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| Hell |
These are realms of unimaginable suffering and anguish (Majjhima Nikaya.129-130).Beings in the hell experience uninterruptedly the most intense suffering. In hell, there are different degrees of punishment depending on the degree and severity of the unwholesome deeds committed by its denizens in the previous birth. It is therefore stated that there are eight kinds of major hells: “Sañjīva, Kāḷasutta, Saṅghata, Roruva, Mahāroruva, Tāpana, Mahātāpana and Avīci”.8 These hells provide different kinds of torments depending on what sort of evil deeds one had committed.
(1) Sañjīva is the Hell in which the sinners experience repeated attacks. The sinners in this Hell are cut into pieces, but they are reborn again and again to be tortured till the evil results of bad kamma are expunged. In this Hell, they suffer the dreadful agony repeatedly. (2) Kāḷasutta is the Hell in which the sinners are chased by the wardens; when they are caught, the wardens mark their bodies with measuring tapes, and then they hack their bodies according to the line-marks. The sinners experience such torments in this Hell till their unwholesome kamma finishes. (3)
Saṅghata is the Hell in which the sinners are put waist-deep into burning iron sheets and they are crushed by big iron rollers coming from four directions, back and forth. In this Hell, they get such agonies repeatedly till their unwholesome kammas end. (4)
Roruva is the Hell in which the sinners are screaming because they are furiously burnt by Hell fires through the nine doors of their bodies.9 While running around on burning ground, they wail loudly and suffer the intense agony. (5) Mahāroruva is the Hell in which the sinners suffer from Hell-smoke. The whole Hell is completely engulfed in very thick smoke. In this Hell, the sinners suffer the intense agonies as described in Roruva until their unwholesome kammas are not exhausted. (6) Tāpana is the Hell in which the sinners are pierced with the burning red hot iron stakes the size of a palm tree. They are scorched and incinerated by the heat. In this Hell, they suffer the intense agonies as long as their unwholesome kammas take effect. (7) Mahātāpana is the Hell in which the sinners are driven up to the top of a burning iron Hill, and then from there,a vigorous storm causes them to fall onto iron stakes set up at the foot of the hill. In this Hell, they are incinerated until their unwholesome kammas cease. (8) Avīci is the Hell with no space to spare. In this Hell, the sinners are continuously tortured.
Hell fires are intensely burning all over the Hell. The sinners are so crowded in this Hell that there could be no space in-between them, like the mustard seeds in a bamboo cylinder. In this Hell, the sinners suffer the intense agonies without interruption until the consequences of their unwholesome kamma are over.10 It is stated in the Devadūta Sutta that each of the four sides of the major hell are surrounded by five minor hells: “the excreta Hell, Hot Ashes Hell, Simbali Forest Hell, Sword-Leaf Hell, and the Huge Salt Water River Hell”.11 Thus the hell has 168 varieties in total. In this sutta, there are more detailed explanations of the intense suffering of hells.
That all great hells are said to be located farther downwards respectively from the human world, the Sañjīva being the nearest and the Avīci is the farthest or the lowest. The hell-beings may undergo the severest punishments, but they will retain their lives as long as the power of their evil kamma lasts.Apart from the eight great hells, the Paramatthajotikā mentions also five small hells called ussadaniraya. The Pali term ussada literally means “plenty” or”abundance”. It is explained that suffering is abundant in these small hells. They are therefore called ussada. The ussada-niraya surround each great hell in four directions.The Devadūta Sutta2 describes the great hell as being square in shape encircled by an iron wall and covered by an iron roof; the floor is made of glowing iron of a hundred leagues square; there are four big gates in four directions. Next to each gate in each direction are situated in respective order the five small hells or ussada-niraya. The five small purgatories are: (1) Gūtha-niraya or the Filth Hell, (2) Kukkuḷa-niraya or the Ember Hell, (3) Simpalīvana-niraya or the Silk-cotton-tree Hell, (4) Asipattavana-niraya or the Sword-leafed-forest Hell; and (5) Vettaranī-niraya or the Caustic River Hell.
