Celebration In The Hell Realm

Photo by Tomáš íkMal

The existence of various realms is taught in Buddhist teachings. There are 4 hell realms that serves as a moral framework emphasizing the importance of ethical conduct and the consequences of unwholesome actions. This concept of hell is found primarily in Mahayana Buddhist texts.

The 4 Hell Realms

In Buddhism it’s taught that negative actions are driven by adverse mental states such as hatred, greed and ignorance. The 4 Hells refer to four primary realms of suffering and torment within samsara (cycle of birth, death and rebirth). These hells are often depicted as states of intense suffering where beings undergo various forms of torment in 8 hot and cold realms based on their past actions (karma). The Four Hells are:

Naraka (Pali: Niraya) also referred to as the “Hell Realm” where beings experience intense suffering due to their negative karma. There are various levels of Naraka, each with different degrees of suffering and punishments. Naraka has eight extreme hot and cold forms of punishments which includes hunger, thirst and physical torture.

Tiryagyoni (Pali: Tiracchānayoni) also called the “Animal Realm” where beings experience relentless ignorance and are bind by the laws of the jungle. The animal realm is not as intense in suffering as Naraka, though, it’s considered a realm of great confusion and suffering due to lack of understanding and the constant struggle for survival becomes most agonizing.

Preta (Pali: Petta) also known as the “Hungry Ghost or Spirit Realm”. Beings in this realm are depicted as having insatiable hunger and thirst, yet whatever they try to consume turns into something inedible or vanishes before they can satisfy their craving. This realm symbolizes a state of perpetual dissatisfaction and longing.

Asura is also known as the “Demi God or Jealous God Realm”. Beings in this realm are characterized by jealousy, competitiveness and constant fighting among themselves. Despite their god-like powers (priviledge/wealth), they are perpetually dissatisfied and engaged in conflict. This realm represents the suffering caused by excessive pride and aggression.

These realms are not permanent destinations but rather states of existence that beings can move in and out of based on their karma. These realms can be mental or physical (conditions) or both. Suffering in these realms is considered the consequence of negative action and state of mind. The ultimate goal in Buddhism is to attain liberation (nirvana) from the vicious cycle of samsara, thereby transcending these realms of suffering.

8 Hot Hells

The phrase “8 Hot Hells” in Chinese and Pali-Sanskrit texts refer to the realms beings are reborn based on their sins and negative karma in previous lives. These hells are realms of intense suffering and punishment, each with its own specific torture and duration of punishment in correlation with the gravity their past life actions. This concept of hells are part of the Buddhist cosmology and serve as warnings for the consequences of negative actions and the importance of moral conduct in Buddhist teachings.

⦁ Reviving Hell
⦁ Black Rope Hell
⦁ Crushing Hell
⦁ Howling Hell
⦁ Great Howling Hell
⦁ Burning Hell
⦁ Great Burning Hell
⦁ Unbearable Hell

Description of The 8 Hot Hells

Reviving Hell (Sanjiva): In this hell beings experience intense suffering, and are repeatedly killed and revived. This realm is made of hot iron heated by a huge fire. It’s for people who commit murder or violence to destroy life. Reviving Hell is considered the most severe and long lasting of the hells, reserved for those who have committed the most heinous and unforgivable actions. 

Black Rope Hell (Kalasutra): Beings are bound with black ropes and whipped by Yama’s servants. Black Rope Hell is punishment for lying, false speech and deceit. Beings in this hell are bound with ropes and said to endure various torment as a result of their past deeds. This hell is not eternal but a temporary state where beings undergo purification and eventual rebirth.

Crushing Hell (Sanghata): Beings here are crushed under heavy weights (pressure), both physically and mentally, and gathered together to suffer severe and intense karmic consequences as a result of their killing, stealing and lying. They must endure this punishment for a long period of time.

Howling Hell (Raurava): This hell is characterized by incessant howling and wailing due to unbearable suffering. The term “Raurava” itself is understood to denote a place of wailing or screaming, indicating the agony and distress experienced by its inhabitants, caused by serpents creatures and other terrifying beings who administer punishment according to the transgressor’s sins.

Great Howling Hell (Maharaurava): The suffering in this hell is even more intense than in Raurava. It’s considered the most severe of all the hells within the Buddhist tradition. Depicted as a place where beings suffer from extreme hunger and thirst, enduring pain inflicted by various creatures and elements within this harsh environment for committing heinous crimes, particularly against their parents, holy people or Brahmins. Beings are reborn in this realm for their negative karma. This hell is characterized by unimaginable pain for very long periods of time, spanning eons, without respite.

Burning Hell (Tapana): Beings in this realm are burned alive and experience excruciating pain and suffering due to their past life actions such as harming others, committing serious ethical transgressions; or living a life dominated by hatred, anger and cruelty. This hell is characterized by intense heat, flames and torment. This hell realm is not permanent but temporary, lasting for a period of time determined by the karmic effects of one’s actions.

Great Burning Hell (Pratapana): Upon reaching the entrance to this hell, beings are insulted by Yama for the sins that they committed against others in their former existence. The fires in this hell are more intense than in Tapana. In this hell demons with black bellies, flaming eyes and hooked teeth, haunt the beings reborn in this realm; grabbing the inhabitants by the throat and dragging them through mountains, cities and across oceans. Beings are imprisoned in the ropes of their negative karma. This hell is totally engulfed by fire and wailing of beings that almost never cease.

