諸經要集 18

English (machine translation) 18

Language: English

18.1

Compiled by the śramaṇa Shi Daoshi of Ximing Monastery

18.2

Section 28: Hells (with eight divisions)

18.3

1. Expressing the Intent
2. Reconciling the Names
3. Receiving Retribution
4. Duration and Measurement
5. Presiding Overseers
6. The Royal Capital
7. Karmic Causes
8. Admonitions and Exhortations

Now, damming the stream is not as good as stopping up the source; scooping up boiling broth is not as good as extinguishing the fire. Why is this? The source issues into water; if the source is not stopped up, the water will never end. Fire makes the broth boil; if the fire is not extinguished, how can the broth subside? Therefore, a traveler who stops up the source sees it dry up on its own without damming the stream; a guest who extinguishes the fire sees it cease on its own without scooping up the broth. Speaking by analogy with this, the matter can be fully understood. If one detests the fruit, it is not as good as withdrawing the cause; if one dreads the suffering, how could it compare to chastising the evil? The cause fosters the fruit; if the cause is not severed, the fruit will never end. Evil generates suffering; if evil is not chastised, how can the suffering subside? Therefore, a person who severs the cause sees it perish on its own without detesting the fruit; a worthy one who chastises evil separates from it on its own without dreading the suffering. May all gentlemen write down this admonition!

18.6

2. Reconciling the Names

18.7

Question: Why is it called hell (diyu)? Answer: According to the Lokasthiti-abhidharma-śāstra, its Sanskrit name is Niraya because there is no sport or joy, nor is there any gladness or delight; furthermore, there is no stepping forth from it, and there is no merit; moreover, beings are born therein because they have not eliminated or abandoned evil karma. It is also said: among the desire realm (kāmadhātu), this destiny is the most inferior and vile, and is called 'non-path'. On account of these reasons, hell is called Niraya. As in the Vibhāṣā-śāstra, it is named 'lack of autonomy', meaning that those sinful people are restrained and controlled by the hell-wardens and ox-headed demons (Āpāṅgas) and do not obtain autonomy; hence it is called hell (diyu, earth-prison). It is also called 'unlovely and unenjoyable'; hence it is called hell. Furthermore, 'di' (earth) means 'di' (bottom), that is, the very bottom. Among all things, the earth is the lowest; hence it is called the bottom. 'Yu' (prison) means confinement; confinement means being restricted and restrained without obtaining autonomy; hence it is called hell (diyu). Furthermore, the name Nili (Niraya) is a Sanskrit word, which here means 'non-existence', signifying that within that hell there is no benefit or profit; hence it is named 'non-existence'.

18.8

Question: Hells are of many kinds: some are beneath the earth, some are on top of the earth, and some reside in empty space. Why are they all called 'hell' (diyu, earth-prison)? Answer: The old translations used 'earth-prison' (diyu); the name was narrow and the location restricted, failing to encompass the surface of the earth and the sky. Now, relying on newly translated sūtras and treatises, the correct Sanskrit pronunciation is naraka, or nalajia. This broadly encompasses beings; because it is a place where sufferings gather, it is called naraka. Furthermore, the New Vibhāṣā-śāstra says: Question: Why is that destiny called naraka? Answer: Because those sentient beings have no joy, no affection, no flavor, no benefit, and no gladness or delight, it is called naraka. Some say: because they previously created and increased extremely violent and evil actions of body, speech, and mind, going there causes them to continue in succession; hence it is called naraka. Others say: because in that destiny they fall headlong, it is called naraka. As a verse says:

18.9

"Falling headlong into the hells, / Their feet above and heads hanging down, / Because of slandering all the Buddhas / Who delight in tranquility and practice austerities."

18.10

Some say that nara means 'man' and ka means 'evil'; because evil people are born in that place, it is called naraka. Question: Why is the lowest and largest one called Avīci (uninterrupted)? Answer: That place continually experiences painful sensations without any interval of gladness or delight; hence it is called Avīci (Uninterrupted). Question: In the other hells, could there be singing, dancing, food, and drink, so that they experience the vipāka (maturation) of gladness and delight, and for that reason are not called Avīci? Answer: Although in the other hells there is no vipāka of gladness and delight, there is an outflow (niṣyanda) of gladness and delight. As stated in the Prajñapti-śāstra: In the Sañjīva (Reviving) Hell, sometimes a cool wind blows and their flesh and blood regenerate; sometimes a voice sounds calling out 'Revive!', and those sentient beings suddenly come back to life. Only at such times when the flesh and blood regenerate and when they come back to life do they temporarily produce gladness and delight, interrupting the painful sensations; therefore it is not called Avīci.

