阿彌陀經通贊疏 2.83

2.83

Praise: Third, answering that there are no names of the three evils. The 'three evil destinies' are hells, hungry ghosts, and animals. 'Hell' is in Sanskrit Naraka, here translated as 'vessel of suffering', the container-vessel in which sentient beings undergoing suffering reside. 'Hungry ghosts' have many terrors and endure hunger and emptiness for a long time; hence they are called hungry ghosts. 'Animal' (xusheng) has the phonetics ren-liu fan or xi-liu fan; it is because they are raised (xu) by humans. Alternatively, they are called tiryak (pangsheng, 'creatures that move laterally'), because they create karma crookedly and thus receive retribution crookedly as well. Taking this opportunity to distinguish the six destinies entails extensive chapter headings, as explained elsewhere.