Toh 287 — The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma

The Reviving Hell

“When the monk thus examines things by means of knowledge derived from hearing or through the divine eye, he will notice sixteen realms that surround the great Reviving Hell. They are known by the following names: Swamp of Filth, Mutilation by Iron, Boiling Cauldrons, Relentless Torments, Darkness, Utterly Dreadful, Excruciating Pain, Universal Disease, F.147.bRain of Weapons, Intense Harm, Black Mongoose-Like, Mutation, Harmed by Pain, Garland of Lotuses, Pond, and Superior Harm.

“What karmic actions will cause birth in the surroundings of the Reviving Hell? When the monk investigates things by means of knowledge derived from hearing or through the divine eye, he will understand that if one resorts to, becomes habituated to, and increases acts of killing, along with their preparations and conclusions, one will take birth in the Reviving Hell. That is to say, greater, intermediate, and minor killing will, respectively, result in greater, intermediate, or minor harm.

“Life in a severe hell ensues from intentionally completing, without confession or regret, the killing of sentient beings who are practicing discipline, have received vows, or are engaged in the practice of aspects of discipline; from boasting about such acts and committing them again; from inducing others to kill, urging them, cheering them on, affirming them in these acts, and teaching them how to commit them; and from rejoicing in such acts when they are done by others. A deluded person is liable to commit such acts again and again, resulting in their fall into such a hell.

“As for the longevity of the beings in that hell realm, fifty human years make one day among the Four Great Kings. Thirty such days make a month, and twelve of those months make a year. The lifespan of the Four Great Kings is five hundred such years, which period makes one day in the life of a being in a great hell. Corresponding with the degree of severity of their negative karmic actions, the lifespans of such beings may be either short, medium, or long, and they may also die prematurely. If the seeds of the accumulated negativity are severe, F.148.a one may be additionally cooked in one, two, three, four, five, six, and even up to all sixteen of the neighboring hells until the relevant bad karma has been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. When it is said that a hell being lives for five hundred years, such a calculation relates to the divine scenario alluded to above, and not that of human beings.

“How may a monk additionally perceive the karmic actions that are associated with the neighboring hells? Spiritual practitioners who carefully observe inner phenomena will see that the mind is like an artist who creates paintings, which are the results of his own acts. Thus, the mind engenders the landscape of the millions and billions of incomparable terrors associated with the regions that surround the Reviving Hell.

“Wondering what karmic actions lead to birth in the region known as the Swamp of Filth, the monk may investigate things by means of knowledge derived from hearing or through the divine eye. Thus he will see that similarly unconfessed, duly prepared, completed, and accumulated acts of killing that are driven by desire—as when one hunts birds using birds, lets bears kill bears, or eagles kill eagles,^[27] traps deer in snares or hunts them—constitute the generative unvirtuous actions that lead to birth in the Swamp of Filth.

“Some of the harms of that realm are as follows. The Swamp of Filth is filled with filth, putrid corpses, and worms with diamond-hard mouths. If one happens to swallow any of the filth there, the worms within the filth will enter one’s body and begin to consume it. They will begin by eating one’s lips, and continue with the tongue, palate, throat, heart, liver, spleen, F.148.b vital points, pakṣālikā,^[28] entrails, colon, and stomach. From there the worms will spread throughout the impure body, consuming one’s teeth, flesh, and lungs. Thus, one will experience burning, fierce, and excruciating sensations for many hundreds of thousands of human years. Corresponding with the evil that was done, one will be killed by birds if one took the lives of birds, by bears if in previous times one killed bears, and by other wild animals if one trapped, ensnared, hunted, or preyed on such animals before.^[29] As the effects of one’s actions ripen, the worms will enter one’s body and consume it, just as before one would eat the animals.

“As for the consequences of one’s virtuous and unvirtuous actions, once the relevant negative actions have been overcome and relinquished, one will escape the neighboring hell of the Swamp of Filth. Hence, that painting made by the painter, the mind, will vanish. When free from that hell, and if there is no interference based on karmic action to be experienced in future lives, one will at that point be born as an animal. If born as a bird, one will be killed in the same way as oneself before would kill birds, and if born as a wild animal, one’s birth will be in conformity with the karmic action of trapping and ensnaring that originally produced the experience of life in hell. If due to karmic action to be experienced in future lives one is instead born as a god or a human, one’s life will, in accordance with that residual karma, be short.

“Next the monk will examine Mutilation by Iron, the second realm among those that surround the Reviving Hell. Wondering what acts of killing lead to rebirth there, the monk will examine this with knowledge derived from hearing or through the divine eye. He will find that unrepentant, sadistic, and premeditated acts of killing sentient beings with weapons for the sake of wealth, business, and profit F.149.a will, just as described before, serve as the cause, condition, and basis for a downfall into the miserable realm of Mutilation by Iron once one separates from one’s body.

“That realm is surrounded by a flaming iron wall that is ten leagues high. It blazes with hell fire, and within it a cloudlike throng of people is burned alive. The inhabitants of this realm are struck by flaming weapons, and their bodies are thereby chopped, burned, and split into pieces the size of a sesame seed. In this way a rain of weapons showers down upon everyone in the same way that rains fall in Jambudvīpa. The rain of weapons covers the ten directions and yet, although the people there are cut up by the falling weapons, they will not die. With the ripening effects of their negative actions, they cry out in agony while their body parts are cut and chopped.

“The hell realm of Mutilation by Iron also features forests of trees with leaves that have razor-sharp edges, both above and below. Although the forests are bristling in this way, from a distance they appear dark and lush. People tormented by hunger and thirst therefore run wailing toward such forests, but upon reaching them they are cut up by the rain of weapons.

“As for the relevant karmic causes, fooling cattle by leading them on with food will make the painter of the mind draw the designs of this hell realm. Thus, the unvirtuous actions of the beings that inhabit that realm are responsible for their individual experiences. For as long as those unvirtuous karmic actions have not been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, the beings in that realm will continue to the be cut up throughout many hundreds of thousands of years. Such is, as already mentioned, the way that the painter of the mind F.149.b creates its paintings.

“The monk will then consider the karmic ripening that produces Boiling Cauldrons, the third realm that neighbors the Reviving Hell. Wondering what types of actions may bring birth there, he will examine things with knowledge derived from hearing. He will then understand that by flaying, boiling, and cooking camels, pigs, rabbits, and other such animals,^[30] one will upon separating from one’s body fall into a realm of misery where, in accordance with one’s karmic seeds, one will be boiled in a cauldron. Thus, thrown into an iron cauldron that is kept boiling by intense fire for many hundreds of thousands of years one will endure torture there.

“Freedom from this hell will only occur once its basis within the painter-like mind has been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. As for the karmic ripening that may occur within that hell realm, in future lives, or in the life immediately thereafter, this is as explained earlier. If one subsequently is born as a god or a human, one’s life will be short.

“As he sees people being boiled in cauldrons, how does the monk who correctly observes and abides by inner phenomena regard this neighboring hell? The monk who examines things by means of knowledge derived from hearing, or through the divine eye, will develop supreme courage when seeing this realm. He will crush the hordes of the māras, go beyond the ocean of cyclic existence, extinguish the fires of desire with the water of discipline, extinguish the fire of anger with the water that flows from the vase of loving kindness, and dispel the distortions of delusion with the lamp of dependent origination. Thus, the monk who comprehends the profound will go beyond the ocean of cyclic existence.

“How does the monk concern himself with Relentless Torments, the fourth realm that neighbors the Reviving Hell? The karmic ripening of cause and effect F.150.a accords with the relationship between seeds and their fruits. Thus, those who have become humans may inflict numerous torments of the Reviving Hell,^[31] such as the pains of being crushed between trees,^[32] being torn to pieces, bending down, being a road, being taken on the path of a ruler,^[33] the sensation of earth,^[34] falling, being pierced by needles, being pulled by a rope, falling off an elephant, being in a sandstorm, being hit by clubs, flogging, headaches, being squeezed like an infant or child on the lap, feeling hot or cold, feeling wet,^[35] having water poured on one’s body, being hung on a pole, being crushed in a ravine or an abyss, being seized by enemies, having one’s genitals cut off, having one’s fingers cut off, having one’s body hair plucked out, being fooled, being submerged in boiling lead and copper, having one’s nose pierced by sharp iron, snakes entering one’s private parts, being hit by boulders, developing craving, being swathed in garlands of fire, having one’s hair torn out, falling prey to biting insects,^[36] having one’s skin cut,^[37] confinement, having one’s body cut, being cooked in a jar or pot, being burned like bricks, having salt rubbed into open wounds, being swept with a broom, being burned, having one’s big toes amputated and burned, ingesting long chili peppers, ingesting the froth of thirty seas,^[38] being struck by hands and feet, moving far away,F.150.b having one’s molar teeth extracted, being burned by oil, being beaten like gold, severe swelling, and rising and falling.

All these many different kinds of painful tortures will, upon separating from one’s body, lead to a hideous fall into the lower realms, and so, in the hell of Relentless Torments one will experience effects concomitant with their causes. Yet for the beings in that realm of hell the ripening is incomparably more severe, as the harms that were mentioned earlier are here multiplied a hundred billion times. Such is the way that beings come to directly experience the effects of their own actions.

“The painter of the mind thus draws its designs with the brush of desire and the paint of unvirtuous thoughts upon the canvas^[39] of the heart. Thus, the restrictive marks of having children and a wife will come to be experienced. One will not be defeated by one’s own positive karmic actions,^[40] but for as long as one has not overcome, relinquished, and exhausted one’s negative actions, one will not die.

“Once one dies it may be that the relevant karmic actions are to be experienced in a different life, and that one will not therefore be born as a starving spirit or an animal. If in such a case one is born into a human existence, cause and effect will ensure that one will constantly be enslaved, hurt, injured, harmed by royal courts, and otherwise feel miserable. One will be harmed by everyone and experience intense suffering. Even one’s friends, dear ones, spouse, and children will harbor animosity against one.

“The monk will then concern himself with Darkness, the fifth realm that neighbors the Reviving Hell. Wondering what karmic ripening causes beings to take birth there, he will examine things with knowledge derived from hearing. Certain beings suffering from wrong views that mix up cause and effect will slay cattle in sacrificial killings, F.151.a or they may imprison turtles with bricks and keep them in darkness. Thus, when they separate from their bodies, they will suffer a downfall into the lower realms and take birth in the hell of Darkness. In that hell flames burst forth from the darkness to scorch them. Driven by the wind of karma, they will be caught between two vajra-like mountains that collide into each other with great force. They are helplessly ground and pulverized by the mountains, without there being even a hair tip of a gap. Constantly tormented, their limbs and organs will be destroyed by razor sharp winds. With their bodies burning from thirst and starvation, they cry out in pain. Thus, those who burned turtles, or suppressed them with bricks, will for many hundreds of thousands of years live in darkness without witnessing even as little light as there could be within the eye of a needle. Yet they will be burned by their own flaming body hairs.

“The mind is like a monkey that roams across the mountains of latent tendencies. The slopes of those mountains are rock-hard and at times the monkey may remain on the summits of conceit, climb the heights of wrong view, jump through the dense forests of pride, sit on the rocks of anger, gather the fruits of envy as if they were desirable qualities, and be carried away by the rivers of craving. Thus, those who have engaged in great negative acts will not die before their evil has been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“If, when finally free from that hell, one is not born as a starving spirit or an animal, but instead becomes a human, cause and effect will nevertheless be in accord. Thus, one will constantly suffer from bondage and one’s life will be short.

“Next the monk will concern himself with Utterly Dreadful, the sixth realm that neighbors the Reviving Hell. Wondering what karmic ripening causes beings to take birth in this hell realm F.151.b known as Utterly Dreadful, he will examine things with knowledge derived from hearing. He will see that certain people constantly endeavor to maliciously kill other beings. With the sounds of conches, drums, and humming they may enter the forests and frighten the deer, birds, lions, bears, leopards, monkeys, and other such animals that live there. Thus, obeying the wishes of kings and ministers, they go hunting. Yet when they separate from their bodies, they suffer a downfall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Utterly Dreadful. As cause and effect are in accord, those who previously were always hostile will now enter the fire of hell where they will encounter crows, owls, vultures, dogs, flesh-eating demons, and foxes that make terrifying sounds and grab them by their ears with sharp mouths and devour them. The horrifying, appalling, dreadful, and terrible sounds of the animals terrify everyone and create universal dread. In that hell, various insects will repeatedly grab the beings in that realm by their ears, consuming them and splitting their skeletons open with their vajra-like mouths.

“The mind is like a fish that swims in the river of craving with its fierce currents of anger. As the fish swims in the river, which passes through the mountains of cyclic existence, it is caught on the hook of petty pleasures in the zones of desire, anger, and delusion. Deep runs the water of wrong views and powerful is its current. As the body is born and dies, there is constant craving for sounds, textures, tastes, forms, and smells, and thus also engagement in unvirtuous action. As long as one has not lived through the painful outcome and fruits of such actions one will not die.

“At this point, there are some verses:^[41]

“Next the monk will concern himself with Excruciating Pain, the seventh realm that neighbors the Reviving Hell. Wondering what karmic ripening causes beings to take birth in that hell realm known as Excruciating Pain, he will examine things with knowledge derived from hearing. Thus, he will realize how beings with an overflow of karmic latency, animosity, and mental density may frivolously engage in killing. When they later separate from their bodies, they will suffer a downfall into the lower realms, taking birth in this hell known as Excruciating Pain. There they will encounter heat, weapons, fire, ravines, abysses, and spikes, and become adorned with garlands of blazing fire. Such agonies they will experience constantly, every single day.

The Black Line Hell

“Next the monk who has knowledge of the reality of karmic effects, and who searches for the city of the transcendence of suffering, will concern himself with the great Black Line Hell, wondering what neighboring regions it may have. Examining things with knowledge derived from hearing, he will perceive a hell realm with unbearable fires known as Incessantly Intense Pain. Wondering what karmic actions may bring birth there, F.152.b the monk will examine things with knowledge derived from hearing. He will come to understand that the arguments and examples employed in the treatises that propagate unfortunate views may cause certain people to lack discipline, and they will then fall into a deep gorge. Once those who are thus governed by that which is incorrect separate from their bodies, they will suffer a downfall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Incessantly Intense Pain.

“That hell features numerous tortures. Bound by a burning rope, one may be pulled up vertically only to be dropped into the abyss from a distance of many leagues. Likewise, as soon as one is born there, one will be made to walk on razors and sharp weapons. With all one’s major and minor body parts in pain. Deceived by one’s own mind, one will roam through cyclic existence, lost in darkness due to delusion. One’s body, which is burning like a forest fire, will be devoured by dogs with extremely sharp^[42] fangs. Those who live in that hell have no protector, no guardian, no benefactor, and no one to comfort them.

“There are some verses on those who live in the realm of the Lord of Death:

“Thus, in the hell of Incessantly Intense Pain, the henchmen of the Lord of Death act in accordance with the karmic actions of the beings in hell. And hence, the sentient beings in that realm will continue to undergo intense torture for hundreds of thousands of years until finally the acts that they performed and accumulated have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. Once they escape and become free of their karmic actions they may, unless some ripening to be experienced in other lives prevents it, take birth with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, as an effect that accords with its cause, they will in that case be born in Dramiḍa, on one of the subcontinents, or in the middle of the ocean, or in Sindh, or in a place inhabited by blind people, or among slaves who suffer deeply. They will be destitute and at the mercy of others. They will be kept in confinement and their major and minor body parts will be degenerate and incomplete. Suffering from thirst and hunger, they will be haunted by heat and cold. They will suffer excruciating pain and constantly be harmed by others. Children will hit them with sticks and stones, and they will be despised by everyone. Even their own spouses and children will shun them, and their lives will be deeply painful from the moment they emerge from their mother’s womb. In this way the effects of karmic ripening accord with their causes and conditions; one’s experiences depend on what one has done previously.

“When the monk in this way perceives how flawed action comes to be experienced, he will observe the dark realms of hell and become extremely disenchanted by the whole of cyclic existence. Thus, the monk who is a spiritual practitioner will analyze and persevere in viewing the reality of the effects of actions. He will see the terrifying experiences of wandering beings and develop renunciation for the entirety of cyclic existence. Cutting the chains of the māras asunder, he will have no wish for the workings of the māras. He will not wish to be saddled with any object of desire F.154.a and will become displeased with the craving that accompanies trivial desire. When the terrestrial yakṣas see that the monk is endowed with these qualities, they will inform the celestial yakṣas until, in the same way as before, the message reaches the realm of Brahmā.

“The monk will then further examine the regions that surround the Black Line Hell, wondering what other realms may be found there. Thus, he will perceive a hell realm known as Very Violent. Wondering what karmic actions may lead to birth in that hell, he will notice how certain undeserving householders secretly enjoy medical supplies and health facilities. As they deceive others, they may cause cattle to be killed. They may give false pretexts related to the gods,^[43] or engage in the negative acts of greedy brahmins. When they later separate from their bodies, they will suffer a downfall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Very Violent. There they will have their eyes plucked out by raging ravens, vultures, and wild boars. The grunts of frantic boars will be heard. The terrors of that realm also include the clubs, blazing fires, and the horrifying fierce guardians of hell. As they take birth in that realm of Very Violent, sentient beings will have their eyes, tongues, and major and minor body parts cut out, and they will be boiled alive in iron cauldrons filled with molten copper. Their bodies will be impaled, and their legs cut off. Ravens will eat from them and they will be haunted by all manner of disease. Until they have overcome, relinquished, and exhausted their evil acts, they will remain in that unbearable state of hell for many hundreds of thousands of years. Knowing neither protector nor friend, they will cry, while being slaughtered by the henchmen of the Lord of Death. F.154.b

“Once they escape that realm of hell they may, due to acts to be experienced in other lives, not be born as an animal or starving spirit, but instead be born into the good fortune of being a human. Yet they will be born crippled or blind and will not live long. Once they die, the karmic bonds of such living beings may once more lead them into the lower realms. Thus, good deeds beget goodness while ruinous deeds beget further ruin. As for taking birth within cyclic existence and its effects, such are the relationships where cause and effect are in accord.

“Again, the monk will concern himself with the regions that surround the Black Line Hell, and so he will wonder what acts may lead to a life in the realm of Vulture Terrors. He will then notice that for the sake of personal gain some people may kill or enslave others, or they may starve others and deprive them of drink. When such people later separate from their bodies, they will suffer a downfall into the lower realms, and so take birth in the hell of Vulture Terrors. The horrors of that realm involve its flaming iron surface that extends for one million leagues, upon which sentient beings are burned. Everywhere this ground yields triangular iron fruits that are of a color like water but burn with fire. In that hell sentient beings are cut up and slaughtered, receiving their punishment from the Lord of Death. Throughout day and night, they are executed by people of terrific physical strength, armed with swords and spears. When helplessly they try to escape, they will be caught and killed by the flaming swords, spears, and arrows of the Lord of Death’s helpers.

“On the plains of that realm beings must survive despite starvation and thirst. They will find no water and no one to protect them or bring them relief. Without anyone to guard them, they will constantly fall prey to the attacks of others and F.155.a experience all manner of torment.

“At this point, there are some verses:

“The monk who examines the regions surrounding the Black Line Hell will at this point stop his inquiry without concerning himself with any other neighboring realms. The great Black Line Hell with its sixteen surrounding realms is similar to the great Reviving Hell with its sixteen surrounding realms. As the monk examines the neighboring reaches of this second hell, he will comprehend the ripening of the phenomena of karmic action. Understanding the essential character of the matured results of flawed action, he will see that some acts are done and accumulated, others are accumulated but not engaged in, and still others are done but not accumulated.^[46] Acts that were done and accumulated are certain to ripen whereas acts that were accumulated but not carried out and acts that were carried out but not accumulated do not have any certain ripening.

“As the monk regards the various realms of hell, he perceives them by means of knowledge derived from hearing. Thus, he comes to understand the nature of the three kinds of resultant ripening of karmic action that pertain to the surrounding regions where beings are bound to each other by the rope of karma. Thereby he will recognize numerous distinct types of karmic action. He will notice how the mind is generally governed by its objects and how sentient beings are governed by their minds, and this perception of sentient beings will make him sad.

The Crushing Hell

“The monk will then employ his knowledge derived from hearing to concern himself with still other hell realms. In this way he will come to see the Crushing Hell, the third among the great hells. Wondering what kind of accumulated karmic actions may ripen as birth in that realm, he will examine things by means of knowledge derived from hearing. Thus, he will understand that birth in the Crushing Hell is an experience that results from carrying out and accumulating three forms of negative action: killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. F.156.a Those three negative acts cause living beings to take birth in the Crushing Hell. Severe evil will cause birth in the main hell, whereas intermediate and lesser evil will bring birth in the neighboring regions. Severe, intermediate, and lesser evil will respectively produce greater, intermediate, and lesser harm. Furthermore, beings governed by severe, intermediate, and lesser negative minds will have long, intermediate, and short lives in hell, respectively. Whether the tortures they experience are of a greater or intermediate kind depends on whether the mind’s reference points are of the greater or intermediate type.

“Karmic action may be classified as threefold with reference to the body, speech, and mind. It can also be classified as threefold in terms of the three times—past, future, and present—or in terms of which of the three realms a given act brings birth in: desire, form, or formless. Furthermore, there is also intermediate, greater, and lesser karmic action, just as there is karmic action to be experienced in the present life, the subsequent life, or other lifetimes. Karmic action may also be virtuous, unvirtuous, or indeterminate, and it may be related to the present life, the intermediate existence, or coming lives. There is also a threefold categorization in terms of karmic action related to humans, non-humans, and both humans and non-humans. Karmic action related to both humans and non-humans is, for example, when a human being commits an action that leads to hell. So-called distinctive enactment is when the manifestation of a given act turns out in complete conformity with its enactment. This is the case, for example, when monks perform miraculous feats according to their aspirations. There are also the three principles of efficient, inefficient, and relational action. The first case is, for example, when someone becomes a mendicant and then later, in accordance with the former act, becomes a worthy one. F.156.b Inefficient action would be when someone becomes a mendicant yet does not practice wholesome action. Finally, relational action occurs once one is born in another life after having passed away in the present.

“There are also three types of action that are connected with concentration, not being connected with concentration, and not being connected with ripening. The first type is when an action committed on the level of the first concentration leads to the second concentration, but not to the third or the fourth. Karmic action not connected with concentration applies, for example, to generosity and discipline. Action not connected with ripening occurs, for example, for a worthy one who has exhausted defilements. Such a being has no connection to a life in which ripening will definitively be experienced.

“ ‘Thus,’ the monk will think, ‘the world arises in terms of the oceanic webs of karmic action, which are mutually dependent and ripen during successive births. Here there is no doer and no experiencer. Nor is there in any accidental karma.’ With these thoughts in mind the monk will destroy the forces of the māras and accomplish the qualities of virtue.

“As the monk perceives the severe ripening of karmic action within the inferno of the Crushing Hell, he will ask himself how beings come to take birth upon such a ground. He will then see that by practicing, cultivating, and increasing acts of killing, taking what was not given, and sexual misconduct—including the preparations for and the conclusions of such acts—one may take birth in the Crushing Hell with its surrounding hells. The tortures in the main hell are such that one will be seized by vultures within a forest, and the vultures will then disembowel and consume one with their sharp flaming beaks. Within the river called Filled with Stakes one will be impaled upon long, flaming stakes and then executed by the flaming swords of the henchmen of the Lord of Death. F.157.a While present in that realm one’s agonies are fierce and excruciating to an extent that defies comparison or example.

“When the beings of that hell realm are caught by the Lord of Death’s henchmen, who are intent on impaling them on flaming stakes, they will fight both the henchmen and each other, screaming in distress. Thrown into cauldrons of boiling, molten copper, their bodies will flare up like dry wood, and thus they will panic and burn. As they are carried off by the river Filled with Stakes, some will flare up like dry grass, others will sink into the river like heavy stones, and some will wash up on the shores like mussel shells. Some bodies will melt like balls of butter, while others will first become like red-hot iron and then split into hundreds or thousands of pieces, as when a handful of sand is thrown into the air. Some will be burned up by acid, or dissolve in boiling copper or iron. Some will be caught by flaming pliers and then killed by razor-sharp weapons. Some will be killed by having their limbs pulled apart like woven fabric^[47] and some will be killed by being held face-down. Some will be caught and put in a jar, and then stewed in that jar like peas that first float on the surface and then gradually sink. Occasionally one of them will surface and moan, while others may surface in groups, moaning and clutching onto one another. Without any protector, some of them will be caught upon a burning surface, and then eaten by flaming vultures, ravens, foxes, or dogs.

“Every single day the beings there have to undergo numerous such tortures. Deceived by their own minds, F.157.b they engaged in sexual misconduct, killing, and stealing. Thereby they came to apprehend these karmic manifestations and thus experience millions of such tortures.

“The beings of this hell realm have no savior or protector. Wailing, they may try to escape as they think, ‘Who can protect us from these torments?’ Yet the henchmen of the Lord of Death will grind them with their blazing clubs and shepherd them toward rivers, trees, flaming rocks, forests, torrents, and mountains, only to subject them to all sorts of torture there. They will then take them to the tops of extremely tall trees and drop them to the ground, which is studded with swords. In this way their limbs will break into hundreds and thousands of pieces.

“Again, the henchmen of the Lord of Death may seize the beings of that hell realm and take them to a forest where the flaming leaves of the trees are sword-like and have torturous, razor-sharp edges. Due to their karmic actions, the sentient beings in this hell will perceive that those trees are home to delightful maidens adorned with flower garlands, colored powders, ointments, and exquisite jewelry. The maidens are very youthful, with fine nails, and their charms are of the kinds that enrapture all infantile, ordinary beings. Adorned with exquisite ornaments, they will promise numerous pleasures. Seeing these girls, the beings of this hell will approach the trees, thinking, ‘When I lived as human, she was mine!’ Hence, due to their karmic obscurations, they will begin to climb the trees. However, as they do so, the sword-like leaves will cut open their flesh, sever their muscles, cut through their bones, and expose their bone marrow. Despite being cleaved by the sword-like leaves, however, F.158.a these hell beings will keep trying to climb the trees, infatuated by the maidens. Although they experience this kind of torture, still they will continue climbing, deceived by their own minds.

“However, when they finally reach the treetops, they will now perceive the girls sitting on the ground, looking up at them with longing eyes and sweet smiles. With beautiful voices they will call out, ‘I am here for you! Why will you not speak to me? Why will you not embrace me?’ As the beings of this hell perceive these karmic conjurations, they will, due to their minds’ desire, begin to climb down from those trees with sword-like leaves. As they do so, the razor-sharp leaves will now turn upward, cutting off lumps of their flesh, severing their muscles, cleaving their bones, piercing all their vital points, and drawing out their bone marrow. Thus, they will subject themselves to grueling torture. Due to the desirous craving these hell beings harbor in their hearts, they will keep gazing at the women, all the while having all their limbs and organs cut up and butchered. Yet even as they keep gazing, vultures will descend upon them, plucking out their eyes and biting off their ears with terrifying, razor-sharp beaks. While the hell beings cry out in agony, their tongues and noses will be severed on the fearsome leaves of the trees, and all their major and minor body parts will be amputated. Maddened by their desirous craving, they will in this way plunge to the ground. However, once they reach the ground the girls will now climb to the treetops. As they see the girls climb, they will again pursue them, and everything will start once again. Thus, driven by their karmic actions and utterly deceived by their own minds, F.158.b these beings will cycle through hell for many hundreds of thousands, or even many billions of years.

“Despite the torments that their pursuits bring them, and although sexual misconduct is the cause of their pain, these beings of hell do not let go of their desires. Since time without beginning, the mind has in this way entered the realms of hell beings, animals, and starving spirits. For these reasons, one should not engage in the frame of mind of a being headed for hell.

“In the Crushing Hell lies a mountain known as Vulture Friendship. Thirsting and starving, the beings of hell will race toward that mountain. Yet on the summit of Vulture Friendship lives a vulture with a terrifying iron beak and a large stomach filled with burning embers. Helpless and without a protector, the beings of hell will climb this mountain, moaning in agony. When they reach the peak, the vultures will break open their skulls, extract their brains, and gouge out their eyes. Once they have gulped down the brains and brain membrane, the vultures will throw the heads away. Headless and with their eyes taken away, the beings of this hell will then run off into a dense darkness of blindness. They will then encounter other vultures, produced by karma, that have an enormous body, and within their gigantic frame also burn glowing embers. These vultures will seize the beings of this hell and swallow them. Having entered the bird’s abdominal cavity they will burn there for many hundreds of thousands of years, because resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing has made it impossible for them to die sooner.

“The force of resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of sexual misconduct F.159.a will make one perceive females in the forest of sword-like leaves. The power of resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of taking what was not given will, on the other hand, make one proceed to other regions of hell. There is a river known as Infinite Shores that flows with boiling molten copper. Upon the far shores of this river the beings of this hell will perceive abundant food, drink, and lodging. The land appears delightful, with ample shade, lush forests, streaming rivers, and cool ponds. When they see this, the beings of this hell will run toward it as before, yelling and calling upon each other, ‘Friends, come forth! Come forth, and you shall find excellent food, drink, lodging … and so forth.’ As they hear these words, other beings of this hell will also hasten forth, for they yearn for help, protection, and relief. As they meet together on the riverbank, the beings who were called will ask, ‘Where is that place, friends, where we were going to find happiness and relief?’ Then the beings who had called them will point at the opposite bank and say, ‘Friends, look at the far banks of Infinite Shores, abounding with food, drink, beds, couches, groves, forests … and so forth!’ Pushing against each other, all of them will then plunge into the river’s fierce and frothing waves of boiling metal. As they fall into the river, some will melt as if they were lumps of butter, some will be eaten by crows with flaming beaks, F.159.b and some will be swallowed by fish whose flaming mouths will consume all their organs and body parts.^[48]

“These verses rightly explain the karmic actions of such beings:

“Thus, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will instruct the beings of the Crushing Hell, saying, ‘Who else should experience the consequences of your acts? You, yourselves, will experience the effects of your own positive or negative acts. Such effects do not come about unless you create them. Nothing you do is ever lost.’ F.160.a

“Until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, the beings of the Crushing Hell will continue to live on for many hundreds of thousands of years. Such are the effects of resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, taking what was not given, and sexual misconduct. With the passing of time, just as these beings first got into their torturous situation, so they will at some point also be freed from hell. They may then, due to acts that are to be experienced in other lifetimes, not be born as a starving spirit or an animal, but instead take birth as a human. In that case, however, their lives will be short and impoverished, their spouses will be unpleasant, they may crave for the spouses of others, they may be despised and find no spouse at all, or they may be enslaved. These karmic effects accord with their respective causal actions. Such effects will occur for all those who journey to hell, deceived by the forces of karmic action.

“The monk who has knowledge of the ripening of karmic effects will further examine the neighboring regions of the great Crushing Hell. Thus he will notice sixteen realms that surround it: Infinite Torture, Slicing Like a Bottle-Gourd Fruit, Ripping of All Vital Points, the Lump, Terrifying Sight, Copious Degeneration, Unbearable Harm, Crier, Wailer, Pleading, Fire that Brings Forth a Torrent of Tears, Cessation of All Faculties, Endless Agony, Bursting Like Lotuses, Bursting Like Great Lotuses, Furnace, and Metallic Fire.^[50]

“As the monk asks himself what karmic actions may cause one to take birth there, F.160.b he will, just as before, perceive three unvirtuous actions: killing, taking what was not given, and sexual misconduct. Resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing these acts is certain to produce the experience of life in the hell of Infinite Torture. Thus, one who has associated with inappropriate females and engaged in sexual misconduct will take birth in the hell realm of Infinite Torture and experience the following tortures. The lower part of one’s body will be impaled upon a flaming stake. That same stake will then also pierce through one’s back, belly, torso, hips, shoulders, upper arms, throat, mouth, skull, and ears. Thus, the flaming stake will devastatingly penetrate all one’s limbs and organs, burning and boiling everything. Thereafter follows an unbearably torturous pain, as burning iron pliers tear off one’s testicles, which are then consumed by vultures. Until one’s completed and accumulated acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted there will be no end to one’ screams as the terrors will continue. Only once the relevant karmic actions have been exhausted will one escape that realm of hell. If at that point one avoids birth as a starving spirit or an animal due to karmic action that is to be experienced in other lives, one may be born with the general lot in life of a human. However, as a karmic effect in accordance with its unvirtuous cause, one will in that case F.161.a be born as a neuter.

“As the monk further examines the regions surrounding the great Crushing Hell, he will perceive the hell realm known as Slicing Like a Bottle-Gourd Fruit. Wondering what karmic actions may cause one to take birth there, he will understand that such a birth is due to resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. Inquiring as to the specific forms of sexual misconduct that have such a consequence, he will realize that when one enters an inappropriate female through the mouth one will, upon the disintegration of one’s body, fall into the lower realms of hell. There one’s tortures will be such that the henchmen of the Lord of Death thrust a spike into one’s mouth, and as they keep shoving the spike forward, it will emerge at the back of one’s neck. As they keep moving the spike about, it will also emerge through one’s ears. The henchmen will then smelt copper in an iron pot and pour the liquid metal into one’s mouth. Thus, first one’s lips are burned, followed by one’s tongue, palate, throat, and all the way down to the stomach. Having thus burnt one’s body, the liquid will emerge from the lower end of it. Such is the ripening of the karmic effects associated with having resorted to, become habituated to, and increased acts of sexual misconduct.

