Discourse on the Pitṛputra Samāgama Sutra (179)

What is meant by "ordinary being"?

A living being in the present moment, upon the end of this lifespan, will be reborn in another place in the next period of time, taking birth in the realm corresponding to its habitual tendencies and karma. A change in time, place, and physical form is termed "different." After death, beings often experience changes in body, time, identity, location, and living space. Hungry ghosts have their own space, asuras have their own space, hell beings have their own space, and heavenly beings have their own space. Animals coexist with humans on the surface of the Earth, yet their living environment still differs. When the living environment changes, and one transforms into a different life form, becoming another kind of living being, this is called "ordinary being."