18.11

3. Receiving Retribution

18.12

As the New *Vibhāṣā-śāstra* says: Question: Where are the hells located? Answer: For the most part, they are beneath this Jambudvīpa. How are they arranged? Some say: Forty thousand yojanas down from this continent reaches the bottom of the Avīci Hell. The Avīci Hell is twenty thousand yojanas in length, breadth, height, and depth. In the nineteen thousand yojanas above it, the remaining seven hells are arranged. That is, above it is the Tapana Hell; above that is the Pratāpana Hell; above that is the Mahāraurava Hell; above that is the Raurava Hell; above that is the Saṃghāta Hell; above that is the Kālasūtra Hell; and above that is the Saṃjīva Hell. Each of these seven hells is ten thousand yojanas in length and breadth. In the remaining one thousand yojanas above them, five hundred yojanas are white clay, and five hundred yojanas are mud. Some say: Below this mud, the Avīci Hell is in the center, and the other seven hells surround it on all sides, just as villages surround a great city. Question: If so, how can the statement in the *Prajñapti-śāstra* be reconciled? It says that Jambudvīpa has a circumference of six thousand and three and a half yojanas, while each hell is vast in size. How could they fit beneath this continent? Answer: This continent of Jambudvīpa is narrow at the top and broad at the bottom, like a heap of grain, and therefore can accommodate them. Thus the sūtra says that the four great oceans gradually become deeper as one enters them. Moreover, each great hell has sixteen adjuncts [utsada]: that is, each has four gates, and outside each gate there are four adjuncts. The first is the fiery embers adjunct, meaning that within this adjunct fiery embers come up to the knees. The second is the corpse-filth adjunct, meaning that this adjunct is filled with the mud of corpse filth. The third is the razor-edge adjunct, meaning that within this adjunct there are further three kinds: first, the blade-edge road, where blades are laid face-up to form a path; second, the sword-leaf forest, where the leaves of this forest are entirely of sharp, saw-like sword blades; third, the iron-thorn forest, where the forest has sharp iron thorns sixteen finger-widths long. Although these three, such as the blade-edge road, differ, they are identical in being iron forests, and therefore this adjunct encompasses them. The fourth is the fierce great river, meaning that within this adjunct there are four great rivers of hot, saline water. Together with the base hell, these make seventeen [places]. Thus, the eight great hells together with their retinues comprise one hundred and thirty-six places. Therefore the sūtras say that there are one hundred and thirty-six narakas. Thus the *Dīrgha-āgama* says: The great hells are eight in total number. Each of the eight hells is surrounded by sixteen small hells, just as the four continents are surrounded by eighty thousand continents. Outside the eighty thousand continents there is further a great ocean, and outside the ocean there is further a great Vajra Mountain; outside this mountain there is yet another mountain, also named Vajra (*Loutan jing* calls them the Great Iron Enclosure Mountains). Between the two mountains, the majesty and radiance of the sun, moon, and heavenly deities do not shine at all. The eight great hells are: first, Saṃjīva (Thinking); second, Kālasūtra (Black Rope); third, Saṃghāta (Crushing); fourth, Raurava (Crying Out); fifth, Mahāraurava (Great Crying Out); sixth, Tapana (Burning); seventh, Pratāpana (Great Burning); eighth, Avīci (Uninterrupted). (The differences in names in the *Loutan jing* and other sūtras are due to translation inaccuracies, but the general meaning is entirely the same.) As for the sixteen [adjuncts] of the first, the Saṃjīva Hell: the sentient beings therein grow iron claws on their hands, and harboring mutual wrath and fury, they scratch one another with their claws; their flesh falls away at each strike, and they think they are dead, hence it is named 'Thinking'. Furthermore, the sentient beings therein harbor murderous intentions, grasping knives and swords in their hands to hack and pierce one another; flayed, sliced, and hacked into pieces, their bodies lie shattered on the ground. They think they are dead, but a cold wind blows and revives them, and they rise up again. They think to themselves: 'I am now revived!' After long suffering their punishments, they exit the Saṃjīva Hell, terrified and begging for pardon, when without realizing it they suddenly arrive at the Black Sand Hell. A hot gale violently arises, blowing hot black sand that strikes their bodies, burning through the skin and piercing the bone; flames surge up within their bodies, swirling all around them, and their bodies are burned and charred. Because their sin is not yet exhausted, they are caused not to die. After long suffering the pain, they exit the Black Sand Hell and arrive at the Boiling Excrement Hell. Boiling excrement and iron pellets naturally fill the space before them. The sinners are driven and forced to embrace the iron pellets, burning their bodies, hands, and feet; [the wardens] also force them to take them in their mouths, and passing from the throat down to the belly, they scorch and char everything as they pass through. There are iron-beaked worms that gnaw the flesh to the marrow, bringing immeasurable agony. Because their punishments are not yet exhausted, they again will not die. After long suffering the pain, they exit the Boiling Excrement Hell and arrive at the Iron Nail Hell. The hell wardens throw them onto hot iron, stretch out their bodies, and drive nails into their hands and feet, five hundred nails driven all over their bodies. In bitter agony they wail and moan, yet they do not die. After long suffering the pain, they exit the Iron Nail Hell and arrive at the Starvation Hell. They are immediately thrown onto hot iron, and molten copper is poured into their mouths; passing from the throat to the belly, it scorches and chars everything as it passes through. Because the remainder of their sin is not exhausted, they still do not die. After long suffering the pain, they exit the Starvation Hell and arrive at the Thirst Hell. They are immediately thrown onto hot iron, and iron pellets are put into their mouths, burning their lips and mouths; passing through to the lower body, everything is scorched and charred, and they weep in bitter agony. After long suffering the pain, they exit the Thirst Hell and arrive at the Single Copper Cauldron Hell. The hell wardens glare furiously, seize the sinners by their feet, and throw them upside down into the cauldron. Along with the boiling soup they surge, boil, and swirl up and down; their bodies break down and are cooked to mush, and all myriad sufferings arrive together, yet they are made not to die. After long suffering the pain, they exit the Single Copper Cauldron Hell and arrive at the Many Copper Cauldrons Hell. Seizing the sinners by their feet, they throw them upside down into the cauldrons; along with the boiling soup they surge, boil, and swirl up and down, their whole bodies rotting and breaking down. [The wardens] take them out with iron hooks and place them into other cauldrons; they cry out in grief and agonizing pain, yet they are caused not to die. After long suffering the pain, they exit the Many Copper Cauldrons Hell and arrive at the Stone Mill Hell. Seizing those sinners, they throw them onto hot stones, stretching out their hands and feet, and press great hot stones down upon their bodies, rotating and grinding them until bones and flesh are crushed to pulp. Through this acute and bitter pain they are caused not to die. After long suffering the pain, they exit the Stone Mill Hell and arrive at the Pus and Blood Hell. Pus and blood boil and surge; the sinners run back and forth within it, their bodies, heads, and faces scalded and rotting away. They are also made to take up the pus and blood and eat it, which burns all the way through, causing agony difficult to endure, yet they are made not to die. After long suffering the pain, they finally exit the Pus and Blood Hell and arrive at the Measuring Fire Hell. There is a great blaze of fierce fire; driving the sinners, [the wardens make them] hold hot iron measures in their hands to measure the blaze of fire, burning their bodies completely. In agonizing burning pain they groan and wail, yet they are made not to die. After long suffering the pain, they exit the Measuring Fire Hell and arrive at the Ash River Hell, five hundred yojanas in length, breadth, depth, and shallowness. The ash-water surges and boils, foul vapors billowing up, surging waves crashing against one another with terrifying sounds. From bottom to top, iron thorns cross every which way. On the banks of the river there is a sword-tree forest whose branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits are all knives and swords. When the sinners enter the river, they rise and fall, overturn and sink with the waves; iron thorns pierce their bodies inside and out, pus and blood flowing forth in myriad sorts of agony, yet they are made not to die. Finally exiting the Ash River and reaching the bank, they arrive at the sword-trees, which cut and pierce them, wounding and destroying their bodies. Furthermore, jackals and wolves come to bite the sinners and eat their raw flesh. When they run up the sword-trees, the sword blades point downwards; when they climb down the sword-trees, the sword blades point upwards. Grasping with hands, hands are severed; treading with feet, feet are severed; skin and flesh fall away, leaving only white bones held together by sinews and veins. At that time, upon the sword-trees, there are iron-beaked crows that peck their heads and eat their brains; they scream in bitter agony, yet they are caused not to die. They fall back into the Ash River and sink with the waves; iron thorns pierce their bodies with myriad agonies; their skin and flesh rot away and pus and blood flow forth, leaving only white bones floating on the surface. A cold wind blows and they immediately rise and stand again. Drawn by past retribution, without realizing it they suddenly arrive at the Iron Pellet Hell. There are hot iron pellets, and the hell ghosts drive them to grasp them and run; their hands and feet rot and break down, and their whole bodies burn with fire; myriad torments arrive together, yet they are made not to die. After long suffering the pain, they finally exit the Iron Pellet Hell and arrive at the Axe and Hatchet Hell. Seizing these sinners, [the wardens] throw them onto hot iron, and with hot iron axes and hatchets chop off their hands, feet, ears, noses, and bodies; screaming in bitter agony, they still do not die. After long suffering their punishments, they exit the Axe and Hatchet Hell and arrive at the Jackal and Wolf Hell. Packs of jackals and wolves contend to come and gnaw them; flesh falls away and bones are damaged, pus and blood flowing forth in myriad sorts of agony, yet they are made not to die. After long suffering the pain, they finally exit the Jackal and Wolf Hell and arrive at the Sword-Tree Hell. Entering that sword forest, a violent wind arises, blowing the sword leaves down upon their bodies; their heads, faces, and bodies are all wounded and mutilated. There are iron-beaked crows that peck out their two eyes; weeping and crying in agonizing pain, they are still caused not to die. After long suffering the pain, they finally exit the Sword-Tree Hell and arrive at the Cold Ice Hell. A great cold wind blows upon their bodies; their entire bodies suffer frostbite, and their skin and flesh fall away. Screaming in bitter agony, only then does their life end. One whose physical actions are unwholesome, and whose vocal and mental actions are likewise, falls into this Saṃjīva Hell, trembling with fear and hair standing on end.

