經律異相 50.10

50.10

Regarding the Knife-Wheel Hell: there are knife mountains on four sides. Between the mountains, knives are piled like wheels. There are eight hundred million billion extremely large knife-wheels, descending in sequence like falling raindrops. Because of delighting in afflicting others and killing sentient beings, at the time of death, suffering from the disease of reverse qi and with a heart as hard as stone, they make this wish: 'Would it not be delightful to obtain a sharp knife to scrape away these ailments?' At that time, the hell-warden carries a knife-wheel on his head, concealing it so that it is not visible. Arriving at the sinner's place, he speaks with humble and courteous words: 'I have a sharp knife capable of cutting away severe illness.' The sinner is delighted and thinks to himself: 'Only this brings joy.' Their breath ceases, their life ends, and they are born atop the knife-wheel. Like a drunk elephant running, they fall between the knife mountains. At that time, the four mountains close together simultaneously. The four kinds of knife mountains cut and carve their body; unable to endure it, they faint and die. The hell-warden rākṣasas drive and urge the sinner, making them climb the knife mountain to reach the summit. Knives wound from beneath the feet up to the heart. Out of fear of the hell-wardens, they crawl upward. Having reached the mountain summit, the hell-wardens hold tree switches in their hands. Before they die, iron dogs bite their heart, inflicting hundreds of kinds of painful poisons. Iron worms gnaw and eat, devouring all their flesh. Soon [the wardens] again cry out, 'Live!' With iron wheels attached to their feet, they fall from the void. In one day and one night, they are born sixty billion times and die sixty billion times. Such [punishment] is manifold, lasting for eighty million years of the Cāturmahārājakāyika lifespan. When their sin is exhausted, they emerge and fall among animals, serving to feed the mouths of the multitude for five hundred lifetimes. For another five hundred lifetimes they take on lowly and base forms. Later, they meet a good friend and arouse the bodhicitta.