（dha^tu）. "world，" "realm." （1） Boundary， environment， realm. For example， the 'three realms' of desire， form and formlessness. （2） World. （3） The essential nature of the individual existence of things， as for example in the term fajie 法界. Essence， substance， original nature. The aspect of things as inherent， inborn from previous lifetimes， as opposed to conditioning from the present lifetime. （4） That which supports or sustains. Principle. （5） Discrimination; that which discriminates this and that， giving order in place of confusion. （6） Category， class， species; delimitation， division， kind， type. （7） Element. The compositional elements of human existence， or of perception. （8） The 18 realms 十八界， that is the 18 compositional elements of human existence: the six faculties， the six objects and the six cognitive functions. （9） The compositional elements of the universe: earth， air， water， fire， wind and consciousness. （10） 'Seeds.' In both Huayan and Consciousness-only theory， the seeds in the a^laya-vijn~a^na are sometimes called 界， meaning 'element' or 'cause.' ［瑜伽论T 1579.30.478c］