November 2, 2007

Five Destinations For Rebirth



Recently, I was reading some dhamma books and I came across this one, 'Buddhism Course' by Mr. Chan Khoon San and I like to reproduce this chapter, in brief, for the benefit of my 'readers' to digest.



Hell is believed to exist below the earth's surface, e.g., the Iron Cauldron hell of hot molten metal mentioned in the Dhammapada Commentary, where the four rich lads had to suffer for committing adultery, is said to be situated below the earth's crust. The animal, ghost and human realms exist on the surface of the earth. These realms are not separate but the beings move about in their own worlds. The gods are believed to live above the earth and high up in the sky in celestial mansions that travel swiftly through the sky.



In Buddhism, beings are born in hell due to their accumulation of weighty bad kamma. There they undergo unlimited suffering that is hard to endure and dreadful, terrible and heart-rending. The Buddha said that suffering of one stabbed incessantly by 300 spears compared to the suffering in hell is like a small stone compared to the Himalayas. However, hell beings do not suffer eternally unlike what is taught in other religions. Upon the exhaustion of their evil kamma, beings may be reborn in good states as a result of their past good kamma.

,

The Buddha mentioned five destinations for rebirth. What are the five?



(1) Hell

(2) Animal realm

(3) Ghosts

(4) Human beings

(5) Gods



There are 8 MAJOR HELLS, namely :-



1) Revival Hell



Beings are cut into pieces and killed for many thousands of years and they revive there again and again to undergo this torture.



2) Black Thread Hell



Beings are split like wood with burning saws along a mark made by a black thread.



3) Crushing Hell



Beings are crushed to death over and over again by iron rollers.



4) Screaming Hell



Terrible screaming by beings constantly consumed by flames and smoke entering their bodies through the nine orifices.



5) Great Screaming Hell



Where the screams are greater because of the awfulness of the fire torture by being baked in a huge mass of fire.



6) Roasting Hell



Where beings are pierced with giant red hot skewers and roasted over a fire, firmly held and unable to move.



7) Extreme Roasting Hell



Where beings are forced by fiery weapons to climb up a burning mountain until they fall down only to be strung up again on fiery iron bars, firmly held and unable to move while being roasted.



8) Hell without Intermission



The lowest and greatest hell, a hundred yojanas (one yojana is about 8 miles) sq. encircled by an iron wall with iron roof above and incandescent floor of glowing iron. Here, beings are attacked by blazing fires that rush incessantly from one side and strike at the opposite side. The heat is so terrible that it is said that even the bones melt there. There is no intermission of suffering here.



and 5 MINOR HELLS;



Each great hell is surrounded on each of its four sides by 5 minor helss bringing the total number of hells to 8 + 8 x 4 x 5 = 168. The terrible sufferings of beings in these minor hells are described in the Devadutta Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya. Yet in all cases, the beings do not die but undergo the torture repeatedly so long as the evil kamma has not yet exhausted its results. The minor hells are :-



1) Excrement Pit Hell, where beings are pierced by a horrible horde of worms.



2) Hot Embers Hell, where beings are cooked like mustard seeds.



3) Forest of Simbali Trees, bristling with long, sharp, burning, blazing thorns which pierce and tear the flesh of beings who are forced to climb up and down those trees.



4) Forest of Sword-leaf Trees, whose razor-sharp leaves, stirred by the wind, cut off the hands and feet, ears and noses of beings who enter it.



5) Terrible river Vetarani whose running water is caustic. Beings fall into it are swept upstream and downstream constantly being attacked by the caustic water. Next the being is pulled out with hooks and his mouth prised opened with red-hot tongs. He is fed with a red-hot iron ball that burns his lips, mouth, throat, stomach and it passes out below carrying with it his large and small intestines. To quench his thirst, molten copper is poured into his mouth that burns his lips, mouth, throat, stomach and it passes out below carrying with it his large and small intestines.



Huh... there you are ... this is no joke ...



Please come back with your comments whether you want me to describe the animal and ghosts realms ... ok....



Gotta run for now....