經律異相 50.39

50.39

The sixth and seventh are the Tapana and Pratāpana hells. Within them are two great copper cauldrons full of boiling brine. Rākṣasa hell wardens throw sinners into them feet up and heads down, their bones and joints disjointed and scattered. Forking them out with forks, a cold wind blows and revives them, whereupon they are thrown again into pits of hot coals, or placed in boiling ashes. Taken out of the ashes, they are put on hot sand, and they stew and fry in their own pus and blood. Taken out of the coal pits, they are thrown onto flaming beds and forced to sit; fire bursts from their eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and all pores. In past lives, these people harassed and distressed parents, teachers, elders, śramaṇas, brāhmaṇas, and good, fine people, vexing them and causing their minds to heat up; now they suffer the retribution of the Tapana Hell. Or in previous lives they boiled and killed living silkworm cocoons; or scalded living pigs and sheep; or skewered human bellies with wood and roasted them alive; or burned mountains, wilds, villages, stūpas, monasteries, and shrines to deities; or pushed living beings into fire pits: therefore they are born into this hell. The Avīci Hell is four thousand li in length and breadth; its location is the deepest. Hell warden rākṣasas flay their skin from head to foot and pin their bodies with five hundred nails, like stretched cowhide. Hot iron fire-carts run over their bodies; they are driven into fire pits and made to carry hot coals out. Sharp knives, swords, and lances fly into their bodies, leaving them dazed, faint, withered, and cooked; or they stumble and tumble down. In past actions, these people committed many great evils: the heavy offenses of the five heinous crimes, severing their wholesome roots; claiming that the Dharma is not the Dharma, or that what is not the Dharma is the Dharma; destroying cause and effect; and harboring hatred and jealousy toward good people. Entering this hell, they suffer the severest retribution (extracted from the Dà zhìdù lùn, omitting minor similarities and selecting the most striking).