ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ 14.20

14.20

They caused him infernal torment, for no matter what direction they trod, they cut and hacked at him all over. This caused him dreadful suffering and extreme, excruciating, unbearable agony.

Seeing this, Venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana thought, “What action did this being take that ripened into his meeting with such suffering?” Though he went deep into equipoise and reached the far limits of concentration, he could not see an end to this being’s suffering. All he could see was that this being had been dying from hell states, only to be reborn in the hells once again. Recognizing this, he thought, “Who apart from the Blessed One could explain his deeds to me? For his wisdom and vision are unimpeded, and his wisdom and vision are infinite.”

He disappeared from the Hell of Ceaseless Agony and traveled to Śrāvastī, where the Blessed One sat teaching the Dharma amid a company of hundreds. Venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana saw that the Blessed One was teaching the Dharma amid a company of hundreds and thought, “Now is the time to request the Blessed One to explain about that being.” He approached the Blessed One, touched his head to the Blessed One’s feet, and took a seat at one side.

Once he had taken a seat at one side, Venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, it is my custom to wander from time to time among the hell beings, to wander among the anguished spirits, to wander among the animals, to wander among the humans, and to wander among the gods.

“When I return I relate to people how the hell beings suffer through being cut up, hacked apart,