“Hellish tortures of this sort will continue until the relevant karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. The burning and boiling will go on for many hundreds of thousands of years, until finally they are exhausted. Once one is free of the relevant karmic actions, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. However, as an effect that accords with its karmic cause, F.161.b one’s mouth will in that case emit a rotten stench, causing one to be shunned by everyone.

“As the monk further examines the regions surrounding the great Crushing Hell, he will perceive the hell realm known as Ripping of All Vital Points. Wondering what karmic actions may cause one to take birth there, he will understand that such a birth is due to resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, taking what was not given, and sexual misconduct. The specific form of sexual misconduct that one pursues, which will have such a consequence, is that of coercing unconsenting women, other than one’s own, to engage in non-vaginal sex. Upon the disintegration of one’s body, one will then suffer a downfall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Ripping of All Vital Points. In that realm the tortures that are associated with killing and taking what was not given are just as described earlier. In particular relation to sexual misconduct, one will have flaming rods stuffed into one’s mouth, heated twice as much.

“Until the relevant negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, there will be no end to one’s tortures, and so one will continue to cry out helplessly for many hundreds of thousands of years. When later one escapes that hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. As a karmic effect that accords with its cause, one will then have unstoppable desire for the spouses of others, for the ripening of those acts that were carried out and accumulated will not dissipate before it has been experienced.

“As the monk further examines the regions surrounding the great Crushing Hell, F.162.a he will perceive the hell realm known as Terrifying Sight. Wondering what karmic actions may cause beings to take birth there, he will understand that such a birth is due to becoming habituated to and increasing acts of killing, taking what was not given, and sexual misconduct in such a way that they are undertaken and accumulated. As for killing and stealing, it is just as in the previous cases. However, in terms of sexual misconduct, the specific aspect is that of having forcefully placed one’s mouth onto a child’s genitals.^[51] When one later separates from one’s body, one will suffer a downfall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell of Terrifying Sight.

“In that hell the tortures are of the following kind. One will perceive the person who was one’s child in one’s previous human existence, and upon seeing this karmic conjuration one will yearningly think, ‘That child was mine when I was a human!’ Right then, one will perceive that the henchmen of the Lord of Death begin to stab the child with spikes, stabbing the child’s genitals in particular. Seeing this torture will cause one commensurate mental torment. In fact, the mental torture experienced by the hell being will be sixteen times more severe than the pain of being burned by fire, because mental pain is more intense than the physical pain. In terms of physical pain, one will be apprehended by the Lord of Death’s henchmen and then placed head down in a red-hot iron cauldron. The henchmen will then pour boiling copper onto one’s genitals, F.162.b and the metal will burn its way into one’s intestines. From the intestines the liquid metal will burn through to the heart, from the heart to the spleen, from the spleen to the lungs, from the lungs to the trachea, from the trachea to the throat, from the throat to the tongue, from the tongue to the palate, from the palate to the brain, and from the brain to the brain membrane. Thus, the fires will move from below.

“Those who have engaged in sexual misconduct will for many hundreds of thousands of years perceive such children, who are in fact just creations of their own karmic actions, and thus continue to experience mental and physical torments of the kinds just described. Until they have overcome, relinquished, and exhausted the relevant karmic actions, there will be no end to their tortures, and they will not die. When they finally break free of this karmic conditioning they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. In terms of effects that accord with their karmic causes, their semen will then be impotent; they will therefore have no offspring, and others will spitefully refer to them as neuters.

“Wondering what other neighboring realms there may be, the monk will continue to investigate the regions that surround the great Crushing Hell. With knowledge derived from hearing he will perceive the existence of another realm of hell, known as the Lump, because of its shape of a lump. Wondering what actions may cause one to take birth there, the monk will see how certain people have intercourse with cattle and other hoofed animals, imagining such animals to be women. Once these people separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and take birth in the hell F.163.a of the Lump.

“In the hell of the Lump, they will experience the following tortures. Those cows or mares that they previously were attracted to will now appear to them in forms that are produced by their own karmic actions. Oppressed by desire, they will then pursue those forms. However, the creatures that they see in this way have bodies filled with fiercely flaming iron embers. When the beings in hell touch these animals, they will be drawn in through the apertures in these flaming bodies, which are produced through incorrect actions. Once they have entered these creatures’ dark recesses, they will be roasted and boiled there for many hundreds of thousands of years without even being able to cry out. Until the relevant karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, there will be no end to their tortures and they will continue to burn. When they finally break free of this karmic conditioning they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, as a karmic effect that accords with its cause—completed and accumulated acts of sexual misconduct with someone who is not one’s wife—they will be born in a similar situation.

“Again, the monk will examine the regions that surround the great hells. Thus, through knowledge derived from hearing he will see the hell known as Copious Degeneration. Wondering what karmic actions may cause beings to take birth there, he will understand that such a birth is due to resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, taking what was not given, and sexual misconduct. The aspects of killing and taking what was not given are here just as in the previous cases, yet in terms of sexual misconduct the specific aspect is that of men having F.163.b sex with other men. When such a man later separates from his body, he will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Copious Degeneration.

“As the effect of having carried out and accumulated such acts, he will then experience the following tortures. The man he used to be with will appear to the being in hell, yet his hair and entire body will be aflame, and his body will be solid like vajra. When this man embraces the hell being, all the major and minor body parts of the hell being will disintegrate, as when sand falls through one’s hand. Yet due to the power of negative acts, the hell being will be revived as soon as he has died, and he will now be terrified and shocked by the burning man. He will then see a ravine into which he falls. While in midair, he will be attacked by ravens with flaming beaks who will tear him to pieces the size of sesame seeds. When he has fallen to the ground, foxes with flaming mouths will devour him. Yet even if the foxes consume his bones, he will nevertheless be born again, but this time only to be cooked in a flaming jar by the henchmen of the Lord of Death.

“Thus, for as long as one’s completed and accumulated karmic actions have not been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, one will continue to be burned, eaten, and reduced to dust. When one finally escapes the hell of Copious Degeneration, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet as an effect that accords with the act of sexual misconduct, one will have many spouses but lose them all. Unable to keep any one of them, one will see them all go to other men. F.164.a

“The monk will then continue to examine the regions that surround the great Crushing Hell, wondering what further realms may be found there. Based on knowledge derived from hearing, he will then perceive a hell known as Unbearable Harm. Inquiring as to what karmic actions may cause beings to take birth there, he will understand that such a birth is due to resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing completed and accumulated acts of killing, taking what was not given, and sexual misconduct. Here, the aspects of killing and taking what was not given are just as in the previous cases. In terms of sexual misconduct, a woman who belongs with others may fall into one’s hands during a military campaign. If one then gives such a woman to many men, or oneself penetrates her vagina or another opening, one will, when one separates from one’s body, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Unbearable Harm.

“In that hell, beings will undergo the following torments. The henchmen of the Lord of Death will hang them by their feet from the top of a tree and then light a fire below. In this way their entire bodies will burn, beginning with their faces and their deeply cherished eyes. These beings of hell will undergo fierce and intense torments that are difficult to endure, and so they will wail, scream, and cry out in agony. Yet as they open their mouths while crying the flames will enter them. From their mouths the flames will reach their lungs, spleen, stomach, intestines, and anus—thus devouring everything down to their feet. While they burn in this way, suffering excruciating pain, F.164.b ravens will appear and begin to eat from them. Thus, they will both burn and scream, undergoing two distinct tortures.

“Until they have overcome, relinquished, and exhausted their karmic actions there will be no end to their torments, and so their extraordinarily intense and unbearably sharp pains will go on for many hundreds of thousands of years. Once they escape this hell, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet due to the force of their karmic actions, enemy forces will abduct their beloved and delightful wife, while she cries and screams in agony. Thus, as a karmic effect that accords with its cause, one’s spouse will be crying, lamenting, and miserable in this world and beyond.

“The monk will then continue his exploration of the regions that surround the great Crushing Hell, wondering what karmic actions may cause beings to take birth in the hell known as Crier. Applying knowledge derived from hearing, he will notice how some men, due to improper mental activity, have sex with sheep or donkeys when no women can be found, without any sense of respect toward a stūpa, the vicinity of a stūpa, or a buddha. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Crier. There they will undergo torture as iron ants consume all their major and minor body parts, thus causing intense pain. F.165.a At the same time, the stomachs of these hell beings will be filled with fire. As their actions ripen in this fierce and unbearable way, the inside and outside of their bodies will be burned and consumed for many hundreds of thousands of years. Moreover, the worms called scream provokers will appear, consuming their flesh and drinking their blood. Cutting through their muscles, they will bite through their bones and suck the marrow from them, and eat their entrails. While being thus cooked and eaten, these beings will cry out in despair and wail pitifully.

“Until they have experienced the ripening of the karmic effects, however, their experience will continue to be this terrifying, repugnant, hideous, and ugly. Thus, until their karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to be burned and boiled alive for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“When they finally escape this hell, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet as a karmic effect that accords with its cause they will, as a human, have many competitors within the royal court and they will never have any success. Living a life in poverty and deprivation, they will soon meet with death.

“As the monk continues his examination of the regions that surround the great Crushing Hell, he will wonder what completed and accumulated actions, inclusive of their preparation and conclusion, may ripen as birth in the hell realm known as Wailer. As he examines this with knowledge derived from hearing, he will understand that if one resorts to, becomes habituated to, and increases acts of killing, taking what was not given, and sexual misconduct, as one separates from one’s body, one will fall into the lower realms and take birth in the hell known as Wailer. F.165.b In terms of the specific ripening that results in birth there, engagement in killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct may cause one to be born among barbarians and so suffer from general flaws related to one’s place of birth. In that way one may also come to have sex with one’s sister or another inappropriate person. Then, as one later separates from one’s body, one will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Wailer, where the following torments must be endured.

“Beings who live in Wailer are slain by the Lord of Death’s henchmen, who burn and boil them. As this happens, their screams can be heard from a distance of five leagues away. However, the power of karmic action will make any being who is in an intermediate existence misapprehend their pitiful and terrifying screams. Instead, they will hear the cries as sweet songs and the sound of cymbals, and they will therefore want to hasten to where the tunes come from. As soon as they make that wish, a condition for perpetuating existence is formed, which then causes them to take birth there. Beings in the intermediate existence take birth in accordance with their grasping, and this type of grasping will cause them to be born in that hell. As soon as they are born there, they will proceed to experience the sufferings of hell.

“They will hear the screams of other hell beings for what they really are. Thus, what they hear is unbearably intense and so horrible that nothing compares or even comes close to it. Then, as the sound becomes twice as loud, it will pierce their hearts and become even more unbearable.

“Moreover, the beings in this hell are subject to the following other tortures. In their realm stands a flaming iron mountain called of Ravens’ Peak. It’s flames shoot up five hundred leagues into the sky. It is covered with iron trees F.166.a in which live terrifying iron ravens, and the entire mountain is engulfed by fire. Although the iron mountain is constantly ablaze with fire produced by karma, ruinous karmic actions will nevertheless make it appear as covered by a grove of lotuses, with the flames appearing as lotus petals. Therefore, when they see the mountain, the beings in this hell will call to one another, ‘Friends, come on! Come on! Let’s climb that mountain with cool shady groves! Let’s go hang out in those beautiful groves!’

“Meanwhile, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will throw stones at them, and so they will start to run toward the mountain, yearning for safety, refuge, and protection. Yet as they begin to climb it, raging tongues of flames will blaze forth from the mountain, and when the terrifying ravens see the approaching hordes of hell beings, they will rapidly swoop down on them and devour them with their extremely sharp beaks. Some will split their skulls and extract their brains and brain membrane, while others will cut out their eyes, noses, skin on their jaws, loins, craniums, tongues, necks, skin on their necks, throats, navels, chests, larynxes, hearts, lungs, spleens, intestines, colons, bellies, ears, thighs, hips, heels, feet, foot soles, anuses, and toes. F.166.b Thus the ravens will split the hell beings open and devour them. Some will eat them from the front, some will eat the lungs, some will eat the bones on the backs of their hands, and some will eat all the major and minor body parts, including the feet. In this way the ravens will split open and consume each individual hell being.

“However, by the force of their karmic actions, the hell beings will be reborn and so they will continue to suffer the terrors of the Lord of Death’s henchmen and the ravens. Again, wishing for protection and refuge, they will once more run toward the Ravens’ Peak. As they climb it, their bodies will be enveloped in the flaming tongues of fire produced by karmic action, and so they will continue to burn on that mountain for many hundreds of thousands of years. Until they have overcome, relinquished, and exhausted their negative karmic actions, the force of their completed and accumulated karmic actions, terrifying and severe, will drive them to continue climbing toward the summit of the Ravens’ Peak. This will persist until they have overcome, relinquished, and exhausted the karmic manifestations of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct—those karmic actions that they resorted to, became habituated to, and repeated. This flaming mountain rises five hundred leagues into the sky, and although the beings of this hell are burned upon it like moths, the time of their death does not arrive.

“When their actions have finally been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will escape that hell. At that point they may, due to karma that is to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead take birth with the general lot in life of a human. However, as an effect that accords with the causal completed and accumulated karmic actions, their major and minor body parts will emit a foul smell, F.167.a they will contract leprosy or a cutaneous disease, they will have many rivals, and they will generally be poor and live in unsavory places.

“The monk will then continue to examine the regions that surround the great Crushing Hell and by means of knowledge derived from hearing he will perceive another neighboring region, known as Fire that Brings Forth a Torrent of Tears. Wondering what karmic actions may cause one to take birth there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and so come to understand that such a birth is due to resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. Here, the aspects of killing and stealing are just as in the previous cases. In terms of sexual misconduct, some nuns may lose their discipline and develop vulgar conduct, engaging in sexual misconduct with one person after another. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Fire that Brings Forth a Torrent of Tears.

“In that hell they will experience tortures of the following kinds. Their awful and rough, undesirable actions will produce a flaming fire that scorches them, and even the tears that come to their eyes will themselves take the form of fire. Such is the burning torture that these beings must undergo. Furthermore, charcoal of acacia wood will be stuffed into their eyes and the Lord of Death’s henchmen will split their bones and make sounds with them like with bamboo flutes. In this hell, terrifying with the howling of jackals, their bodies will be cut, pierced, and crushed with iron nails, clubs, and spears. By means of a burning hot pair of tongs, F.167.b boiling lead will be poured into their anus. Thus, burned by the boiling lead within and scorched by excruciating fires without, they will undergo unbearable torments as their bodies are consumed by this double fire. B8

“Here there are some verses:

“This goes to show that hell beings will not be free from the henchmen of the Lord of Death until they themselves have experienced their own karmic actions. The relationship between karmic actions and their effects can be observed all throughout the intermediate existence.”

Hence, as explained previously, until hell beings have overcome, relinquished, and exhausted their completed and accumulated negative acts, they will continue to encounter burning and boiling at the hands of the Lord of Death’s henchmen for many hundreds of thousands of years. When they finally escape this hell, they may, due to karma to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet by the force of effects that accord with their causal actions they will suffer from tumors, emaciation, deformity, and bloating, or their bodies may appear like scorched pine trees.

“The monk will continue to examine the regions that surround the great Crushing Hell and by means of knowledge derived from hearing he will then perceive another neighboring region, known as Cessation of All Faculties. Wondering what karmic action may cause beings to take birth there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and so come to understand that such a birth is due to resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. Here, the aspects of killing and stealing are just as in the previous cases. What, then, are the specific ways of resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of sexual misconduct? Those prone to rampant and burning desire may engage in sexual misconduct with a woman by way of her mouth or anus instead of the birth channel. F.168.b When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Cessation of All Faculties.

“In that realm they will undergo tortures of the following kinds. While all the open spaces are filled with fire, the beings of this hell will be tossed into iron cauldrons brimming with molten copper. Within those cauldrons they will be eaten from below by the flaming mouths of biting insects. Surrounded by eleven garlands of flames, they will suffer and burn, yet when they die, they will be revived, and then burned alive once again. Burning ants will eat their eyes and molten lead will be poured into their ears. Knives will cut off their noses and razors sever their tongues. A rain of razorblades will fall, cleaving their bodies to pieces. Thus, as all their senses experience great pain, the beings of this hell are deprived of any pleasurable karmic ripening. Their suffering is unbearable and the heat incomparable. To give an indication of this, consider how insignificant the light of a candle is compared to that of the sun. Similarly, the pains of the beings in the hells and the pleasures of the gods in the heavens also cannot be compared or illustrated. Why is that? Because the divine pleasures and the hellish torments are like no other. They can only be found in these places.

“Until these beings have purified, pacified, overcome, and exhausted their relevant completed and accumulated karmic deeds, they will continue to experience excruciating heat and horror there. Once they escape this hell, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, F.169.a and instead take birth with the general lot in life of a human. However, as an effect that accords with its causal completed and accumulated actions, their spouses will be immoral and plot their death in collusion with bandits, or by means of treachery at the royal court. Alternatively, they may murder them directly using poison, or a weapon while they are asleep. Thus, there is no way to escape until one has fully experienced the ripening of completed and accumulated acts.

“The monk will continue to examine the regions that surround the great Crushing Hell, and by means of knowledge derived from hearing he will then perceive another neighboring region, known as Endless Agony. Wondering what karmic actions may cause beings to take birth there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing. He will then understand that the effects of killing and stealing are just as previously explained. Moreover, some people may imagine, with a lustful mind, an improper woman and use their hands to engage in sexual misconduct. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell of Endless Agony.

“In that realm they will undergo torture, as their completed and accumulated acts will produce intense sufferings stemming from fire, weapons, caustic substances, and disease. Since their torments and anguish are profound and hard to fathom, it is not easy to provide an example for them. The beings in this hell are completely deceived by their own minds, and until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted they will continue to burn and boil for many hundreds of thousands of years. Once they escape this hell they may, due to karma to be experienced in other lives, avoid life as a starving spirit F.169.b or an animal, and instead take birth with the general lot in life of a human. Yet in that case they will be poor and live in border regions and the jungle where, filled with fear, they will be enslaved by the people living there and suffer from constant disease.

“The monk will continue to examine the regions that surround the great Crushing Hell, and by means of knowledge derived from hearing he will then perceive another neighboring region, known as Bursting Like Lotuses. Wondering what karmic actions may cause beings to take birth there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and so come to understand that such a birth is due to completed and accumulated acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. Here, the aspects of killing and stealing are just as in the previous cases. As for sexual misconduct, some people, who have made the commitment to live as mendicants, may continue to mentally entertain and relish their past desires. Relishing such incorrect mental activity, they may, while asleep during the night, dream of a woman they once knew and had sexual relations with. When they wake up, they will continue to relish and remember those very dreams of the non-celibate life. Cherishing such dreams, they may also recount them to others, and consider them valuable. In this way they will habituate themselves to such dreams, repeat them, and delight in them. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Bursting Like Lotuses.

“In that realm they will experience the following torments. All appearances in this realm are red like red lotuses. Boiled in a container, the sentient beings there are placed in an iron vessel and crushed with an iron club. Once they escape this torment, they will perceive in the distance a vast lake with a blue lotus flower. Yearning for help F.170.a and protection, and tormented by hunger and thirst, they will approach the lake, thinking that it can bring them release and happiness. In their hundreds or thousands, they will rush toward the lake. Yet as they approach, their feet will be pierced by spikes that have been placed in the ground. With their legs wounded, they will fall to the ground on their faces, and again be pierced by the spikes. If they fall on their backs, they will yet again be pierced and penetrated by the spikes. If they fall on their chest, their lungs will be pierced. And if they stay where they are, they will be cut from below.

“Burning and boiling, the beings of this hell will cry out to each other. Tormented by thirst and starvation they will scream to each other and cry. Moaning and wailing in agony, they will all gaze toward the lotus flower, while the Lord of Death’s henchmen chase them from behind with swords, axes, lances, and short spears. Yearning for help, protection, and relief, the beings of this hell will in the end somehow manage to reach the lotus. Yet as they begin to climb it, they will realize to their despair that the lotus is full of glowing embers—as if of acacia charcoal—and its petals are as hard as diamonds.

“Such beings of hell engaged previously in negative actions, and those very actions have led them to where they are now. Thus, until their completed and accumulated acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will be cooked and boiled in the hell of Bursting Like Lotuses for many hundreds, thousands, or millions of years. When they finally escape this condition, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lifetimes, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, F.170.b and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet by the force of their completed and accumulated acts they will be born cross-eyed, their discipline will be corrupted, and they will live a short life in poverty.

“As the monk continues to examine the regions that surround the great Crushing Hell, he will perceive another great neighboring hell, known as Bursting Like Great Lotuses. Wondering what karmic actions may cause beings to take birth there, he will understand that such a birth is due to resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. Here, the aspects of killing and stealing are just as in the previous cases. As for sexual misconduct, certain people who have made the commitment to live as mendicants might deviate from their discipline and in their actions become like a heap of dung. Despising the path to the transcendence of suffering, they will think, ‘Through my celibacy I shall become some kind of god. Then, in heaven I shall have goddesses all around me.’ Thus, they will dedicate their pure conduct in a mistaken manner. As they practice with such craving, they are engaging the causes of cyclic existence and the causes of craving, the practice of negative actions. In this way they will not escape sickness, aging, death, suffering, lamentation, pain, unhappiness, disturbance, and so on. When they die and separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Bursting Like Great Lotuses.

“In that realm they will experience tortures of the following kinds. Five leagues wide and one hundred leagues long, the so-called Caustic River with caustic waves is full to the brim with nothing but acid. The beings of this hell enter this river and experience scorching, fierce, F.171.a excruciating agonies. Thus, their bones turn into stone, their hair turns into fish feces, their flesh turns into mud, the boiling lead turns into water, and the hell beings turn into fish as they are swept away by the river, face down, and boiled alive within it. Along the banks of the river lurk ravens with flaming beaks, and these birds will prey on the hell beings.

“If, yearning for safety and protection, the hell beings escape the river, they will be driven back into it by the iron spears of the Lord of Death’s henchmen. As they surface in the river, their legs, hips, and backs will be eaten by acid. Even their necks will be consumed, and their bones will boil. The flesh on their heads will be devoured and their skulls will be split open. Thus, entering and remaining within this river, the beings of this hell will be burned and boiled alive in acid for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“When they finally escape this torturous river, they will perceive a lake with flowers and blue lotuses. Yearning for safety, protection, and relief, they will approach the lake. Yet the petals of the lotuses are made of razor-sharp iron, and when the hell beings touch them, their bodies are lacerated, chopped up, consumed, and broken. Yet, forced by the Lord of Death’s henchmen, the beings of hell will climb the lotuses. The centers of the flowers are filled with burning flames and the iron petals below bend toward these centers. Forced by their karmic actions, the beings of this hell take birth again and again within such flowers, F.171.b burning many hundreds of thousands of times in blazing embers. Moreover, ravens will pluck out their eyes, rip out their tongues, pierce their ears, and pare away their bodies.

“Thus, the beings of this hell will encounter the effects of their own karmic actions, and until those acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to boil within the great hell of Bursting Like Great Lotuses. Once they are free from that hell they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead take birth with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, they will suffer from dropsy, be constantly tormented by hunger and thirst, and have an aggressive character.

“As the monk continues to examine the regions that surround the great Crushing Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a hell realm known as Furnace. Wondering what karmic actions may cause beings to take birth there, he will understand that the aspects of killing and stealing are just as in the previous cases. As for sexual misconduct, people who have committed themselves to the training of a mendicant might engage in incorrect mental activity and thus repeatedly and desirously reminisce about the women that they used to cohabit and fool around with. Thus, their lustful thoughts will distract them from virtuous qualities, and they will therefore fail to cultivate qualities that accord with the Dharma. They will fail to be attentive to the qualities of suffering, the origin of suffering, and the cessation of suffering, and they will neither train in, nor accomplish these teachings. They will not achieve flexibility and will fail to recollect the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha. They will not recall death. Without any sense of renouncing cyclic existence, they will not be frightened by negativity, including minor cases. F.172.a Instead they will hoard and misuse many implements that are otherwise to be used for one’s dwelling and for the sake of one’s health, and so they will maintain a ruinous lifestyle. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Furnace.

“In that realm sentient beings are alight, ablaze, and consumed by fire, turning into nothing but flames—there is not a place there, even the size of a hair’s tip, that is not alight, ablaze, consumed by fire, and turned into nothing but flames. Resembling trees that are alight, ablaze, consumed by fire, and turned into nothing but flames, the beings there may scream, but as they open their mouths, their mouths are filled with flames. At this excruciating torture, they may try to scream a second time, thereby causing the flames to enter their ears. Once more, this will make them scream, cry, and moan.

“Those who previously partook of alms while lacking discipline will now have their tongues scorched by red-hot metal. Those who adhered to the discipline but still entertained incorrect thoughts at the sight of women will now have their eyes burned out. Those who with intense desire listened to the laughter and songs of the wives of others will now have their ears filled with boiling lead. Those who, although their discipline was corrupt, still held on to the incense of the saṅgha will now have their noses cut off and burned. Thus, those with corrupted discipline with regard to their five faculties will in hell receive severe punishments in accordance with their actions. F.172.b Until their relevant negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, those who pursue illicit livelihood will thus continue to burn and boil in the hell known as Furnace, engulfed by raging tongues of fire. Once they escape, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet in terms of effects that accord with the unwholesome causal actions, their faces and hands will thereafter be unsightly; they will be blind, crippled, or impoverished; and they will die while in the prime of life.

“The monk will continue to examine the regions that surround the great Crushing Hell, and by means of knowledge derived from hearing he will then perceive another neighboring region, known as Heap of Live Coals of Iron-dust. Wondering what karmic actions may cause beings to take birth there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and so come to understand that the aspects of killing and stealing are here just as in the previous cases. Moreover, someone who has committed himself to the training of a mendicant might engage in incorrect mental activity upon hearing the sounds of female dancing, singing, and jewelry. Thus distracted, the sounds of laughter, amusement, and frolicking might cause him to ejaculate, and he might relish that experience. When later such a person separates from his body he will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell Heap of Live Coals of Iron-dust, where he will experience tortures of the following kinds. That quadrangular hell is surrounded by iron walls of fire, each measuring five hundred leagues. Within those walls the beings of that hell are burned by their own karmic actions, as incessant rains of fire and iron pour down. While the rain of iron cuts all their major and minor body parts to tiny pieces, the rain of embers will give them torturous burns. Thus, they must endure the destructive torments of these two rains. F.173.a

“It is not easy provide an example to convey the character of the tortures that the beings of this hell experience, yet until the relevant karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, there will be no end to this fierce and unbearable scorching that terrifies the entire world. Such are the tortures that ensue from those undesirable, unpleasant, and unbecoming karmic actions.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, one will then become a boatman on a large river, live in fear, suffer from parasites, live by trading in elephant tusks, and be in constant mortal danger.

“As the monk continues to examine the regions that surround the great Crushing Hell, he will fail to perceive any seventeenth neighboring hell, and he will thus see that in terms of realms that neighbor the great Crushing Hell, the ripening of karmic action manifests as these sixteen only. When the monk in this way sees how the actions of sentient beings come to ripen as numerous different effects, he will become disenchanted by cyclic existence.

“The monk has now become aware of the nature of the karmic effects that manifest as the neighboring regions of three great hells. As he apprehends, views, and observes such ripening of karmic effects, he develops renunciation with respect to existence, and without wishing for any of the objects of the māras, he will engage in spiritual practice and observe inner phenomena. When the terrestrial yakṣas notice the monk’s endeavors, they will inform the celestial yakṣas, who will in turn pass the news on to the Four Great Kings. Thus, in the same way as before, the news will finally reach the Heaven of Limitless Light and the gods there will learn that, F.173.b ‘In Jambudvīpa the noble son known as so-and-so, who is of such and such a town, has shaved off his hair and beard, donned the saffron-colored robes, and with faith gone forth from the household to become a homeless mendicant. Now he has entered the ninth^[52]ground.’

As they receive this news the gods will exclaim in delight, ‘Amazing, the forces of the māras are waning; the forces of the sacred Dharma are on the rise! How happy we are!’

The Howling Hell

“Having witnessed these three hells, the monk will begin to examine the fourth hell, known as Howling. Wondering what karmic actions may cause sentient beings to take birth in the Howling Hell, he will examine this with knowledge derived from hearing and so come to understand that such a birth is due to resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing completed and accumulated acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and consumption of alcohol, along with the preparations for and conclusions of such acts. When they later separate from their bodies, they will take birth in the Great Howling Hell. In this regard, the ripening of the effects of the acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct are as already explained. As for alcohol, resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of alcohol consumption will cause rebirth in the Howling Hell.

“Someone who has gone forth from the household and taken vows might distribute alcohol to, and intoxicate, members of the saṅgha of monks who have otherwise trained their minds in the pleasures of concentration and attained serenity. When such people later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and experience the terribly torturous agonies of hell.

“Their torments will be as follows. Their mouths will be opened with iron tongs and boiling copper will be poured in. As they swallow it, first their lips will burn, and then their palates, noses, F.174.a tongues, throats, necks, colons, small intestines, stomachs, and guts, until the molten copper emerges from the lower part of their bodies. Such is the experience of unvirtuous actions that are associated with the consumption of alcohol. As the beings of this hell cry, scream, and moan in excruciating pain, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will instruct them in the following way:

“Thus the henchmen of the Lord of Death will again and again instruct the beings of hell as they continue to inflict various harms upon them, such as the following.

“As two flaming mountains relentlessly move toward and smash into each other with great force, the beings of this hell will be caught in between them, and so end up being crushed by the mountains until their bodies have been destroyed so that not even a trace remains. At that point, however, they will revive, only to be caught and pulverized between the mountains once more. This process of grinding will go on for many hundreds of thousands of years until finally their negative acts have been exhausted.

“At some point the beings of this hell may escape this region and run somewhere else, yearning for refuge, safety, and protection. Yet in that case they will encounter henchmen of the Lord of Death who will toss them headfirst into iron pots. Standing on their heads, they will thus be cooked alive for hundreds of thousands of years until their karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“Yearning for refuge, protection, and relief, F.175.a they may at some point escape the cooking pots, and so take off in all directions. Yet they will then be caught by flaming iron ravens that will split their limbs, organs, and joints into hundreds or thousands of pieces before devouring them. This will go on for many hundreds of thousands of years, until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“Yearning for refuge, safety, and protection, they may then at some point escape the ravens, and run off as best they can. Tormented by hunger and thirst, they will perceive a bright lake in the distance and rush toward it. Although the lake is in fact full of boiling lead, the beings of this hell will nevertheless plunge into it, seeking to bathe there. And even as they do so, aquatic monsters, created by their own karmic actions, will appear and pull them under. Thus, until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted they will continue to boil in lead for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“When they finally escape the monsters produced by their karmic actions, they will run—tortured and yearning for refuge, safety, and protection—in whichever direction they can. Yet henchmen of the Lord of Death will be guarding the exit routes and when they see the escaping hell beings, they will seize them. The henchmen will then pierce them with sharp, flaming spears. At times the spears will emerge through the backs of the hell beings, in other cases through their chests, and in still other cases through their throats. When they scream in agony, their cries will be heard by other hell beings, but due to the force of karmic action, those beings will hear the sounds as beautiful songs. Hence, themselves yearning for refuge, safety, and protection, they will draw near. But when they arrive there, they will also be seized by the henchmen and so, until their karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, F.175.b they will continue to be pierced by flaming lances and spears for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“At some point, however, they will escape and, yearning for refuge and protection, will run as best they can. In the not-so-far distance, they will then perceive a town that has exquisite houses, a beautiful river, and delightful ponds. Upon seeing it, they will rush toward the town and enter it, only to find that the whole town is in fact burning and boiling, and completely filled with biting insects, whose diamond-hard mouths have sharp fangs. Thus, as the hell beings enter the city, these creatures will break down the doors of the houses and consume them with their sharp and burning fangs. This will persist for many hundreds of thousands of years, until finally the relevant negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“When the beings of this hell finally escape this ocean of tortures, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid being born as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead take birth with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of the karmic effects that accord with the negative acts of drinking and distributing alcohol, their minds will suffer from delusions, they will be poor, they may become vendors at highways or crossroads, and they will be the laughingstock of children. They will have an unpleasant complexion, protruding teeth, and clubfeet. They will constantly suffer from hunger and thirst and be rejected by their children, spouses, parents, and relatives. Thus, understand that if those who have taken vows partake of alcohol, the ripening is such that they will take birth in the Great Howling Hell.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the ripening of karmic effects examines the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will notice a neighboring realm, F.176.a known as Scream. Examining what karmic actions may cause beings to take birth there, he will understand that such a birth is due to resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and alcohol consumption. Here, the aspects of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct are just as in the previous cases. As for alcohol consumption, those who offer alcohol to individuals participating in the mending ritual will, when they separate from their bodies, fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Scream.

“In that realm they will undergo torture of the following kind. To begin with, molten lead will be poured into their mouths. Just as they previously offered alcohol to those participating in the mending ritual, they will now themselves be proffered a mug of red-hot iron. As this happens, they will make a pitiful sound that is unlike that of other hell beings. This sound will fill the entire space, and, by the force of karmic action, the fury of the Lord of Death’s henchmen will double in strength when they hear it.

