Does Hell exist?

Question: I have been said and preached by many monks and nuns as well as through my reading Buddhist sutras and books about the landscapes in the Hell. Recently, there was a master who graduated and received his Ph.D.degree from a Buddhist University in India and proclaimed on An Vien TV station that “The original Buddhism or the most primitive Buddhist sutras did not mention the Hell.

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But later, Buddhist ancestors borrowed the landscapes in\r\nBrahmin and took them into Buddhism. Being a Buddhist, we are very puzzled -\r\nnot knowing which is correct and which religion can give us the truth? Buddhist\r\nsutras and books all have said about the Hell while the master said ‘no’.Why is\r\nit so?

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Answer:  Since I knew Buddhist Dharma, I have\r\nknown what is called ‘samsara’ - the six ways or conditions of sentient\r\nexistence (hell-dwellers, hungry ghosts, animals, titanic demons or asuras,\r\nhuman beings and celestials). Buddhists - whether at a pagoda or at home - all\r\nknow about the landscapes of the Hell through Buddhist classics and those of\r\nmost Mahayana. I don’t know whether the master whom you just mentioned talked\r\nabout the original Buddhism or the most primitive sutra or not. I only know\r\nthat presently the world original Buddhism is disseminating five sutra volumes\r\ncalled ‘the five Nikaya volumes’ comprisingLong-work Sutras, The Middle Length\r\nDiscourses in the Pali Canon . . . .

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Of these five volumes, I have skimmed through three of which\r\nare

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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In all these three volumes, Hell has been mentioned.\r\nSpecifically, in the volume entitled Majjhima Nikaya and in the sutra\r\nnamed Heavenly Messenger the landscapes of the Hell have been mentioned very\r\nclearly. Let me summarily quote what I have heard of here with for your\r\nreference.

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Some of the time when the World Honoured One stayed in\r\nShravasti and at Jetavana where Anathapindina’s pure abode was located. Here\r\nThe World Honoured One summoned the bhiksus and said, “Hey bhiksus, “and the\r\nbhiksus answered, “Yes, Master.” Then The World Honoured One went on, saying, “For\r\nexample, there are two houses with doors at each, and there is a two-eye man,\r\nwho stays between the houses and so he can observe the passers - by clearly\r\ngoing to and fro and enter and leave these two houses. Likewise, I with\r\ntranquil Buddha’s eyes see sentimental beings of low and high ranks, handsome\r\nor ugly, benevolent or wicked animals depending on their karma die and\r\nregenerate (and I think): Thanks to their good karma, these sentimental beings\r\nare reborn into good animals and in the celestial region. Or thanks to their\r\nprevious benevolent speeches, ideas, and bodies, or they did not criticise any\r\nsaint’ virtues; instead, they had serious and decent speeches, ideas and\r\nbodies. Accordingly, theses are reborn into human beings after their death. But\r\nthose beings, with their previous bad speeches, false ideas and bodies and\r\nsaint wrong critics are, after their death  reborn into wicked or\r\n’sided’ animals or exiled into the Hell.

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“Hey bhiksus and Hell guardians! After having arrested that\r\nman by many hands, you took and led him in front of king Yama and said,\r\n“Respected Great King, this man does not have benevolence. Therefore, he does\r\nnot deserve to be neither a sramanan nor a Brahman. He does not pay any respect\r\nto aged people in his family Please punish him.”

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King Yama then made an inquiry to the guilty man and many\r\nother criminals, and finally they all were executed.

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Then the Buddha went on telling about the sights at the\r\nHell.

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At the body-part separation Hell:  criminals’\r\nskin, flesh, tendon, and bone were cut.

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At the pining and burning Hell: criminals were forced to\r\nclimb up a blazing red pine-tree.

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At the blade-sword Hell: criminals’ limbs, ears, nose, were\r\ncut by its moving leaves.

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At moving-water Hell: criminals were made go adrift to and\r\nfro along the current. etc.

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Afer having told clearly about various penalties at the\r\nHell, the Buddha added, “Hey bhiksus! What I told you about the Hell was not\r\ntold by a sramana or a Bradman. What I am telling you is what I myself have\r\nknown, seen and understood.”

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The concluding sentence by the Buddha in this sutra is\r\nreally interesting. I have the idea that the Buddha was able to predict that\r\nsomeone of the future generations would say that Hell was not told by the\r\nBuddha but by a Brahmin. It’s really marvellous! That’s why he affirmed in his\r\nsentence, “What I am telling you . . . and understood.” I would like to\r\nrespectfully prostrate myself to the Buddha with his such wonderful and\r\nsublimed titles known as Tathagatha, Worshipful, Omniscient,\r\nKnowledge-Perfect Conduct, Well-departed, Knower of the World, Supreme Master,\r\nTaming-Controlling men’s passions Master, Teacher of Heavenly and Humans\r\nBeings, and World Honoured One).

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Recently, Vietnamese Buddhists have been very puzzled - they\r\ndo not believe in which preacher. For, although they all are Buddhist monks and\r\nnuns, some say that this sutra is correct while others deny it. Some say that\r\nHell exists while some others disclaim it. Some say that this door or method of\r\nenlightenment is good while others say it is wrong. Some say that Mahayana was\r\npreached by the Buddha while others disappove it. So, who is right and who is\r\nwrong? In my opinion, .as Vietnam Buddhism now has many monks and nuns who have\r\ngraduated from world Buddhist institutes with high titles as PhD in Buddhism,\r\nshould we then hold a national congress in which we assemble the classics of\r\nthe Hymayana and those of the Primitive Buddhism and then basing on the\r\nBuddha’s teachings, the congress will decide to keep the correct teachings and\r\nleave out those considered wrong? Let’s bravely carry out a revolution in this\r\nfaith so that from now on Buddhists will base on these correct sutras to do\r\ntheir religious practice. The wrong sutras will be determinedly left out. Only\r\nin such a way will we not be fallen into the choatic situation like now where\r\nthe right and the wrong cannot be discerned. Only in such a way can the\r\nreligious practice be well oriented. Hopefully!

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Minh Tâm

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Note: You are kindly requestted to read the whole sutra\r\nnamed ‘The celestial messenger’ on either of the following network address:

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(1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1xuaWUFudA

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 (2) http://vnbet.vn/kinh-trung-bo-2/130-kinh-thien-su-178.html

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Translated into English by Mr. Hoang Huan, layman.

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