Six paths (Buddhism)

The first six of the ten worlds described in Nichiren Soshu Buddhism, these are not achieved by inner effort but are rather the spontaneous result of external factors. Ranging from hell to heaven, the individual dominated by them is trapped by the demands of his desires, slipping easily from one to the other. They are not the entirety of life, however. Looking beyond day-to-day exigencies one enters on the four noble paths and starts to develop true potential.