in perception, such as the All-illuminating Gods (subhakinha-deva). This is the 4th abode of consciousness.

• (5) "There are beings ... reborn in the sphere of boundless space. This is the 5th abode of consciousness.

• (6) "There are beings ... reborn in the sphere of boundless consciousness. This is the 6th abode of consciousness.

• (7) There are beings... reborn in the sphere of nothingness. This is the 7th abode of consciousness"

About the 3 last-named spheres, s. jhāna (5-7). Cf. sattāvāsa.

In D.33 there are mentioned 4 viññāna-tthiti, apparently in the sense of 'bases' of consciousness, namely: materiality, feeling, perception, mental constructions, which in S. XXII, 53 are further explained.