佛說觀佛三昧海經 5.29

5.29

The Buddha said to Ānanda: "What is called the Iron Cavern Hell? The Iron Cavern Hell is the utmost suffering in the realm of hungry ghosts. There is an iron mountain, twenty-five yojanas in both length and breadth. On the mountain there are further five hundred trillion great hot iron pellets; each iron pellet is round and exactly thirteen yojanas across. In the mountain there are further hundreds of thousands of swords and blades. At that time, on the eastern side of that mountain there is an opening, a small aperture like the mouth of a Magadhan peck-measure, emitting only black smoke. In the world there are foolish sentient beings who are bound and attached by stinginess and greed, their minds like vajra; they delight only in seeking and demanding, never having any satiety. They give nothing to their parents, wives, and children; they regard the teachings of their masters and elders as excrement; and they bestow no food or clothing upon their servants, kin, or friends. Such stingy persons do not reflect upon impermanence, protecting and begrudging their wealth and property just like their own eyes. When such a person's retribution for their sins arrives and their life is about to end, their sense faculties are blocked and shut, and their mouth is clenched shut, unable to speak. They think silently in their mind: 'After I die, these evil people will consume my wealth and goods like swallowing iron pellets, and will dwell in my house like staying in a dark room.' Having formed this thought, the hell-warden rākṣasas transform into stingy people who magically gather up the wealth and goods and come to the sinner's place to burn them with fire. The sinner's heart is gladdened. Their breath ceases, their life ends, and they are born on the fiery mountain, as if molten copper were being cast into an iron cavern. Having entered the cavern, sword-worms and blade-worms gnaw and feed upon their body; the smoke stings their eyes so that they cannot see the flames of fire. Terrified and panicked, they run wildly east and west; their heads strike the iron mountain, and the iron pellets move up and down, entering through the crown of their head and exiting through their feet. They die in a single thought-moment and are reborn in a single thought-moment. When their retribution is complete, they are born among hungry ghosts, their bodies large and tall, several tens of yojanas, their throats like the tubes of needles and their bellies like great mountains; running east and west seeking food, molten copper is poured into their throats. Only after eight thousand years pass does their suffering end. They are then born among spittle-eating ghosts, pus-eating ghosts, and blood-eating ghosts. When that sin is exhausted, they are reborn as privy spirits, pigs, and dogs. When that sin is exhausted, they are reborn in a poor, destitute, and base place devoid of clothing and food. Later, they meet a kalyāṇamitra and give rise to the bodhicitta."