Thus one great hell is surrounded in four directions by twenty small hells. Counted together the total number of hells becomes 168, i.e., eight great hells and 160 small hells. But since each great hell issurrounded by five varieties of small hells, the same kinds of hells in the four directions may be counted as one and thus one great hell has only five surrounding small hells. In this way the total number is 48—eight great hells and 40 small hells.The ruler of the great hell is called yama (determiner) or yamarāja (determiner-king).3 But there is not only one yamarāja for one great hell; there are actually four yamarājas who are in charge of the four gates. Thus for eight great hells there are altogether thirty-two yamarājas. Apart from these yamarājas, there are a number of hell-guardians called niraya-pāla. The duty of the yamarāja is to consider the case of each hell-being and give orders for punishment; the hell-guardian’s duty is to inflict the penalties typical of each hell on the hell-beings. Yamarāja and niraya-pāla are actually not hell-beings, but belong to the heaven of the Four Great Kings or Cātumahārājika. They are described as vemānikapeta, the beings that sometimes enjoy the fruitions of their meritorious kamma in heaven.
The Hell-wardens torture the sinner with five-fold bindings; two palms, two feet,and chest are driven through with hot iron spikes. Instead of dying, the sinner experiences such intense suffering as long as their unwholesome kamma continues to take effect. He is put upside down and cut with adzes. He is harnessed to a chariot and driven back and forth on the burning ground. He is driven up and down the burning hill. He is thrown upside down into a boiling and blazing pot. In this blazing pot, he is cooked with bubbles foaming; he goes up once; he goes down once, and goes across.Then he is thrown into the great Hell. “The great Hell has four square shape and four gates; it is surrounded by iron posts and roofed with iron. The floor is fully blazing and it stands always, spreading 100 yojanā all around”.
The flames coming from four walls of the great Hell strike each of the opposite walls of the great Hell. The flame coming from the bottom strikes the top. The flame coming from the top strikes the bottom. After a very long time, the eastern gate of the great Hell opens. The sinner runs there very quickly. While he is running there, his outer skin, inner skin, flesh, and tendons burn. Even his bones turn to smoke. When he finally arrives there, the door slams shut. In the same way, other doors open after some time and slam shut. He experiences the intense suffering as long as his unwholesome kamma is not exhausted.
Further Reading
- Unwholesome actions (MN 41; 129)
- Lack of virtue, holding to wrong views (AN10:177)
- Telling lies, not keeping word deceit, abuse of ascetic state, adultery, wrong views (Dhp chapter 22)
- Murdering parents or an arahant; injuring the Buddha; creating a schism in the Sangha (AN5:129)
Tiracchana Yoni .Animals
This is one of the woeful planes.This plane comprises all the non-human forms-of life: various types of animals, insects, birds, and fish, etc. It is stated in Buddhist cosmology that there is a distinct plane for animals, but the habitats of all animals are land, water, and air. It means that the animal plane is not separated from human plane by space but by state of mind. It is found that rebirth in the animal plane is not enjoyable because animal world is associated with many sufferings; they have no security of habitation. As there is no moral sense in this plane, they attack each other and they are eaten by other animals. For the whole lifespan, they have to live in fear of other animals. Though they adapt to nature, they experience extreme changes of the nature throughout the year.
The animal kingdom, unlike other realms, is in the same world as human beings. It is not difficult to see the reason why Buddhism regards animal birth as a state of life included in the plane of misery.First of all, there is no morality in the animal kingdom; animals live according to the wild law of nature. Among animals, the strongest is the survivor; the bigger eats the smaller. Danger to life is the
crucial problem for them; it may come at any moment from animals themselves as well as from human beings. They have to struggle hard for their survival, especially for food which is not always certain. Sometimes they have enough to eat, but sometimes they have to starve for many days.Moreover, they have to bear nakedly the hot and cold, the wet and dry seasons of the year without
proper protection. With all these difficulties, animal life, although it is not as much suffering as that of the beings in hell, is rationally included as one of the miserable existences.
Peta loka - Hungry ghosts.
The Hungry ghosts or unhappy ghosts (peta).” It is a realm included in the plane of misery according to Buddhism. It is said that there is no particular place for the petas to live; they live in the same world as human beings, such as in forests, on mountains, on islands, in cemeteries,etc. However, since they belong to a different realm of existence they are, therefore, invisible to human eyes. They may be seen only when they want themselves to be seen by human beings.
Another means of seeing the petas is by clairvoyance (dibbacakkhu) developed by meditation.In this plane, Hungry Ghosts suffer from hunger and thirst due to their
unwholesome kamma. Though some of them have a huge body and tiny mouth, they cannot eat enough food. When they have food, it is different kinds of leftover food,excrement, mucus, and pus.No matter how much food they have, they are still hungry and thirsty.