18.13

The second great hell, Kālasūtra, has sixteen small hells surrounding it on all sides, each five hundred yojanas in length and breadth. Why is it called Kālasūtra (Black Rope)? Those hell wardens seize the sinners, throw them onto hot iron, stretch out their bodies, and snap hot iron ropes [like carpenters' cords] to mark straight lines. Hot iron axes follow the lines of the ropes to chop the sinners into hundreds and thousands of pieces. Furthermore, they snap iron ropes and saw through them. Furthermore, countless hot iron ropes are suspended in a crisscross web, and they drive the sinners to walk among the ropes; a foul wind violently arises, blowing the iron ropes across and through their bodies, burning the skin, piercing the flesh, charring the bones, and boiling the marrow. They suffer myriad agonies, yet because the remainder of their sins is not exhausted, they are caused not to die; hence it is named Black Rope. After long suffering the pain, they finally exit Kālasūtra and arrive at the Black Sand Hell, and so forth down to the Cold Ice Hell, after which their lives end. It cannot be recounted in full. The sufferings undergone in the remaining sixteen hells follow the same pattern as before, yet the suffering endured is even more severe. Through evil intentions directed toward parents, the Buddha, and śrāvakas, one falls into the Kālasūtra Hell, the agonizing pain being beyond calculation.

