Encyclopedia of Buddhism Volume One A -L Robert E. Buswell

H ELLS
it is better to aspire to be reborn in a pure land such as
Sukhavat, the Realm of Bliss of the Buddha AMITABHA/
Amitayus, where in the presence of a living buddha
conditions are more conducive and enlightenment almost
a certainty.
See also: Dana (Giving); Divinities; Indra
Bibliography
Reynolds, Frank E., and Reynolds, Mani B., trans. Three Worlds
According to King Ruang: A Thai Buddhist Cosmology. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1982.
Sadakata, Akira. Buddhist Cosmology: Philosophy and Origin.
Tokyo: Kosei, 1997.
HELLS
RUPERT GETHIN
Hells play an important part in virtually all Buddhist
traditions, past and present. As the lowest of the six
(or sometimes five) paths of REBIRTH, hell is one of the
most colorful parts of Buddhist COSMOLOGY, mythological
reflection, and practice. The hells are the worst
(and therefore the best) example of the fate that greets
the unenlightened after DEATH, just as a pleasurable rebirth
in heaven serves as a positive incentive. Although
one might be tortured for a lifetime in hell, rebirth
there is, like all phenomena in Buddhism, temporary,
leading either to further misery or escape from rebirth
altogether. Various etymologies have been offered for
the Sanskrit naraka and Pali niraya. The normal Tibetan
translation is dmyal ba, while Chinese usage is
usually diyu (Japanese, jigoku), literally “subterranean
prisons.”
Number and arrangement of hells
Buddhist ideas of hell grew out of Vedic conceptions
and share much with Brahmanical (and later Hindu)
views of the underworld. Early Buddhist sources voice
different opinions about the names, number, and location
of the hells. Some texts discuss one great hell
with four doors, each leading to four smaller hells;
some claim there are five hells; some refer to seven unnamed
hells; some mention ten specific cold hells;
some refer to eighteen, thirty, or sixty-four hells. In the
most common system, eight hells are located, one on
top of another, underneath the continent of Jambudvpa.
Closest to the surface is (1) Sam jva, the hell of
“reviving,” where winds resuscitate victims after torture.
Beneath it lie: (2) Kalasutra, named after the
“black string” that cuts inhabitants into pieces; (3)
Sam ghata, where inmates are “dashed together” between
large objects; (4) Raurava, “weeping,” and (5)
Maharaurava, “great weeping,” which describe how
denizens behave; (6) Tapana, “heating,” and (7) Pratapana,
“greatly heating,” which describe the tortures
applied to residents; and (8) Avci, “no release” or “no
interval,” where there is no rest between periods of torture.
Each hell has sixteen smaller compartments,
named after the method of punishment: (1) black sand,
(2) boiling excrement, (3) five hundred nails, (4)
hunger, (5) thirst, (6) copper pot, (7) many copper
pots, (8) stone mill, (9) pus and blood, (10) trial by
fire, (11) river of ashes, (12) ball of fire, (13) axe, (14)
foxes, (15) forest of swords, and (16) cold.
Representations of hells in art and literature
Most accounts of the hells include elements of morality,
deliverance, and entertainment. When understood
properly, the underworld demonstrates the
ineluctability of KARMA (ACTION). Every deed has a
result, and if on balance one’s life is particularly evil,
then one is likely to be reborn in hell. The entire cosmos
is ranked; the various scales of measurement reflect
an underlying moral hierarchy. The hells are
situated below the other five paths, and hell beings
lead a longer life than humans or animals. The natural
order thus seems to maximize punishment. Some
texts name the specific bad deeds that merit rebirth
in specific hells: The more evil the deed, the more
painful the form of punishment.
Pointing beyond the realm of karma, most accounts
of hell contain a soteriology, or theory of salvation.
Literary descriptions of the tortures in hell encourage
the reader to cultivate roots of goodness (kuśalamu la),
leading to a better rebirth and eventually release from
the pain of sentient existence. Paintings of the wheel
of rebirth usually portray a BODHISATTVA or other
saint bringing aid to hell beings, emphasizing that suffering
can be conquered. And most images of the hell
regions are juxtaposed to pictures of life in paradise or
to portraits of buddhas who have transcended birth
and death.
In whatever genre they occur—folktales, drama,
paintings, fictional accounts, or scholastic
compendia—representations of the Buddhist hells are
usually entertaining. Repetition is a common device in
hell narratives: The inmates of the various compartments
are tortured not once or twice, but three times.
Their pains are described in grisly detail: People are
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