“Thus, offering alcoholic drinks is in all regards unvirtuous. Alcohol may disturb a mind that is otherwise in equipoise and that adheres to the accumulation of virtue. A mind thus disturbed may no longer be able to distinguish between what should and should not be done. Such a mind may therefore give rise to and accumulate all sorts of unvirtuous qualities.

“Offering alcohol is an unvirtuous cause and, as such, is a cause that will produce ruinous and damaging effects. Hence, those who perpetrate this will for a long time have to undergo numerous painful tortures. Until they have overcome, relinquished, and exhausted their karmic actions, they will F.176.b continue to scream in terror within the hell realm that is known as Scream, for just this reason. When they finally escape from there, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, their mental powers will be feeble, and they will forget even recent events. Due to their poor intellectual capacity, they will have few enjoyments and they will generally be disliked. They will lack wealth and meet an early death.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the ripening of karmic effects examines the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell he will notice sixteen realms that neighbor it:^[53]Scream, Screams Everywhere, Burning Hair, Sparks and Parasites, Flaming Iron Club, Rain of Burning Stones, Impossible to Die,^[54] Iron Wilderness, Veil of Complete Darkness, Borderlands of the Lord of Death, Śālmali Forest,^[55] Great Śālmali Forest, Smoky Forest of Burning Plantains, Smoky Forest of Burning Embers, Forest of Fiery Mist, and Worrisome. These are the sixteen neighboring realms of the Great Howling Hell.

“As the monk wonders what karmic actions may cause beings to take birth in these regions, he will expand his inquiry from the first neighboring realm of Scream to the second, known as Screams Everywhere. He will then see that the aspects of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct are just as in the previous cases. As for resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of alcohol consumption, some people may give alcohol to those who have just received vows. F.177.a Later, when such people separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Screams Everywhere.

“In that realm they will experience torture as they are struck by iron clubs, causing them to scream. The screams of these hell beings fill their entire realm, and were it not for the surrounding hills, mountains, and rivers, they would also be heard by the humans in Jambudvīpa and the rest of the four human abodes. The wailing cries of these hell beings will persist until their karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. All the while, their miserable existence will continue and they will not die. Thus, in accordance with their own acts, these hell beings will continue to scream.

“When they finally escape that realm, they may, due to karmic actions that are to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. At that time, they will be born in desert lands and areas where water is hard to come by. Moreover, the effects of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct will be just as in the previous cases.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Burning Hair. As he wonders what karmic actions may lead to birth as a hell being there, the monk will understand that the aspects of resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct are just as in the previous cases. Beyond that, some people may instruct lay practitioners who have taken up the five bases of training that partaking of alcohol is desirable and compatible with the bases of training. F.177.b When such persons separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Burning Hair. In that realm a rain of fire falls, burning and boiling everything from the hair down to the feet of the hell beings there. Meanwhile, dogs will feast on their feet, vultures with flaming beaks will gorge on their brains, and foxes will devour their torsos. Thus, they will be burned and consumed by their own negative acts. To the henchmen of the Lord of Death these wretched and wailing beings will cry out:

“In reply, the henchmen will say:

“Thus, until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, these hell beings will continue to experience the effects of their own actions, aflame in the hell called Burning Hair. When at some point they escape from there, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. However, in terms of effects that accord with their causes, they will be born in a location where there is never any alcohol, and they will lack the perception of its form and taste.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will wonder what other such neighboring realms there may be. By means of knowledge derived from hearing, he will then perceive a realm known as Sparks and Parasites. Examining what karmic actions may cause one to take birth there, he will come to see that resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct are relevant here in the same way as before. Moreover, certain peddlers of alcohol will dilute their goods with water and sell them at an inflated price, thereby incurring the misdeeds of lying and stealing, as well as that of alcohol consumption. When they later separate from their bodies, F.178.b they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Sparks and Parasites.

“In that realm they will undergo the following tortures. Four hundred and four diseases will afflict these hell beings: one hundred and one are due to wind, one hundred and one are due to bile, one hundred and one are due to phlegm, and one hundred and one are due to their combinations. Every one of these diseases that afflict the beings of this hell has the power to kill them in a single day. This applies to all the humans in Jambudvīpa, as well as those living on Godānīya in the west, Videha in the east, and Kuru in the north.

“These beings will also be harmed in other ways, because worms invade their bodies, infesting and consuming their skin, blood, flesh, fat, bones, and bone marrow. When they thus suffer helplessly and cry out in despair, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will subject them to numerous tortures with fire. Until their karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to be burned, boiled, and set aflame.

“Once they escape this hell, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, as an effect that accords with their alcohol trading, they will thereafter live in suffering and poverty.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Howling Hell, he will perceive a hell realm known as Flaming Iron Club. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to take birth there, he will see that, just as in the previous cases, resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct F.179.a will lead to birth in Flaming Iron Club. Moreover, those who hunt and kill lions, tigers, leopards, myna birds, or pheasants by intoxicating and sedating them with alcohol will be born in Flaming Iron Club.

“In that realm they will undergo the following tortures. The beings of this hell will perceive flaming iron clubs. These clubs, which are products of their own karmic actions, will crush all their major and minor body parts, grinding them to dust. As the hell beings are slaughtered in this way, they undergo agonizing pains and cry out in agony. Screaming, they scramble among each other, yet the burning clubs will keep on striking. Until their karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, the beings who are tormented by these tortures will then also be seized by the Lord of Death’s henchmen, who will proceed to mutilate and amputate all their major and minor body parts.

“When these beings finally escape their hell they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in future lives, avoid taking birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in accordance with their causal actions, they will be born filthy and poor in a wretched place such as a grassland or a desert that lacks medicine and medical facilities, and they will live in fear of the frequent fires. B9

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, F.179.b he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring hell realm known as Rain of Burning Stones. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to take birth there, he will see that birth in the hell realm known as Rain of Burning Stones is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. As for alcohol, some people feed war elephants alcohol, hoping that they will kill many people and bring victory on the battlefield. The implementation of such a strategy that leads to the killing of humans will later ripen as birth in the hell known as Rain of Burning Stones.

“The beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. A flaming elephant produced by karmic action will appear and kill them, crushing all their major and minor body parts and grinding them to a pulp. This elephant will hurl them, crush them, shake them, and tear them limb from limb. Once they escape this torture, these beings will be seized by the henchmen of the Lord of Death and thrown into boiling copper. Thus, they will burn and boil for many hundreds of thousands of years, until finally their karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“When they finally escape this hell they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, they will, while planning to kill elephants, instead end up killed by elephants themselves. Moreover, they will be poor, they will have unsightly faces, their hands and feet will resemble donkey hooves, F.180.a and their bodies will always be disgusting.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a great hell known as Impossible to Die. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will, as in the previous cases, see that such birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. As for alcohol, some people misbehave by offering alcohol to unsuitable females, intoxicating them in order to engage in sexual relations. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell of Impossible to Die.

“The beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. Burning dogs will appear and bite off their testicles. However, even though they have been ripped up and torn off in this way again and again, they will grow out once more, soft and beautiful—only to be bitten off anew. Thus tortured, these beings will scream out in agony.

“When they finally escape this condition, they will run away as best they can. Before them they will perceive a vast precipitous area filled with ravens, vultures, owls, and eagles,^[56] all with flaming beaks and claws. At this sight, the beings of this hell will faint and fall to the ground, yearning for safety and protection. The ravens, vultures, and owls will then descend upon them, tear all their limbs and organs apart with their flaming beaks and claws, and devour them. The beings of this hell will continue to be reborn in this way for many hundreds of thousands of years until finally their karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“Once they are free from this hell they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, F.180.b avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human, just as described previously. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, they will be arrested by the authorities, the color and complexion of their bodies and faces will turn unpleasant, whereupon they will die.

“The monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions will then continue to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell. He will find that beings take birth there due to resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct as described before. As for alcohol, however, some people kill their enemies by offering them poisoned alcohol. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the neighboring hell of Iron Wilderness.

“The beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. With iron chains they will be tied to a burning iron wheel, and as that wheel is spun, their enemies, the Lord of Death’s henchmen, will strike weapons at all their major and minor body parts. In this way their bodies will be chopped up into pieces no larger than a mustard seed; nevertheless, due to the ripening of their flawed acts, they will not expire.

“When at some point the relevant acts have been exhausted, they will escape the spinning wheel. They will then take off as best they can. However, they will be caught by iron snakes that devour them throughout many hundreds of thousands of years, until finally the relevant causal actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“When they finally escape this hell, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, they will then take birth as snake catchers, or as people who extract the jewels that may be found F.181.a inside the heads of serpents—only to be killed by the snakes they pursue.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Howling Hell, he will perceive a neighboring realm known as Veil of Complete Darkness. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will, as in the previous cases, see that such birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. Moreover, some people maintain a livelihood as alcohol vendors. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Veil of Complete Darkness.

“The beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. While the entire hell realm lies in darkness, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will inflict harm upon the beings there without being seen or identified. In this way they steer them toward fires that appear in the darkness. The fires burn dimly and yet they are so close to each other that there is not even a hair tip of unoccupied space. Wailing, the beings there are thus burned and boiled, and, until their completed and accumulated negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, their bodies will be sawed into halves with handsaws right through the middle, starting from their heads.

“When they finally escape from this hell, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, they will then always be thirsty and hungry, and live in poverty in lands where food and drink are scarce. F.181.b

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a hell known as Borderlands of the Lord of Death. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will, as in the previous cases, see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. Moreover, some people may sell alcohol, or trade it for clothes or food, to people who are afflicted with disease or to women after childbirth. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Borderlands of the Lord of Death.

“The beings in that realm experience the following tortures. The henchmen of the Lord of Death will devour them entirely with their flaming mouths, including their bone marrow and nails. Yet, once the hell beings have in this way been consumed, their tortures will go on. Thus, until their karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted they will continue to be burned and slaughtered upon the spears of the Lord of Death’s henchmen.

“Once they escape from this hell, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, they will then become swineherds or beggars, living in wretched lands, dwellings, or rock caves.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a hell known as the Śālmali Forest. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will, as in the previous cases, see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing F.182.a acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. As for alcohol consumption, some people may distill a highly intoxicating alcoholic beverage, using substances such as buttermilk, water, and whey. They might then offer their drink to travelers lost in the forest, who then might become highly inebriated. Gradually, everyone there might become utterly intoxicated. At that point the producers of the beverage might kill everyone and carry off whatever wealth they might find. Those who operate by such deceit are known in the world as robbers and thieves. Later, when they separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as the great Śālmali Forest.

“The beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. A rain of burning stones will fall on them—burning, smashing, and crushing them to dust. Moreover, in that realm flows the river Constant Terror with its boiling current heated by red-hot embers. Until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to burn and boil in that river of mixed copper and lead for hundreds of thousands of years while the henchmen of the Lord of Death stab them with flaming swords and spears.

“When they finally escape, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, they will be black-eyed, aggressive, and prone to envy.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive the Great Śālmali Forest. F.182.b Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will, as in the previous cases, see that when resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct one will, upon separating from one’s body, fall into the lower realms and take birth in hell. With respect to alcohol, some people produce a wine-like beverage and offer it to the inhabitants of isolated villages. When later such people separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell of the Great Śālmali Forest.

“As the result of having made such beverages available, the beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. Produced by the hell beings’ own karmic actions, the śālmali trees of this realm are one league tall, have razor-sharp leaves, and their burning branches produce a smoke that is poisonous to inhale. Such are the effects of actions associated with alcohol. The smoke coming from one of these trees will inflict harm everywhere within the distance of one league, yet the smoke will not kill anyone. The forest of such śālmali trees extends across three thousand leagues, and the poisonous, glowing, and fuming wood thus inflicts one hundred thousand sufferings upon the beings of this hell, and yet they continue to live on.

“Terrified by the henchmen of the Lord of Death, the beings of this realm will enter the forest of śālmali trees. When they do so a rain of razors will fall from the trees. The raging henchmen of the Lord of Death wield swords and spears, and when they attack the beings of this hell, they will cut, cleave, and chop to small pieces all their major and minor body parts, vital organs, bones, and bone marrow. Hoping to find cover in the forest, the beings of this hell will run in terror toward the forest of śālmali trees. As they enter it, some will stop in despair in the shadows of the trees, some will climb the trees, and some will encounter henchmen of the Lord of Death F.183.a, who will stab and mutilate them with their swords. As a consequence of drinking alcohol, vultures will descend on those who fearfully hide in the shadows, digging out their eyeballs and drinking their blood. Likewise, as a consequence of drinking alcohol, those who climb the trees will fall off their branches and their bodies will break into hundreds or thousands of pieces, thus reducing them to dust. Those who reach the treetops will later fall into a river of acid and dissolve. Until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to suffer harm to their muscles, bones, and entire bodies. What has been stated here is just a fraction of their tortures.

“When they finally escape, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, their minds will be distracted, and they will suffer from serious illness. They may have diseases associated with the heart, be easily fatigued, suffer from elephantiasis, or be blind.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a hell known as the Smoky Forest of Burning Plantains. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and so, as in the previous cases, see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. As for alcohol consumption, there are some people who deceive virtuous women and trick them into drinking alcohol, thus causing them to become intoxicated and confused. Birth in this realm is associated with the ripening of such acts. F.183.b

“This hell spans five leagues and is engulfed by smoke, and thus, although there is an ocean of fire, there is a dense darkness. It features pits dug three furlongs into the ground that are full of glowing and flaming coals. In those pits the beings of this hell must spend every single day. They are not even capable of screaming as their lungs are entirely filled with fire. If they manage to escape, their lungs will fill with the smoke of burning plantain trees. This smoke will make the fires seem enjoyable by comparison, as it has an extremely excruciating effect. When they finally have also managed to escape the smoke, they will—until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted—continuously be attacked by birds of a kind known as ‘smoky garland.’ These birds will use their extremely sharp beaks to crack open the bones of the beings in this hell and consume their bone marrow.

“When they finally escape this hell they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, their lungs and lower parts will then be afflicted by diseases caused by grahas, they will live in poverty, and their lives will be short.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a hell known as the Smoky Forest of Burning Embers. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will, as in the previous cases, see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. As for alcohol consumption, some might offer alcohol for the sake of killing enemies, thieves and robbers, or royal soldiers. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell of the Smoky Forest of Burning Embers. F.184.a

“The beings in that realm experience the following tortures. Embers produced by karmic action will stir a wind that is like razor blades. This wind flings the beings of this hell around and knocks them against each other. As when handfuls of sand are scattered, their bodies are in this way reduced to dust, and yet they will keep reviving due to the power of their karmic actions. This torture continues for many hundreds of thousands of years, until finally their karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. In other words, until their karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted they will for many hundred thousand years experience the exceedingly intense and horrifying agonies of cleaving razors, fire, disease, weapons, and acid.

“When they finally escape this hell, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, they will suffer from severe hemorrhoids and constantly be afflicted with infectious diseases related to cold.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a hell known as the Forest of Fiery Mist. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will, as in the previous cases, see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. As for alcohol consumption, certain people may offer alcohol with an intent to deceive. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, F.184.b taking birth in the hell of the Forest of Fiery Mist.

“The beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. Apprehended by the henchmen of the Lord of Death, the beings of this hell will be thrown into burning flames that are two hundred cubits tall. They will then be swept aloft by the flames and consumed by them, from their feet to their heads. Nevertheless, the wind of karmic action will cause them to be revived. Then, as if they were sweeping leaves together, the flames will draw in hell beings from all directions, and the beings will follow as if they were pulled by ropes. Thus, within the flames they will burn until not even their ashes remain. Yet they will once more be revived, and so their burning will continue for many hundreds of thousands of years, until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“When they escape this hell, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with the act of alcohol consumption, they will be born in the lands of the Yavanas and Bāhlikas and as slaves they will undergo severe suffering.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Worrisome. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will, as in the previous cases, see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. As for alcohol consumption, some people might offer others alcohol, thinking, ‘Alcohol will distract them, and so they will not feel weary on their journey,’ or ‘If they drink this, these hunters will quickly be able to kill the deer.’ When they later separate from their bodies such people will fall into the lower realms, F.185.a taking birth in the hell known as Worrisome.

“The beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. Precisely according to their desires, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will show up in their hundreds, thousands, millions, and even billions, to inflict the same tortures that are experienced in all the other hells, only here at four times the intensity. The henchmen of the Lord of Death will then speak to the beings of this realm in the following verses of instruction:

“Thus the henchmen of the Lord of Death will instruct the beings of hell while continuing to subject them to numerous tortures, until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“When at last they escape from this hell, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, they will be easily infuriated and intractable.

“The monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions will continue to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell. However, he will not see any further ripening of karmic effects, nor will he perceive any further neighboring realms. He will then think to himself, ‘Alas, the tortures that are experienced in these sixteen neighboring hells are ten times more excruciating than the combined tortures of the Reviving, Black Line, and Howling hells. The stable causes for birth there are acts F.186.b of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct, as well as offering alcohol to those who have taken vows, or such people consuming alcohol. Birth in those realms follows from combinations of those four negative actions, and the combined ripening of those four yields extremely long-lasting, torturous agonies.’

“Perceiving the ripening of the combinations of those four negative acts, the monk will correctly contemplate the effects of karmic ripening, and his renunciation with respect to cyclic existence will become ten times as strong as before. Through his accurate perception of the realms of hell, the monk will feel horror and become terrified of cyclic existence. Thus, he will enter the tenth ground and, as a spiritual practitioner, carefully observe inner phenomena.

“As the terrestrial yakṣas witness this, they will inform the celestial yakṣas, and, in the same way as before, the news will travel to the realms of Brahmā, of the High Brahmins of Brahmā, and of Great Brahmā. Thus, as the gods in the realm of Great Brahmā receive the message, they will think with delight, ‘The forces of the māras are waning; the forces of the sacred Dharma are on the rise!’ Thus, all the same events as before will take place.

The Great Howling Hell

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions next concerns himself with other hell realms, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive the Great Howling Hell. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing, and so see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing completed acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying.

“Here, the aspects of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and alcohol consumption are just as in the previous cases. F.187.a Beyond this, lying is an extreme misdeed that is reviled by the wise and forms the entranceway to the lower realms. What, one may wonder, are the features of an act of lying? Whether before the king or a minister, or whether within the court, there might be a legal dispute between two parties, and when the case is tried, one might be appointed as a reliable witness. If, for the sake of wealth, or because of a bias, or due to desire, one knowingly alters the facts and speaks deceitfully, there is nothing more unvirtuous than such a lie. If one decides to speak such a lie, and then does so, thus engaging in such a frivolous misdeed, the effect may be that one of the parties is given a death sentence, is executed, or sees their home confiscated. The evil person who speaks a lie with such unlawful effects will thereby, upon separating from his or her body, fall into the lower realms and take birth in the Great Howling Hell.

“Life in that realm lasts an extremely long time. Specifically, the gods in the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations live for eight thousand god-years. To arrive at the corresponding number of human years, consider that eight hundred human years is one day in the life of the gods in the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations. Thirty of those days make one month, twelve such months are one year, and the lifespan of those gods is eight thousand such years. Yet that duration is but one day in the life of a being in the Great Howling Hell, the abode of those who commit the misdeed of lying.

“Deceiving oneself and others will ruin all roots of virtue and bring great darkness. Great individuals will have no trust in oneself, and one will never—not even in a thousand years—be in agreement with the wise. Lying is despised by all hearers, solitary buddhas, and perfect buddhas. F.187.b Lying is categorized as a flaw in terms of both the mundane and the supramundane path: it is an axe against all roots of virtue; it always brings harm; it is a rotten corpse; it is a poisonous falsehood; it is the garbage that is the cause of the lower realms of cyclic existence; it produces bad breath; it is the cause of the net of suffering; it is the unattractive, ugly, and unpleasant harbinger of the fears of hell; it is the creator of terror at the time of death; it is the great adversary of those who reach the land of the Lord of Death’s henchmen; it is the abyss for starving spirits and animals; it is the cause of evil means of livelihood; it is the cause of poverty; it is the producer of the great terrors of hell; it is the condition for animals being eaten by each other; since time without beginning it remains as the seed of cyclic existence, because birth within cyclic existence follows as the result of lying.

“The neighboring realms of that great hell are as follows: Extreme Screams, Boundless Torture, Sharp and Unbearable Pain, Incomparable Harm, Total Darkness, Blinding Smoke, Dropping Dead Like Moths, Life Isochronous with Death, Mutation, Joyless Thought, Mutual Harm, Forest of Continuous Flames, Long-Lasting Agony, Infinite Pain, Ravens with Vajra-Like Beaks, Consuming Blood and Marrow, and Eleven Flames. These are the sixteen neighboring realms of the Great Howling Hell.

“What type of completed and accumulated action will cause one to take birth in the Great Howling Hell? F.188.a Such a terrifying birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing the preparation for, enactment, and conclusion of karmic action.

“The beings in the Great Howling Hell experience the following tortures. Their tongues are extremely soft, like the petals of lotus flowers, and extend from their mouths for a length of three furlongs. The beings of this realm are caught by terrifying henchmen of the Lord of Death, who will cleave, split, and destroy their tongues with a flaming iron plow. As the henchmen next spray their tongues with molten copper, worms with flaming mouths will appear from the tongues and begin to eat of them. Yet these liars will not be able to draw their tongues in. Moreover, other worms will appear in the teeth within their mouths and dislodge them, while a wind created by karmic action will assault their palates with a pulverizing effect. Likewise, a razor-like wind will descend through their throats, and worms with burning mouths will consume and incinerate their hearts. Thus, liars will take birth and burn in the main Great Howling Hell with worms emerging from their tormented bodies, which they have appropriated by means of their karmic actions.

“Internally, they will therefore experience the unbearably excruciating pain of being consumed by worms, and accompanying diseases. Externally, the beings of this hell are also subjected to a twofold torment. First, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will torment them with various hellish tortures involving fire. In addition they will be subjected to various other tortures, such as having their limbs, organs, veins, and sinews stabbed with spikes, F.188.b or having all their limbs hacked with swords right to the bone.

“Lying is the supreme creator of failure and conflicts with everything that supports the Dharma. Lying is a gateway to failure and like hail to all the crops of virtue. It is the door to the lower realms and the basis for all misdeeds. Lying creates mistrust in all sentient beings, is reviled as filth by all noble individuals, and is shunned as poison by the perfect buddhas, the hearers, the solitary realizers, and the worthy ones. As a darkness that covers the mundane and supramundane paths, it is unwanted by everyone. On its own it brings forth the hells and it has no equal. It is a pitch-black darkness. Lying is thus a source of failure.

“Those who lie at present, and those who lied in the past, will in accordance with such causes meet with the result that is the Great Howling Hell. The fires will make their legs melt like fresh butter, and flaming saws will cleave them in two. Their bodies and minds will be overcome by depression and suffering. In their realms, which accord with their deeds, they will boil in the fires of this great hell. Afflicted by all manner of disease, those beings of hell will scream aloud. It is not easy to enumerate all their unbearable illnesses. Yet, as explained, until their completed and accumulated negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to experience the sufferings of hell for many hundreds of thousands, millions, billions, and trillions of years.

“When they finally escape from this hell they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. F.189.a Yet, in terms of effects that accord with their acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying, they will be poor, have short lives, and their minds will be scattered. They will be born as neuters, despised by everyone, and not trusted by anyone.

“At this point, there are some verses:

“Thus, the nature of the effects of the act of lying will not remain concealed from the monk. He will perceive the qualities of truth and the nature of the wholesome and the unwholesome. As he continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will perceive a hell known as Extreme Screams. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing, and so, as in the previous cases, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and alcohol consumption. F.190.a As for lying, one may, for the sake of one’s friends, or because of taking sides, speak in a biased way during a dispute. If one does not later confess and regard the act as a misdeed, and instead resorts to, becomes habituated to, and increases such acts, one will, upon having separated from one’s body, fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell of Extreme Screams.

“The beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. As a punishment, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will slice open the liars’ throats and cut out their tongues. They will then pour burning acid into their throats. The remainder of the tongues within their bodies will emit a foul stench, which will cause biting insects with burning mouths to emerge and eat the tongue. The beings of this realm will also have to endure all the physical tortures that were explained in the context of the Reviving Hell and the other previous hell realms. Thus, until the karmic actions of lying have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, the tortures will continue.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet in that case one will be insane, destitute, and have a scattered mind, a short life, and incomplete faculties. One will be despised by everyone and completely unsuccessful.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive an adjacent hell realm known as Boundless Torture. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will, F.190.b as in the previous cases, see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and alcohol consumption. As for lying, desire or anger may cause some to speak severe lies, or to instruct and encourage others to do so by saying, ‘So-and-so is our dearest, greatest friend. He is kind to us, and we must side with him. Do not tell the truth!’ Those who do so will, upon separating from their bodies, fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell of Boundless Torture.

“As for the torments of that realm, all the tortures that were explained in the contexts of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, must be endured by the beings in the Great Howling Hell. Yet, since the causal actions of those in the latter realm are heavier, their tortures are comparatively more severe. This, moreover, shows well the way that karmic effects ripen. As if caught on a continuously spinning waterwheel, sentient beings have since infinite time been stuck in the horrors of karmic action and affliction.

“Lying is a tremendously negative factor that intensifies the tortures that must otherwise be endured as the result of negative actions. A completed act of lying will cut asunder one’s supportive roots of virtue, and effects always manifest in accordance with their causes. Produced by these causes, the suffering endured in the hell of Boundless Torture cannot be put into words. Unmatched by those of any other hell being, the tortures of an evil speaker of lies will include being attacked by parasites; being tortured by parasites; thirst and hunger; despair; endless suffering in utter darkness; F.191.a mutual striking; experiencing terrible sounds, textures, tastes, forms, and smells; being struck by the weapons of enemies and adversaries who remember past lives; drowning in a river of acid; being stabbed with spikes; having one’s head^[59] burned by fire; being scythed down like crops; being struck by vajras; and being burned in an all-encompassing conflagration and in forest-consuming flames. These and other such hellish tortures will continue to appear for the beings in the realm of Boundless Torture, until finally their misdeeds of lying have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. Such are the effects of the abysmal misdeed of lying as they manifest in the hell of Boundless Torture.

“When one finally escapes that hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with the causal act of lying, one will in that case constantly be ill, suffer from seizures of the throat, and be afflicted with oral diseases. One will be poor, and when one asks donors and benefactors for medicine one will not be trusted but instead dismissed as a swindler. Thus, one will fall fatally ill and die.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a hell realm known as Sharp and Unbearable Pain. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and so see how certain kings and ministers, under the pretext of being genuinely concerned with their realm, its finances, and the lives of its people, F.191.b act instead for their own personal benefit and thus inflict grave harm on others. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell of Sharp and Unbearable Pain.

“The beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. From their bodies will emerge worms produced by karmic action, and those worms will spread throughout their entire bodies, entering all their organs and severing all their muscles. The worms will eat up the flesh of the beings of this hell, consume their lungs, and cause them unbearable experiences. The agonies of these hell beings are like an excruciating fire, and they only continue to increase. They are like the burning pain of poison, extremely aggravating, fierce, scorching, and difficult to bear. Thus, the excruciating effects of these hell beings’ previous evil livelihoods cannot be expressed in words, and until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to boil.

“When one finally escapes that hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with the relevant causal actions, one’s mother will be sick throughout her pregnancy and, as soon as one emerges from her womb, the force of one’s misdeeds will afflict one with illnesses that gradually intensify and become completely incurable. B10

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell,^[60] he will perceive a hell realm F.192.a known as Incomparable Harm. Inquiring into what completed and accumulated karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will, as in the previous cases, see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying. Thus, in order to amass land for the cultivation of sugarcane and other crops, certain people may employ lies and fraudulence to claim and steal away the land of others, such as the irrigation mounds that surround the fields. As in that way they deceive others with their lies, they will later, upon separating from their body, fall into the lower realms and take birth in the hell of Incomparable Harm.

“The beings in that realm will experience pain as they undergo all the same ordeals that are otherwise experienced in the Reviving Hell, and the other hells. Moreover, the specific tortures that these hell beings undergo are as follows. Just as when a blacksmith uses bellows filled with air to heat iron to be beaten and hammered, the henchmen of the Lord of Death use bellows to fan the flames and melt these hell beings. Thus, all the heat created by karmic action will fan and melt these beings as they are beaten and flattened like a piece of iron. They will then revive, only to be thrown into a pot where they continue to boil like lentils, until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“When they finally escape this hell, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with the relevant causal actions, they will always suffer from thirst, be aggressive, and not be trusted by anyone.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues F.192.b to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell he will perceive a hell known as Total Darkness. When inquiring into what karmic actions one must engage in, become habituated to, and increase in order to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and alcohol consumption. Moreover, in terms of lying, some people sleep with another man’s woman, and then later, at the royal court, they deny having done so, thus causing harm to the woman’s husband. Upon separating from their bodies, such people will fall into the lower realms and take birth in the hell of Total Darkness.

“The beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. Their skulls will be cleaved open from the top and their tongues will be cut off and extracted through the ensuing hole. This severance of the tongue will recur, because whenever their tongue is cut off, a new one will grow out in its place, only to be amputated again. Thus, until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, their tongues will be cut off with flaming weapons^[61] throughout many hundreds of thousands of years.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with the relevant causal actions, one will then be blind and deaf. Straight from birth one will be destitute, having to beg for food along highways and at road crossings. One will wander from door to door in search of food, have a short life, and be shunned even by one’s own spouse and children.

“Next, the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions will examine the neighboring region of the Great Howling Hell^[62] known as Blinding Smoke. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing F.193.a and thus see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and alcohol consumption. As for lying, in order to maximize their profit, there are businesspeople who falsely claim that a business agreement entitles them, and not others, to certain goods. In this way they manage to steal the goods through lies and treachery. Upon separating from their bodies, however, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Blinding Smoke.

“The beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. Just as in the case of the Reviving Hell and so forth, their extremely tender bodies will be cut asunder. The beings of this hell thus scream as all their major and minor body parts are chopped to bits. Yet in another fierce ripening that accords with their causal, negative acts, their tender bodies will reemerge whenever they have been cut up. While the beings of this hell are crying out, their bones remain sensitive even after six months.^[63] Then, from their bodies will appear multicolored worms that have vajra beaks and flaming mouths. They will gnaw on the bones and break them, thereby producing excruciating agony. This will continue for many hundreds of thousands of years until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“Once one escapes this hell one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with the relevant causal actions, one’s body will stink, one’s head or clothing will be home to bugs born from heat and moisture, and one will live in abject poverty. One’s lips and face will be thin like a needle and one’s life will be short. One’s words will not be trusted, F.193.b one will not be appreciated, and one will live a life of deprivation.

“Next, the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions will examine the neighboring region of the Great Howling Hell, inquiring into what karmic actions may cause beings to be born there. With knowledge derived from hearing he will examine the hell known as Dropping Dead Like Moths. He will see that birth there is due to resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and alcohol consumption. As for lying, one may obtain on behalf of the saṅgha goods, food, or clothing, and then sell it to members of the for saṅgha for more than the purchase price. Out of craving, one thus deceives saṅgha members by reselling items for a higher price, all the while claiming that on is merely giving them away at cost. Thus, out of attachment to business, they will lie to and deceive the ignorant parties. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Dropping Dead Like Moths.

“The beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. Dogs will bite through their abdomens and wolf down their bowels. The henchmen of the Lord of Death will hack lumps of flesh off their backs with a meat cleaver and weigh them in whole and half ounces on a scale. They will then feed the dogs with that flesh. Likewise, in pursuit of the bone marrow they will split their bones open with sharp cleavers. With flaming pliers, they will proceed to pierce their throats and draw out their tongues. They will stab flaming spikes into all their major and minor body parts, cutting out the flesh and severing the tendons. Thus, as a consequence of their own misdeeds, these beings will experience the painful results of having engaged in lying.

“Once the beings of that hell succeed in escaping the henchmen of the Lord of Death, they will plunge into a fire that constantly burns. Thus, until their negative acts have been overcome, F.194.a relinquished, and exhausted, they will, just like moths, continue to take birth, burn, and then take such a birth again and again throughout many hundreds of thousands of years.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with the relevant causal actions, one will then be poor, deficient, destitute, and belong to a social class controlled by others. Even if one has been protected very well since infancy, one will nevertheless be burned by fire.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will perceive a neighboring hell known as Instant Revival Upon Death.^[64] Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying. Based on such acts one will, when separating from one’s body, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Instant Revival Upon Death.

“In that realm one will experience all the same tortures that the beings of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, must endure. In particular, the beings in this hell are bludgeoned by hammers, and these blows cause instant death. However, as soon as they have died from the hammer blows, they will immediately come back to life, only to be hit and die once more. Thus, the beings of this hell will constantly be born and die again for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“Once they become free from that experience of the consequences of their misdeeds, they will perceive a grove of blue lotus flowers. Searching for protection they will rush ahead, only to find that the flowers are ablaze with blue fire. How might such an effect of lying occur? F.194.b Plotting to kill traveling merchants in a dangerous region, certain bandits masquerade as monks who promise the merchant parties that the path to a given location is safe. Then, when the merchants proceed to confidently travel onward, the bandits lie in wait for them at the dangerous location. Such a destructive act serves as a condition for ending up in the blue lotus full of blue embers. There one’s feet will be burned away, and it will be impossible to get out again. Thus, by the power of an act of that type one’s hands, legs, and eyes will be consumed and, until the relevant negative acts been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, one will in this way continue to burn and boil within the blue lotus of burning embers, coming to life again as soon as one has been killed by the flames, for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in accordance with the relevant causal actions, one will become a con artist. Whatever wealth one may have gathered will be confiscated by the authorities and one will die in prison.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring hell known as Mutation. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and alcohol consumption. As for lying, some people speak lies in order to create divisions, or to kill others, or to gain victory, all the while claiming to always speak the truth. In this way the whole world might end up believing them, thinking that they speak the truth. Thus, proceeding with all kinds of lies, they may F.195.a succeed in conquering territory, killing prominent people, and robbing their enemies of their possessions. At the same time, they may successfully declare that they have always been honest, and so they may even enjoy the world’s trust and confidence. Such liars will thus appear to be decent, upright people while in fact they are thieving con artists. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Mutation.