18.14

The third great hell, Saṃghāta, is likewise surrounded by sixteen small hells, each five hundred yojanas in length and breadth. Why is it called Saṃghāta (Crushing)? There are great stone mountains facing one another in pairs; when a person enters between these mountains, the mountains naturally come together, crushing their bodies until bones and flesh are mashed to pulp. The mountains then return to their original places. In myriad agonies, they are caused not to die. Furthermore, there are great iron elephants, their entire bodies blazing with fire, roaring as they come; they stomp and trample upon the sinners and roll over them, their bodies mashed to pulp, pus and blood flowing forth. They wail and scream in grief, yet they are caused not to die. Furthermore, they seize the sinners, lay them on great stones, and press them with great stones. Furthermore, they take the sinners, lay them on the ground, and pound them with iron pestles from foot to head; their skin and flesh are mashed to pulp, pus and blood flowing forth. Myriad torments arrive together, yet because the remainder of their sins is not exhausted, they are made not to die; hence it is named Crushing. After long suffering the pain, they finally exit the Saṃghāta Hell, arrive at the Black Sand Hell, and so forth down to the Cold Ice Hell, after which their lives end. If one merely commits the three evil karma and does not cultivate the three wholesome practices, one will fall into the Saṃghāta Hell, the agonizing pain being beyond calculation.

18.15

The fourth great hell, Raurava, is likewise surrounded by sixteen small hells, each five hundred yojanas in length and breadth. Why is it called the Raurava (Crying Out) Hell? The hell wardens seize the sinners and throw them into great cauldrons, and also place them into great iron pots; the boiling broth surges and boils, cooking those sinners while they wail and cry out in acrid and agonizing pain. Furthermore, they take those sinners and throw them onto great roasting griddles, turning them over and over to roast and fry them. After long suffering the pain, they finally exit Raurava, arrive at the Black Sand Hell, and so forth down to the Cold Ice Hell, only then does their life end. Because of harboring malicious anger and committing all kinds of evil actions, they fall into the Raurava Hell.

18.16

Fifth is the Great Wailing Hell. It also has sixteen minor hells surrounding it (their sizes are as before). Why is it called the Great Wailing Hell? The sinners are taken and put into large iron cauldrons, or placed in iron caldrons where boiling-hot water roils and cooks those sinners. They are also cast upon great iron griddles and repeatedly fried and roasted. They wail and cry out loudly in piercing agony and distress. Because their remaining transgressions are not yet exhausted, it makes them not die; thus it is called the Great Wailing [Hell]. After enduring suffering for a long time, they exit the Great Wailing [Hell] and proceed all the way to the Freezing Ice Hell, and only then does their life come to an end. It is due to practicing multiple wrong views, being pulled along by the snare of craving, and committing base and vulgar deeds, that they fall into the Great Wailing Hell.

18.17

Sixth is the Searing Heat Hell. It also has sixteen minor hells surrounding it (their sizes are as before). Why is it called Searing Heat? The sinners are taken and placed inside an iron city. That city burns with fire, glowing red both inside and out, searing the sinners. They are also put atop iron towers; the towers burn with fire, glowing red both inside and out. They are also cast into large iron kilns; the kilns burn with fire, glowing red both inside and out, searing the sinners so that their skin and flesh are scorched and rotten. Ten thousand agonies arrive all at once. Because their remaining transgressions are not yet exhausted, it makes them not die; thus it is called Searing Heat. After enduring suffering for a long time, they exit the Searing Heat Hell and proceed all the way to the Freezing Ice Hell, and after that their life comes to an end. Because they seared and roasted sentient beings, they fall into the Searing Heat Hell, enduring the agonies of this searing heat throughout the long night.

18.18

Seventh is the Great Searing Heat Hell. It also has sixteen minor hells surrounding it (their sizes are as before). Why is it called the Great Searing Heat Hell? It means that the sinners are taken and placed inside an iron city. That city burns with fire, glowing red both inside and out, searing the sinners so that their skin and flesh are scorched and rotten. Ten thousand agonies arrive all at once. There is a great fire pit with raging flames. On both banks of the pit there are great fiery mountains. Those sinners are seized and impaled upon iron forks, standing upright in the fire, smoked and intensely seared so that their skin and flesh are scorched and rotten. Because their remaining transgressions are not yet exhausted, it makes them not die. After enduring suffering for a long time, they exit the Great Searing Heat [Hell] and proceed all the way to the Freezing Ice [Hell], and only then does their life come to an end. It is due to abandoning good karma and performing a multitude of evil deeds that they fall into the Great Searing Heat Hell.

18.19

Eighth is the Unremitting Hell. It also has sixteen minor hells surrounding it (their sizes are as before). Why is it called the Avīci Hell? Here it is called the Unremitting Hell. Why is it called unremitting? The hell wardens seize those sinners and flay off their skin from feet to crown. Then with their own skin they wrap the sinners' bodies, place them on flaming cartwheels, and roll them across ground of hot iron, traveling back and forth. Their bodies are crushed and rotted, their skin and flesh falling away. Ten thousand agonies arrive all at once, but it makes them not die. Furthermore, there is an iron city around which fires arise on all four sides. The eastern flames reach the west; the western flames reach the east; south, north, above, and below are also like this. The blazing flames swirl around without any empty space. The sinners run east and west, their bodies seared, their skin and flesh scorched and rotted in piercing agony and distress. Ten thousand agonies arrive all at once. When the sinners have been inside for a long time, the gate finally opens. Those sinners run toward it, flames bursting forth from all the limbs and joints of their bodies. As they run and are about to reach the gate, the gate closes by itself. Because their remaining transgressions are not yet exhausted, it makes them not die. Furthermore, whenever the sinners within raise their eyes, all they see are foul forms; their ears hear foul sounds; their noses smell foul stenches; their bodies touch painful agonies; their minds think of evil things. Even for the space of a finger-snap, there is no time without suffering; thus it is called the Unremitting Hell. After enduring suffering for a long time, they exit the Unremitting [Hell] and proceed all the way to the Freezing Ice Hell, and only then does their life come to an end. Because of committing deeds of heavy transgression that generate karma for evil destinies, they fall into the Unremitting Hell, where their retribution cannot be reckoned. These are called the eight great hells, each accompanied by sixteen [minor hells] where suffering is undergone as before.