The Paramatthajotikā quotes the commentary on Petavatthu and mentions four kinds of peta,namely, (1) paradattūpajīvīka-peta (peta who lives on the gifts of others), (2) khuppipāsika-peta (hungry and thirsty peta), (3) nijjhāmataṇhika-peta (peta consumed by craving), and (4) kāḷakañcika-peta2 (blackeared peta).The paradattūpajīvīka-peta (peta who lives on the gifts of others) is an unhappy ghost who lives on the dakkhiṇa or sacrificial offerings of others.
It is because of this type of peta that Buddhism encourages its followers to perform a merit-making by offering food, clothing, shelter, etc., to virtuous persons, such as a bhikkhu or a group of bhikkhus, and then to dedicate the merit acquired there from to deceased relatives.
This is done on the basis of the belief that if the deceased relatives have attained the life of the paradattūpajīvika-peta, their suffering, on the appreciation of the sacrifice done and dedicated to them, will be abolished and they will thereby attain to the plane of happiness.This belief is affirmed by many stories of the petas, which appear in the Petavatthu of the Pali Canon.It is stated in Petavatthu and Lakkhaṇasaṃyutta that there are many types of Hungry Ghosts.
They have different shapes such as skeleton, a piece of meat, a flayed man with body-hairs of swords and so on. They have to experience suffering as long as their unwholesome kamma is not exhausted. Therefore they are able to find relief from their suffering only when they get some help from people through transference of merits.
Further Reading
- Petavatthu II.1: Saṃsāramocakapetivatthu
- The Tirokuḍḍasutta.
Demons (Asura)
This plane is enumerated among the woeful planes, but there is no particularworld for Demons; the place where they inhabit is called their plane. The being called asura here is to be distinguished from the devāsura (deva-asura) who does not exist in the plane of misery.The devāsura (god-titan) is a class of god belonging to the same realm of Tāvatiṃsa heaven. Vepacitti is said to be the king of this sort of asura. The devāsura is definitely not included in the type of being in the plane of misery. Only the peta-asura and niraya-asura are accounted as beings of the apāya-bhūmi.
They live in the rivers, mountains, oceans and so on. Generally the woeful plane is counted as four, but when the woeful plane is counted as three, the word of demons (asuras) is included in the category of Hungry Ghosts (petas). In Buddhist cosmos, there are many types of demons. Herein demons (asuras) should not be confused with the asuras at the bottom of Mount Sumeru who were involved in the war with devas. „Demons‟ here refers to kālakañcikā asurā which suffer from hunger and thirst
Further Reading
- Majjhima Nikaya . 97.30
- Sanyuththa Nikaya 11:4; 35:207
- Majjhima Nikaya-a IV 176
Kamasughati - The Human plane and six other planes of heavenly gods.
The second plane of existence to be considered here is the sensual happy plane or kāmasugati-bhūmi.The Pali term kāmasugati-bhūmi can be translated as “the plane of happiness connected with desires.”
Human Beings (Manussa Loka)
Buddhism regards human existence as one of the twenty happy existences. In human beings the degree of happiness varies from one individual to another. This depends on one’s kamma, which affects one’s life. It is worthy to note that every Buddha is always born as a human being in their last births in this plane. As human plane is a place that provides conditions to do both good deeds and bad deeds, human beings can develop virtue, concentration and wisdom to gain
liberation from the cycle of rebirth. On the other hand, they unfortunately commit evil deeds that lead them to the woeful plane.
Cātumahārājika Heaven
Cātumahārājika is the name of the lowest realm of the twenty-six heavens.It is so called because this heaven is ruled by the Four Great Kings in four different direction.This is the first plane of the six deva-worlds. In this plane, there are four great kings: (1) Dhataraṭṭha, (2) Virūḷhaka, (3) Virūpāksha, (4) Kuvera, who reside there with their followers. They protect four quarters of the plane. Therefore they are known as four guardian deities. They attend to the assembly of devas in Tāvatiṃsā bhūmi (the plane of the thirty-three gods). It is stated that they were present at the teaching of the Mahāsamaya Sutta and the Āṭānāṭiya Sutta.
In the Āṭānāṭiya Sutta ,we are informed that a Devarāja called Dhataraṭṭha rules over the eastern region of Cātumahārājika heaven. He is the king of the gandhabbas. A Devarāja named Virūḷhaka rules over the southern region; he is the king of the kumbhaṇḍas. In the western region a Devarāja named Virūpakkha is the ruler and he is the king of the nāgas. In the northern region a Devarāja named
Kuvera or Vessavaṇa is the ruler; he is the king of the yakkhas. These Four Great Kings are also said to be the protectors of the human world and thus they are sometimes called lokapālā—the protectors of the world.