“The beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. In the distance they will perceive their parents, servants, friends, and loved ones, and they will hear them speaking delightful words. Thus, in their yearning, they will run toward them in search of safety, refuge, and protection. However, as they draw near, they will find themselves sinking into a lake of burning embers, disappearing into it as when stones are thrown into the water. When they resurface and escape the embers, all their major and minor body parts will have been burned, and so they will moan in excruciating pain.

“Once more they will perceive their parents, children, wives, and friends, and hasten toward them. Produced by karmic action, saw-wielding henchmen of the Lord of Death will, however, appear in their path and apprehend them. Thus, seized by the henchmen, they will be sawn in the middle like pieces of wood. Even if they should succeed in escaping, they will be left with only bare skin and bones, marred with horrible wounds. All their limbs and body parts will have been pierced and cut asunder. In that condition they will then run away as best they can, only to be apprehended once more. The Lord of Death’s henchmen will then attach them to a flaming wheel, created by their karmic action, and they will spin like a bucket on a waterwheel through a pit filled with stones. Circling on this wheel, such liars will thus be crushed and reduced to dust.

“Once they escape this flaming wheel, they will again perceive their parents, F.195.b friends, and loved ones. Yearning for safety, refuge, and protection, they will press on toward them. But now their path will be full of spikes produced by karmic action, and they will encounter tigers, also produced by karmic action, that will sink their fangs into them. When they tear themselves away from the tigers’ jaws, they will run, fully conscious, while the flaming sharp spikes lacerate them. The feet and legs of the hell beings to be cut, slashed, severed, and scorched. Their limbs and organs will be penetrated and torn asunder, and their bodies will burn and be completely decimated, including their veins, sinews, bones, and all the other remaining parts of their bodies.^[65] Such are the effects that accord with resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing the causal actions of lying. In this way, those who claim to speak truthfully yet misinform, deceive, and mislead others will have to watch their parents, friends, and loved ones suffer. Thus, the tortures associated with lying are fierce, excruciating, and infinite. Until the relevant negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, the beings of this hell will be burned, boiled, cut, and killed for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in accordance with one’s causal actions, one will then be poor, sickly, vulgar, and have incomplete faculties. Not trusting anyone, one will be hostile and in general discord with others. All one’s wishes will either come to nothing or bring the opposite result of what one intended.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, F.196.a he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring hell known as No Hope of Joy.^[66] Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and see that such a birth is, in the same way as before, caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and alcohol consumption. As for lying, some people make false promises to donate wealth and material goods to those who suffer and who are ill, sickly, hungry, dejected, unprotected, or destitute. Thus, not living up to their promises, they fail to supply the needy with rice meals, drinks, clothing, bedding, or housing, and so they cause others to lose all hope. When such people later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell of No Hope of Joy.

“The beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. Having previously failed to give the food they promised to deliver, the beings of this hell will now perceive delicious and beautifully decorated food and drink. While starving in this hell, they will perceive in the distance the type of delightful meal that they are yearning for. Yet, as they run toward the feast, their path will be full of spikes and they will encounter flaming saws that will cut them, just as was described earlier. When they finally obtain the food, it will suddenly turn into ugly and foul-smelling balls of red-hot iron. Thus will be the perception produced by their karmic actions. When they look closer at the food, the mere sight of it will cause their eyeballs to fall out. When they touch it, the contact will set their major and minor body parts alight, F.196.b rendering their bodies similar to those of fireflies. If they taste the food, which is like lumps of red-hot iron, it will first burn their tongues and then gradually consume their throats, hearts, livers, colons, intestines, stomachs, bowels, and so on, through to the lower parts of the body.

“People who first promise to supply bedding and housing, and then fail to deliver those things, will be tormented by cold and heat and fall into despair. As beings of this hell, they will be splayed on the even surface of molten copper and, as their major and minor body parts become submerged in this liquid metal, they will burn. Such are the effects of ignoring a commitment to provide housing. Similarly, those who have lied in this way will enter a most delightful mansion that measures fifty leagues. Yet the mansion is full of briskly boiling iron, and so the beings of this hell will swirl around, moving from the bottom to the top, and from the top to the bottom, roiling on the surface, or circling at the bottom. As they boil in this way, all their body parts and organs will break apart. Their flesh, sinews, skin, bones, and fat will all fall apart and cook. Then, as they are poured into a pair of cooking pots, everything will go pitch black. Tormented and enraged, they will cry out. First, they will be cooked in one iron jar and then poured into another one to boil there. As this happens, the hell beings will collide with each other and their bodies will break into hundreds and thousands of pieces. They will then reassemble, only to once again collide with other hell beings. Thus, until their acts of lying have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will remain bound by the chains of karmic action, having to be destroyed again and again, innumerably many hundreds of thousands of times.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, F.197.a avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with the relevant causal actions, one will be born into a family of slaves, or the like, and will experience events that accord with one’s own previous false promises. Within beginningless cyclic existence, harm is also without beginning, as the engagements in virtuous and unvirtuous actions create a continuum that extends throughout cyclic existence. This continuum of karmic action and the craving that coincides with desire will together create trauma. Thus, in the present case, one will become a slave, lacking food, drink, a dwelling place, and medical facilities, and one’s master will always be abusive.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will notice the workings of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and alcohol consumption in the same way as before. As for lying, some people go before an association of craftsmen and, out of arrogance, anger, or malice, unjustly accuse one of its members of having broken the rules of the association. Thus, they may cause an innocent man to be punished and expelled from the association. In this way they deceive both themselves and others. If one resorts to, becomes habituated to, and continuously repeats such acts—completing and accumulating them—one will, upon separating from one’s body, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Mutual Harm. That is to say, due to the causes and conditions associated with having caused harm before an association, one will, upon separating from one’s body, be born in the hell known as Mutual Harm.

“The beings in that realm will experience torture as they undergo all the same ordeals that are otherwise experienced in the hells of Reviving, Black Line, Crushing, Howling, and so forth, just as explained before. F.197.b Specific to this hell produced by karma is, moreover, the encounter with a lion that has flaming fangs. Here, the hell being who previously told lies will, on top of having to undergo the tortures that were mentioned previously, again and again be devoured by that lion. Whenever the lion opens its mouth, the hell being will revive, only to be gobbled up once more. Thus, these beings will be healed and eaten, healed and eaten, again and again. Moreover, between the teeth of this lion produced by karma glow burning embers and, as one enters its mouth, one is also immediately burned by fire. Until finally the evil acts of lying have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, one will suffer unimaginable tortures for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with the relevant causal actions, one will then be killed by snakes, lions, tigers, or bears.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive that one is born there due to killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and alcohol consumption, and lying. Moreover, when there is a dispute about wealth between two people who belong to the same class, or who share the same father and ancestors, some people may give false testimony motivated by a wish to deceive and blame^[67] others in order to side with one of the two disputants, or an uncle, or one side of the family. Those who knowingly carry out such complete acts, including their preparatory and conclusive stages, will, upon separating from their bodies, fall into the lower realms and take birth in the hell of Mutual Harm. F.198.a

“The beings in that realm will experience torture as they undergo all the same ordeals that are otherwise experienced in the hell of Reviving, and so forth. In particular, the people who thus deceive and lie to their own relatives will, in particular, be seized by butchers created by karmic action who will proceed to carve out their flesh and feed it to them—they will be forced to eat their own flesh. Moreover, due to their misdeeds, the flesh of these hell beings will be felt in their mouths as if it were burning iron, and it will not have any taste. In this way, they will be doubly harmed, for while the butchers inflict harm upon their bodies, they will also starve and thirst. Moreover, from the wounds left by the butchers, worms will appear that eat up their bodies down to the bones and marrow. Such are the experiences that result from these misdeeds. Thus, until their negative karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to suffer in the hell of Mutual Harm for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with the relevant causal actions, one will not obtain the wealth of one’s father and ancestors. Neither will one be considered trustworthy, and one will live in poverty.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring hell known as Forest of Continuous Flames. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by killing, stealing, F.198.b and sexual misconduct, as well as serving intoxicating grain wine and other alcoholic beverages. As for lying, some people may join an association of powerful people, do something wrong, and then deny their misdeed out of fear of punishment. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and take birth in the hell known as Forest of Continuous Flames.

“The beings in that realm will experience torture as they undergo the combined ordeals that are otherwise experienced in the hell of Reviving, and so forth. In particular,^[68] they will be held against a burning metal plate where weapons rain down on them so that their blood and flesh become like mush, or like kiṃśuka trees. The iron plate will thus become attached to their bodies. As the hell beings wail, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will then forcefully scrape off the flesh, fat, and blood that are now stuck to the metal plate.

“Once they are free from this hell, they will perceive an acid river known as The Hour of Death.^[69] The hell beings there yearn for protection and refuge, and are oppressed and terrified by the Lord of Death’s henchmen. Thus, upon seeing the river they will haul their ruined bodies toward it and, panicking in fear of the Lord of Death’s henchmen, they will plunge into the river. The streaming acid will immediately attack all their major and minor body parts and dissolve their bodies, burning their skin and bones. As the acid burns their flesh, their bodies will dissolve into the river like melting lumps of butter. Still, due to the force of their misdeeds, they do not die. Instead, they will now enter a burning forest, which is as dense as a stack of bamboo leaves. Within that forest of continuous flames there is nowhere that a sentient being is not burned and consumed by fire, F.199.a not even so much as the space of the eye of a needle. Everywhere there are hell beings who yearn for safety and protection as they burn and boil while screaming and running. Until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted they will not have a moment of relief.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with the relevant causal actions, one’s language skills will be impaired. One will not be able to learn even the vernacular, not to mention refined speech.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring hell known as Long-Lasting Agony. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus see that such a birth is caused by completed and accumulated acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and alcohol consumption. As for lying, some people make a certain commitment to the Saṅgha, or to the Buddha or the Dharma. Later they may lose courage, however, and deny that it was ever made, even though they remember doing so quite well. If one’s broken promise brings harm to the Saṅgha, such a completed and accumulated act of lying will serve to produce the experience of birth in the hell of Long-Lasting Agony.

“The beings in that realm will experience torture F.199.b as they undergo all the same ordeals that are otherwise experienced in the hell of Reviving, and so forth. Moreover, a special feature of this realm is that the henchmen of the Lord of Death pierce the beings there with needles that are long, sharp, thin, and burning. Tortured in this way, the beings will cry in agony. Yet, like a pit filled with arrows, their mouths and tongues themselves are always full of needles, so that, despite suffering harrowing pain, they are unable to cry out or express it. Thus, those who mentally took up the habit of lying and deceived both themselves and others will constantly experience extraordinary tortures.

“Once they escape that particular hell, all their limbs and organs will have been perforated and their bodies broken. Tormented and exasperated, they will stagger along and fall to the ground. Yet, as they fall, extremely sharp needles will pierce them, so they will be tormented over and over again. As they fall, some will scream whereas those whose mouths have been ravaged by the needles will just moan and groan. Only when the needles in their mouths happen to fall out will these beings be able to scream. Otherwise, they can only moan. They will slip and fall to the ground of burning iron, where they will roll around until they sink into the ground, moving frantically. The henchmen of the Lord of Death will then attack these pathetic creatures and crush their bodies with axes, spears, lances, clubs, and various other weapons. Thus, until their evil acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to experience such tortures, brought about by lying, for many billions of years.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, F.200.a and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with the relevant causal actions, one will then be poor and one’s words will not be trusted. Whatever favors one may solicit from others will be denied, and one will become destitute and hopeless.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring hell known as Infinite Pain. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such birth is caused by killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and alcohol consumption. As for lying, a steersman on an ocean-faring merchant vessel may become embroiled in a conspiracy that might be instigated by pirates or driven by the steersman’s own desire for wealth. Having thus conspired with pirates, or a faction among the ocean-faring merchants, the steersman may falsely promise to sail his passengers to an island of jewels, while in reality steering the ship toward a barren island. If on the way he sees a blue flag he will not call out ‘Pirates!’ and will not alarm the merchants. Meanwhile, the merchants may feel confident that their steersman is honest and that he would not hoodwink them. In that way he may allow pirates to attack and rob the merchants of their wealth, while also getting a piece of the booty himself. When such a person later separates from his body, he will fall into the lower realms and be born in the realm of Infinite Pain.

“The beings in that realm will experience torture as they undergo all the same ordeals that are otherwise experienced in the hell of Reviving, and so forth. In particular, they will have their eyes plucked out with flaming tongs. F.200.b Those who have thus been blinded will then grow new, fresh, and most delicate eyes, and will thus be subjected to profuse torture.^[70] Their ears will be filled with boiling lead by the henchmen of the Lord of Death, who will also slash off their major and minor body parts with razors. So-called talalalalaka worms^[71] will enter their bowels and intestines and begin to feast on them.

“Moreover, the beings of this hell will then enter a complete darkness that will engulf them entirely. From all sides flaming sea monsters created by karmic action will surge forth, devouring the hell beings with their mouths, along with claws and teeth that are sharp like diamonds. The monsters will tear all their limbs and organs apart, reducing them to dust, as when a handful of sand is scattered.

“When they pass from the jaws of these monsters, the hell beings will next enter their stomachs. Imprisoned, they will proceed to spend many millions of years within these flaming interiors, suffocating and gasping for air, burning and boiling. Such are the fierce and excruciating tortures that these liars will undergo as a result of their actions. Thus, the liar is first burned by the karmic manifestations created by his own tongue, and then later burned by the fires of hell.

“Once the monsters have devoured all the major and minor body parts of these hell beings and reduced them to dust, the creatures will then spit them out onto a burning bed of embers. As the beings in hell burn there, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will then instruct them with these verses:

“Thus instructed by the henchmen of the Lord of Death, the beings in this hell must continue to endure the many hundreds of tortures, just as explained before, until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. When they finally escape this hell, they may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with the relevant causal actions, they will always follow people who in the end deceive them and rob them of their possessions. Moreover, any work that they undertake will involve great hardship, and the people of the world will not trust their words.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring hell known as Ravens with Vajra-Like Beaks. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing F.202.a and thus see that such birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying. Thereby one will, when separating from one’s body, fall into the lower realms and take birth in the hell of Ravens with Vajra-Like Beaks.

“All the sufferings found in the Reviving and other hells can also be found in this one. In terms of lying, those who have promised to provide medical assistance to an assembly of monks, but then fail do as promised, will by the power of such acts fall into the hell of Ravens with Vajra-like beaks as soon as they separate from their bodies. In that realm they will undergo the following tortures. They will be preyed upon by ravens that tear out their flesh with their vajra-like beaks and eat it. Yet the very moment that the ravens dig out the flesh of a hell being it will grow out again, delicate and soft like a lotus flower. Inflicting tremendous pain, the birds will once again pluck and dig out the flesh, which will then simply restore itself, fresh and delicate. Thus, these hell beings will be tortured for many hundreds of thousands of years, as the ravens keep eating their flesh with their vajra-like beaks.

“Once one escapes these birds, one will then come to a stretch of sand that contains burning iron. As one attempts walking upon it, one will burn until not even one’s ashes remain. One will then be restored, and the same thing will happen once again. Those who lied and spoke evil, falsity, and untruth will see this happen again and again, and so they will even come to eat their own tongues.

“At this point, there are some verses:

“Thus, those who have forsaken the truth will, until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, continue to be tormented in the realm of Ravens with Vajra-Like Beaks.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, F.203.a and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of karmic effects in accordance with the causal actions of lying, which carry one to hell on account of being in conflict with the truth, one will thereby be involved in constant fighting and rampant quarreling. Others will always come out victorious, and no one in the world will believe what one says.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring hell known as Consuming Blood and Marrow. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born in the hell of Consuming Blood and Marrow, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and see that such a birth is caused by completed and accumulated acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying. As for lying, certain kings, ministers, or other people in positions of authority may charge higher taxes than they are supposed to and yet claim that they are charging the correct amount. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and take birth in the hell of Consuming Blood and Fat.^[73]

“The beings in that realm will experience torture as they undergo all the same ordeals that are otherwise experienced in the hell of Reviving and so forth. Moreover, a particular feature of this realm is that the henchmen of the Lord of Death will hang the hell beings head down from flaming trees with razor leaves. As they hang there, they will feast on their own legs, using their teeth and nails that are sharp as diamonds, and when they bleed, they will also drink their own blood. And so they stay alive. It is said that among all agonies those associated with food are the most unbearable, and so they consume their own blood. In this way, these beings are subjected to a double torture, for while burned by fire, they also suffer from starvation and thirst.

“At this point, there is a verse:

“Thus, these beings will spend many hundreds of thousands of years consuming their own blood and bone marrow while the lower parts of their bodies are burned by tremendously hot fires. Until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will keep burning in this hell.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with the relevant causal actions, one will in that case be poor and one’s words will not be trusted. One will suffer from constant nosebleeds, and using a toothpick will likewise cause bleeding.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring hell known as Eleven Flames. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and see that such a birth is caused by killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and alcohol consumption. As for lying, during a dispute between two parties, certain kings, ministers, or others whom people consider trustworthy may apply the law in an underhanded way out of a wish to gain wealth, or due to cronyism, or because of desire or anger. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Eleven Flames.

“Those who lied due to bias will now undergo all the same ordeals that are otherwise experienced in the hell of Reviving, and so forth—but intensified tenfold. Moreover, eleven bonfires will constantly emerge from their bodies, burning everywhere in the ten directions, and the tongues in the liars’ mouths will go starving and thirsting. F.204.a Those who twisted the law in this way will constantly and in each moment take birth and burn. As they burn, they must undergo such sensations, and thus the hell of Eleven Flames cannot be even remotely compared to anything else.^[74] Until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, their scorching and burning will continue in the hell of Eleven Flames for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, avoid birth as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, as karmic effects in accordance with the causal actions of having bent the law, one will in that case always be tormented by hunger and thirst, and one’s limbs will all burn. One will live a short life in poverty, and people will not trust one’s words. One will be extremely stupid and one’s appearance repulsive. One’s arms and legs will be crippled and one’s body odor foul. One will move among inauspicious places, such as houses at road forks and intersections, and one’s entire life will be full of suffering.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Great Howling Hell, he will fail to perceive any seventeenth neighboring hell. B11

“Thus, the monk who, as a spiritual practitioner, carefully observes inner phenomena will enter the path to the transcendence of suffering, which is free from aging, death, and defilement. His endeavors will, as before, be noticed by the terrestrial yakṣas, who will inform the celestial yakṣas. In this way the news will travel all the way to the gods in Limited Light, who will be told, ‘In Jambudvīpa the noble son known as so-and-so…, (continuing as previously). Now he has entered the tenth ground. He has no interest in the sphere of influence of the māras’ domain, F.204.b he does not dwell on any of the entities associated with the craving that accompanies desirous excitement, and he does not surround himself with objects of affliction.’

“As they hear this news, the gods in Limited Light will be delighted and proclaim, ‘The forces of the māras are waning; the forces of the sacred Dharma are on the rise!’

“The monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions, and diligently severs the chains of cyclic existence, will then think to himself, ‘Alas, these beings suffer, deceived by their craving. They are bound by the fetters of ignorance, and their minds are possessed by the latent tendencies of affliction. Although they boil throughout the three times, they will not apply any effort to put an end to cyclic existence. Have they no sense? Or are their hearts consumed by unknowing? Or do they understand and yet cannot let go? What kind of consciousness do these beings have? When even those who remain for long in the higher realms can develop renunciation, it should go without saying that beings whose minds are hard and solid can do so. Yet, although they experience every form of torturous suffering, they do not develop any disenchantment.

“ ‘For the mind that has long been driven by the latent tendencies of affliction there are five unpleasant factors: aging, sickness, death, meeting the unwanted, and separation from what is wanted. Moreover, that mind will also encounter ten harmful consequences: hunger and thirst, separation from the desired, constant wandering, death and birth, condemnation by others, subjugation by others, cold and heat, separation from companions, destitution, and desire. In short, their minds suffer from these ten harms. And yet, alas, they do not become disenchanted!

“ ‘How astonishing that since time without beginning their minds have acted as their own deceitful enemy! F.205.a They lack both ears and hearts, and with minds as hard as stones and diamonds they have constantly been prevented by outer objects from taking any joy in the Dharma. With their craving they never have enough of form, sound, texture, taste, and smell—even though those objects are just like poison, weapons, or fire. Thus, the poison of the five objects and the bandits of the six sense sources make them ignorant about the seven branches of awakening and disinclined to traverse the eightfold path of the noble ones. They do not comprehend the nine abodes of sentient beings or the ten virtuous actions. They are fools with respect to the discernment of the eleven grounds. They are skilled in the pursuit of the arising and persistence of the twelve sense sources and in this way pursue what is unskillful. They are ignorant concerning the conduct of the thirteen higher paths. They associate with the fourteen mental perceptions, cannot bear the fifteen harms, and are supported by the sixteen forms of harmful, evil darkness. Their minds are involved in the seventeen childish discernments, the eighteen apertures for the arising of agony, the nineteen paths for the movement of wandering beings, and the twenty hostile abodes.’ Thus, understanding that their minds are fooled in these twenty different ways, the monk will regard sentient beings with compassion.^[75]

The Hell of Heat

“The monk who examines the ripening of the phenomena of karmic action, and who diligently and constantly cuts through the bondage of the māras, will in this way develop wisdom, and so proceed to explore the presence of far more evil realms beyond the Howling Hell. Applying knowledge derived from hearing, he will perceive a realm known as the Hell of Heat. Constructed through a tremendous increase of misdeeds, this hell is ten times more torturous than the great hell of Howling. Its sixteen neighboring realms are as follows: Great Scorching; Resembling White Lotuses; Teeming with Snakes; Swimming Like Fish in Molten Copper; Iron Vase; Flow of Red Rivers; Copious Parasites in Marrow and Bones; Burning Everyone; Infinite Sinking into the Ground;^[76] Resembling a Great Lotus; F.205.b Terrifying Slope; Masses of Vajra-Like Bones; Excruciating Splitting and Cutting by Means of a Black Iron Thread; Terrifying Inferno with Swarms of Crocodiles; Forest Fires Like an Enveloping Darkness; and Tormenting Armor of Vajra-Like Flies. These are the sixteen realms that surround the great Hell of Heat, and the lifespan of the beings there cannot be measured.

“Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born in this hell, the monk will apply knowledge derived from hearing, and so see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view, as well as the preparations for, and conclusions of, these acts. Thereby one will, upon having separated from one’s body, fall into the lower realms and be born in the great Hell of Heat.

“The ripening of the effects of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying have already been explained. Further, one may abide by and become habituated to a wrong view personally, just as one may teach it to others. Thus, one may develop a nihilist view, declaring, ‘There are no benefits to generosity and worship. There is no ripening of effects of wholesome or flawed actions. This world does not exist, nor is there anything that lies beyond it. There is no mother and no father.’ With such declarations one denies the existence of karmic action. And one might also teach such a view to others, and one might inculcate people with it and even make them zealous about it. Those who thus cause others to develop a wrong view by teaching them that actions have no causal power are like a bandit pretending to be a benevolent man. When such people separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and take birth in the great Hell of Heat. F.206.a

“Those who thus deceive others despite the existence of effects of karmic action will at death, as they enter the intermediate existence, perceive ominous appearances that result from their negative view. They will feel that they are in a terrifying and unbearable darkness. Or they will become frightened by lions, tigers, bears, leopards, and snakes, creeping out of dark caves or descending swiftly from the summits of high mountains, and they will hear the terrifying roars of tigers and lions. They will also see other, extremely miserable and piteous forms that inspire fear and compassion. They will perceive a blazing fire and themselves on top of it. They will hear loud jackal yelps, and they will see and hear the hideous forms of the henchmen of the Lord of Death.

“Speaking falsely, advocating unfavorable causes, advancing harmful positions, teaching unwholesome views, creating deceptions about karmic effect, teaching causes that are calamitous, deceiving oneself and others, and engaging in great evil—the effects of constantly engaging in and becoming habituated to such completed and accumulated acts canon the verge of death, be perceived in the way that one becomes terrified and panics, discharges feces or urine, cries, gapes, and clutches the edge of one’s bed.

“Likewise, one will perceive beasts barreling down from mountaintops and, as one tries to fend them off with one’s hands, people will say, ‘He is trying to ward off empty space.’ One will continue to see creatures descending from the mountains, though, and one will perceive that they maim one’s body all over. Such are the signs of an impending perception of the realms of hell, as experienced by those who engaged in misdeeds and were in error about karmic effects. Just as one will be able to smell a pile of stinking filth even though one has not yet seen it, F.206.b these terrifyingly fearsome signs of the great hells will appear to all even though hell itself is not yet perceptible.

“The awful sights and words that one thus perceives will be frightening, for they show that the purchasing power of an infantile being’s accumulated misdeeds is now sufficient to pay for the journey to hell and the karmic ripening of living there. The dying person’s two winds,pippalaka and sūcaka,^[77] will now blow fiercely and shake, beat, and smash all the person’s major and minor body parts. As the body is injured, the mind will be tormented by two types of agony that mark the final moments of life. When entering the final moments of life, the minds of those who deceived themselves in life will not focus on the practice of virtue.^[78] Consequently, they will experience, “during the intermediate existence, the following omens betokening the sufferings of hell which they themselves have created. Undesirable sounds, textures, tastes, forms, and smells will appear in their perception,^[79] and they will hear the voices of the hideous henchmen of the Lord of Death. They will experience winds that are as sharp as razors, burning tastes, terrifying sights that are aggravating to see, and a horrid stench. Frightened by all these objects, the people holding wrong views will perceive the realms of hell, and their perception of hell will be in accordance with the character of their wrong doctrine. At that point the person about to take birth will think, ‘Ah, how delightful is that fine city! I must by all means stay there!’ Hence, they will have their hearts set on going to it. Perceiving the links of existence that are to be experienced, they will thereupon be born there, because as the link of becoming manifests through the condition of grasping, the emergence of that intent will immediately cause birth.

F.207.a Then, as they are born in hell, they must undergo an experience of the combined pains of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, only now intensified tenfold.

“Also, the four hundred and four diseases will manifest, yet with a severity that matches hell. Any of them may serve as an example to illustrate the others. Such are the effects of engaging in misdeeds that annihilate and destroy all that is meaningful.

“The fire that burns in this hell is such that even a flame the size of a sesame seed can consume mountains, forests, marketplaces, and islands, so it goes without saying that it can also burn the body of a being in this hell. Such bodies will be consumed as if they were lumps of butter. The hell beings will then reappear, and now enter a thick and total darkness, without day or night. While shrouded in such complete darkness, they will sink into an ocean of torture that will last for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“They will thus suffer acute and unparalleled pain caused by the completed and accumulated acts of a wrong view that is like a complete and total darkness continue throughout boundless and immeasurable spans of time. Until the relevant negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, the beings of this realm will be boiled and burned, experiencing torture and unfathomable heat. If, after an exceedingly long time, they should succeed in escaping this hell, they will be born five hundred times as the kind of starving spirit known as the miserly. Subsequently, they will be born five hundred times as animals afflicted with all kinds of suffering. Then, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke that floats on the ocean, they might somehow be born with the general lot in life of a human, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives. Yet, even if that should happen, they will, in terms of effects that accord with the causal actions of wrong view, be born among barbarians and they will be poor, blind, crippled, and sickly. Their lives will be short, and their words will not be trusted.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions examines the regions that surround F.207.b the Hell of Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring hell known as Great Scorching. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and teaching a wrong view that distorts the relationship between karmic actions and their effects. An example of the latter would be the claim that someone who kills will be reborn among the gods. Why is that? Here it is not that one claims that the hearts of living beings are free from intense suffering, nor that those born as gods will not experience intense pleasure. However, killing is a cause of suffering, and thus possession of that cause does not bring happiness, just as suffering will not become the result of a karmic action that leads to happiness. Therefore, such an assertion constitutes a distortion of the relationship between karmic actions and their effects.

“As a result of such acts one will, upon separating from one’s body, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Great Scorching. The beings in that realm will experience torture as they undergo all the same ordeals that are otherwise experienced in the hell of Reviving, and so forth, yet multiplied tenfold. Flames, created by karma, will burst forth from one’s own body and burn with an intensity sixteen times hotter than any external fire. The flames are of a snow-like color, burning fiercely and consuming everything without and within. Meanwhile, a third fire will burst forth that consists of their own remorse, and that fire will also burn them.

“Such are the future effects of wrong view. Know that the ripened effect of wrong view is burning and that the experience is hot. F.208.a The person burned by these three fires will not have even a moment of pleasure. Such are the consequences of engaging in misdeeds, as they manifest in the neighboring hell of Great Scorching. Until the relevant karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, one will, for the longest timespan of years beyond number, continue to burn, boil, and perish. When one finally escapes that hell, one will be born three hundred times as a starving spirit, and thereafter two hundred times as an animal. If, when those lives have transpired, one should be born with the general lot in life of a human, one will not show any respect for one’s parents. One will shout, eat filth, and roam from place to place. One will be separated from the sacred Dharma and despised by everyone, eating and living like a dog, and having pustules on one’s arms and legs. One will die having eaten alms that were obtained by means of deception.

“Thus, the monk will see that the effects of wrong view are undesirable all through the beginning, middle, and end. He will see that by adhering to right view one will come to behold reality, become established on the true path, and be guided toward the transcendence of suffering.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions examines the regions that surround the Hell of Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Resembling White Lotuses. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying. Moreover, some people abide by, become habituated to, and increase wrong view F.208.b in the following way. Believing that fasting will ensure rebirth in the higher realms, they may cause others to develop, and even become enthusiastic about, that view, and so establish them within that belief. When they have chained their minds through other such unwholesome causes and beliefs, they may then compose unwholesome treatises and bring others to uphold the beliefs that are expressed within them. In this way others may even lose their lives while observing such a fast. In such a case they will, when separating from their bodies, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Resembling White Lotuses.

“Born in that hell one will experience all the pain of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, but with double intensity. On top of that, and particular to this realm, all one’s major and minor body parts will become a perpetually burning garland of flames. Corresponding to the relevant acts, one’s body will burn with intensity which, just like its cause, is unparalleled, without even a portion the size of a sesame seed that is not ablaze. Just as wrong view is the filthiest of all filth, so this fire will be the most agonizing of all, and the beings of this hell will, in accordance with their causal actions, experience an unimaginably torturous fire and will burn for a long time.

“At some point one of them may, by the power of karma, see an exquisite grove of white lotus flowers filled with many birds and streams. That hell being will then call to the others, ‘Ah, run, run! Let’s drink from the cool water! Let’s go to rest by that delightful, shady pool!’ Yet those who run toward it will sink into a river of burning embers that will destroy all their major and minor body parts. They will then be revived, and, having been burned again, run even faster toward the grove of white lotuses.

“However, as they run, they will encounter flaming rattan palms lianas F.209.a that wrap themselves around all their major and minor body parts, ravaging them completely so that nothing remains but their bones and marrow. Still, they will again be reborn and once again will run toward the grove of white lotuses. This time, however, worms created by karmic action will appear. As before, the worms will hook on to their eyes and begin to devour them. Staggering along, injured and blind, these hell beings will keep running. Other worms will then appear and consume them as they scream, enveloped in darkness. The worms will emerge through their eyes and keep on chewing. Thus, throughout many hundreds of thousands of years they will keep being consumed, only to be reborn.

“When such hell beings finally reach the grove of white lotuses, they will feel some relief in their bodies and minds and think, ‘At last I have reached that grove of white lotuses that I longed for,’ and proceed to enter the lotus grove. However, each of the flowers there, which are five leagues tall and two leagues wide, are actually ablaze with fire. Still, deceived by their karmic actions, these hell beings will, one after the other, climb the lotuses. As they do, their bodies become surrounded by garlands of fire. As they climb, all their hopes will be reduced to nothing. Tormented in the extreme, starving, and thirsting, they will proceed to burn and boil in the lotus-like embers, dying and being reborn, again and again. As all their major and minor body parts burn, their bodies become ablaze just like kiṃśuka trees, and so they will continue to experience torture for a long time until finally their karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“Once one escapes this hell, one will be born four hundred times as a starving and thirsting spirit, and three hundred times as an animal. F.209.b With the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, one might, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, happen to be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet in that case one will nevertheless encounter effects that accord with the causal misdeeds of developing wrong view. Thus, one will be born in a place of armed struggle, starvation, and robbery. Born there, one will be poor, prone to sickness, controlled by others, and shunned by those they love, and will suffer from incomplete faculties.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Hell of Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Teeming with Snakes. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying. As for resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing wrong view, some people teach that, ‘If you assume a squatting position, drink, and slurp from your hand,^[80] you will achieve the transcendence of suffering. That attainment is not the result of giving up desire, anger, and ignorance, nor is it due to serenity of the senses.’ When later such people separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Teeming with Snakes.