18.20

Furthermore, the Guanfo sanmei jing states: “As for the Avīci Hell, it is eight thousand yojanas in both length and breadth, with seven concentric iron walls and seven tiers of iron nets. There are eighteen compartments, completely surrounded sevenfold, all being forests of swords. Moreover, at the four corners of the seven tiers of sword trees, there are four great bronze dogs, forty yojanas in width and length. Their eyes are like flashing lightning, their fangs like sword trees, their teeth like mountains of knives, and their tongues like iron thorns. All the hairs on their bodies burn with ferocious fire, and its smoke has a foul stench. There are eighteen hell wardens with mouths like yakṣas and sixty-four eyes, scattering and spattering iron pellets. Their dog-like fangs protrude upward four yojanas high, and streams of fire from the tips of their fangs burn the iron carts before them. From the wheels and rims burst forth fire, sharp blades, swords, and halberds, burning the city of Avīci red as molten copper. The wardens have eight heads and sixty horns; fires burn at the tips of the horns, turning into steel, and turning again into wheels of knives. Wheels upon wheels in succession among the blazing flames fill the city of Avīci. Inside the city are seven iron banners; fire wells up as if boiling. Molten iron flows and spatters, welling out of the four gates. Above are eighteen cauldrons, where boiling copper overflows and inundates the city. At the gate of each compartment are eighty-four thousand great iron vipers spitting venom into the fire, their bodies filling the interior of the city. Those snakes roar like celestial thunder and rain down great iron pellets. Five hundred yakṣas and fifty billion worms with eighty-four thousand beaks have streams of fire pouring down from their heads like rain, filling the city of Avīci. When these worms descend, ferocious fires blaze furiously, illuminating the hell of eighty-four thousand yojanas. Above, it surges against the great ocean waters, scorching the mountains; below, it pierces through the bottom of the great ocean, shaped like an axle. If there are those who killed their father, harmed their mother, or reviled their close kin, at the time of their death the bronze dogs transform into eighteen carts shaped like jeweled canopies, and all the flames transform into jade maidens. Seeing them from afar, the sinners feel joy in their hearts and wish to go there. When the wind-knives dismember them and the urgent cold makes them chatter, they think: ‘If only I could get a good fire and rest upon the cart!’ But the blazing fire burns violently of itself, and immediately their lives end. Those who sit upon the golden carts gazing upon the jade maidens are all hacked and severed in body by iron axes held [by the attendants]. In the time it takes to bend or extend an arm, they fall straight into Avīci. Falling from the upper compartments downward like a whirling firebrand, they reach the lower compartments, their bodies filling the compartments entirely. The bronze dogs roar loudly, biting bones and sucking marrow. The rākṣasa hell wardens seize great iron pitchforks, impaling their heads to hoist them up, so that flames engulf their whole bodies, filling the Avīci Hell. King Yama proclaims in a loud voice, issuing the command: ‘Deluded fools, seeds of hell! When you were in the world, you were unfilial to your parents and were perversely arrogant and unprincipled. The place of your rebirth now is called the Avīci Hell!’ Passing through such great sufferings again and again cannot be fully described. Enduring suffering for one day and one night in this hell is equal to sixty minor kalpas in Jambudvīpa; thus [they endure] one great kalpa. Those who have committed all five heinous offenses suffer retribution for five kalpas. Furthermore, there are sentient beings who violate the four major prohibitions, consume offerings of the faithful in vain, slander [the Dharma] with wrong views, fail to recognize cause and effect, sever the study of prajñā, defame the Buddhas of the ten directions, steal the property of the Saṃgha, are licentious and unprincipled, or violate and force pure-precepted nuns, sisters, and female relatives, committing numerous evil deeds. As for the karmic retribution of such people: when their lives come to an end, these sinners, after passing through eighty-four thousand great kalpas, enter the eighteen compartments of the east again to endure suffering as before; south, west, and north are also like this. Their bodies fill the Avīci Hell, and their four limbs also fill it. Within the eighteen compartments of the Avīci Hell, there are eighteen minor hells. Within each minor hell there are eighteen Freezing Ice Hells, eighteen Pitch-Dark Hells, eighteen Minor Heat Hells, eighteen Knife-Wheel Hells, eighteen Sword-Wheel Hells, eighteen Fire-Cart Hells, eighteen Boiling-Faeces Hells, eighteen Cauldron-Broth Hells, eighteen Ash-River Hells, fifty billion Sword-Forest Hells, fifty billion Thorn-Forest Hells, fifty billion Copper-Pillar Hells, fifty billion Iron-Loom Hells, fifty billion Iron-Net Hells, eighteen Iron-Cave Hells, eighteen Iron-Pellet Hells, eighteen Pointed-Stone Hells, and eighteen Molten-Copper-Drinking Hells. Thus within this great Avīci Hell there are these eighteen hells. In each single hell there are separately eighteen minor hell compartments. From Freezing Ice down to Molten-Copper-Drinking, there are altogether one hundred and forty-two hell compartments. For each, the deeds created are different, yet they collectively pass through these hells, enduring suffering everywhere throughout them.” Furthermore, the Qishi jing states: “The Buddha addressed the bhikṣus: ‘Within the great hell of Avīci, there are also sixteen minor hells that serve as its retinue to surround it, each five hundred yojanas wide. All sentient beings who are born there, exit there, or abide there, are spontaneously born due to the retribution of evil karma. The various hell wardens each grasp the body of that sentient being with both hands and slam it down upon the blazing, hot iron ground, where flames shoot straight up, uniformly ferocious. With faces cast down to the ground, they then take sharp knives and cut open their tendons above the ankles. Grasping and pulling with their hands all the way up to the neck tendons, all are connected and drawn out, penetrating through to the heart and marrow, causing agony beyond description. Having thus pulled them out, they harness them to an iron cart to gallop and run. That cart is extremely hot, blazing with radiant flames. The place traversed is entirely glowing hot, a perilous path of hot iron; having gone, they go again. Driven according to the hell wardens' intent without a moment's rest, wherever the wardens wish to go, they go as they please. Wherever they go, the hell wardens drag them along, never parting from them. Wherever they pass through, the flesh and blood of the sinners' bodies are dissolved and melted away without any remainder. All that they did in the past when they were human or non-human is fully undergone in retribution. Because of evil retribution, from the east a great mass of fire suddenly emerges, blazing red, its exceedingly ferocious flames burning uniformly bright. South, west, north, the four intermediate directions, above, and below are each like this. Surrounded by great masses of fire, the fire draws gradually nearer, and they endure various agonies. From the eastern wall shoots a great blaze of fire, darting straight to the western wall, where it stays once it arrives. From the western wall shoots a blaze of great fire, darting straight to the northern wall. From the northern wall shoots a blaze of great fire, darting straight to the southern wall. From below it shoots upward; from above it shoots downward; crisscrossing horizontally and vertically, shooting through one another above and below. The intense light of the heat is dazzling, and the leaping flames crash into one another. At that time, the hell wardens cast the sinners into the six kinds of great masses of fire, so that they endure extremely severe and acute agony, yet their lives do not end. Their unwholesome karma not yet being finished and not yet exhausted, in the interim they undergo it in full. In this great Avīci Hell, those sentient beings, owing to the karmic retribution of unwholesome deeds, pass through immeasurable time along this long road, and having undergone various agonies, the four gates of the hell reopen. When the gates open, those sentient beings hear the sound and see them opening, and run toward the gates, thinking: “Now we must surely be able to escape!” As those people gallop frantically like this, their bodies blaze ever more furiously and fiercely. It is just as when a strong man holds a dry grass torch and runs against the wind: once that torch is alight, it blazes ever more fiercely. As those sentient beings run on and on, their bodies blaze ever more fiercely. When they wish to raise a foot, flesh and blood all scatter; when they wish to put down a foot, flesh and blood regenerate. When they reach the hell gate, that gate closes again. Being unable to get out, their minds are bewildered and frantic, and they fall prostrate upon the ground. Their skin is burned entirely, then their flesh is burned, and then their bones are burned, even penetrating through to the marrow, with smoke and flames blazing through. The smoke billows up, the flames blaze brilliantly, and smoke and flames mingling together double the burning distress. In that place, those people endure extremely severe suffering; until their evil karma is eradicated, all must be undergone. In this great Avīci Hell, at all times, there is never the slightest moment of peace and joy even for the space of a finger-snap. In this manner they successively undergo this suffering in full.’”

