妙法蓮華經玄贊 6.183

6.183

As for the characteristics of undergoing the fruit: beings in the narakas mostly experience the suffering of extreme punishment; animal beings mostly experience the suffering of devouring one another; hungry ghost beings mostly experience the suffering of extreme hunger and thirst; beings in the human destiny mostly experience various sufferings of privation and seeking; beings in the heavenly destinies mostly experience the suffering of decay, distress, and falling away. Regarding the characteristics of undergoing suffering in the eight hot hells: First, the characteristics of suffering in Sañjīva: those sentient beings mostly gather together, and various instruments of torture produced by the predominance of their karma arise in succession. They injure and mutilate one another, falling unconscious to the ground. Then a great voice in the sky says: 'May these beings revive! May they revive!' Thereupon, those sentient beings suddenly rise up again, and as before, undergo injury from the instruments of torture. Due to this cause and condition, they undergo suffering for a long time, until all the evil and unwholesome karma committed in previous lives is exhausted and they can depart. Second, the characteristics of suffering in Kālasūtra: those sentient beings are mostly marked with black cords by the hell-wardens in charge of them, either into four directions, eight directions, or various patterned figures. Once they are marked, according to those places, they are chiseled, planed, chopped, or gouged out. Due to such various causes and conditions, they undergo suffering for a long time, departing only when their karma is exhausted. Third, the characteristics of suffering in Saṃghāta: sometimes those sentient beings gather and assemble together; at that time, the hell-wardens in charge drive and compel them to enter between two great mountains shaped like iron rams' heads. Once they have entered, the two mountains press against them; being pressed, blood flows from all their openings. The same happens with two iron mountains shaped like goat heads, horse heads, elephant heads, lion heads, and tiger heads. Furthermore, they are made to gather and are placed in a great iron trough and crushed like sugarcane; once crushed, their blood flows forth. When they have gathered again, a great iron mountain falls from above, causing those beings to be cast down onto the iron ground, where they are chopped, stabbed, pounded, or torn apart. Being chopped, stabbed, pounded, and torn, their blood flows forth. They undergo suffering for a long time, departing only when their karma is exhausted. This suffering has three forms: first, being pressed by two mountains; second, being crushed in an iron trough; third, the falling of an iron mountain. Fourth, the characteristics of suffering in Raurava: those sentient beings, seeking a dwelling, enter into a great iron chamber. No sooner have they entered than fire blazes up, by which they are burned, extremely burned, and everywhere utterly burned. Being burned, pressed by intense pain, they utter wailing cries. They undergo suffering for a long time, departing only when their karma is exhausted. Fifth, the characteristics of suffering in Mahāraurava: the difference from the former is that their chamber is like a womb; the suffering being greater than the former, their cries are consequently louder. Sixth, the characteristics of suffering in Tapana: the hell-wardens place the sentient beings upon a thrice-heated, great iron griddle of immeasurable yojanas, turning them left and right, scorching them thin inside and out. Furthermore, like roasting fish, they pierce them from below with a great iron spit which exits through the crown of the head, and roast them turning back and forth, causing flames to flare up from all their sense faculties, pores, and mouths. Moreover, they place the sentient beings on the great, hot iron ground as before, either facing up or facing down, and with thrice-heated great iron mallets or rods, beat or pound them, beating and pounding them everywhere, making them like lumps of flesh. They undergo suffering for a long time, departing only when their karma is exhausted. This suffering has three forms: first, being scorched thin left and right; second, being pierced and roasted on an iron spit; third, being struck and beaten with iron rods. Seventh, the characteristics of suffering in Pratāpana: the difference from the former is that they are pierced from below with a great, hot three-pronged iron spit that exits through their two shoulders and the crown of their head, causing fierce flames to gush from their eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and pores. Moreover, their bodies are wrapped completely in thrice-heated great plates of copper and iron; furthermore, they are thrown upside down as before into a great iron cauldron filled with thrice-heated ash-water and boiled therein. The broth boils and churns, causing these beings to drift and tumble with the broth, surfacing and sinking, so that their blood, flesh, skin, and veins are all melted and rotted away, leaving only the skeleton. Soon they are scooped out and placed on the hot iron ground, so that their skin, flesh, blood, and veins regenerate as before, and they are placed back into the cauldron. The rest is as explained for the great hot naraka. They undergo suffering for a long time, departing only when their karma is exhausted. This suffering has three forms: first, being pierced with a three-pronged spit; second, being wrapped in iron plates; third, being boiled in hot liquid. Eighth, the characteristics of suffering undergone in the great Avīci naraka: on the thrice-heated great iron ground many hundreds of yojanas across to the east, fierce, blazing fire-spikes flare up and pierce those sentient beings, penetrating skin, entering flesh, severing sinews, breaking bones, reaching their marrow, and burning them like fat candles, so that their entire bodies become fierce flames. The fire-spikes from the other directions are also like this. Because those sentient beings are intermingled with the fierce flames, one sees only a mass of fire arriving from the four directions, the flames blending together without any interval, and the suffering endured is also without any interval. One knows there are sentient beings only by hearing the sound of their wailing cries in agony. Furthermore, they fill an iron winnowing basket with thrice-heated, fiercely blazing iron coals and winnow them; then place them on the hot iron ground and force them to climb a great hot iron mountain, ascending and descending, descending and ascending. Their tongues are pulled out from their mouths and stretched out with a hundred iron nails, pinned so that they have no wrinkles, like stretching ox-hide. Furthermore, they lie on their backs on the hot iron ground, their mouths pried open with hot iron tongs, and thrice-heated, intensely hot iron pellets are placed into their mouths, which immediately burn their mouths and throats, pass through their internal organs, and exit from below. Moreover, molten copper is poured into their mouths, burning their throats and mouths, passing through their internal organs, and exiting from below. The remaining sufferings and distresses are as in Pratāpana. They undergo suffering for a long time, departing only when their karma is exhausted. This suffering has six forms: first, fire-spikes from the four directions; second, winnowing in iron coals; third, ascending and descending iron mountains; fourth, pinning tongues with iron nails; fifth, being forced to swallow iron pellets; sixth, pouring molten copper into the mouth. What has been explained here in brief are the coarse, prominent instruments of torture; it is not that there are no other instruments of torture in the great naraka. Above, the characteristics of suffering in the fundamental eight hot [hells] have been explained.