Six Paths Technique

The is the origin of the unique techniques bestowed by the Rinnegan. In total there are seven of these abilities which grant the user powerful, and near god-like abilities namely: the Deva Path which allows one to control gravitational forces, Asura Path which grants the user mechanised limbs, weaponry, and armour, Human Path which gives the user abilities such as mind reading and soul removal, the Animal Path to summon creatures, Preta Path to absorb all forms of chakra-based ninjutsu, the Naraka Path through which to use the King of Hell and finally, the Outer Path which rules over life and death.

These were all originally abilities that were used by one person, but because Nagato was crippled early on in his lifetime, he would go on to create the Six Paths of Pain technique where he used corpses and channelled these abilities through one each.

Influences
Based upon the six Buddhist Paths of Reincarnation, each body was named after one of the different "Paths": Deva, Asura, Human, Animal, Preta, and Naraka. Each of these Paths, or realms, represents one of the realms a being is reborn into after death, determined by the accumulated karma of their past lives. While the two lower Paths, Preta and Naraka, are hellish, and the two higher Paths, Deva and Asura, are heavenly, all six are considered to be Paths of suffering because they perpetuate the cycle of Reincarnation; the only way to break it and ascend to a higher state of existence is to attain enlightenment.

Trivia

 * In Naruto Shippūden: Shinobi Rumble a technique called "Six Paths Technique" is used by Pain's Six Paths of Pain. In this variant, Pain generates a moderately sized sphere of debris overhead, then thrusts his arms downward, sending it crashing into the ground like a meteor. An enhanced, "Full Throttle" version of the technique called "Six Paths Technique: Collapse" (六道の術・崩壊, Rikudō no Jutsu: Hōkai) can also be performed.