18.21

The Bhagavat addressed the bhikṣus, saying: “You should know that between those worlds there are separately ten hells. Which are the ten? First is the Arbuda Hell; second is the Nirarbuda Hell; third is the Ahaha Hell; fourth is the Hahava Hell; fifth is the Aṭaṭa Hell; sixth is the Saugandhika Hell; seventh is the Utpala Hell; eighth is the Padma Hell; ninth is the Puṇḍarīka Hell; tenth is the Kumuda Hell.”

18.22

By what cause and by what condition is it called the Arbuda Hell? Because the bodies of all these sentient beings are like bubbles, it is therefore called the Arbuda Hell.

18.23

Again, by what cause and condition is it called the Nirarbuda Hell? Because the bodies of all these sentient beings are like lumps of flesh, it is therefore called the Nirarbuda Hell.

18.24

Again, by what cause and condition is it called the Aṭaṭa Hell? When all these sentient beings are oppressed by severe and sharp suffering, they wail and cry out, saying, 'Aṭaṭa! Aṭaṭa! This is immense suffering!' It is therefore called the Aṭaṭa Hell.

18.25

Again, by what cause and condition is it called the Hahava Hell? When all these sentient beings are oppressed by the extreme suffering of that hell, they cry out, saying, 'Hahava! Hahava!' It is therefore called the Hahava Hell.

18.26

Again, by what cause and condition is it called the Huhuva Hell? All these sentient beings, with extreme pain and affliction oppressing their bodies, can only cry out, 'Huhuva! Huhuva!' but their voices cannot pass from their mouths. It is therefore called the Huhuva Hell.

18.27

Again, by what cause and condition is it called the Saugandhika Hell? The color of the fierce flames in this hell of these sentient beings is like the saugandhika flower; it is therefore called the Saugandhika Hell.

18.28

Again, by what cause and condition is it called the Utpala Hell? The color of the fierce flames in this hell of these sentient beings is like the utpala flower; it is therefore called the Utpala Hell.

18.29

Again, by what cause and condition is it called the Kumuda Hell? The color of the fierce flames in this hell of these sentient beings is like the kumuda flower; it is therefore called the Kumuda Hell.

