經律異相 50.9

50.9

Regarding the Eighteen Minor Hot Hells: like the Avīci hell, they also have seven tiers of walls and seven tiers of iron rims, adorned with immeasurable evils. Because of not following the teacher's instructions, giving rise to an evil and rebellious mind, failing to recognize nurture and kindness, stealing from the teacher, harming the teacher, defiling the teacher's pure food, sitting on the teacher's bed and seat, taking the teacher's almsbowl and concealing it in impurity, committing various evil deeds, and giving poison to the teacher to drink; or if śramaṇas or brāhmaṇas commit various unlawful acts without shame or remorse, stripping images, destroying stūpas, plundering Dharma treasures, or killing uncles, parents, brothers, and sisters—when they are about to die, eighteen hell-wardens each use iron tridents to lift them and place them into a compartment of the hell. It is like a great jeweled canopy raining fine mist; the raindrops are like flowers, and searing distress enters their heart. Seeing the rain as cool, they think: 'May I sit beneath the sheltering canopy; would it not be joyful if the cool rain sprinkled upon me?' Their breath ceases, their life ends, and in an instant they sit atop a forest of swords. There are tens of billions of sword blades, and all the blades emit fire, burning and piercing their body. The jeweled canopy in the air turns into a wheel of fire, which falls directly from above to cleave their skull, shattering their body into thousands of pieces. From above, copper pellets rain down, entering through their pores. The hell-warden rākṣasas pierce the sinner's eyes with great iron tridents, or pierce their heart with iron arrows, so that they faint and die. In a moment they revive and sit upon a bed of swords, and a fierce hurricane blows them down into the hell. At that time, King Yama declares: 'Hell-spawn, you committed numerous evils, killing your teacher and slandering your teacher. The place where you are now born is called Tongue-Pulling Avīci. In this hell you shall pass three kalpas.' Having spoken these words, he immediately vanishes.