俱舍論頌疏論本 11.26

11.26

Question: "Are the hell wardens in the hells sentient beings or not?"
Answer: "Some say they are non-sentient."
Question: "Since they are non-sentient, how can they act?"
Answer: "The karmic force of sentient beings is like the wind of the eon of formation; although the wind is non-sentient, it is capable of forming the eon."
Question: "If so, how is the explanation of the venerable Dharmatrāta to be reconciled, where his verse states:
'Always harboring malicious fury in the mind,
fond of accumulating bad karmas,
rejoicing at seeing the suffering of others,
at death one becomes a minion of Yama'
(according to this verse, how could they be non-sentient)?"
Answer: "The rākṣasas dispatched by King Yama to cast sentient beings into the hells are called the minions of Yama; these are real sentient beings, not those within the hells who harm sentient beings. Therefore, the hell wardens in the hells are not real sentient beings." Some say they are sentient beings. Question: "If so, why does the fire not burn them?" Answer: "This is definitely because they are obstructed by karmic force; or because they have produced different great elements (mahābhūta), therefore they are not burned."