18.30

Again, by what cause and condition is it called the Puṇḍarīka Hell? The color of the fierce flames in this hell of these sentient beings is like the puṇḍarīkā flower; it is therefore called the Puṇḍarīka Hell.

18.31

Again, by what cause and condition is it called the Padma Hell? The color of the fierce flames in this hell of these sentient beings is like the padma flower; it is therefore called the Padma Hell.

18.32

Also, the *Lokasthiti-abhidharma-śāstra* says: The Bhagavat explained that there is a great hell named Darkness. It exists entirely on the outer perimeter of each world, without any covering above. Sentient beings in it cannot see their own raised hands before their eyes. Even though the sun and moon possess great majestic supernormal power, their radiance does not illuminate those forms. When Buddhas appear in the world, their great light shines everywhere, and only because of this light can they see one another. It is situated outside the iron circles of adjacent worlds, called 'outside the realms.' These are the cold ice hells. Situated between two mountains, they have ten names: the first is named Arbuda, and so on up to the tenth named Padma. Sentient beings in them crawl horizontally while imagining they are facing upward, just like geckos. Outside the iron circle, they constantly crawl horizontally. Their body size is as large as an *eda*. When the cold wind strikes their bodies, they split open, just like ripe melons. Just as when a bamboo grove is burned by a great fire and makes popping sounds of 'cha cha', so too when these sentient beings are struck by the cold wind, their cracking bones make popping sounds of 'cha cha' that resound far away. Because of this sound, they become aware of each other; or because they bump into each other in their movement, they become aware of each other. There are sentient beings who take birth in this place. If there are sentient beings who die in this [world], many are reborn here. The cold ice hells lie outside the iron circle. If sentient beings in other worlds die who should be born in the cold ice hells, they are mostly born outside the iron circle of that world. The narrowest part between two realms is eighty thousand yojanas, bottomless below and uncovered above; its widest part is one hundred and sixty thousand yojanas.

18.33

Section 4: Circumstances Regarding Lifespan and Measurements

18.34

As the *Lokotpatti-sūtra* states, the Buddha said: 'Suppose there is a Kosalan bushel measuring sesame seeds, filled to twenty bushels, heaped high and not leveled. There is a man who, after the passage of every full hundred years, removes one sesame seed. In this manner, after the passage of each full hundred years, he again takes another grain and casts it elsewhere. Even after all the sesame seeds filling those twenty bushels have been cast aside and exhausted, the lifespan I speak of would still not be finished. Yet taking this number as a rough calculation, it is called one Arbuda lifespan. Twenty Arbuda lifespans make one Nirarbuda lifespan. Twenty Nirarbuda lifespans make one Aṭaṭa lifespan. Twenty Aṭaṭa lifespans make one Hahava lifespan. Twenty Hahava lifespans make one Huhuva lifespan. Twenty Huhuva lifespans make one Saugandhika lifespan. Twenty Saugandhika lifespans make one Utpala lifespan. Twenty Utpala lifespans make one Kumuda lifespan. Twenty Kumuda lifespans make one Puṇḍarīkā lifespan. Twenty Puṇḍarīkā lifespans make one Padma lifespan. Twenty Padma lifespans make one intermediate kalpa.' Furthermore, the *Sūtra of the Questions of the Bhikṣu Nāgasena* states: 'The fires of the mundane world are not as hot as the fire in hell. If a small stone is placed in mundane fire, it will not melt until dusk. If a large boulder is placed in hellfire, it melts immediately. It is also like a person who commits evil and dies in hell: for tens of millions of years that person does not die. It is also like large pythons, flood dragons, and the like, which eat sand and stones and digest them immediately; yet when a woman is pregnant, the fetus within her womb is not digested. All of this is due to the karmic force of good and evil that causes digestion or non-digestion. Good and evil committed by a person follow them like a shadow follows the body. When a person dies, only their physical form perishes, but their actions do not perish. It is like lighting a fire to write at night: when the fire goes out, the characters remain; when fire comes again later, they are realized. The actions performed in the present life are realized in future lives.'

18.35

Furthermore, just as the flames rage furiously in the Padma Hell: when a sinner is still a hundred yojanas away from this fire, the fire already scorches them; if they are sixty yojanas away, both ears of the sinner are already deaf and can hear nothing; if they are fifty yojanas away, both eyes of the sinner are already blind and can see nothing more. Just as the bhikṣu Kokālika harbored an evil mind and slandered Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana, and when his body broke up at the end of life, he fell into this Padma Hell.

18.36

Furthermore, as the *Lokotpatti-sūtra* says: In the place where the Padma Hell is situated, if sentient beings are one hundred yojanas away from that place, they are already reached by the flames of that hell. If they are fifty yojanas away, the sentient beings living there are smoked by that fire and all become blind without eyes. If they are twenty-five yojanas away, the flesh and blood of the bodies of the sentient beings living there are scorched, burst, and scattered. This is because toward renunciants of pure conduct they gave rise to defiled minds, harm-inflicting minds, venomous and evil minds, harmful minds, merciless minds, and impure minds, and so they personally suffer this calamity. For this reason, giving rise to benevolence toward all practitioners of pure conduct with bodily, verbal, and mental karmas, one always experiences peace and happiness.