“The beings in that realm will experience the following tortures. This hell is full of poisonous hooded snakes that are ablaze and one league long. Some of them are poisonous to see, others are poisonous to touch, and some have poisonous fangs. Some hell beings will be born among these snakes, yet as soon as they are born, their contact with the snakes’ poisonous bodies will make them disintegrate like barley flour. F.210.a Those who are born within the mouth of a snake will immediately succumb due to the terrible venom that the fangs contain. Yet, as soon as they die, they will be revived, and thus continue to be burned by three different fires. The first fire is of the poison, the second is the fire from the hell itself, and the third fire is the fire of hunger and thirst. In accordance with their own karmic actions, the beings of this hell are placed in the center of these three fires, and there must undergo fierce and excruciating torture. In addition, since they also suffer from the four classes of disease to an extent that defies expression, they are also burned by this fourth fire that consists of disease. They must continue to dwell in these fires, experiencing the consequences of their misdeeds, until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. Thus, they will be burned, pulverized, emaciated, and destroyed.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one will be born five thousand times as a starving spirit with a neck the size of needle. After that one will undergo two hundred lives as a lion, tiger, bear, or lynx, living in deep mountain caves, tormented by hunger and thirst, and without any heat or water. With the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, one might, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, be born after that with the general lot in life of a human. Yet in that case one will experience effects that accord with the relevant causal actions, and so one will never even see food, much less eat any. One will stay alive by feeding on herbs, grass, and wild fruits.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Hell of Heat, he will perceive a neighboring realm known as Swimming Like Fish in Molten Copper. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, F.210.b alcohol consumption, and lying. As for resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing wrong view, some people teach that, ‘All of the world is created by the God. It is not the product of karmic action.’ When later such people separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell called Swimming Like Fish in Molten Copper.

“The hell realm that one is thus born into is a sea of molten copper wherein iron fish produced by karmic action swim about. In the middle of the liquid copper sea stand trees with leaves of razors and short spears. Here the beings of this hell must repeatedly take birth, die, and be reborn, continuously experiencing the destruction of all their major and minor body parts. Within the sea they will sink and resurface, struggling and screaming among each other. When those who previously misinformed others thus cry out in torment, the fish, which are produced by karma, will swim before them and open their mouths. They will then snag the hell beings with nooses made of their spit, draw them into their mouths, and gnash them between their teeth. In this way half of their bodies will be eaten by the fish, while the other half boils in the liquid copper. Undergoing such excruciating sensations, they will be tormented by doubly intense, severe pain as they are partly boiled and partly eaten alive.

“When after a very long time they succeed in escaping from these fishes’ mouths, they will next enter a pot of boiling copper. As soon as they sink into it, infinitely poisonous insects called ‘burning forest flies’^[81] with fangs as sharp as diamonds will attack. Within the darkness of the pot of boiling copper, their bodies will thus be reduced to powder and the worms will consume every last morsel. If they scream in pain, their mouths will fill up with suffocating, boiling copper. F.211.a All their body-orifices will likewise fill up with molten copper and will be blocked, cooked, and torn apart. Thus, they must keep swimming in the molten copper for a very long time. As they swim, razor-like winds produced by karma will rise. Until their negative acts have finally been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, these winds will keep pulverizing the bodies of those who spoke wrongly by deceiving others regarding karmic actions and their effects.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one will be born three hundred times as a starving spirit deprived of food. Once free from the body of a starving spirit, one will take birth as a tormented elephant, bear, insect, or the like, and be constantly afflicted by hunger, thirst, cold, heat, and wind. With the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, one might, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, after that life be born with the general lot of a human. Yet, in terms of effects that accord with the relevant causal actions, one will in that case be raised by dogs and become a wood collector or a fisherman.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Hell of Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Iron Vase. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by practicing, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying. As for wrong view, some people will kill another person as part of a ritual sacrifice, thinking that this act will grant attainment of the higher realms. Likewise, other people will kill turtles with the goal to master what lies beyond this world, or they may establish others in this belief as well for the rest of their lives.^[82] Thus they may cause others to renounce a wholesome path and establish them upon a bad one. F.211.b Such acts are aspects of wrong view, and when one has separated from one’s body, those acts will cause one to be born in the lower reams, within the hell of Iron Vase.

In that hell all the torments of the Reviving Hell and so forth are intensified tenfold. This realm contains six vases, each measuring sixty leagues, which bear the following names: Painful Entry, Without Refuge, Constantly Boiled over Fire,^[83] Saw-Like Liquid, Garlands of Razors, and Snakes in Boiling Water. The torments of these vases are as indicated by their names. Thus, in the first vase, hell beings are scorched, undergoing all the sufferings of hell. In the second, beings are burned, lacking anything that could protect them. They have no physical refuge, nor do they have any mental refuge, nor any refuge in terms of the Dharma, because those who have ‘taken refuge’ in the lower realms do not find any refuge. In the third vase, one is boiled in molten copper for a long time, until not even a particle of one’s body remains. Then one will be reborn and enter the vase of Saw-Like Liquid. There one will boil in liquid copper, and as one’s body wells up from the bottom to the top, the vase’s saw-like liquid copper will damage and destroy all one’s vital parts. As one later sinks from the top to the bottom, the same destruction will occur. Above, below, and at ground level, one will thus boil like a pea, suffering devastation, destruction, and combustion for a long time. Next, one will enter the Garlands of Razors, a vase full of knives that will cut and cleave the beings of this hell.F.212.a The torments of the Snakes in Boiling Water involve entering a vase that is half a league tall and full of extremely hot, boiling water. Within the boiling liquid writhe live snakes with the sharpest fangs. Touching or even seeing the fangs will cause a burning sensation and upon touch the fangs pierce through one’s body like razor blades.

Such are the snakes that lacerate the beings of this hell. After the hell beings have touched one of these snakes, only their skeletons remain, and the mere sight of the snakes will make them boil and burst like water bubbles. All the while they will be scorched in the boiling water, and so these beings experience excruciatingly fierce torture.

“When henchmen of the Lord of Death come by, the upper and lower openings of the vase will be sealed, so that the hell beings within cannot escape. The henchmen of the Lord of Death think, ‘We must seal this vase with vajra-like plaster^[84] and torture the beings here in various ways without giving them any chance of escape.’ Further, they will think, ‘We shall engulf this vase, which is produced by karma, with garlands of flames, and so double the temperature within it.’ Thus, they proceed with their torture, intensifying the heat of the vase by feeding the flames with iron fuel. The hell beings will float to the surface, boiling in molten copper and inflicting harm upon one another. Tortured and miserable in numerous ways, they continue to disintegrate, or be boiled and burned by the poisonous snake fangs, until finally their negative karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. F.212.b

“When they finally escape the vases, they will be born three hundred times as starving spirits that feed on odors. If they should be born with the general lot in life of a human, they will, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, become deluded due to the arguments of unwholesome treatises. Thus, they will, with their unwholesome intellects, pursue the attainment of wealth or celestial states by means of offering meat, and so forth. Due to the relationships arising from the latent tendencies of craving, they will thus continue to pursue suffering.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Hell of Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as the Flow of Red Rivers. Inquiring into what type of wrong view may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and so see that some people who have repeatedly broken their discipline may end up thinking, ‘I must undertake harsh penance so that my misdeeds and other acts may all be purified.’ Thus, they will go to the forest and hang themselves by their feet, head down, from a tree, and then cut their noses or foreheads with a knife. As their blood begins to flow, they offer it into the fire. Hoping that this will gain them the higher realms, they actually embark on an unwholesome path and, like someone hoping to get sesame oil by grinding sand, they die from their loss of blood. When thus separating from their bodies, they fall into the lower realms and take birth in the hell of Flow of Red Rivers.

“The beings in that realm will experience torture as they undergo the combined ordeals of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, intensified fivefold. In particular, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will use hammers, razors, spears, and stones to draw their blood, expose their brains, and beat them to a pulp. As if carried away by a river, the beings of this hell are swept away in a stream of hair and bones. F.213.a There is also a second raging river of molten copper in that realm, known as Unbearably Terrifying. Within it lives a creature known as the ‘tailed creature,’ which is as hot to the touch as fire, and so it scorches, burns, and consumes the beings of this hell.

“The beings of Flow of Red Rivers live for years beyond number, experiencing torture until finally their negative acts of wrong views have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. Once they escape this hell, they will, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, be born five hundred times as starving spirits feeding on smoke, after which they will be born four hundred times as birds living by the sea or in river deltas, or having a bald head. If they are born with the general lot in life of a human they will, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, be poor and prone to disease.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Hell of Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Copious Parasites in Marrow and Bones. Inquiring into what type of wrong view may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive that some people who have engaged in much unvirtuous negativity of body, speech, and mind become deluded by hearing unwholesome teachings. Thus, they crave for the world of Brahmā and follow a negative path. Lacking discipline, they naturally become ill-behaved and become deceitful beings who hurt others. Lacking genuine discipline, they build dung-fed fireplaces and then spend their lives in suffering, burned by the fire of the human realm. When they later separate from their bodies F.213.b they will fall into the lower realms and take birth in the hell of Copious Parasites in Marrow and Bones.

“The beings in that realm undergo torture as they are beaten below their necks with iron cudgels until they moan and take on the appearance of beeswax. In this way, all their major and minor body parts become unrecognizable, yet, as a karmic effect that accords with their causal actions of wrong view, they will not die.

“The amassed marrow and bones of the bodies of these hell beings make up a mountain that is five leagues tall and three leagues wide, and within it lurk parasites born of moisture. Those parasites are also a type of sentient being. What type of karmic actions did such parasites perform in the past? When they were men or women, they killed lice, fleas, or bedbugs,^[85] or other such creatures, that they found on their own bodies or on the bodies of others. Then, as they separated from their bodies, they fell into the lower realms, and were born as insects in hell. Thus, in accordance with their causal actions, they came to experience life in that mountain, which is known as Source of Bodies. The henchmen of the Lord of Death who are present at Copious Parasites in Marrow and Bones will ignite the with a fire that is produced by karmic action. Thus, those who were fooled by the dung-fed fireplace will burn within Source of Bodies along with all the parasites. As the mountain burns, the flames will be ten leagues tall—the beings of this hell are burned along with the parasites by a fire that emerges from their own bodies. The bodies of the parasites at Source of Bodies are small, and consequently their suffering is small. The hell beings, however, are lumped together into an indistinguishable mass, and so their bodies as the garlands of fire surrounding each body burns also other bodies.^[86]F.214.a The beings of this hell are thus burned for innumerable years until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“When they finally escape this hell, they will, as a karmic effect that accords with their causal actions, be born five hundred times in mountain crevices as starving spirits whose throats are like a needle, and then five hundred times as fish that live deep in the cold and salty waters of the sea. Once free of those states, they might, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet they will then roam the forests and stay in forest clearings. They will live off the jungle, be poor, and be scorched by forest fires.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Hell of Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Burning Everyone. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is, just as in the previous cases, caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying. As for wrong view, some people may hear unwholesome teachings and become bewildered, thus engaging in misdeeds of body, speech, and mind. Constantly afflicted by these three types of misdeeds, they may thus also develop a wrong view that they can propitiate the gods if they make fires in forests, on mountains, in borderlands, along rivers, and in bamboo groves. Hence, they think, ‘If I please the gods by satisfying them with fire in this way, they will welcome me to their realm, and I shall be born in heaven. Satisfied, the goddesses will become my lovers.’ When those who in this way are bewildered because of having received unwholesome teachings F.214.b later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Burning Everyone.

“The beings in that realm will experience torture as they undergo the combined ordeals of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, intensified fivefold. In particular, those who are born in this realm will perceive karmic reproductions of their sons, daughters, spouses, loved ones, parents, and others with whom they have had joyous relationships. Yet they will see them boiling, and, while watching their sons, daughters, spouses, loved ones, and parents boiling in hell, their minds will undergo fierce and excruciating pain. The painful fire that these hell beings experience due to seeing this is more than sixteen times hotter than the fire that otherwise burns them. Among all the fires of hell, this one is indeed extremely hot. This is the fire of all fires, the supreme among all shackles, and the ultimate among all the chains that bind infantile, ordinary beings. When the beings of this hell perceive the false images, created by their own karma, of all their loved ones, they will be consumed like snowflakes in the fire of craving. Within the fires of hell, the gathering of children, spouses, and parents will be heard crying for help in the most pitiful way. Yet how could the beings of this hell protect them? Helplessly, they will themselves be burned by hell fire. Thus, for innumerable years they will continue to be burned by the physical and mental fires, until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. F.215.a

“When they finally escape this hell, they will, as a karmic effect that accords with their causal actions, live for three hundred years as starving spirits, subsisting on ritual food offerings. Thereafter they will be born as creatures living in a conch whose offspring will be killed by fishermen. If, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, they should be born with the general lot in life of a human, they will be poor and have short lives, incomplete faculties, and no offspring or spouse, and they will live as slaves.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the Hell of Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Infinite Sinking into the Ground. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying. In short, one is born there due to resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing properly initiated and completed misdeeds of body, speech, and mind. When later one separates from one’s body, one will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Infinite Sinking into the Ground.

“The beings in that realm experience torture as they undergo the combined ordeals of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, intensified fivefold. In the past they developed wrong view due to receiving unwholesome teachings, and thus they proclaimed, ‘By throwing insects, ants, snakes, vipers, mammals, and birds into flames, the fire will be pleased. Delighted, the god of fire will grant infinite life, whereas those that are burned in the fire proceed to the imperishable realm of Rudra. Those who submit such creatures to fire will obtain great virtue.’ F.215.b Those who are deceived by wrong teachings and assume such wrong views will, upon separating from their bodies, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Infinite Sinking into the Ground. The beings in that realm experience the tortures of a mountain of embers that burns with the flames of hell and measures five leagues. Henchmen of the Lord of Death will carry the hell beings to that mountain and throw them upon it. Thus, their feet, hips, genitals, backs, shoulders, necks, arms, eyes, ears, noses, heads, and brains will all burn, only to reappear. Until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to burn for a tremendously long span of innumerable years.

“When they finally escape this hell, they will, as an effect that accords with their causal actions of assuming a horrifying wrong view, live five hundred times as starving spirits that subsist on excrement. With their bodies aflame, they will prowl at night, visible to everyone, while under the power of the evil acts they committed. When they finally escape such an existence as a starving spirit, they will assume an animal body and be born as fireflies, which are perceptible to human beings throughout day and night. Fire will burn in their interiors and they will be additionally injured by the rays of the sun. B12

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Heat, he will perceive a neighboring realm known as Resembling a Great Lotus. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying. F.216.a In short, one is born there due to resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing duly initiated and completed misdeeds of body and speech. When one later separates from one’s body, one will thus fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell called Resembling a Great Lotus.

“As for wrong view, some may claim that by performing secret sacrifices one will attain a world free from decay. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Resembling a Great Lotus.

“The beings in that realm undergo the following tortures. This hell is shaped like a lotus that has vajra-like thorns between its anthers. The realm extends for five hundred leagues and when sentient beings are born there, their bodies will immediately be pierced by the thorns. No part of their bodies will be spared, not even one the size of the head of a needle. Likewise, no part of their bodies will be spared the burn wounds caused by fire. Until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to boil and burn.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one will, as an effect that accords with one’s causal actions, be born two hundred times as a starving spirit subsisting on filth. Following that one will take birth five hundred times as a poison-consuming peacock. If, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, one should be born with the general lot in life of a human, one will always be poor and dependent. One will live as a dancer, or some other type of entertainer. For one’s entire life one will remain indigent.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Terrifying Slope. F.216.b Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that, just as before, such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying. As for the specific way of resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing wrong view, some people believe that bathing in rivers will purify misdeeds and lead to birth and eternal life in the world of Viṣṇu. Thus, they may propagate such religious practice, promising others eternal life in that world and making them fond of the practice. They may thus cause them to lose their life while bathing. When they themselves die, they will take birth in the hell of Terrifying Slope.

“Thus, brought down by misdeeds of body, speech, and mind, beings who are born in Terrifying Slope will experience all the combined suffering of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. In particular, this hell is covered with stones that have extremely sharp edges, and there are precipitous mountains with extremely steep slopes all around that reach ten leagues into the sky. Since even birds cannot cross them, it is obvious that hell beings cannot do so either. The mountains are aflame and blazing all over, appearing like a single mass of fire.

“Still, one among the hell beings, motivated by negative karmic actions, will at some point call to all the others, ‘Friends, this hell ends beyond those mountains. Let us cross these summits and find happiness beyond!’ As soon as they hear this call, everyone will begin to move toward the terrifying, flaming mountains with extremely steep, ragged slopes, impelled by negative karmic actions. Yet they will be unable to climb them. F.217.a Some will be consumed by the flames immediately. Others will, in terror, burn as they grasp on to the sharp rocks. Shocked and terrified, the beings of this hell yearn for a protector, refuge, and guard. Yet the Lord of Death’s henchmen will chop off the limbs of some with swords and pound others to a pulp with hammers. Thus, suffering under their misdeeds of body, speech, and mind, they will continue to boil and burn for an extremely long time until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one will, as an effect that accords with one’s causal actions, live three hundred years as a starving spirit subsisting on blood. Once free of such an existence, one will be born into the animal realm and live three hundred years as a large constrictor snake. If one is born with the general lot in life of a human, one will be poor and sickly, live in an inferior place, have incomplete faculties, and take birth in an environment of constant and plentiful fears.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Masses of Vajra-Like Bones. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying. Likewise, such a birth is also due to resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing wrong view. Thus, some people claim, ‘All things occur by chance and come to an end by chance. The sharpness of the thorn and the colors of the peacock are like optical illusions and the cities of the gandharvas, for they appear and disappear without depending on causes and conditions. Such is the way of all things.’ F.217.b In this way they will introduce others to the view that everything happens by chance, establish them within that view, and become teachers of it. Oppressed by their misdeeds of body, speech, and mind, they will, upon separating from their bodies, fall into the lower realms and take birth in the hell of Masses of Vajra-Like Bones.

“The beings in this realm undergo the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. On top of that, it is particular to this hell that the henchmen of the Lord of Death will cut off their flesh with sharp weapons and draw out all their blood. They will then gather their bones and grind them. Yet, by the power of the misdeeds of the beings in this hell, the bones will thereby become like vajras. Thus, the bones will crack open the heads of other hell beings, crush their hips, and destroy all their major and minor body parts. Some will bleed to death, some will experience the devastation of a single body part, and some will cry out to each other. Thus, with their own bones and skeletons, as well as blazing stones, the hell beings bring destruction and death upon one another. As instigated by their karmic actions, these hell beings will continue to suffer in this way for an extremely long time, impossible to count in years, until finally their negative deeds have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. For innumerable years they will continue to bring death upon one another.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one will, as a karmic effect that accords with one’s causal actions, be born as a starving spirit that feeds on its own brain. Next, one will enter the world of animals and be born three hundred times as a chameleon, a lizard, or another such reptile. If, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, one should be born with the general lot in life of a human, one will live in the jungle, be born among the Dramiḍas or the Andhakas, be poor and sickly, and become enslaved by others. F.218.a

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Excruciating Splitting and Cutting by Means of a Black Iron Thread. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying. As for wrong view, some people teach, become habituated to, and increase a wrong view of cause and effect.^[87] When such people separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Excruciating Splitting and Cutting by Means of a Black Iron Thread.

“That realm features the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, intensified fivefold. In particular, the power of these hell beings’ previous misdeeds will produce black iron threads that split their bodies apart,^[88] while the henchmen of the Lord of Death sever everything from their feet to their heads with sharp, flaming weapons. As they are sliced and diced, the hell beings scream and wail pitifully. Yet the cleaving and cutting with the black iron thread continue until not even tiny body pieces the size of sesame seeds remain. Until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will thus continue to experience torture for an extremely long time.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one will, as an effect that accords with one’s causal actions, be born five hundred times as a starving spirit subsisting on ritual offerings of food, and after that five hundred times as a leech, a scorpion, or an ant. If one should be born with the general lot in life of a human, one will, in accordance with one’s causal actions, be tormented by hunger and thirst F.218.b and be blamed for offences committed toward the king by someone else.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Terrifying Inferno with Swarms of Crocodiles. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying. As for conceiving of, becoming habituated to, and increasing wrong view, some people think, ‘This world is permanent and enduring. All existent factors are permanent. They are permanent and true.’ Such a misperception is a wrong view, and if one propagates it among others, causes others to assume it, teaches it repeatedly to a circle of followers, and so brings others to adhere to unwholesome causes and views by teaching something that is not the Dharma as the true Dharma, one will, upon separating from one’s body, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Terrifying Inferno with Swarms of Crocodiles.

“In that realm, beings must endure the combined terrors of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. On top of that, it is particular to that hell that an iron rod suddenly appears. Breaking through one’s skull and brain, it will pass through one’s body, emerge out of the anus, and then run into the ground. As one thus stands impaled, worms called ‘crocodiles’ will appear and begin to consume all one’s skin, flesh, and fat. Eating and drinking, they will consume all the major and minor body parts, drawing out the blood, causing convulsions, gnawing through the flesh, causing the eyes to fall out, exposing sinew and muscles, F.219.a severing the veins, chewing at the body openings, extracting the hair, peeling off the skin, and digging into the flesh. They will break the heart open, drink from it, and consume the lungs, back, and all the vital organs. The esophagus and tongue will be extracted with flaming tongs and fed to dogs.

“Those who fall into the extreme position of adopting unwholesome causes and views, and so speak in unwholesome ways, will become caught in a web of suffering due to their misdeeds. Such hell beings, who developed a wrong and deceitful view and misleadingly propagated it, are great preachers of falsehood. Imprisoned in hell and brought down by their misdeeds of body, speech, and mind, they will continue to burn for innumerable years until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“When one finally escapes this hell one will, as a karmic effect that accords with one’s causal actions, be born three hundred times as a starving spirit subsisting on human corpses. If, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, one should be born with the general lot in life of a human, one will, as an effect that accords with one’s causal actions, receive royal punishment for the offenses committed by others. One will be poor and sickly, be enslaved by others, become a cannibal, and not attain any bodily perception.^[89]

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Forest Fires Like an Enveloping Darkness. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will examine this with knowledge derived from hearing, and thus see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing properly initiated and completed acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, F.219.b alcohol consumption, and lying. Upon separating from one’s body, one will thus fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Forest Fires Like an Enveloping Darkness.

“As for resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing wrong view, some people believe that certain things are impermanent while others are permanent. They claim that the body is impermanent whereas the elements of earth, and so forth, are permanent. They may then make others adhere to the unwholesome causes and views that subscribe to such a position predicated on the two extremes. They may cause others to embrace such view, become enthusiastic about it, and propagate it. They may teach this non-Dharmic view to their audience as if it followed the Dharma, and cause their disciples to uphold it. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Forest Fires Like an Enveloping Darkness.

“The beings in that realm undergo all the tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, intensified fivefold. On top of that, and in particular, when they at one point escape the tortures of the Lord of Death’s henchmen, a great wind will blow, created by their own karmic actions, that will bring with it a total and all-encompassing darkness. The wind will hurl the beings of this hell through dark space so that they are not even being able to perceive their own bodies. While thus enveloped by total darkness they will sense the stirring of a new type of wind that is sharp like a razor. As this wind begins to blow, their bodies will disintegrate as when handfuls of sand are scattered. They will then revive, only to be destroyed once more. Thus, until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to suffer fierce and excruciating pain for innumerable years.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one will, as a karmic effect that accords with one’s causal actions, be born four hundred times as a starving spirit subsisting on vomit. Once free of such an existence, one will then take birth as an animal that feeds on vomit, and be tormented by starvation and thirst. F.220.a

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Tormenting Armor of Vajra-Like Flies. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing, and see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing properly initiated and completed acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying.

“As for wrong view, some people believe, ‘Cyclic existence has a beginning and a cause. There are permanent and impermanent causes of all this, and thus this is produced by those causes.’ Disturbed by unwholesome causes and views, they proceed to present what is not Dharma as the Dharma and establish others in that. In this way, they steer people away from the genuine path, causing them to turn their backs on the Dharma, and make them adhere to a view that is wrong because the teaching is false. There are no permanent causes whatsoever. The permanent is beyond time, unchanging, and unproductive, like space. And yet they think differently. When they later separate from their bodies, they fall into the lower realms and are born in the hell of Tormenting Armor of Vajra-Like Flies.

“Damaged by their harmful misdeeds of body, speech, and mind, such unwholesome people adhered to wrong views, refuted the true teaching, descended into the untrue teaching, ignorantly pursued an unwholesome path, and propagated their own arrogant intellectual assumptions. They will meet with harm, for the beings in that realm suffer all the tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, intensified fivefold. On top of that, and in particular, henchmen of the Lord of Death will pluck out tiny pieces of their flesh with fine pincers and begin to eat them. F.220.b Next, flies with vajra-like mouths will appear, hurting their bodies as if salty water were poured into the wounds, and making their hot blood flow. The henchmen of the Lord of Death will then feed this to the hell beings. After this nourishment, the beings of this hell, deceived by their own misdeeds, will be physically and mentally tormented by hunger and thirst that are ten times stronger than before. Then, as an effect that accords with their deeds, their flesh and blood will reemerge, because their karmic actions will prevent them from dying. Thus, deceived by their own actions, they will continue to undergo torture for innumerable years, until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one will, as an effect that accords with one’s acts, be born four hundred times as a starving spirit subsisting on leftovers, and then five hundred times in the animal realm as a starving and thirsty jungle cow, or the like.^[90]

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Heat, he will not perceive any seventeenth realm. Thus, he will conclude, ‘This is the extent of the regions that surround the great Hell of Heat. Such are the realms of those who engaged in acts of wrong view.’

“Having thus examined the sixteen regions of this great hell, the spiritual practitioner, who carefully observes inner phenomena, will feel great joy. The terrestrial yakṣas will see this and exclaim with great joy, ‘Ah, with unfailing diligence this monk has entered the eleventh ground and severed the duration of cyclic existence!’ They will inform the celestial yakṣas about this, and so the news will travel all the way to gods in Limited Light. F.221.a Thus, it will be known, ‘The noble son known as such and such … has now entered the eleventh ground…. He has no interest in remaining on the same ground as the māras and does not wish to play with the affliction of desire. He does not wish for any of the existences that involve engagement with objects—the infinite grounds that cause suffering.’

The Hell of Intense Heat

“When the monk has thus examined the hells of Reviving, Black Line, Crushing, Howling, Great Howling, and Heat, together with the surrounding hells, he will search for other hell realms and thus, by applying knowledge derived from hearing, perceive the Hell of Intense Heat. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view.

“Also, a young nun who adheres to her vows, maintains her discipline, and follows impeccable conduct, may be caused to break her vow of celibacy and stumble in her practice of the teaching of the thus-gone ones. One may consequently lose faith in the Buddha and think, ‘The Buddha is not omniscient, so what about his saṅgha of nuns? All this is a lie and his instructions are false and corrupt. There is nothing virtuous to be derived from donating to the nuns. Giving to them is not going to bring an end to suffering. The saṅgha are just ordinary people. There is nothing wrong in causing young nuns to break their vows.’

“Thinking thus, one may cause this nun to break her vow, in consequence of which she stumbles in her discipline. As for the person who stumbled in his view, corrupt in the actions of his body, speech, and mind, when he later separates from his body, he will fall into the lower realms F.221.b and take birth in the Hell of Intense Heat.

“In that hell, his body will be one league tall and extremely fragile, as if made of soft butter. Even the most insignificant sight, sound, touch, taste, form, or smell is liable to kill him, because the more involved he was in evil previously, the more fragile his body and mental state has now become.

“Due to the force of the negative and unvirtuous actions the results of which are to be experienced in this life, one will experience suffering at the time of dying. Thus, already at the moment of death one will certainly undergo experiences like those of the beings in the Reviving Hell. The dying process will take three days, during which one’s tongue will become mute, one’s perceptions frightening, one’s intellect weak, and one’s consciousness filled with terror. When the four great elements are racked by upheaval one will be overcome by painful sensations. Due to disturbances pertaining to the solid nature of the earth element, one’s entire body, veins, muscles, and throat will be blocked, punctured, perforated, constricted, crushed like a lump of butter, pulverized, and hardened. Due to disturbances pertaining to the water element, all of one’s body, veins, and muscles will become tight and stiff, swollen and flaccid, smelly, and the bodily worms will die. All the orifices will become clogged up, and one will begin to wheeze, distressed by the pain in one’s throat, tongue, and bodily orifices. The entire body will be covered in sweat. As the fire element is disturbed, all of one’s body, veins, and muscles will burn, boil, and ache. One’s complexion will become like copper and one will experience burning both within and on the outside.F.222.a One will feel extreme thirst, one’s mouth will dry out, and the heart will burn. The wind element will also become disturbed, and so its light and shifting nature will make one feel as if one were catapulted through space. With its fierce character, the wind element will ravage all one’s major and minor body parts and elements, getting into every interstice of the vital body parts. With its components pippalaka and sūcaka, the wind will penetrate like burning needles the pores of the skin, making them shrivel, when it blows as sūcaka.

When it blows as pippalaka, it will break the skin, flesh, fat, bones, marrow, and semen. It will break them like an axe and destroy them. All one’s faculties will be blocked, as will all the orifices for feces, urine, and the breath, as well as the throat. Visual hallucinations will occur, one will hear unpleasant sounds, liquid will appear from one’s nose, one’s nails will become blue, one’s nose will turn awry, the scrotum will hang low, one’s anus and penis will ache as if touched by burning embers, one’s skin will tear open and swell, and one’s hair and body hair will slacken. These are but a few of the excruciating sensations that those who engaged in misdeeds and wrongdoing will experience at the time of death.

“Thus, for three days one will be harmed by disturbances in the four great elements. As the end draws near, one will perceive signs of the realms of hell that await one beyond the present world. Thus, one will see one’s dwelling as enveloped in an unpleasant dome of fire and one will perceive various dream-like appearances. Hallucinating, one will see terrifying lions and tigers, F.222.b and it will seem as if these and other horrifying creatures are truly present. One will hear roaring sounds and unpleasant words, and it will feel as if one’s skin is being cut with weapons.

“As one’s life comes to an end, the upward wind will flow, gradually flowing away from one’s nails, feet, calves, thighs, hips, abdomen, and heart, causing one to make a wheezing sound while one’s spit dries out and one’s eyes turn red. One will try to ward off the henchmen of the Lord of Death moving through the air, wielding swords and hammers. One’s friends and relatives will say, ‘Look, he is clutching at the empty space.’

“As one draws long and pitiful breaths, the time of separating from one’s body will come. When one’s breathing ceases, one will pass from this world like a dim lamp with a dirty wick going out, into the intermediate existence where one will experience effects in accordance with one’s causal actions. As a perpetrator of misdeeds, one will suffer in the intermediate existence. One will perceive oneself as a young child, eight years old, one of those capable of living for eighty-four thousand years. At the same time, no other human beings will be visible whatsoever. The great elements may appear in both subtle and coarse form. Here, one has subtle elements that are imperceptible and unimpeded, and thus one is capable of passing through even Mount Sumeru without any harm being done to oneself or to Mount Sumeru. That being the case, it goes without saying that the same applies to other mountains as well.

“In that world one will perceive oneself entering a castle that is the color of black iron and is shrouded in impenetrable darkness. As a result of one’s karmic actions, one’s body hairs will be seen ablaze. One will perceive oneself being bound tightly with black iron chains by the henchmen of the Lord of Death. F.223.a Thus one’s legs will be constricted by the sharp, stinging metal. The henchmen are terrifying as they move freely to and fro, while oneself remains tightly bound. There will not be anywhere on one’s body, not even as little as the tip of a hair, that is not tied down.

“Unpleasant sounds, textures, flavors, forms, and smells will manifest. One will perceive many forms that are unsightly to the eyes, of unpleasant color, terrifying, blazing with fire, and intense. One will hear words that cause one grief—words that are unpleasant, unwelcome, and repugnant.

“Those who carried out misdeeds, who did wrong in terms of body, speech, and mind and engaged in unwholesome actions, attain this existence. Confused about the jewel island of wholesome human actions, they instead brought to mind and pursued the ten filthy, unvirtuous deeds. Their errors destroyed the jewel island and they were deceived by their own desires, which functioned like weapons, fire, poison, and a precipice. They were beguiled by the words of women who belonged to other and so, out of the desire for them, engaged in the three kinds of unvirtuous action. With unwholesome minds they engaged in misdeeds and so they come to suffer numerous torments in the Hell of Intense Heat. They were fooled by the sight of their children and spouses, and so engaged in misdeeds.

“Wanting to ensure that nothing like that shall ever occur again, the henchmen of the Lord of Death are now intent on inflicting hundreds of thousands of tortures. Thus, they will speak these verses of instruction to the beings in the intermediate existence:

“Thus, those fooled by their own actions of body, speech, and mind, the perpetrators of misdeeds, will be instructed by the henchmen of the Lord of Death as they journey on to the great Hell of Intense Heat. Their noses will smell the stench of filth, rot, and excrement; their tongues will harden and become numb due to hot copper; and whatever smells, tastes, and forms they perceive will be repulsive. F.224.a With the body of a being in hell, they will perceive the movement of the wind to be like razors and flames. Their minds that previously were unperturbed by the five fears will now experience these omens of the great hells.