Unbearable Hell (Avici): This is considered the lowest level of hell, and the most severe and enduring realm of punishment. Avici is depicted as a place where the most heinous and unrepentant sinners are reborn, experiencing unimaginable torment for eons without any respite or hope of escape. It is often described as a realm of intense agony and despair, where beings are trapped in a state of constant torment due to their grave karmic offenses and spiritual delusions.

8 Cold Hells

In Chinese and Pali-Sanskrit text, the concept of the 8 Cold Hells refers to specific realms or states of existence within Buddhist and Hindu cosmology, particularly associated with samsara and hellish suffering listed as follow:

⦁ Cold Hell
⦁ Great Cold Hell
⦁ Black Sand Hell
⦁ Crushing Cold Hell
⦁ Great Crushing Cold Hell
⦁ Freezing Hell
⦁ Great Freezing Hell
⦁ Unbearable Cold Hell

Description of The 8 Cold Hells

These descriptions illustrate the severity of suffering in each of the realms, where beings undergo intense cold and associated agonies as a result of their negative past actions and karma.

Cold Hell (Sitavici) is a dark frozen plain surrounded by icy mountains and ravaged by endless blizzards. Inhabitants of this world arise fully grown and abide lifelong naked and alone as the cold raise blisters upon their bodies. The length of life in this hell is said to be the time it would take to empty a barrel of sesame seeds one at a time. Beings endure a prolonged feeling of intense unpleasantness or hopeless as the pervasive bitterness and emotional numbness are akin to bleak coldness.

Freezing Hell (Sheetal Naraka) is inhabited by beings who have committed particularly severe negative actions, such as killing their parents, harming Buddhas or arhats, or committed other grave misconducts. This hell is a realm of intense suffering where beings are tormented by extreme cold. Sufferings is not permanent as beings can eventually exhaust their negative karma and be reborn into another realm.

Great Cold Hell (Nirarbuda) is more severe than Arbuda. This hell is for beings who have committed serious sins or negative actions, such as greed or harmed others, and reborn in this realm to undergo torment as a form of karmic retribution. This hell is characterized by unbearable cold, comparable to being submerged in scalding water, where inhabitants endure blistering freeze burns and painfully cold temperatures without relief.

Black Sand Hell (Ardha) is a realm of intense suffering where beings endure excruciating pain due to the extreme heated black sand or gravel. This suffering is a result of negative karma accumulated from actions such as killing, harming others or intentionally causing others to suffer. This suffering or purification is for beings to temporarily undergo before reincarnation or attaining a higher spiritual state.

Crushing Cold Hell (Ratapana) is where beings are reborn and experience constant extreme cold, crushing wind pressure or being torn in pieces repeatedly due to particular grave actions, such as murder of one’s parents, killing an arhat or other severe ethical transgressions. This is a realm of unimaginable suffering and torment, a most severe and agonizing realm. The karma that leads to this incomprehensibly potent and destructive hell, results in a continuous and intense suffering without respite for an eternity or uncountable eons.

Great Crushing Cold Hell (Maharatapana) is one of the lowest and most intense realms, where beings experience an intensely painful cold, unbearable physical conditions and agonizing suffering as a result of past wrongdoings and harmful intentions performed in previous live(s). The cold winds in this hell are more intense than in Ratapan, casting excruciating pain of epic proportion both mentally and physically.

Great Freezing Hell (Mahahahava) is a severe cold realm where beings arise afterlife as a result of their negative actions, such as hatred, cruelty and violence committed in their past live(s). This hell is not eternal. Beings undergo temporary punishment until their karmic debt is paid, after which they are reborn into a new life according to their accumulated karma.

Unbearable Hell (Avici) is where unrepentant wrongdoers endure unimaginable torment for an eternity or countless eons for harmful actions such as violence, hatred, and intense greed. More so, for incredibly heinous sins, particularly, grave moral transgressions as such: killing their parents or causing harm to Bodhisattvas (enlightened beings). Prison Yard Anthology: Death in a Cage.

The Precious Human Realm

In Buddhism, the Human Realm refers to one of the Six Realms of Existence. These realms are seen as different states of existence that sentient beings can be born into based on their karma.

The Human Realm is a fortunate realm for humans to exist because the opportunity for enlightenment and transcendence is attainable. The Human Realm offer balance to beings in terms of suffering and pleasure, which provides individuals with the experience to practice the Dharma (Buddhist teachings) and attain liberation (nirvana) from the cycle of samsara.

The Human Realm in Buddhism is the only state of existence where beings have the potential to cultivate wisdom, inspire compassion, attain spiritual awakening and claim salvation.

Conclusion

The purpose of teaching the Hell realms in Buddhism is not to frighten or to instill fear, but rather to emphasize the consequences of harmful actions, and to encourage ethical behavior, compassion and the practice of virtues that lead to spiritual liberation.

Recognizing that life is characterized by suffering encourage humans to cultivate detachment from transient pleasures and to seek a deeper, lasting happiness that comes from inner peace and understanding.

By acknowledging the reality of suffering one can begin to explore its cause and ultimately find a way to transcend. This is why we should celebrate in hell because we’re human beings in a precious realm of opportunity where suffering can pass and happiness arise.