18.37

Section 5: Circumstances Regarding the Hell Wardens and Rulers

18.38

As the *Sūtra on Inquiring into the Hells* and the *Jingdu sanmei jing* state: Comprising the hells in general, there are one hundred and thirty-four realms. First, we state the names and locations of the hell rulers. King Yama was formerly the king of Vaiśālī [or Viśālā]. He fought in battle with King Vaidarbha and was outmatched in military force. He therefore made a vow: 'May I become the lord of the hells!' His eighteen ministers, leading an army of one million, had horned ears on their heads, and were all filled with wrath. Together they made the vow, saying, 'In the future, we shall assist in punishing these sinners.' The former king of Viśālā is the present King Yama. The eighteen ministers are the present minor kings. The host of one million are the present ox-headed demons (āpaṅga). The *Sūtra on Inquiring into the Hells* says that the eighteen kings are those who oversee the eighteen hells: 1. Jiadian governs the Niraya; 2. Quzun governs the Knife Mountain; 3. Feijinshou governs the Boiling Sand; 4. Feidian governs the Boiling Excrement; 5. Jiashi governs the Black Ears; 6. Cuocuo governs the Fire Chariot; 7. Tangwei governs the Boiling Cauldron; 8. Huojiaran governs the Iron Bed; 9. Esheng governs the Crag Mountain; 10. Cold Ice (the sūtra lacks the king's name); 11. Pijia governs the Flaying of Skin; 12. Yaotou governs the Animals; 13. Tibo governs the Weapons; 14. Yihuo governs the Iron Mill; 15. Yuetou governs the Ice Hell; 16. Iron Canopy (the sūtra lacks the king's name); 17. Shendian governs the Maggots; 18. Guanshen governs the Molten Copper. Furthermore, the *Jingdu sanmei jing* states: There are another thirty hells, each with an overseeing lord, which need not be fully recorded. We merely list the names of the Five Officers so they may be known: the first is the Freshness Officer, who prohibits killing; the second is the Water Officer, who prohibits stealing; the third is the Iron Officer, who prohibits sexual misconduct; the fourth is the Earth Officer, who prohibits divisive speech; the fifth is the Heavenly Officer, who prohibits alcohol.

18.39

Section 6: Circumstances Regarding the Royal Capital

18.40

As the *Lokotpatti-sūtra* states: Due south of the continent of Jambudvīpa, outside the two Iron Encircling Mountains, is the dwelling place and palace of King Yama. It is sixty yojanas in length and breadth. There are seven tiers of walls, seven tiers of railings, and seven tiers of bell nets; outside them are seven tiers of palm trees, encircling it all around with variegated and delightful sights, made of the seven treasures. On its four sides there are various gates. Every single gate has parapets, watchtowers, terraces, halls, parks, and lotus ponds. There are various trees laden with delicious fruits, fragrant winds wafting far away, and birds singing in harmony. However, as an unwholesome result of the king's evil karma, at three times during the night and three times during the day, red molten copper naturally wells up before him. The king's palace immediately turns into iron, and the merits of the five desires all submerge and vanish. Seeing this, the king is terrified and uneasy, his hairs standing on end, and he immediately runs outside. If he is outside the palace, he runs inside. At that time, the hell wardens seize King Yama, lift him high, and slam him down onto the burning iron ground. That ground is blazing, intensely fierce with dazzling flames. Having slammed him down to lie there, they pry open his mouth with iron tongs and pour molten copper into his mouth. At that time, King Yama's lips and mouth are burned, next his tongue is burned, then his throat is burned, and then his large intestine and small intestine are burned, all consecutively scorched until [the copper] exits from below. At that time, the king thinks: 'Because in the past all sentient beings performed evil deeds of body, evil deeds of speech, and evil deeds of mind, together with other sentient beings who engaged in the same karma, they all experience this suffering. May I, from now on, having discarded this body, when I obtain another body, meet and be born together in the human realm! In the Dharma of the Tathāgata, may I obtain faith and understanding, shave off my hair and beard, don the kāṣāya robe, attain right faith and understanding, and go forth from home to homelessness! Having gone forth, may I personally attain direct realization: birth and death exhausted, pure conduct established, what had to be done accomplished, no longer subject to future rebirth!' When he gives rise to such perfumed wholesome thoughts, the palace where he dwells instantly becomes seven treasures again, just like that of the devas, and the merits of the five desires appear completely before him. Through the good of the three karmas, he immediately attains joy and happiness (just as in the *Dīrghāgama-sūtra*, the king also suffers at three times, the general meaning being the same as in this sūtra).

18.41

Furthermore, the New Vibhāṣā asks: "Are the hell wardens sentient beings or non-sentient?" Answer: "If they are those who bind newly born hell beings with iron chains and take them to King Yama, they are sentient beings; if they are those who harm sentient beings in hell with various instruments of torture, they are non-sentient. Beneath Jambudvīpa there is the great hell. Above Jambudvīpa there are also marginal hells and solitary hells, located either in valleys, on mountains, in wild plains, or in the open air. In the other three continents there are only marginal hells and solitary hells, and no great hell. Why is this? It is only because the humans of Jambudvīpa perform good with great intensity, and they also commit evil with great intensity, which is not the case in the other continents. Some say that in Uttarakuru there are also no marginal hells and so forth, because it is a place where the fruits of purely wholesome karma are experienced. Question: If there are no great hells in the other continents, where do those sentient beings who commit the inexpiable karmas, sever the wholesome roots, and so on, experience their maturation? Answer: They experience it in the great hell beneath this Jambudvīpa. Question: What is the physical form of the sentient beings in hell? Answer: Their form is like that of humans. Question: What is their language like? Answer: When they are first born, they all speak the noble language. Later, when they undergo suffering, although they utter various cries of agony and suffering, not a single word can be comprehended; there are only the sounds of hacking, stabbing, splitting, and tearing."

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諸經要集 — Classical Chinese