“The henchmen of the Lord of Death will wrap tight robes around their necks, and, driven by the winds of karmic action, they will be helplessly dragged on. The appearance of the henchmen will transform, and their arms, legs, bellies, and nails will be terrifying. They will roar like thunder and wield weapons that resemble black clouds. Their eyes will be flaming and their fangs sharp like razor wheels. Their stomachs will be huge, their limbs short, their nails hard, sharp, and stiff, and their bodies will be covered with webs of thick veins. As they arrive to drag off the evildoers, they will cover a distance of three hundred sixty million leagues, reaching ten million leagues below, and covering sixty-eight thousand leagues of ground, ocean, islands, and markets.^[91] The manifestations of the results of the wind of karmic action are difficult to convey by means of any example. Among all winds, the wind of karmic action is supreme, and it does not move like the sun, the moon, or the common wind. There is no wind like that of karmic action. It carries off the perpetrators of misdeeds to the Lord of Death where they are first instructed by him and then led out of his abode, tied with the shackles of their own karmic misdeeds. Bound by the ties of filthy actions, they are then dragged off to the Hell of Intense Heat.

“Already from afar, one will begin to perceive that hell as a place of flames and darkness. Seen at a distance, this blazing hell measures five thousand leagues. It is a place that does not increase or contract, yet at times very many beings are seen there and at others very few.^[92] When one is within three thousand leagues of the Hell of Intense Heat, one will begin to hear the screams—pitiful, terrifying, and depraved, the voices are horrid and joyless. Tormented by the unbearable pains of their miserable existence, F.224.b these beings have been screaming for innumerable billions of years.

“Upon hearing these cries, one’s horror and fear will grow ten times more overwhelming. Meanwhile, as one approaches the Hell of Intense Heat, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will pronounce the following verses:

“Thus, the henchmen of the Lord of Death, who are produced by karmic action, will instruct the beings in the intermediate existence as they lead them to hell. When the beings in the intermediate existence hear these words, the hairs on their bodies will stand on end, not to mention how they will respond to the terrifying sights! They will suffer acute pain brought on by cold, and as their aggregates of form and so forth grow frigid they will begin to wish for the heat of hell. Based on this condition of grasping, the link of becoming will manifest, and that link of becoming will, in turn, give rise to birth.

“As for the karmic actions that cause this, a perpetrator of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view may wrongfully disgrace a nun who is free from anger, in possession of discipline, and desireless. The ripening of such an accumulated act is severe and will propel one into a mass of flames that is five hundred leagues wide and two hundred leagues tall. As when an iron arrow is shot from the summit of a mountain, one will travel there directly, without any impediment, and be left to suffer in the furnace of hell. When one tries to escape there, the nails of one’s karmic actions will manifest and prevent one from leaving. One will be thrown into hell with one’s head down and feet up, and the fire will first burn away one’s eyes and facial skin, followed by the top of the skull, the forehead, the teeth, the jaw, the neck bone, the spine, the breast bone, the neck, the throat, F.225.b the liver, the spleen, the intestines, the crotch, the penis, the thighs, the kneecaps, the knees, and the toes.

“Thus, evildoers will be left in the flames of hell to live on and burn, experiencing continuous suffering. Again and again they engaged in negative actions, and, again and again, they now experience the torments of hell. Propelled into the constantly burning furnace, they will be mashed against its vajra-like surface, just as when kadamba flowers are repeatedly thrashed against the ground. In this way, first the upper and then the lower parts of the screaming hell beings’ bodies will be demolished. As their bodies are tormented by the tongues of flame, burned repeatedly, they will keep returning into the flames. Thus, they will continue to burn, again and again, in the furnace for hundreds of thousands of years. Whenever the flames have consumed them, they will reappear, until finally their time is over.

“The henchmen of the Lord of Death, who are not considered sentient beings, will wrench some people out of the furnace with flaming tongs, which causes their pain to double. What are the causes and conditions for the tongs turning twice as hot? Those who killed will burn in the furnace, and those who both killed and took what was not given will experience the doubling of their pain by being subjected to the tongs. Such are the causes, such are the conditions, such are the bases for the tongs to burn twice as hot.

“When the henchmen, who are not considered as sentient beings, have hauled out the hell beings with their tongs, which causes the pain to double, they will deposit the hell beings upon the ground of burning iron. In the same way as before, they will impale them upon flaming stakes, from their anuses up through their torsos, F.226.a and then chop off their penises and testicles with sharp knives, thus tripling their torments.

“What are the causes, conditions, and bases for this? Killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct are the causes, conditions, and bases that triple the suffering. As when a blacksmith or his skilled apprentice takes the bellows and repeatedly blows them, these beings will continue to be burned by the consequences of their misdeeds. In this example the blacksmith is an image of the karmic misdeeds and their completion, whereas the apprentice illustrates the preparatory aspects of such karmic actions. The air that is blown indicates the wind of karmic action, and the stoking that results is an image of wrong view. The glowing embers indicate hell. The continuous stoking and burning shows how the utterly unbearable experience of pain will continue in accordance with the particular exceedingly unwholesome deeds one has performed. These are the causes and conditions. Understand that the knives that cause the tripling of the excruciating pain are the result of resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct.

“Blinded by fear, moaning in pain, and boiling in their ignoble karmic actions, the hell beings will now be asked by the henchmen, ‘Friends, what is hurting you?’ In reply they will cry out, ‘We suffer miserably, yet this excruciating pain that you wreak upon us is not all that tortures us. We’re suffering from thirst!’ F.226.b

“When the henchmen of the Lord of Death hear these words, they will take the hell beings to a river, known as Fearsome Waves, that runs its destructive course with a mixture of boiling copper and lead. When the hell beings hear and see that river, they will be shocked and horrified, yet the henchmen will now fetch them iron buckets containing molten copper mixed with lead and say, ‘Friends, drink!’ Tormented by thirst, the hell beings will risk drinking, and thus, obscured by karmic action, they will take up the buckets with both hands so as to quench their thirst. Yet, as they attempt to drink, everything from their lips, tongues, and throats, down through their bodies, will be scorched and burned, thus quadrupling their pain.

“What are the karmic factors that in this way make their tortures intensify fourfold? They are killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, consumption of alcohol after one has taken vows, and offering alcohol to a nun who has gone forth from the household and taken vows. These are the acts that drive the beings of hell to drink from the vessel with red-hot, boiling copper.

“Likewise, if a monk endowed with discipline should think that alcohol may be appropriate, and thus drink it, it will be like consuming halāhala poison. Such a weak-minded monk, who is unable to pour out the alcohol onto the ground where his sponsors and benefactors live, and who thus drinks while fearing the saṅgha, will in consequence of his actions be unable to pour out any of the liquid copper in hell. B13

“Again, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will ask the beings of this hell, ‘O friends, what is torturing you?’

“ ‘Hunger is our all-consuming suffering,’ they will reply. ‘It overshadows everything else, and we live in terrible starvation.’ F.227.a

“The henchmen will then fetch lumps of metal, five times as hot as usual, from Fearsome Waves. The hell beings, whose intellects are obscured by their karmic actions, will believe that this metal is food. But when they eat it, they will, as before, be burned all the way down to the lower parts of their bodies. Yet they will not die. Instead, by the power of their negative acts their tongues will reemerge, soft and delicate like lotus petals, and the rest of their bodies will reappear too. Such are the effects of their karmic actions.

“As the monk employs knowledge derived from hearing, he becomes like a lamp of the thus-gone ones, and so he understands that this is the effect of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, and lying. He understands that this is the effect of partaking of the alms given by the country, thinking that one is endowed with discipline, while in fact one’s discipline is corrupted and resembles a heap of dung.

“When the henchmen see the burned tongues of these hell beings who are obscured by karmic actions, they will pull them out of their mouths. As an effect of having lied, these new tongues, soft like lotus petals, will be so long that they cover the distance of half a league. Taking hold of them, the henchmen will then use hundreds of plows to slice into the tongues of those who engaged in misdeeds and spoke wrongly. As the hell beings scream and cry, their tongues will be cleaved by the plows of the henchmen. This torture will continue for innumerable billions of years, for the hell beings will not be able to escape the ripening effects of their completed and accumulated actions. All the while, the henchmen will instruct them with the following verses:

“Thus, as explained by the Lord of Death’s henchmen, all these tortures are like the imprint of the seal of one’s own karmic actions, and when one is beaten and slain, the suffering that one endures corresponds only to the unwholesome deeds one previously performed. The effects manifest in accordance with their particular causal seeds. And so, in the great Hell of Intense Heat, one must endure tremendous unwholesomeness produced by unwholesome action. For many hundreds of thousands of years, one’s negative acts will remain one’s merciless enemy, making one boil in hell.

“If at some point the hell beings succeed in escaping, they will run, yearning for safety, refuge, and protection. Yet, from afar a horde of frenzied, barking dogs with gaping mouths and diamond-sharp teeth will come bounding. The dogs will encircle the hell beings and seize them when they try to escape. Once the dogs have latched onto them, they will devour the hell beings completely, wolfing down every bit of sinew, F.228.a organ, and bone until not so much as a sesame seed’s worth remains of all their major and minor body parts. The hell beings will then be revived, however, and thus continue to be devoured by the curs for a long time. What type of action may cause this? Killing and slaughtering beings to eat their flesh.

“As an effect of their having taken what was not given, the hell beings will perceive the presence of valuable substances that are in fact only the products of their own karmic actions. Not knowing this, the hell beings will think, ‘These things should be mine, but others may take them.’ Yet, as they hasten toward those things, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will seize them and pierce all their vital points with weapons and burn them alive.

“Later, the hell beings will run toward other hell beings, but when the henchmen take notice, those beings will be rounded up and wounded with swords, spears, lances, and burning stones. Thus, as the result of taking what was not given, they will be tortured for many hundreds of thousands of years until finally their karmic effects have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“Once they finally escape this condition, they will, because of their sexual misconduct, perceive a woman who screams as she is carried away in a river of acid, at times surfacing in the current, and at other times being pulled down by it. ‘Help!’ the woman will cry. ‘Save me from this horrible river of acid!’ When the hell beings hear such words, they will, obscured by their karmic actions, enter the acid river. As soon as they do so, however, the acid will break down their bodies so that, in the end, not even a piece of bone the size of a sesame seed will remain. Then they will be revived and once again perceive the same woman in the distance being carried away by the river of acid. F.228.b Again she will call out, ‘I’m helpless! Save me!’ The hell beings will once again rush toward the woman they perceive. When they reach her, the woman will cling onto them, but her nails, produced by karmic action, will be sharp like weapons, and as she latches on to the hell beings she will cut them to pieces until, finally, not so much as a sesame seed’s worth remains of their bodies. Again, with bodies covered with coagulated blood and their raw muscles exposed, those who were overcome by desire will continue running to the woman and plunge into the river of acid. This will continue until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“When, finally, these beings escape that hell, they will run off as best they can, tormented by hunger. Wishing to quench their thirst, they will rush toward what appears to be a bright and clear river. However, as they approach the river, it becomes a horrifying spectacle, because it actually flows with boiling lead and noxious poisons and is teeming with snakes. Nevertheless, tormented by thirst, the hell beings will drink from the molten lead mixed with poison and snakes. As a manifestation of their karmic actions, small snakes will then bore their heads into them. When the snakes reach their stomachs the bodies of the hell beings will swell up and increase in size. The snakes will then gradually bite, chew, and devour the hell beings’ bowels and intestines. Thus, obscured due to their karmic actions, those who transgressed their vow to abstain from alcohol will continue for many hundreds of thousands of years to be burned and killed by this liquid lead mixed with poison and snakes. Again and again they will die, and again and again they will reappear.

“As a result of their misdeeds, those who broke their vow to abstain from alcohol will see their tongues devoured by snakes. This is a result of having lied. Until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to suffer for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“When the hell beings finally escape, F.229.a they will run off as best they can. At that time the effects of their having failed to regard others with kind intent will manifest in the form of a being produced by karmic action who will tell them, ‘Why do you suffer here for no reason? There are other places to stay. I will show you. You will be happy there.’

“That person will escort the hell beings and lead them into the neighboring hells where he will subject them to the forms of torture particular to each of these hells. They will be burned in the hell Intense Heat from All Directions, where all directions are ablaze, and exposed there to copious harm. They will be boiled in the hell Terror of Enormous Screaming Bodies, where their very tender bodies will be ten leagues in size. They will be roasted in the hell Plumes of Fire, where everything is like a burning flame.^[93] They will be boiled in the hell Constant Rain of Glowing Sand, where a perpetual rain of sand that is like burning embers will pour down. They will be cooked in the hell Embers Within, where their bodies will feel like burning coal, filled inside with the embers of hell.

In the hell known as Alala, they will experience the pain of mutually cutting up each other’s major and minor body parts. They will be boiled in the hell Pain Incarnate, where fearsome and horrifying dogs, lions, boars, ravens, vultures, and snakes will all torment them in every possible way. They will also boil and burn in the hell of the Burning Torrent of the Vaitaraṇī, where hundreds or thousands of agonizing streams of acid, molten copper, and boiling lead flow. They will boil in these streams as well. They will be cooked in the hell of Constant Darkness over the fire that is dark throughout and suffer there various tortures.

“They will also suffer in the hell of Garland of Tortures, where a blazing wheel will spin at their heads and all their major and minor body parts will be sawn off with handsaws. F.229.b Then, as they emerge from this hell, they will be cooked in the hell of Minced up by Raining Loops of Wire, where there are burning strings all around that are joined together by the hundreds of thousands by the henchmen of the Lord of Death who will use them to cut up the hell beings as if with flaming weapons.^[94]

“Once they escape that hell, they will encounter the agonies of the hell of Crested Ravens, where their bodies will be incinerated, as if by forest fire, by the fire erupting from their own bodies. For many hundreds of thousands of years, the hell beings will also attack each other, tearing each other apart with the rain of weapons. When they escape from this hell, the hell beings will be cooked in the hell of Heartbreaking Cries, where the pain is such that the cries in this hell are unlike those heard in any other hell.

“Once they have escaped that hell, they will fall into the hell One That Arouses Great Pity, where they will see^[95] those to whom they had presented unwholesome teachings as if they were the Dharma, and whom they had taught unwholesome views. They will now perceive them in the form of a beloved person, burning. They will see them screaming in pain and crying out with both hands raised, ‘Save us, O father, O brother, O son, O dear one! We have no protector!’ They will thus make the most pitiful sounds. When the hell beings see this horribly pitiful sight, the fires of their suffering will be fueled by craving. Hence, the fires that these hell beings must otherwise endure will become just like snow in comparison. Undergoing a double scorching by these two extremely intense fires, they will scream desperately. At that point the henchmen of the Lord of Death will instruct them in verse:

“Thus the henchmen of the Lord of Death will instruct the beings in the hell One That Arouses Great Pity, time after time, as they torture and inflict pain upon them in numerous ways.

“When these hell beings finally manage to escape from that hell, they will be cooked in the hell of Hot Ground.^[99] There, as they are once again burned to a crisp, their bodies become like the color of kiṃśuka trees.

“When they escape that hell too, they will be burned in the hell of Destructive Wood Fire. Thus, those who were possessed of wrong view and defiled nuns end up boiling in these sixteen neighboring hells. Until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to burn there for an infinitely long time. When they finally escape this hell, they will, as an effect that accords with the causal act of undermining a nun, take birth and suffer in the realms of starving spirits and animals many thousands of times. Tormented by hunger and thirst, they will prey on one another, and their bodies will be eaten by animals one hundred thousand times. F.230.b If, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, those who developed wrong views and caused disgrace to nuns should be born with the general lot in life of a human, they will have no sex organs for their first five thousand human lives.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions examines the regions that surround the Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Intense Heat from All Directions. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused, as before, by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. Also, if one dishonors a female lay practitioner who possesses the five bases for training, one will, after separating from the body, fall into the lower realms and be born in this hell known as Intense Heat from All Directions.

“The beings in that realm undergo the torture of there being no place that does not burn, not even so much as the space of the eye of a needle. Even space itself is constantly ablaze there. When at first only their hands enter the fire, they begin to scream and soon the terrifying force of the tremendously hot fire consumes them completely, not even leaving any ashes behind. But once again they will be revived and thus the cycle will continue for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“When they finally escape that situation, they will run as best they can, yearning for safety and protection. But they will be captured by henchmen of the Lord of Death, who will proceed to tie them with burning iron chains from their feet and all the way up to their heads. This will cause all their blood to accumulate in their heads. The henchmen will then run stakes down through their skulls F.231.a and out through their throats. As the stakes break through their throats, they will pull them out again with great force. Blood will gush forth, yet the blood that flows from the heads of these hell beings is as burning hot as molten copper. There is no difference whatsoever. Thus, they steep, burn, boil, and die, in their own blood for many hundreds of thousands of years. Yet by the force of karmic action they will revive. Until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, those acts will continue to burn and boil them.

“When they finally escape this hell, as a karmic effect that accords with their causal actions they will have to live as starving spirits or animals for many hundreds of thousands of years. As a starving spirit, these beings must endure the hunger and thirst. As an animal, they will always be eaten by other animals many hundreds of thousands of times, treated as their prey. After all that pain, they may, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, because of the ripening of their karmic actions, they will then be poor, sickly, subject to harm from others, and distracted; live short lives; and be genderless for four hundred lives.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Terror of Enormous Screaming Bodies. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is, as in the previous cases, caused by acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. Also, he who disgraces a female novice will, when separating from his body, fall into the lower realms F.231.b and be born in that hell known as Terror of Enormous Screaming Bodies.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. On top of that, and in particular, their bodies are about a league large and extremely soft, like fresh butter. Henchmen of the Lord of Death will apprehend them and subject them to torture. Using tweezers, they will pick apart their bodies into pieces no bigger than a mustard seed, all the way from the tips of their fingers to their feet. The miserable cries of these beings are at times so pitiful that even beings in other realms of hell will hear them and feel their hearts break in distress. Since beginningless time these hell beings have been fooled by the effects of karmic actions, and they have been deceived by the enemy that is their own mind. When the henchmen of the Lord of Death see them suffering miserably, they will instruct them with the following verses:

“Thus the henchmen will instruct the beings of this hell, and once they have done so, they will subject them to numerous and diverse tortures until finally their acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. Once they are then free of that hell, they will, as a karmic effect that accords with their causal actions, be born many thousands of times as animals. If, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, they should be born with the general lot in life of a human, they will live short lives in poverty. Their minds will be distracted, nobody will trust their words, and they will be genderless for four thousand lives.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Plumes of Fire. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. F.232.b Also, one who violates a female who is free from anger and who abides by wholesome conduct, by penetrating her through an orifice other than the vagina, will, upon separating from the body, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Plumes of Fire.

“The beings in that realm undergo all the tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, intensified tenfold. On top of that, and in particular, the hell the Plumes of Fire resembles a plume, and is home to be beings called ‘plumes.’ The long bodies of those creatures resemble bowstrings, they are extremely venomous and awful to behold. When the henchmen of the Lord of Death catch the beings of this realm, they will drive nails through both their hands and feet so that they are firmly fastened with all their limbs to the ground that is covered in molten iron. As their backs are burned by the extremely hot fire, these hell beings will yowl and wail. The henchmen will then bring out the so-called ‘fire plume’ creatures and let them enter the bodies of the hell beings through the anus, with their bowstring-like bodies and utterly devastating, virulent poison. The touch of their bodies burns like fire and, as they enter the hell beings, they will first burn through and devour their anuses. They will then burrow farther, burning and consuming the colon, leaving not a trace behind. Wriggling upward from there, they will burn and consume the abdomen and spleen. In this way, all but bare bones will be burned and consumed, and yet the hell beings still do not die. Later those creatures will squirm into the hell beings’ throats and proceed to take burning bites out of their hearts. F.233.a As they are eaten alive, the hell beings will cry, wail, and moan. Inside, the fire plumes are burning and eating them, while outside, the flames of hell are blazing. In this way, beings are burned and consumed by two fires.

“When the fire plumes have devoured the throats of the hell beings, they will writhe into their mouths where they will proceed to chew off their tongues and consume them. From the mouths they will wriggle into the ears and gobble them up. Next, they will proceed to feast on the brain and brain membrane. Finally, they will bore a hole through the top of the skull and emerge from it. However, the force of the hell beings’ karmic actions will prevent them from dying. Thus, their bodies will be left riddled with holes through which the flames can enter and scorch and burn. In this way, their bodies will, as a consequence of their misdeeds, continue to burn and be consumed both on the inside and the outside for many hundreds of thousands of years. Again and again the hell beings will perish and be revived. Thus, the force of their completed and accumulated misdeeds will continue to torment them.

“When they finally escape this condition, they will run off, as best they can, only to perceive a gathering of enormous snakes closing in on them, the sight of which will fill them with great terror. As they try to run away, the force of their karmic actions will make the snakes become swift like the wind. The snakes will proceed to encircle them, seize them, and bite them hundreds and thousands of times with their enormous, sharp fangs filled with dreadful venom. Suffering wretchedly from hunger and thirst, the snake poison, and the fires of hell, these beings are in this way now consumed by a triple fire. Until finally their unwholesome actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to suffer for hundreds of thousands of years, impossible to count. F.233.b

“When they finally escape this hell, they will, as a karmic effect that accords with their causal actions, be born many thousands of times as starving spirits or animals. As starving spirits, they will suffer the torments of hunger and thirst. As animals, and thus be eaten, life after life, by other animals. If, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, they should in the end be born with the general lot in life of a human, they will live five hundred times as neuters.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Constant Rain of Glowing Sand. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. Also, the one who violates a female novice, and thereafter relishes the act and becomes obsessed with it, will, upon separating from the body, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Constant Rain of Glowing Sand.

“The beings in that realm undergo the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. On top of that, and in particular, the five hundred leagues that this hell spans are fully ablaze with an inferno of burning, vajra-like sand. The nature of this rain of fire is impossible to convey with any example. Since even the beings that committed evil on a small scale are submerged in it, it goes without saying that this also applies to the hell beings with their heavy karmic actions. F.234.a They will be submerged and swept away by their karmic actions, as one is by a torrent. The particles, which are like vajra thorns, sharp and triangular, then fall on the hell beings, cutting them to pieces until not even a single shard of bone remains. Yet, the hell beings will keep being revived, and as soon as they are reborn the destruction continues. Deprived of all happiness, they keep sinking into the burning sand. Scorched and boiled alive, they will scream and wail, but due to their karmic obscurations they will be unable to escape this condition.

“When after a very long time their karmic actions are finally exhausted, they will be free of this hell. However, as effects that accord with their karmic actions, they will, in many thousands of lives, experience hunger and thirst as starving spirits or as animals. When born as animals, they will lose their lives thousands of times as prey for other animals. If, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, they escape such conditions and are born with the general lot in life of a human, they will for five hundred lives be poor, sickly, insane, distrusted, enslaved, and genderless.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Embers Within. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is, as in the previous cases, caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. Also, some people forcefully engage in sexual activity with a female lay practitioner who abides by the five precepts, thus causing her to lose her precepts. Yet, having no trust in the way actions bear consequences, they think that no harm at all comes from making such a practitioner abandon the basis of her training. F.234.b When such people separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Embers Within.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. On top of that, and in particular, this hell spans a thousand leagues and is completely surrounded by five mountain ranges of burning coal, known as Burning All, Great Depth, Great Tangible Darkness, Glowing Hot Embers, and Manifest Karmic Action. These mountain ranges are close to the Cakravāḍa and Great Cakravāḍa ranges, and for the beings of this hell will see them arrayed with blue lotus flowers, lush groves, forests, and ponds. Wishing to enjoy such things, the beings of this hell hasten toward the mountains. But then a burning karmic wind starts to stir, fanning the coals. From the coals bursts forth a fire that surrounds the beings of hell and completely scorches their bodies. Still, the hell beings continue to perceive the mountains as cool places and rush toward them, yearning for something that can save them, protect them, and guard them against the heat.

“Yet, as they approach the mountains, a mass of iron arrows is released, showering down so densely that they cause the beings to lose sight of their path.^[100] Thus, not knowing where they are going, they charge right into the embers. Scorched, burned, and boiled in the embers, they then enter a pitch-black darkness. As all their faculties cease functioning, the darkness is felt as a great source of suffering. Then, as all effects of their misdeeds manifest, they will be propelled by the force of their karmic actions and thus they now experience the consequences of their completed and accumulated unwholesome actions. F.235.a Within the darkness and the burning embers, they will suffer miserably, having neither guardian nor friend. For a very long time, they will thus continue to boil, experiencing the effects of the actions they engaged in.

“If the winds of karmic action should blow them from the embers, they will run off blindly, letting their feet carry their scorched and tortured bodies anywhere they can go. Still, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will capture them and saw off their buttocks with flaming saws. Once their buttocks have been sawed and amputated, new and extremely delicate ones will grow out. As they thus continue to experience the torture of the saw for many hundreds of thousands of years, they will cry out in agony:

“So the beings of this hell cry out in their intense agony. Yet, until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to suffer. When finally F.235.b they escape this hell, they will, as an effect that accords with their causal actions, be born many hundreds of times as starving spirits and animals. As starving spirits, they will do nothing but watch each other suffer from hunger and thirst, and as animals they will fall prey hundreds of times to other animals. If, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, at the end of all this they should be born with the general lot of life of a human, the force of their karmic actions will make them contract an infectious disease. They will be poor and sickly, and their bodies will be missing limbs.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Alala. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. Also, those who secretly communicate with and deceive a forbidden woman—such as a woman who has taken up one, two, three, four, or all five precepts, or one’s sister or someone comparable to one’s sister, or the wife of a friend—will upon separating from the body be born in the hell called Alala.

“The beings in that realm undergo the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. On top of that, and in particular, they will be met by an extremely fierce storm that blows with tremendous speed and frightful strength. This fierce tempest will carry off the beings of this hell, F.236.a just as when a powerful wind sweeps up cotton wool, or a bag of cotton, and tosses it about it until it is no longer visible. Just as the wind may carry the cotton in all directions, making all the tufts scatter to and fro, so the razor-like wind of this hell will destroy the hell beings until not even pieces the size of a sand grain can be seen. All their major and minor body parts will be cut to pieces, yet due to their unwholesome karmic actions their bodies will immediately regenerate. Until their unwholesome actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, the force of desire will, as before, make this process continue.

“If, after a long time, they somehow escape the wind torture, they will encounter rats with vajra-like fangs. The rats will attack and first cut their buttocks into pieces the size of sesame seeds. Then they will eat the pieces while the hell beings cry out in pain. Next, the rats will begin to chew their way through the hell beings’ colons and intestines, thus emerging from their backs, where they will begin to eat the spine. Thus, by the force of their negative acts, the beings in this hell will continue to experience this torture for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“If, after an extremely long time has passed, they should manage to escape this agony, they will run off as best they can. However, now masses of ferocious insects will manifest from their own bodies and begin to gnaw and gobble their buttocks. Until their unwholesome actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, there will be no end to the misery inflicted by these biting insects and so the hell beings will continue to cry, wail, scream, and moan.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one will, as an effect that accords with one’s causal deeds, be born many thousands of times as a starving spirit that cannibalizes its own flesh. F.236.b Having to consume and subsist on one’s own flesh is a consequence of engaging in sexual activity with a woman who is not one’s own.

“If one should manage to escape the world of starving spirits, one will next be born as a pig. As a result of having previously acted wrongfully toward one’s mother, one is now consumed by her. If, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, one should manage to escape this condition and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human, one will constantly be afflicted with disease and suffer from severe illness. Also, one’s penis will be cut off. In the unlikely event that one has a spouse, she will be carried off by unsuitable men, just like in the past oneself inappropriately grabbed the females of others. In this way, one will see all that human beings aim for destroyed. Such are the consequences of having violated and dishonored both mundane and supramundane rules.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Pain Incarnate. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. Also, if a woman, who has taken vows, immorally entices a monk, serves him alcohol, makes him drunk, and causes him to feel lust, she will, when separating from her body, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Pain Incarnate. F.237.a

“The beings in that realm undergo all the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. Some people let themselves become habituated to inappropriate association with individuals who are endowed with discipline, as if such association were not inappropriate. Such people have entered an unvirtuous and unwholesome path, and they constantly remain upon that path. They are engaged in unwholesome bases of action and they practice unvirtuous actions. They thus resort to unethical behavior and become habituated to it. In the realms of hell, they will therefore experience horrifying, excruciating, torturous, and viciously intense pain. In this way they will experience the combined sufferings of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. On top of that, and in particular, such people will be skinned alive, from their toes to their heads, with the help of flaming weapons. None of their flesh, but all of their skin will be sliced away, thus inflicting excruciating pain throughout all their major and minor body parts. Once all their skin has been peeled off, it will be thrown into a pit in the ground and burned. The henchmen of the Lord of Death will then pour boiling acid into iron cauldrons and, having disposed of the skinless hell beings within those cauldrons, will leave them there to burn and boil. Tormented by excruciating pain, they will cry, scream, and wail piteously. In this way, they will remain in agony for an immeasurable duration of time. Until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to experience unbearably sharp pain.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one may, F.237.b with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, avoid life as a starving spirit or an animal, and instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet, as an effect that accords with one’s causal actions, one will then be poor, sickly, and contract a horrible disease. One may also be born among disabled people who live in grottos in ocean coves, such as those with one leg, one ear, one arm, a short body, and one may live a short life, possibly just one day. B14

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as the Burning Torrent of the Vaitaraṇī. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. Also, some people may violate an honorable female friend, who has already been led by the hand around the fire at the center of the sacred ground.^[101] Anyone who enjoys and takes pleasure in such an act of defilement and engages in it with great satisfaction will, when separating from his body, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as the Burning Torrent of the Vaitaraṇī.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, with their surrounding hells. On top of that, and in particular, they will find themselves in an all-pervasive, dense darkness. Out of this darkness extremely sharp and burning spikes and swords are thrust forth, F.238.a plunging into their bodies. This will cause them great torment, as all their major and minor body parts will be pierced, cut, burned, scorched, and severed. Fire will burn them from the outside while the spikes and weapons will torment them within their bodies. The vicious and excruciating pains that ensue from this cannot be compared to anything else.

“Wrecked by these torments, these hell beings may at some point be able to haphazardly escape. But then, they will see a vast ravine called the ‘Burning Inferno of the Vaitaraṇī.’ When, tormented by pain, they reel into it, they will see that this ravine is full of venomous serpents created by karmic action. The snakes will split them to pieces and devour them. Under the poisonous snakes’ sharp fangs, the hell beings will suffer miserably, and their screams, cries, and wailing will continue until finally their karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“Once innumerable years have passed in this way, these beings will at one point manage to escape. If, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, they at that time do not become starving spirits or animals, but instead are born with the general lot in life of a human, they will, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, be poor and sickly, their laments will be constant, and they will become the slaves of others. Their faculties will be incomplete, their faces will be shaped like a mare, and they will be born in snow mountains or some other wilderness. There, they must live from fruits and roots only, without ever finding other types of food.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions F.238.b continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Constant Darkness. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. Also, there are some people who first attain freedom from desire externally and later, having fully overcome sensuality, become free of desire, anger, and delusion. If such men are seduced by women and indulge in passion, they will, upon separating from their bodies, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Constant Darkness.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined torments of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, in excess. On top of that, and in particular, so-called ‘digging worms’ will appear, and with beaks that cut like vajras they will break through the heads of these hell beings. Thus, as the result of their own misdeeds, they will suffer intense discomfort and severe pain. As the digging worms drill holes in their bones and consume the marrow, the ensuing torment is so intense that the combined suffering of all the other hells cannot match a hundredth, a thousandth, or even a hundred thousandth part of the pain. And yet they cannot escape their own karmic actions. No matter where they may try to escape, the digging worms will block them, and thus they will burn and boil for many hundreds of thousands of years. The utterly excruciating pain that haunts these miserable beings is long-lasting, for despite their burning and boiling torments, the force of their completed and accumulated karmic actions will prevent them from dying. F.239.a Thus, they will continue to suffer until their unwholesome actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. If, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, they at that time do not become starving spirits or animals, but instead are born with the general lot in life of a human, they will, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, become a female slave of a courtesan who carries water pots, will obtain a foul complexion, and their hands and feet will be covered in blisters.^[102]

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as the Garland of Tortures. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. Also, a monk who is endowed with discipline and has not fallen from the path of Dharma might while traveling unperturbed encounter a sinful woman, who tells him, ‘Pleasure yourself with me. Monk, if you do not lie with me, I shall tell the other monks that you availed yourself of me against my wishes. You will then be punished severely, either by the authorities or by my husband. On the other hand, if you agree to lie with me, I shall offer you plenty of food and drink. We will be extremely happy, and no one else will ever know. To the other laypeople, I shall say, “That monk observes excellent discipline. You must offer him whatever bedding and medicinal supplies he needs.” They will then become your sponsors and benefactors.’ F.239.b If by such threats this woman manages to lure the monk away from the true path, she will, upon separating from her body, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell called Garland of Tortures.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. On top of that, and in particular, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will seize the woman, squeeze her, and then skin her alive. New skin, which is extremely youthful, yet of foul complexion, will then grow out. When this skin has emerged, the henchmen will restrain the woman’s body. They will then take up a flaming saw and with that begin to cleave, split, and cut up her body entirely. Thus, the miserable woman, who was fooled by her own misdeeds, will for long continue to cry, wail, and moan.