Heaven of the Thirty-three -Tavatinsa
The second realm of the sensual-plane (kāmāvacarabhūmi) heaven and the third realm of the plane of happiness is the Tāvatiṃsa heaven. The term ”tāvatiṃsa’ means “thirty-three”. This is the second plane of the six deva-worlds where thirty three gods reside. It should be noted that the “thirty-three” in the name of the plane is not an enumeration of the devas who live there, as there are many more devas in it. The chief in the plane is Sakka,(Indra) who dwells in Vejayanta palace. The lifespan of devas in Tāvatiṃsā is longer than devas in Catumahārājika-bhūmi. Each day in Tāvatiṃsā is equal in time to 100 years on earth. The lifespan in this plane is up to 1,000 heavenly years which are equivalent to 36 million human years.
Plane of the Blissful Existence - Yāmā
It is explained that this realm is the abode of the gods whose lives are without hardship, and thus it is called Yāmā; or it is called Yāmā because it is the abode of a Devarāja named Yāmā.This is the third plane of the six deva-worlds, which is ruled by suyāma deva.In the Buddhist Pali scriptures we find very little description of this realm of happiness. It is said to be the next higher heaven from Tāvatiṃsa. If Tāvatiṃsa heaven is on the top of the Sineru mountain,which is the highest point of the human world, this heaven must, therefore, be in the sky. This is looked at, however, from the human point of view. But it is said that a garden or park called Nandavana exists in every heaven. This garden or park is so called because it gives enjoyment to those who come to it. If there is a park, there must, therefore, be a ground, for it is not possible for the trees in the park to grow up from the empty space.
It is explained that the term “yāmā” refers to “those that have attained divine bliss”.Devas in this plane have a longer lifespan than in Tāvatiṃsa. It is stated that the life span of yāmā devas is up to 2,000 heavenly years, which is equal to 144 million human years. Each day in this plane is equal to 200 human years.
Plane of Contentment -Tusitā
Tusita is the fourth realm of sensual-plane heavens, just higher than the Yāmā-bhūmi. Like other happy realms of existence, it is a place where virtuous persons are born after their human lives. It is explained that this heaven is called “Tusita” because it enables those who are born there to always enjoy the pleasures of life.
The six deva-worlds,which is ruled by saṃtussita deva, who was the mother of the Buddha in a previous life. It is there that Bodhisatta (A Buddha to be) named Setaketu deva dwelled enjoying the supreme deva bliss.All Bodhisattas abide in this plane prior to their final humanbirth.
It is believed that Bodhisatta Metteya is at present residing in this plane awaiting the opportune time to take rebirth in human world, and to attain Buddhahood.Lifespan in Tusitā is longer than in the yāmā plane. This is because the Devas in this plane live up to 4,000 heavenly years, which is equivalent to 576 million human years. Each day in this plane is equivalent to 400 human years. It is mentioned that as Devas in this plane are full of joy, they are called Tusitā devas. They are also mentioned in the Mahāsamaya Sutta.
Plane of Devas Who Enjoy Their Own Creations-Nimmānaratī
The next realm higher than Tusita is a heaven called Nimmānaratī. It is explained that the gods of this realm enjoy the objects of the senses created by them and thus it is called Nimmānaratī.One common characteristic of all the realms in the world of sensual desires (kāmāvacara) is that happiness is enjoyed in the form of sensual pleasures. However, in this connection there is a distinction between the gods of Nimmānaratī heaven and the gods of the other lower realms.The life span of the Nimmānaratī devas is longer than that of Tusitā devas. The devas in this plane live up to 8,000 heavenly years, which is equivalent to 2.3 billion human years. Each day in this plane is equal to 800 human years.
Plane of Devas Who Rule Over the Creation of Others-Paranimmitavassavattī
The sixth and the last realm of the sensual-plane heavens is Paranimmitavasavattī. This is the highest of all the realms characterised as the sensual happy plane. It is explained that this heaven is so called because it is the abode of the beings who enjoy the objects of sensual pleasures created by others.As it is the highest of the sense sphere planes, and it has the longest lifespan among the five deva-worlds. The devas of this plane live up to 16,000 heavenly years, which is equivalent to over 9.2 billion human years. Each day in it is equal to 1,600 human years.
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