“When she finally manages to escape this torture, she will run off as best she can. She will then see the karmic apparition of a monk and, with her mind obscured by lust, she will run toward him. Desire is an enemy that is hard to vanquish when the mind is gullible, and so, being in this state of mind, she will run toward the apparitional monk, seeking to grasp and embrace him. Yet, as she arrives, the monk will turn into a blazing fire pit that closes around her. She will enter and remain within the fire pit, enduring continuous torture in the hell of the Garland of Tortures for many hundreds of thousands of years. Until finally her completed and accumulated acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, there will be no end to her experience of fierce, vicious, and excruciating pain.

“When at some point one escapes this hell, one will, as an effect that accords with one’s causal deeds, be born five hundred times as an animal. If, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, F.240.a one should be born with the general lot in life of a human, one will become a woman who sweeps garbage in the cities, despised by everyone, poor, of foul complexion, and with crippled limbs and a face that is frightening to behold. One will be abandoned by parents and friends, subsist on watery porridge, emit a foul smell, and wear repulsive clothing, receive severe physical punishment, be the target of children’s pebbles and stones, and live in misery.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Minced up by Raining Loops of Wire. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. Also, if in an arrogant abuse of power, or during an invasion, one violently defiles a nun who is free from the afflictions, one will, upon separating from one’s body, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Minced up by Raining Loops of Wire.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. On top of that, and in particular, the beings of this hell are kept in tight nets made of strings that are as hard as vajra and that thus, upon touch, will cut any major or minor body part to pieces. Like silkworms in their cocoons, the beings in this hell are kept in their nets. F.240.b In these nets, they live and die, again and again, as the Lord of Death’s henchmen shoot arrows at all their major and minor body parts. Thus, confined in the vajra-sharp nets while being struck by arrows, these beings are subjected to fierce and excruciating torture. In their agony, they scream, wail, and moan.

“Having thus suffered endless pain, bound and confined, a karmic condition might enable these hell beings to escape. But as the hell being staggers off as best he can, he will fall into a ditch of embers. As he sinks into it and gets burned, he will wail and cry out in pain.

“All alone and without company, he will then in the distance a great gate, illuminated all around, and rush toward it. Yet, when he enters it, the gate will turn out to be a giant snake of terrifying strength and powerful venom. The snake will consume the hell being, who will now burn within its body without even being able to scream. The snake is a product of the hell being’s karmic actions, so he will remain within the snake’s body in a way that corresponds with his own ensnaring actions. Without even being able to scream, he will experience his veins and muscles being severed and his entire body being pulverized. Thus, within the snake’s stomach he will be burned and cut for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“If at some point the snake should vomit up the hell being, he will emerge with an extremely filthy body from which loose veins and muscles dangle. He will then try to rush off as best he can. But he will see the henchmen of the Lord of Death coming toward him, and will be seized by them. As when a crocodile kills a small child, the henchmen will completely ravage all his major and minor body parts with sharp weapons. Until his unwholesome actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, F.241.a he will thus continue to suffer for innumerable billions of years.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one will, as an effect that accords with one’s causal deeds, be born five hundred times as a starving spirit or an animal. If, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, one should be born with the general lot in life of a human, one will in that case be poor, sickly, and ugly. One will be miserable due to always hearing unpleasant things and one’s entire body will be afflicted by poison.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Crested Ravens.^[103] Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. Also, anyone who indulges improperly with his sister when she is intoxicated by alcohol will, upon separating from his body, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Crested Ravens.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the great Reviving Hell, and so forth. On top of that, and in particular, they will enter copper furnaces and melt within them. Then they will revive, only to melt there once again. Thus, having entered the furnaces, they will keep reviving and dying, dying and reviving. Henchmen of the Lord of Death will apply two bellows, stoking so forcefully that the coal, the furnaces, F.241.b and the bodies of the hell beings all vanish. As when gold is melted in fire, these beings will thus continue to boil within the furnaces for many hundreds of thousands of years, experiencing continuously the consequences of their misdeeds.

“When at some point their karmic actions are exhausted, they will fall to the bottom of the furnaces. From there they will be plucked out by the henchmen, who will proceed to beat them in the same way that a blacksmith hammers a piece of iron into shape. The blows from the henchmen will kill them, but they will then be revived and receive more of the same. Thus, they will be tortured for innumerable billions of years.

“If by some odd chance they should escape from there, henchmen of the Lord of Death will next place them inside a large drum. The thunderous sounds of the drum will make their hearts burst, but they will then be revived, only to die once more in shock. This constant process of reviving and dying will continue until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“When they finally escape this hell, they will, as an effect that accords with their causal deeds, be born six hundred times as animals. If by some odd chance they should be born as humans, they will be constantly fearful and confused, as if they had the mind of a deer. They will suffer harm at the royal court, others will yell at them, and they will end their lives in chains, without ever having known any peace of mind.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Heartbreaking Cries. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, F.242.a he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. Also, some people engage in unwholesome worship based on wrong view and wrong perception. Thus, a man might defile his young sister, deceiving her by saying that, according to the Brahmin tradition, he who does not marry a young girl who feels desire commits a sin comparable to killing a human. Fooling her through such foul advice, he may then indulge inappropriately with her. Upon separating from his body, such a person will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Heartbreaking Cries.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. On top of that, and in particular, henchmen of the Lord of Death will shoot burning projectiles and missiles at these beings. This will cause their bodies to crumble and deteriorate as if they were the leaves of a pulāsa tree. All of their major and minor body parts will crumble under the viciously excruciating pain, and so they will suffer intensely, alone and without guardian or companion, for innumerable years.

“Finally, due to the condition of their karmic actions becoming exhausted, they will escape the perils of the missiles and swords, but will then come to an iron ground filled with burning embers into which they will sink. When thus suffering miserably and crying out in pain, they will perceive a forest nearby that looks cool like a rain cloud. Birds with beautiful voices are flying around the forest, and close by is a great lake with clear water. Seeing all this the hell beings will think, ‘Ah, there is a dark forest and a clear lake. F.242.b I shall find relief there!’ Longing for safety, refuge, and protection, they will proceed to stagger through the bed of burning embers as fast as they can. As they draw closer and see the birds that circle around the forest, their yearning for relief and protection intensifies, and so they will lunge ahead. Yet, when under great hardship they finally manage to arrive at the forest, it will suddenly take on a different appearance. Now what they see is a vicious, terrifying, giant snake with a thousand heads. The snake’s eyes are aflame and its faces utterly horrifying. The birds that they saw before now appear to be masses of burning hell beings. Immediately, the snake will snatch up the hell beings and devour them. As they wail and suffer, the snake will clench them in its flaming mouths and eat them. For a long time—innumerable years—one will thus continue to be devoured by this great snake that is produced by karmic action.

“If their karmic actions become exhausted and they thus manage to escape the snake, the hell beings will run toward the lake, tormented by thirst. Yet the lake will now be enveloped in black smoke within which rage the fires of hell. This pit is one league deep, and the hell beings sink into it. Submerged and caught inside it, they experience unbearable pain. Yet, until their karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will, in accordance with their causal actions, continue to experience suffering that is unlike anything else.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one will, as an effect that accords with one’s causal actions, be born seven hundred times as a starving spirit or an animal. If, with the likelihood of sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, one should be born with the general lot in life of a human, one will be poor and F.243.a sickly, enslaved by others, living at intersections and along the highways, and born as a midget.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as One That Arouses Great Pity. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. Also, some people, out of desire, defile the faultless spouse of their teacher who explains to them the words of the true path. Trying to convince the people of the world of their innocence, they declare, ‘This lady is like a teacher and mother to me, and I am like her son!’ Upon separating from their bodies, such people will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as One That Arouses Great Pity.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. On top of that, and in particular, they will be exposed to various sharp weapons with jagged edges that will slice into them, again and again, both from above and below. Thus, all their flesh, sinew, skin, lymph, bones, and marrow will gradually be minced. As this happens, the beings will cry out in the most pitiful and heart-wrenching way. Even the beings in other hells will hear their miserable cries and thus suffer unbearably. As they hear these terribly dismal voices, they will experience all the same suffering.

“Although the beings of this hell keep being cut, they do not die. F.243.b Thus, their tortures of being repeatedly crushed and revived will continue for many hundreds of thousands of years until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. When in the end they escape this hell, they will, as an effect that accords with their causal actions, be born six thousand times as hell beings, starving spirits, and animals. If, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, they later should be born with the general lot in life of a human, they will either die in the womb, at birth, while still only being able to lie down, upon being able to crawl, or when just having learned to walk. They will also suffer from severe defects in their faculties.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Land of No Mercy. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. Also, those who indulge inappropriately with their daughters-in-law will, upon separating from their bodies, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Land of No Mercy.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. On top of that, and in particular, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will pile them up in a huge heap, one upon the other. Upon a ground of flaming copper they will be stacked by the hundreds and thousands, so that not even the tip of a hair could fit between the bodies, and thus they will burn. F.244.a The torture of being heaped up in this way is intense, and the henchmen of the Lord of Death will tie them together with tight ropes so that no gap is left whatsoever. They will then take up hammers and subject them to their blows. Thus, these beings will continue to experience fierce, vicious, excruciating pain for many hundreds of thousands of years until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one will, as an effect that accords with one’s causal actions, be born nine hundred times as a starving spirit or an animal. Once free of such existences, one may, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, be born with the general lot in life of a human. Yet in that case one will be poor, sickly, and killed by competitors. One’s place of birth will be unwholesome, as one is born among the barbarians that inhabit the shores. Even among them one will be the lowliest and one’s life will be short.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Like Stacks of Dry Wood. Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will see that such a birth is caused by resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, alcohol consumption, lying, and wrong view. Also, a man might steal the honorable wife of another person who previously gave him the gift of freedom from fear. The person who thus takes hold of another’s wife, without any regard for the fact that this man previously released him as he was being led to the scaffold, will upon separating from his body fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Like Stacks of Dry Wood.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. F.244.b On top of that, and in particular, they will enter the river known as Great Sound together with many hundreds of thousands of other beings. Thus, as all of these beings enter the river, they will be swept away en masse by its great force. As some beings sink into the river, many more hell beings keep entering it, and thus the hell beings all flow along, one on top of the other, without even a gap the size a hair tip between their bodies. While maimed in this way by layers and layers of the bodies on top of them, these beings will at the same time be lethally burned and boiled by currents of boiling lead below them. Wailing in constant pain and misery, they will also be surrounded by crocodiles produced by karmic action. The crocodiles will then eat all their major and minor body parts, but the beings will revive.

“This experience of suffering in Like Stacks of Dry Wood will continue until the relevant unwholesome actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. Thus, these beings will long continue to undergo excruciating sensations that are the products of their own actions.

“When one finally escapes this hell, one will, as an effect that accords with one’s causal actions, be born five hundred times as a starving spirit or an animal. Once free from that, if one should be born with the general lot in life of a human, one will not be desired by any women, as they will all consider one to be like a son, a father, or a brother. In five hundred lives one will also be born without male sex organs.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great Hell of Intense Heat, he will not perceive any seventeenth realm. Thus, he will conclude, ‘Sixteen neighboring hells surround the great Hell of Intense Heat. F.245.a Those are the realms of the unbearable, great Hell of Intense Heat. They stretch from here to there. They are places where people burn and boil, experiencing the effects of their own actions. What is experienced there is not anyone else’s doing; it unfolds in accordance with in one’s own karmic actions. One’s own acts will not be wasted, and one will not contend with anything done by another. What one did is never wasted, and so one will have to experience the results that conform with one’s own acts. In realms they themselves have created, beings partake of their own actions, and so they experience their individual share of wholesome or unwholesome action.’

The Eleventh Ground

“As the monk thus contemplates hell beings and the actions associated with hell, he will see that craving brings no happiness whatsoever, because phenomena do not last, do not endure, and are devoid of self. He will see that the whole of cyclic existence is impermanent, painful, empty, and devoid of self. As he sees this, he becomes free from desire and its bonds, free from the pursuits of desire, free from the thoughts of desire, and free from craving for the bases of desire. Hence, he also becomes extremely afraid of the flaws of desire. In this way, he becomes very guarded about the vicissitudes of his body, speech, and mind, so that the māras and their retinues can find no way to penetrate. As he becomes habituated to this, the continuum of his numerous lives in cyclic existence begins to fall apart and is diminished. It is relinquished and loosened.

“Thus, the monk, the spiritual practitioner who carefully observes inner phenomena, will think to himself, ‘Ah, this monk, with his unceasing perseverance, has now entered the eleventh ground.’ F.245.b

“The terrestrial yakṣas, pleased with his unceasing perseverance, will inform the celestial yakṣas, and the celestial yakṣas will bring the news to the Four Great Kings. The latter will then inform the gods in the Brahmā Realm, telling them, ‘In Jambudvīpa, the noble son, who is of such and such a village and town, and who goes by such and such a name, has shaved off his hair and beard, donned the saffron-colored robes, and with faith gone forth from the household to become a homeless mendicant. He has no interest in the field of the māras’ domain, and he does not dwell on anything associated with the craving that accompanies desirous excitement. He does not delight in any of the snake-like afflictions, and, having seen the afflictions of others, he has become disenchanted with the whole of cyclic existence.’

“As the gods in the Brahmā Realm hear this they will rejoice and proclaim, ‘The forces of the māras are waning; the forces of the sacred Dharma are on the rise!’

“The spiritual practitioner has thus entered the eleventh ground, he has obtained the divine eye and is able to see the true path. He has knowledge of the ripening of karmic phenomena and sees the real nature of the misdeeds of body, speech, and mind. And so, o monks, he will think, ‘Upon very detailed investigation of the misdeeds of body, speech, and mind, I realize that no one in the world of gods, māras, brahmās, mendicants, brahmins, and ordinary people—no god or human—has the capacity for such analysis. It goes without saying, then, that no wandering non-Buddhist will have such an ability. That is impossible and does not happen.’ Thus, he will think that such knowledge only belongs to my students and to those who have heard from me. F.246.a Indeed, analyzing the finer details of the three misdeeds is an extremely subtle practice.

“Monks, this is the reply that you should give to wandering non-Buddhists. Wandering non-Buddhists will become extremely confused by such a reply. Why? Because, monks, it is not within the scope of sentient beings in cyclic existence.

“Their misdeeds of body, speech, and mind are the general rule, because they are mired in flaws, stains, and neglect. They do not cut through birth, aging, sickness, death, suffering, lamentation, pain, and unhappiness. They do not actualize the qualities of the noble ones. They do not reach to the transcendence of suffering. They do not permanently exhaust existence. They do not attain peace, happiness, and birth among the gods, because they are involved with misdeeds of body, speech, and mind.

“Monks, wandering non-Buddhists simply become infatuated and arrogant due to their bodies, and so they fail to discern between flaws and good qualities. Thus, their misdeeds of body, speech, and mind are severe. They and I are not the least bit similar, just as, for example, cyclic existence and the transcendence of suffering are not the least bit similar. Therefore, their three types of misdeeds are unlike those that I declare. Monks, you should reply like this: ‘The attacks of opponents have no substance; my path is bliss. The transcendence of suffering is peace; F.246.b all conditioned things vacillate. There is no happiness in cyclic existence—remember this about all that is permanent, stable, enduring, and unchanging.’

The Hell of Ultimate Torment

The Twelfth Ground

“Monks, that monk is great who has now seen the reality of the misdeeds of body, speech, and mind. That monk, who is a spiritual practitioner, who has seen the reality of the city of liberation, will at this point continue his contemplation, wondering how he might progress onto the twelfth ground. Without any decrease in his diligence, he will once more concern himself with the reality of the causes and effects of unwholesome actions, and so he will, beyond the spheres of the seven great hells, perceive the great hell of Ultimate Torment, which is one thousand times more severe than the others.

“Inquiring into what karmic actions may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing. Thus, he will see that such a birth is caused by intentionally killing one’s own mother or father. That karmic action remains for an entire eon. That is to say, when someone carries out such a negative act that remains for an entire eon, that act leads to the hell of Ultimate Torment, where the ripening will continue for an entire eon. In that hell, the tortures never cease, and so, once the act has been performed, it will continue to ripen for the remainder of the eon. Thus, in conformity with the special character of the act, the harm one experiences will be particularly dreadful and severe.

“As for someone who carries out a single act that leads to the hell of Ultimate Torment, that person may otherwise have been free from cruel thoughts, and have been gentle and soft. His tortures will not be the same as the tortures of someone who committed such an act time after time, especially if his thoughts and disposition were cruel. Such a person will experience harsh and intense pain. This is because all ripening of karma depends on the mind, and is governed by the mind.^[104]F.247.a Sentient beings are in bondage because they are tied by the bonds of the mind. However, once they have purified their minds, they will be free.

“In the hell of Ultimate Torment, the tortures are as follows. The beings there have large but delicate bodies. Those who have committed all five deeds with immediate consequences will have bodies that measure five leagues. Similarly, those who have done four, three, two, or one such act will have bodies that measure four, three, two, or one league.

“As the monk examines the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will refer to its adjacent hells as ‘hair-raising.’ As he applies knowledge derived from hearing, he will perceive the following sixteen neighboring hells: Raven Mouths, Entirely Beneath the Earth, Infinitely Long Torture, Howling Like a Jackal, Eaten by Iron Jackals, Raven’s Belly,^[105] Battered Bodies, Fearsome Screams, Like Unopened Flowers, Falling Like Rain on High Mountains, Sound of Water, Garland of Stars,^[106] Wrapped in Every Possible Pain, Longing for Smell, Iron Plates, and Advancing Fire. These are the sixteen realms adjacent to the great hell of Ultimate Torment.

“The monk will now examine the interval of existence that follows death and lasts until the next birth. He will wonder, ‘How do the beings who inhabit the hell of Ultimate Torment come to suffer this mother of all pains?’ As he contemplates this, he will think, ‘Beings who are oppressed by desire, anger, and delusion F.247.b and who have engaged in negative actions will go to the hell of Ultimate Torment.’

“Some go to the hell of Ultimate Torment because they burn their mother in the hope of reaching heaven. Others may throw their mother into an abyss, drown her, or starve her to death, thus killing their mother in delusion due to the influence of an unwholesome path. Fooled by unwholesome learning, they thus murder out of ignorance. Others may, yearning for heaven, begin to think that by starving their mother to death, throwing her off a cliff, burning her, or drowning her, they can reach heaven. Thus, they may kill their mother due to desire. Likewise, some may kill their mother due to the circumstance of an aggressive and unstable mind. Thus, beings who kill while oppressed by these three mental flaws will go to the hell of Ultimate Torment.

“Some go to the hell of Ultimate Torment because of ignorantly drawing blood from someone who is a great field of merit. Others go there because of having caused a schism in the saṅgha or having killed a worthy one. Oppressed by anger, they crush and annihilate all their objectives and take birth in the hell of Ultimate Torment.

“When they die, some will be born within the flames of Ultimate Torment in that very same body. Some will immediately enter the intermediate state and from there take birth into Ultimate Torment. When someone commits an act that leads to Ultimate Torment, any fortune that would otherwise have caused that person to become a monastic will thereby be burned. Such a person is unable to take vows. The effects of that person’s virtuous actions will have thereby been burned so that their ripening will now become uncertain or postponed until other lives because what is to be experienced in the subsequent life is now certain to be hell.

“Also, that person’s current lifespan will shorten,F.248.a such that, if he would otherwise have lived to be a hundred years, he will now remain for not more than twenty. None of that person’s hopes or wishes will materialize, as when seeds are sown in salty soil. No matter which god such a person may follow, that deity will abandon him from that moment on. All his activities will be fruitless. His faculties will be slow in apprehending sense objects, he will be constantly haunted by bad dreams, and experience nothing but failures. If he has children or a spouse, or male or female servants, they will abandon him. He will be destitute, suffering from hunger and thirst. Even if he should obtain tasty food, it will not be appetizing. His speech will become slurred. His face will have an inauspicious and malicious appearance, his mind will suffer from constant confusion, and he will be scorned by all his relatives and friends. He will suffer panic attacks and it will seem as if he is enveloped in smoke. The constitution of his elements will never be in balance. In the distance, he will perceive unpleasant forms, although there is nothing there. He will be buffeted around by small wind gusts, and constantly suffer from burning sensations. He will be constantly afflicted by gall diseases and always have a bitter or salty taste in his mouth. Even though his bedding may be soft, it will still seem rough. Even the sound of flutes, drums, and string instruments will frighten him and make him nervous, not to mention other sounds. His nose will permanently lose its sense of smell so that he can no longer smell any sweet fragrances. His entire body will emit a foul odor. The hair on his head and body will fall off,F.248.b and his teeth will become stained. His legs and arms will become crippled and he will find no pleasure in anything.

In his dreams he will be punished by the gods and he will suffer constant depression. He will suffer from heart disease and heart attacks, and his body will never be well. If he ever wears any flowers, the flowers will quickly wither. Also, his clothes will become worn out quickly, and, however much he may wash his body and clothing, they will still stink. He may unexpectedly fall while traveling on the road and sustain many wounds that will be slow to heal. While asleep, his throat will become dry, and he will have to drink a lot of water when he wakes up. When the asuras cause harm, he will perceive the towns and cities to be empty. He will misperceive the planets, stars, and other celestial bodies. If a slight breeze should brush him, it will feel as intense as if he were being struck by a weapon. Even a slight breeze will hurt him as if it were a weapon falling upon him, even a small fire will burn him, and the sun will feel twice as hot as usual. Even the moon will seem warm to him, and he will suffer its heat. All cool water will seem warm to him. He will find otherwise delightful groves and forests to be frightening, and he will hear the beautiful songs of birds as if they were the howling of jackals. He will perceive the whole world to be like a charnel ground and find no joy in anything. Alcohol will not be able to give him much joy, but will make him shameless and bereft of all manners. Thus, he will defecate and urinate in full public view by the roadsides or at intersections.B15 All the gods will abandon him, and he will become a failure in all regards. His complexion will be like a burnt out forest F.249.a and he will arouse animosity in everyone across the land. Such are the early signs of Ultimate Torment as they appear in this life.

“Specific signs will also be experienced when death approaches. Thus, the person will perceive the moon at day and the sun at night, just as he will be unable to see his own shadow. He will hear sudden, unpleasant sounds. His nose will become crooked. His hair and body hair will become bristly. To begin with, he will contract a contagious disease that will start with fever and end with death. Tormented by fever that feels as scorching as burning embers, his pain and misery will be unlike that associated with any of the four hundred and four diseases. As he burns in the wind of flaming embers, eighty winds will attack the eighty types of worms that live in all the veins, sinew, skin, bones, flesh, and fat of his body.^[107] Thus, ten kinds of worms will be assailed by ten types of wind. Among them, the hairy worm will be attacked by the wind that tears out hair; the black-mouthed worm will be attacked by its related wind; the apathetic worm will be attacked by the wind that disturbs sleep; the opening worm will be attacked by the wind of irritability; the worm that causes confusion will be attacked by the wind that mutes the tongue; the worm of seeming absence will be attacked by the wind that directs taste; the raising worm will be attacked by the wind that destroys the liver; the downward-moving worm will be attacked by the wind that causes upward movement of excrement; upward-moving^[108] worm will be attacked by the anal wind; the worm of thought perception will be attacked by the wind that impairs memory; the stinking worm will be attacked by the wind that destroys the skin; the bone-gift worm will be attacked by the wind that destroys taste;F.249.b the red-mouthed worm will be attacked by the wind that destroys the flesh; the vigorous worm will be attacked by the wind that destroys haughtiness; the worm that consumes the causes of disease will be attacked by the bone-destroying wind; the weapon-mouthed worm will be attacked by the wind that destroys all bones; the razor-mouthed worm will be attacked by the wrinkling wind; the hairless worm will be attacked by the wind that makes hair gray; the needle-faced worm will be attacked by the sweat-destroying wind; the bibidza worm^[109] will be attacked by the wind that greatly harms urine; the legless worm will be attacked by the wind that carries food; the excrement-scattering worm will be attacked by the tooth-breaking wind; the tripling worm will be attacked by the vein-liquid wind; the worm that destroys the intestines will be attacked by the wind of downward movement; the worm that causes swelling will be attacked by the upward-moving wind; the golden worm will be attacked by the wind of frontal rising; the colon worm will be attacked by the wind of intestinal movement; the skin-creating worm will be attacked by the wind that causes depression; the fat-harming worm will be attacked by the upward-moving wind that causes shaking;

the accumulation worm will be attacked by the wind that closes and opens the eyes; the foul-smelling worm will be attacked by the wind of the fivefold meeting that causes mutual contact; the worm that moves along with the five winds^[110] will be attacked by the wind that destroys the essence; the harming worm will be attacked by the splitting wind; the worm that gives birth to flower essences^[111] will be harmed by the wind that causes going, coming, movement, rest, and running; the great kuhaka worm^[112], the swine-seller worm, the black worm, the great consumer worm, and the hot marrow worm will be harmed by the energies that destroy the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue; the bone-destroying worm will be harmed by the wind that destroys the gall bladder;F.250.a the black-legged worm will be harmed by the wind that destroys phlegm; the joint-severing worm will be harmed by the wind that destroys the spinal cord; the worm that moves in the brain will be harmed by the wind of the demoness’s residence; the worm that consumes brain membrane will be harmed by the wind that resides in the marrow; the worm that moves in the skull will be harmed by the wind that causes fainting; the hair-eating worm will be harmed by the wind that splits; the worm that moves in the ears will be harmed by the wind that impairs movement; the worm that lives in mucus will be harmed by the wind that destroys the ankles; the worm that moves in fat will be harmed by the wind that prevents release; the spit-throwing worm will be harmed by the wind that causes burning; the worm that consumes dental roots will be harmed by the wind that prevents release and causes lack of sensation; the spit-consuming worm will be harmed by the wind that prevents spreading; the phlegm-moistening worm will be harmed by the wind that empties the nose and causes paralysis; the worm that causes vomiting will be harmed by the wind that carries ten tastes, moves within, and blocks the duśagata^[113]; the honey-intoxication worm will be harmed by the wind that disturbs the joints; the worm that craves for the six tastes will be harmed by the wind that destroys hair, nails, and excrement; the barbur worm^[114] will be harmed by the wind that causes saliva to become uncontrolled; the worm that creates distaste will be harmed by the wind that causes collapse; the dream-craving worm will be harmed by the wind that paralyzes the penis; the worm that consumes body hair will be harmed by the wind that dries excrement; the sosura^[115] worm will be harmed by the wind that constricts the ribs; the maternal birth worm will be harmed by the wind of the six raven openings^[116]; the umpara worm^[117] will be harmed by the wind that shortens all major and minor body parts; the descending worm will be harmed by the wind of fire destruction; the hair-raising worm F.250.b will be harmed by the wind that affects all major and minor body parts; the hair-eating worm will be harmed by the destabilizing wind; the simisima worm^[118] will be harmed by the wind that pervades all limbs;

the umabuga worm^[119] will be harmed by the burning wind; the wound worm will be harmed by the destructive wind; the tsuntsu sound worm^[120] will be harmed by the upper and lower wind; the sinew-severing worm will be harmed by the wind that is lethal for humans; and the vein-severing worm will be harmed by the perforating wind. Although for all living beings the various winds inflict distinct harm upon the worms at the time of death, the situation is different for a human who is destined for Ultimate Torment. Due to such a person’s unwholesome actions, particularly fierce winds, which are caused by the person’s harmful acts, will stir both above and below, and when that happens the eighty winds will harm all eighty species of worms.

“There is no way to stop the winds’ destructive influence on the worms. First the smelly pibpalaka wind^[121] will dry out the entire body, as when sugarcane stalks are run through a press. The blood will be drained away and one will become afflicted by all manner of disease. The muscles will be severed, and the pain will penetrate right to the marrow.

“As a consequence of the dying person’s misdeeds, worms will emerge conspicuously from his mouth when he is about to depart for Ultimate Torment. The future hell being will perceive his home to be covered by black leather. He will then spot a fire in the house, and it will seem to him that the fire is spreading and engulfing his home. As he sees his home aflame, he will become pale, and begin to cry and moan, swing his arms, and roll his eyes. Spit will drip from his mouth, F.251.a his teeth will chatter, and he will bite his lips.

“A second kind of appearance will begin to emerge in which he perceives a tall, rocky mountain that is full of terrifying lions, tigers, bears, leopards, and snakes. When he sees the beasts swooping down from the mountain, drawing ever closer, he will defecate himself and move his hands in the air in terror. Those near him will say, ‘He is trying to ward off something in empty space.’ Later he will perceive cliffs, forests, mountains, and groves that are engulfed in flames and advancing toward him. Hallucinating, he will moan, scream, and foul himself. His eyes will change, rolling in fear, and tears will flow from them. His body hair will stand on end, as if they were thorns, and his penis will become erect^[122] and ejaculate.^[123]

“After that, disturbances in the four elements will manifest—the earth, water, fire, and wind elements will stir. As the earth element goes out of balance, its solid nature will cause torment throughout the dying person’s major and minor body parts. It will feel as if his head is being ground between two stones. His entire physical form will seem to be demolished, as when a handful of sand is scattered. All his major and minor body parts will feel attacked, destroyed, and cut asunder. Such excruciating pain will come from upheavals in the earth element.

“Next, his misdeeds will cause great disturbances in the water element, leading him to moan and shriek. His muscles and flesh will become moist and extremely loose, and streams of water will run off his body. F.251.b A great deal of water will also flow from his nose and eyes.

“Then follow disturbances in the fire element, whereby he feels as if plunged into burning pits of embers, causing him excruciating, fierce, vicious torment. He will cry and moan in terror, roll from side to side, shake his hands, and be unable to keep his head still for even a moment.

“Next, there will be upheavals in the wind element, which becomes hard, rough, expansive, light, and cold. Its hardness will torment all his major and minor body parts, its expansion will create pressure, its lightness will make him feel as if suspended in midair or falling into an abyss, and its frigidity will make his muscles cramp. Thus, suffering from these upheavals on the verge of death, he will be tormented by the four great elements as if they were vicious snakes. It is not easy to find an example to illustrate this.

“The dying person’s entire body becomes like bursting bubbles of foam, as it is destroyed, burned, and boiled. Thus, he lies, tormented by excruciating pain, upon his final bed, waving his hands around in space, as his mind approaches the final moment of physical existence. At that point, it will feel as if he is climbing high upon a big cliff, jumping off, and falling freely through space. In the mind’s final moments of existence, he will then begin to see, as if they were the imprints of a seal, the faces of the Lord of Death’s henchmen. He will perceive their ugly limbs, their gaping mouths, and their heads of elephants, horses, donkeys, pigs, wildcats, lions, tigers, leopards, mongooses, and foxes. Consuming vomit F.252.a and brandishing weapons, they threaten the dying person, who is alone in perceiving them. Thus horrified, his eyes will dim and, just like a lamp dies out when its oil is used up, he will die.

“Having died this way, he will next appear in the intermediate existence. He will have an immaterial body that appears like that of an eight-year-old child. Immediately upon death, he will be seized by henchmen of the Lord of Death, who will throw a burning rope around his neck and tie his hands behind his back. The deceased will perceive everything in the cardinal and intermediate directions, the ground and the sky, to be completely and constantly ablaze with fire, and within the flames he will see the many hideous faces of the Lord of Death’s henchmen. He will then be tossed into the flames and there see the full forms of the terrifying henchmen, menacing and brandishing numerous weapons. These horrifying figures will grab the ropes around the neck of the deceased and, while ridiculing him, herd him off to the south. The dead will wail most pitifully:

“Thus, all their major and minor body parts are scorched, as when a fire burns inside a hollow tree, and, as they approach, they come to see the gates of the hell so severe that any example fails to illustrate it. Here, there is a verse:

“At a distance of twenty-five thousand leagues they will hear the awful and horribly excruciating, depraved, and searing screams of the beings in hell—screams that are unlike anything else. F.254.b If beings born in other hells were to hear those screams, they would be so horrified that they would forget their own tortures. They would forget the terrors of all the other hells, too, and the sound would cause them to die. What then can be said of the effect that these screams will have on beings who have hitherto not heard any of the noises of hell?

“The beings who have thus been tormented by numerous sufferings in the intermediate state, which leads to the perception of hell, have minds that are already obscured, but as they hear the screams, their obscuration will increase tenfold. Their minds, which are tormented by limitless, boundless physical and mental pain, will be disturbed as if experiencing a nightmare.

“As the beings come close to the hell of Ultimate Torment, an icy wind that is created and produced by their karmic actions will begin to stir. This wind is even colder than the water below the earth, which for the duration of an intermediate eon remains there, underground, without ever being touched by the sun, and which is thus as freezing cold as any ice found in the human realm. Even more icy cold than that water, these winds produced by karma are also razor sharp and have the power to bring down a mountain ten leagues tall. The beings in the intermediate existence will for the most part be caught in that wind and their experience of cold will thus impel their aggregates of form, and so forth. Likewise, an extraordinary fire will blaze forth, hotter even than a thousand appearances of the seven suns.^[125]

“The links of existence are such that grasping gives rise to becoming, and, as soon as desire arises, the aggregates of the being in the intermediate state will cease and the aggregates of the sensations of the next life will arise. Just like, for example, the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three may, in accordance with their karmic actions, measure either five, four, or three leagues, the bodies of these hell beings will be one league large. F.255.a With such bodies they will plummet pitifully, their heads down and their feet pointing upward, into the ferocious flames of Ultimate Torment, plunging in this way for two thousand years.

“Below that place there is nothing else because Ultimate Torment marks the end of the desire realm. Above it stretch first the desire realm and then the form realm, all the way up to the gods in the Highest Heaven. As soon as one’s fall into Ultimate Torment begins, one will already have achieved existence there, and so one will, from that moment on, be tortured constantly and exposed to a pain so intense that in comparison the beings in the Hell of Intense Heat will seem like the gods in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations. Thus is one born into this hell of excruciating, unbearable pain.

“As soon as one is born there, one will instantly be tormented by the fires of hell, and so one’s entire body will be scorched and burned. As one searches for a place to dwell, one might set out for Mount Sumeru. However, even if one roams around the mountain sixty thousand times, circling its rivers, trees, pools, and forests, one will still be burned by the numerous fires of hell. This suffering does not occur to any of the long-living beings who inhabit the other hells.

“To give a slight indication of the scorching that the beings of this realm experience, think of a drop of oil that is dropped onto a red-hot frying pan. Similarly, those who have engaged in a single one of the relevant causal actions will have an experience of their own bodies being burned along with those of all beings. This fire will also be perceived as burning all realms, including those of all the mountains, gods, asuras, greater mountains, trees, continents, forests, and oceans. For a being who has engaged in two of the causal actions, it is as if the ocean and all the rest are burned twice. F.255.b For those who have engaged in three and four of such acts, the experience is respectively tripled and quadrupled. Thus, as if landing on a frying pan, one will experience intense and instantaneous burning.

“The surrounding mountains, the greater surrounding mountains, and the ocean serve as protection for the nāgas, asuras, animals, humans of the four abodes, and the classes of desire realm gods. How so? The beings of Ultimate Torment emit a stench that would paralyze those beings, yet, due to the tall mountains, the other realms do not sense the unbearable stench of the beings in this hell. The stench of their karmic actions, whether they are completed and produced, unproduced, or manifest, cannot be compared to any other smell.

“At that time birds of hell will appear. Their hard, sharp beaks are aflame, and like a hailstorm, they swiftly descend on the hell beings, splitting apart their entire bodies and cutting through their skin, flesh, fat, bones, and marrow. As when one flame ignites a second, the birds swoop down and gorge on the beings of hell, devouring their flesh, splitting their bones, tearing apart their flesh, and drinking their blood.

“As the shocked hell beings scream, wail, and moan, many types of birds will swoop down upon them. The bird known as the one that partakes of flames lives within the scorching fires. As soon as it sees a hell being, it breaks open the hell being’s skull and drinks the blood. The bird known as the one that reaches the brain will then dig into the brain and gobble it up. The bird known as the tongue eater will pull out the tongue with its beak and swallow it. Yet, as soon as it has done so, the hell being will F.256.a grow a new tongue that is as soft as a lotus petal. The bird known as the tooth extractor uses its beak as a pair of tongs to pull out all the hell being’s teeth. The bird known as the one that draws out intestines will mince the intestines and eat them. The bird known as the lung eater consumes the lungs. The bird known as the heart eater severs the heart from the body and eats it. The bird known as the stomach eater splits open the belly, jumps in, and relishes the taste. The bird known as the liver destroyer consumes the liver. The bird known as the consumer of apertures munches away upon the apertures of the body. The bird known as the spine eater rips the spine apart and eats it. The bird known as the destroyer of the joints penetrates and splits open all the joints. It then enters in between the joints eats the bone marrow, while the hell being screams in agony. The bird known as the needle beak uses its needle-like beak to drink blood. Similarly, another bird will enter the jaw and from there penetrate other bones as well. Known as the bird that stays in between, it will also gnaw from the outside. The bird known as the consumer of six kinds of skin will eat six different types of skin. The bird known as the one that pulls out nails will extract all the nails. The bird known as the fat eater will feast on the fat. The bird known as the sinew extractor will pull out the sinews and eat them.

The bird known as messy hair will pull out the hair. Thus, at this place called Terror of Being Eaten by Birds, which covers three thousand leagues within Ultimate Torment, the beings of hell will continuously be eaten and revived throughout many hundreds of thousands of years.

“Once they escape Terror of Being Eaten by Birds, which forms a part of Ultimate Torment, they will arrive at a place known as Precipices and Abysses, which is enveloped by a web of suffering. F.256.b Wishing for safety, refuge, and protection, the beings of this hell will enter that place alone, surrounded by eleven great fires, and bound by the shackles of karmic action. There, they enter a wilderness that is full of enemies both outside and within. Suffering torments more intense than in any other hell, they will rush into Precipices and Abysses, where they will tumble and their legs will burn. Then they will be lifted up again and become equipped with new legs that are soft and tender. In this way they will keep undergoing intense and excruciating pain. Terrified, with gloomy faces and their arms, legs, and all their other body parts drained of power, they will keep falling within the three thousand leagues that Precipices and Abysses encompasses.

“At some point, they will be swept up by the wind of karmic action, only to be dropped down again. When that happens, they will be eaten by cranes, ravens, vultures, and owls. Again, a razor-sharp wind that burns like fire will sweep them up and toss them down, and they will once more be eaten by such creatures. Thus they will spend many hundreds of thousands of years, continuously lifted and dropped.

“When at some point they escape that condition, they will rush in the direction of a place known as the Hole Marked by Spinning Wheels. That place features flaming wheels with a thousand spokes and hubs made of vajra. The wheels spin extremely quickly and when one comes close to them, they descend upon one’s body. One wheel will saw through one’s brain, thereby causing tremendous pain, as the brain is ground all the way down to the eyes. Likewise, at each of the shoulders a wheel will spin, reducing the bones and marrow to dust. Wheels will also appear at both of one’s arms and, as the friction makes them burst into flames, they are thus consumed by twofold fire. F.257.a Likewise, a flaming wheel will spin into the chest, crushing and cleaving all the bones and reducing them to powder. Red-hot iron will be pressing against the back of the hell being while a thousand-spoked wheel will spin there, cutting through and crushing all the bones of the back. An iron weapon^[126] will appear at the genitals, beating into them as if it were a stick used for making fire by friction. Thus, this weapon will pull off the genitals and perforate both the lower and upper intestines. Other wheels will appear at the knees and cut through them, while still other wheels crush the ankles and drain them of their marrow. Finally, spikes will appear from below, piercing the soles of the feet. Such are the extraordinary, viciously excruciating experiences of the consequences of one’s own actions, as they are experienced for many hundreds of thousands of years in the hell of Ultimate Torment.

If one succeeds in escaping this condition, one will flee while still suffering from the tortures. When thus fleeing in pursuit of safety, refuge, and protection, one will see a great mountain and rush toward it. However, the mountain will turn out to be full of insects^[127] whose major and minor body parts are all ablaze. Soon the hell being will find himself surrounded by these biting insects, which are burning hot like fire, and the creatures will then consume every particle of his body. When the hell being screams aloud, the insects will enter his mouth and from there work their way through his throat and intestines, gobbling up everything in their path and thus inflicting unbearable pain. F.257.b In this way, experiencing effects that accord with one’s causal misdeeds—one’s acts that led to Ultimate Torment, and one’s pursuit of the ten unvirtuous actions—one will continue to suffer the torture inflicted by these insects for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“Should one escape that state, one will next run through a forest, but will there be caught by various predators—lions, tigers, leopards, and bears—who will gobble one up. Some will extract the brain and consume it. Others will feed on one’s thighs, colon, intestines, stomach, bile ducts, knees, legs, or feet. Yet, whenever they devour something, a new and extremely tender replacement will immediately grow back. In this way those beasts will continue to feed on one’s tender and continuously self-restoring body, thereby causing tremendous pain. Such are the effects of the completed and accumulated acts of killing, and in this way one will continue to experience the consequences of one’s own extraordinarily unwholesome actions for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“Next the monk will concern himself with the experiences that result from resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of stealing. As he examines things with knowledge derived from hearing, he will see how some people, who have maintained an unwholesome livelihood based on flawed actions, may now perceive things, which are actually like a firebrand, a gandharva city, or the mirage seen by thirsting deer, to be treasures, jewels, garments, valuables, or stores of grain. Overwhelmed by craving and bewildered about the nature of karmic action, they may at this point begin to think, ‘These things are mine!’ Those who engage in unwholesome actions in this way will then first have to cross a river of glowing embers. Once on the other shore, F.258.a they will again perceive such things and start running toward them. However, they will be apprehended by the henchmen of the Lord of Death and kept in a net of sharp strings. Thus, all their major and minor body parts will be cleaved, cut, and burned until not even a trace of their bones remains. Yet, even in such situations, those who have been stuck since time without beginning will be unable to give up their craving.

“At this point, there are some verses:

“Thus, the burning of these beings is threefold—they are burned by the fire of their desires, the fire of Ultimate Torment, and the weapons that shower down upon them. In this way the hell beings who stole wealth, which is like a firebrand, a gandharva city, or thirsting deer, will be subjected to torture for many hundreds of thousands of years by henchmen of the Lord of Death, who are like characters in a nightmare.

“Next, the monk will examine the effects of sexual misconduct, as they ripen in Ultimate Torment. He will see that once evildoers escape from the torturous weapons, they will cross a river of burning coals—a product of their karmic action—and then enter a place called Misunderstanding. There they will see women they had otherwise forgotten. The fire of desire, to which they have been habituated since time without beginning, will blaze at the sight, and so they will run toward them. Yet the women are products of karmic action. They are women of iron, who now catch the hell beings. Eating their tongues, and so forth, they will consume their bodies entirely so that not even a morsel the size of a sesame seed remains. Then the hell beings will revive, only to be eaten once more. Yet, even as they experience this vicious suffering, they cannot stop the fire of desire, and so they will, again and again, run to the place where they see the females. For as long as they keep being wounded by the fire of desire, they will not care about being harmed by suffering. Thus, the women will grasp the hell beings with their flaming bodies of vajra and iron F.259.a and destroy them as when a handful of sand is scattered. Their entire body will be pulverized, and then they are revived. Yet, they will continue rushing toward the females because their desires still have not calmed.

“Seeing this, the monk will contemplate it, and with knowledge derived from hearing proclaim the following verses:

“Those whose hearts are completely bewildered must in this way remain in Misunderstanding to be burned, cleaved, killed, and revived for many hundreds of thousands of years. If at some point they escape from there, they will sink into a river of burning embers. When they emerge again, severely burned, they will be tormented by hunger and thirst, and so they will try to flee as best they can.

“Next the monk will examine F.259.b the results of resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing the unvirtuous actions of lying that are associated with Ultimate Torment. As he examines things with knowledge derived from hearing, he will see how the powerful henchmen of the Lord of Death will apprehend the hell beings, who suffer exasperating starvation and thirst. The henchmen will then ask the hell beings, ‘Friends, what is the matter?’

“ ‘We are starving!’ will come the reply of those who are driven by the power of karmic action.

“The henchmen will then grab them, force open their mouths, and pull out their tongues, which by the power of karmic action have now become five hundred leagues in length. Next, as a result of having lied, the henchmen will stretch each hell being’s tongue upon the ground of flaming iron, and set about furrowing it with karmically produced plows that have burning blades and are pulled by one thousand powerful oxen. Tramping along on top of the tongue, they plow their way through it and rend it open. From the ensuing wounds stream rivers of blood, pus, and worms, and the tongue, infected with pus and worms, becomes as sensitive as the eyes of the gods. Where the plowing has been completed, the tongue will be restored to normal, and so this unbearably painful plowing will go on for many hundreds of thousands, or even many millions, of years. Undergoing a pain that is fierce and excruciating, more harrowing than any other, these beings will suffer unbearably. In their tormented state they will scream, wail, and moan, yet no one can alleviate their pain. That which they did themselves was not done by their parents, nor by a god, nor by other people. It did not happen by chance, it did not arrive from some other place, and it will not dissipate, because the actions that they committed themselves will bear such consequences. Hence, to the wailing hell beings the henchmen of the Lord of Death utter these verses of injunction:

“Thus, the beings of hell will experience unbearable suffering as they keep having their tongues torn out for many hundreds of thousands of years. At some point afterward they may happen to get their tongues back in their mouths, and then set off running in horror and terror, with pale faces. F.260.b However, they will then fall into a river of blazing embers, which burns them up. As they are carried along, helpless and without refuge or protector, the tormented hell beings are apprehended by henchmen of the Lord of Death who wield hammers and swords. The wailing beings, who thus continue to burn in the fires of Ultimate Torment, are then pummeled with the weapons of the henchmen so that everything from their brains to their feet is reduced to powder.

“Next the monk will examine the ripening of resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of divisive talk. As he examines this with knowledge derived from hearing, he will see how beings who experience the effects of divisive talk will enter another unbearable realm. There they will encounter formidable henchmen of the Lord of Death, and the henchmen will lay hold of them and ask, ‘Friends, what is bothering you?’

“When the hell beings reply that they are starving, the henchmen will forcefully open their mouths and pull out their tongues using their hands, stretching them to a length of three hundred leagues. The henchmen will then take up flaming swords and begin to chop up the giant tongues, and foxes and dogs will chew into them from the sides. Thus, the hell beings will undergo supremely painful experiences. As they now are missing their tongues, they will cry out in garbled words and wail. At that point the henchmen of the Lord of Death will deliver these verses of injunction: B16

“After they have been admonished in this way, the beings of hell will sink into the misery of having their tongues tortured for many hundreds of thousands of years. At some point, in the midst of their viciously excruciating pain, their tongues will become small again and the henchmen of the Lord of Death will disappear. Thus, free from the former torture, the hell beings, who still suffer unbearably intense pain due to the fires created by the force of the firewood of karmic action and the stoking gales of karmic ripening, will take off as best they can. Yet they will again be apprehended by the henchmen of the Lord of Death who ask, ‘Friends, what is ailing you?’

“Those driven by karmic action will answer, ‘Our tongues hurt terribly.’

“At that point the henchmen will grasp the tongues of the hell beings and cut them to pieces with sharp weapons. Then they will feed the pieces back to the hell beings. Thus, tormented by hunger and thirst, and with their mouths ravaged, F.261.b the hell beings will consume their own blood, spit, and tongues.

“By the power of karmic action, the chopped tongues will then grow back. Crawling and rolling on the ground, the wretched hell beings will howl and roll their eyes in pain. Miserable and tormented, alone and without friends, they must experience the consequences of their own actions. At this point the henchmen will instruct them:

“Having received such admonition, the liars—meaning those who resorted to, became habituated to, increased, rejoiced in, and failed to confess acts of lying—will be tortured for many hundreds of thousands of years. F.262.a

“If at some point they escape this condition, they will run off as best they can. Henchmen of the Lord of Death will then catch them and subject them to extremely intense and painful torture.

“Next, the monk will examine the ripening of the karmic effects of resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of chatter. As he applies knowledge derived from hearing he will see how the beings of hell, experiencing the consequences of their own actions, will escape from the henchmen in great pain and misery, and so run off as best they can. But once again other henchmen will apprehend them and ask, ‘Friends, what is ailing you?’ When they answer that they suffer from hunger and first, the henchmen will utter the following verses:

“When the hell beings have heard these verses, the henchmen will take up flaming tongs and use them to force open up the mouths of the hell beings. Then they will pour boiling copper into their gaping mouths. As when a little snow is thrown into a bonfire, their tongues will burn up in an instant. Thus, tormented by two different kinds of fire, they will wail, cry, and moan, and, as their eyes roll in pain, F.262.b their tongues will be scorched by the boiling copper. From their tongues, the boiling copper keeps flowing downward, burning out their throats, then their hearts, and finally their small and large intestines. While they burn in this way, the henchmen will give these instructions in verse:

“Instructing the hell beings in this way, the henchmen will pour boiling copper into their mouths, and thus make them continually suffer the miserable effects of irrelevant speech for many hundreds of thousands of years. Finally, as the henchmen let go of them, they will try to escape as best they can only to sink into a river of burning embers in which everything below their waist dissolves like a lump of butter. When their legs reappear, they will rush off as best they can, yearning for safety, refuge, and protection.

“At some point they will perceive many forms of fake and worthless articles of wealth, created by karmic action. Those articles belong to others, but, driven by their karmic actions, the hell beings will think, ‘Those are mine!’ With that thought in mind they will rush toward them. This hallucination in hell is the result of having resorted to, become habituated to, and increased unvirtuous acts of covetousness. F.263.a As they run, seeing things while under the influence of overpowering covetousness, weapons will manifest in their hands. The same will happen to the other hell beings. At this point they will proceed to strike each other with their sharp weapons, hacking each other to pieces until nothing but bones remain. But they will again be revived, and resume the chopping. The nonstop slaughter and revival will go on in this way for many hundreds of thousands of years.

“Finally, the henchmen of the Lord of Death, created by karmic action, will appear and confiscate the weapons from the hell beings. Then the henchmen will slaughter them all, mincing their flesh to pieces no bigger than sesame seeds, leaving nothing but pieces of bone behind. Screaming, wailing, and moaning, the hell beings will thus be slaughtered and cut up, only to be reborn. Just as when a child is killed by a crocodile, torn apart, pulled into the water, and then reborn, so these hell beings will keep being reborn.^[129] To these wretched beings, wailing in misery, the henchmen will then utter the following verses:

“Thus, scorned and abused^[130] by the henchmen, the hell beings will undergo the same torture for hundreds of thousands of years without being able to purify their evil. Finally, after a very long time, they will sink into a river of embers, and then escape. As they run off as best they can, they will stumble and fall upon a ground of red-hot iron. When they manage to get up, they will roam on, alone and unaccompanied. However, driven by the power of their karmic actions, they will wander into the arms of enemies who are the product of their karmic actions. When they finally escape the henchmen, they will again rush off as best they can.

“As they thus undergo the consequences of resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of covetousness, these hell beings will yearn for safety, refuge, and protection. Yet they will instead encounter ferocious lions, tigers, and snakes. In terror, they will do their best to avoid these predators, yet how could they escape, given their unwholesome actions? Helplessly, they will be snatched up by the furious beasts. Some of those creatures will proceed to eat their brains while they scream, wail, and shudder. Some of them will sink their sharp, venomous fangs into their sides, while the tigers bite into their backs. Meanwhile, their feet will be subjected to a burning fire and henchmen will shoot at them from a distance. As they suffer from such great misery, the henchmen will speak the following instructional verses:

“Having uttered these instructional verses, the henchmen, along with the lions and tigers, beat up and eat those who harbored ill will in accordance with their frame of mind. Just as when fruits grow from a seed, such is the karmic ripening of ill will, and so the beings of hell will, as a consequence of their actions, be tormented and consumed in this way. When they finally escape, they will run off as best they can, yearning for protection and refuge.

“Those motivated by the great evil of wrong view and the five acts with immediate consequences take this path. Thus, they are born in Ultimate Torment together with other beings who have accumulated the same acts with immediate consequences that are certain to be experienced. As soon as they appear in that hell, their distinctive experiences begin. F.264.b

“Into this hell wandering non-Buddhists will be born, as well as the likes of Pūraṇa, Devadatta, and Kokālika. They must experience a suffering that is unbearably intense, more excruciating than anything else. It is not easy to find any example among other sentient beings to illustrate this suffering. Hence, this is the hell of Ultimate Torment. Shrouded in darkness, at a location within the great hell of Ultimate Torment known as Making the Hair of All Beings Stand on End, the hell beings are boiled, burned, chopped, and subjected to a downpour of weapons. However, they are continuously revived, only to be carved up, cleaved, burned, and killed once more in a downpour of spears, vajras, hailstones, and rocks.

“As the perpetrators of the five acts with immediate consequences burn, they will encounter eleven fires that torment them in the extreme. Thus, there will be ten fires in the ten directions, while the eleventh fire blazes in their own mouths due to the hunger and thirst that the hell beings experience. Above, below, and to the sides their bodies will be enveloped in garlands of flames until not the slightest trace of them remains.

“Because this fire will torment them in the most horrific ways, not even leaving a gap the size of a hair tip, this hell is known as Ultimate Torment. This is Ultimate Torment because here there is not even the briefest moment of relief. This is Ultimate Torment because all one’s faculties are burned by whichever object they may meet, and everything turns out the opposite of what one wanted. Yet when such beings die, they will not take birth anywhere else than precisely this great hell of Ultimate Torment again. This is Ultimate Torment because the misery is limitless, and the torment is constant. This Ultimate Torment, which lies below the entire desire realm, F.265.a is Ultimate Torment because there is no torment greater than this.

“This is Ultimate Torment because the torturous afflictions that are visited on the heads of the beings in this great hell continue uninterruptedly. This realm, where the ground swells and stirs with boiling copper, blood, flesh, and bones, is Ultimate Torment because the burning of the skin, flesh, fat, bones, and marrow boggles the mind^[131] and there is no limit to the suffering it causes. Like a forceful waterfall, the unimaginable tortures here continue to unravel and increase every day. This is Ultimate Torment because there is no end to the sufferings experienced here. This is Ultimate Torment because there is not even the slightest gap in the torment that occurs upon birth here, when the intermediate existence has ceased and the karmic actions to be experienced in other lives take effect.

“These tortures cannot be expressed. Still, we can give some idea to illustrate it: just as counting the water drops contained in the ocean would not be easy, it is likewise not easy to enumerate or account for all the tortures that the beings in Ultimate Torment experience as the result of their five misdeeds. The heavy karmic actions associated with Ultimate Torment are so forceful that in comparison nothing else will seem painful at all. Still, if someone has carried out just a single act associated with Ultimate Torment, the tortures will be comparatively less. For the one who has carried out two such acts, his body will be larger due to the greater severity, and his suffering will be heavier due to cause and effect.

“There are no examples for anything that produces pleasure and inflicts pain in that realm because, while the desirable is pleasant and the undesirable is painful, there are no such examples of this to be found anywhere above, below, or in any direction. F.265.b The reason is that, while wholesome and unwholesome actions do produce concordant effects, the situation of these hell beings is not comparable to that.

“However, after these beings have burned for an eon or more, they will finally be free when their karmic actions are exhausted, for effects cease whenever their causes and conditions are exhausted. Thus, the intensely hot fires will die away. Just as crops will die away if there are no more seeds, so the beings of this hell will be free once their karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. Nevertheless, as an effect that accords with their causal deeds, these beings will subsequently be born as starving spirits who live in mountains that are as pointy as needles. There they will suffer from starvation and thirst, and their bodies will resemble scorched pine trees. When they later become free of such conditions, they will be born as crocodiles that kill children, or as other animals. They will also be born as worms that feed on filth and excrement.

“For over two thousand lives they will live as starving and thirsting spirits, tormented and scorched. Thereafter will follow two thousand lives as animals, and, in terms of effects that accord with their causal actions, they will experience all the sufferings that are specific to animals, such as their stresses related to finding food and being eaten. When they are finally freed from the pains of mutual predation, these beings may, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, be born as humans. However, as an effect that accords with their karmic actions, they will then die five hundred times within the womb, five hundred times upon birth, and five hundred times in infancy.^[132] Thus, in countless subsequent lives they will experience all sorts of effects that accord with their causal deeds, encountering lesser, F.266.a intermediate, or greater results of the web of karmic action.

“Here, the monk will utter the following verses:

“Thus, as the monk sees all the different sufferings of Ultimate Torment, he will be saddened by the entirety of cyclic existence and develop a profound love. With his mind saturated by compassion, he then enters the eleventh ground.

“When the terrestrial yakṣas notice his entry upon that ground, they will inform the celestial yakṣas. The latter will bring the news to the Four Great Kings, and the Four Great Kings will inform the gods in their realm. Thus, in the same way as before, the news will gradually travel to the gods in the Great Brahmā Heaven, as the gods tell each other, ‘In Jambudvīpa, in the place known as such and such, the noble son by the name of so-and-so has shaved his head, donned the saffron-colored robes, and with faith gone forth from the household to become a homeless mendicant. Intent on giving battle to the māras, he has no interest in objects and does thus not take any delight in the pathways of affliction. Now he has entered the eleventh ground.’ F.266.b

“When the gods in the Great Brahmā Heaven receive this news, they will be delighted and proclaim, ‘He has bound the forces of the māras^[133] and roused the forces of the sacred Dharma. He has increased the inclinations toward virtue and is truly following the Dharma!’

“Monks, as the spiritual practitioner who carefully observes inner phenomena correctly sees the hell of Ultimate Torment, he will wonder about its neighboring realms, and ask himself, ‘How many realms surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment?’ And so, with knowledge derived from hearing or through the divine eye, he will regard Ultimate Torment with sadness, wondering about its neighboring reaches. Thus, the monk who has knowledge about the ripening of karmic action will ask himself, ‘How many are the realms that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment?’

“As he applies knowledge derived from hearing, the monk will see that, just like the previous realms, Ultimate Torment is also surrounded by sixteen regions. They are as follows:^[134] Raven Mouths, Entirely Beneath the Earth, Infinitely Long Torture, Howling Like a Jackal, Eaten by Iron Jackals, Black Belly,^[135] Battered Bodies, Terrifying Nightmares,^[136] Terrible Dangling of Battered Bodies,^[137] Falling Like Rain on High Mountains, Sound of the Jambu Bird,^[138]Garland of Stars, Tormented by All Suffering,^[139] Blanket of Smell,^[140]Iron Plates, and Advancing Fire. Those are the sixteen regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment.

“The monk will see that Ultimate Torment is created by the ten unvirtuous actions and the five means for journeying to the great hell. While those who engage in the five acts will be born in Ultimate Torment, those who commit the lesser, F.267.a associated acts will be born in the neighboring realms. Thus, corresponding to the degree that one has resorted to, become habituated to, and increased completed and accumulated acts, including their preparatory stages and conclusions, one will be born in the various neighboring hells.

“Five variants of Ultimate Torment are the most frequent.^[141] That is to say, if one deliberately and maliciously draws blood from one’s mother and rejoices in that, becomes habituated to it, increases such acts, and teaches others to do the same, establishes them in the practice, and compels them to follow suit, one will, upon separating from one’s body, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Raven Mouths. The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell and the other six hells that are different from Ultimate Torment, intensified a hundredfold. In particular, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will rip up one’s face like ravens do and lead one to the river of acid known as the Black One, and then hold one’s face in the powerful stream of acid, which will devastate one’s lips, palate, teeth, throat, ears, heart, liver, stomach, intestines, and lungs.^[142] The acid flow inside one’s body will enter all the cavities and consume the body’s interiors so that in the end only an empty shell remains. Thus, the beings of this hell will be seized by their own misdeeds and experience intense torture, burning for innumerable years. Their boiling will continue until their negative acts have finally been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“Once one escapes this condition, one will, in accordance with one’s actions, be born one thousand times as a starving spirit with a constricted belly. Then follow one thousand births as animals in which one will take birth as elephants, wild cattle, muskrats, weasels, snakes, pigs, ants, F.267.b or jungle elephants.^[143] If one thereafter becomes a human, one will be born into a family of hunters and die either while still in the womb, in infancy,^[144] or when barely old enough to grow facial hair. One’s habitual patterns will also cause one to continue engaging in unwholesome actions.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Entirely Beneath the Earth. Inquiring into what type of karmic action may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive that if one knowingly resorts to, becomes habituated to, and increases sex with a nun who is a worthy person who has exhausted defilements, one will, upon separating from one’s body, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Entirely Beneath the Earth.

“The beings in that realm suffer the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell and the other six hells, intensified a hundredfold. In particular, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will dig a hole in the iron ground and shove one’s head into it, making one remain upside down with one’s head in the ground and one’s feet pointing upward. Although suffering miserably, one will be unable to cry, wail, or scream. As one remains upside down, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will take up axes and proceed to hack one’s body to pieces so that in the end not even the bones remain. They will also spray the bones with acid, causing one to go into convulsions. Following this sprinkling of acid, F.268.a with just a little flicker of life still lingering in one’s body, it will be hurled into a blazing iron cauldron filled with boiling copper. There, the hell beings will swirl around and boil like cooked peas until they become invisible and turn into vapor. Thus, they will continue to be tortured and boiled for many hundreds of thousands of years, until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“When one finally escapes this condition, one will still continue to undergo inconceivable torture and burning for an eon, or the remainder of an eon. After that follow a thousand lives as a starving spirit deprived of food. In this state, one will suffer hunger and starvation while being ablaze like the wick of a candle. When free from that condition, one will next, as an effect that accords with one’s causal deeds, take birth one thousand times as an animal. Thus, one will suffer hunger and thirst as a bird living in the desert, just as one might become a sparrow, a fox, an elephant, a lizard, a mātrika deer, an antelope, a dog, a predator, or the like.^[145]

“When also free of those states, if one should become endowed with the general lot in life of a human, one will be born in the land of the horse-faced people. One will die two hundred times within the womb, and if one lives to grow up, one will be poor and afflicted by disease. Similarly, in five hundred lives one will be born a as hermaphrodite or a neuter.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Infinitely Long Torture. Inquiring into what type of karmic action may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing F.268.b and thus perceive how some people may have intercourse with their mother and then kill her because of their intense desire for objects, keeping unwholesome company, or indulging in the flaws of intoxication. Such people might have intercourse with their mother due to being possessed of extreme desire, or they might do so because of following the advice of unwholesome friends. Thus, they may resort to, become habituated to, and increase such acts, as well as encourage others to engage in them. When such people later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Infinitely Long Torture.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so on, intensified a hundredfold. In particular, they will be impaled upon flaming stakes and thorns, and many sharp, burning nails will be hammered into their noses, ears, and mouths. Then their mouths will be subjected to torturous heat, and so misery will follow misery as they are burned, cleaved asunder, beaten, and fried. Since they will be subjected to many forms of pain in Ultimate Torment, it is not easy to convey their agony. Yet, until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to suffer.

“Having burned for an eon, or for the remainder of an eon, they may escape. However, as an effect that accords with their negative acts, they will be born four thousand times as tormented starving spirits, who live with their heads burrowed into burning coals, trying to feed and drink from them. Thereafter they will be born as animals living in bamboo groves without any water or shelter. These beings will live in mountains, F.269.a skulking amid the terrifying shadows at night.^[146] Their faces will be disfigured, and they will be close to death. Smoky winds^[147] will cause fires to break out in their bamboo groves, and so for four thousand lifetimes they will burn and roast in the flames.

“When one is freed from that condition, one might be born with the general lot in life of a human. However, such a person will not take care of his spouse and instead philander with the wife of another. Thus, a king or minister will order one’s penis cut off, one will be abandoned by one’s entire household, and one will live at the mercy of others by the side of a highway, at an intersection, in a city, or at the doorstep of another household. One will constantly suffer from thirst and hunger and one’s body will wither. Again and again, one will become afflicted by grave illnesses and thus die in horrible pain by the roadside, at an intersection, or in a charnel ground.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Howling Like a Jackal. Inquiring into what type of karmic action may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive how some people speak badly about the omniscient ones, solitary buddhas, worthy ones, or the Dharma and the Vinaya. Such people may then also teach something that is not Dharma as if it were. They may establish others in that teaching and make others feel delighted and enthusiastic about it. In this fashion, they may repeatedly teach non-Dharma to others while constantly disparaging noble beings. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms, taking birth in the hell known as Howling Like a Jackal.

“As an effect that accords with their karmic deeds, the beings in that realm will experience F.269.b the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell and the rest of the previous seven hells. In particular, that realm is teeming with foxes with flaming mouths, which are produced by karmic action. As soon as the one who defamed noble beings is born there, the foxes will come bounding. They will bite into the evildoer and dash off with his head, tongue, brain, lower chest, heart, spleen, small intestine, large intestine, stomach, hips, thighbones, calves, knees, hands, feet, fingers, and toes. In this way, they will tear his body asunder and run away with all the different major and minor body parts. Thus, those who completed and accumulated negative actions will for long continue to endure the painful consequences of those acts.

“When they finally manage to escape, they will run off as best they can. Yet they will be apprehended by the henchmen of the Lord of Death, who will force open their mouths, grab their tongues, and cut them to pieces with their weapons. However, whenever their tongues have been chopped up, new tongues will grow out, and so those who uttered filthy words, denigrated noble beings, and taught non-Dharma to others as if it were the Dharma, will long continue to suffer excruciating pain.

“If they escape such torture, they will again run off as best they can, yearning for safety, refuge, and protection. Yet the henchmen of the Lord of Death, created by karmic action, will again appear and catch them. Thus, those who spoke wrongly and deceitfully, those who spoke evil and swayed sentient beings away from the path of goodness, F.270.a will be nabbed by the henchmen who will proceed to force open their mouths and tear out their tongues. New tongues that are soft and red like copper will then grow out, and with those tongues they will be forced to lick the burning ground. Then the henchmen will run flaming plows with a hundred sharp blades through those tongues, furrowing them with the help of oxen with sharp hooves. Thus, the one that causes such failure, the one that governs the journey beyond the world, that source of failure—that thing which we call ‘the tongue’—will be subjected to the plow, and so these beings will broil and burn for a long time. As their tongues are subjected to this torture, the hell beings will cry, groan, scream, and wail, and their eyes will roll. The henchmen will then utter the following verses of instruction to the crying hell beings:

“Having given these instructional verses to those who spoke ill of noble beings, the henchmen ratchet up their torture even more. Here, it is to even difficult think of a name for such misery. The Thus-Gone One has explained that excruciating pain will be the consequence of speaking ill of noble beings, and so the ones who did so will continue to suffer vicious harm until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“Once they escape this hell, as an effect that accords with their causal actions, they will be born one hundred thousand times as starving spirits with rotund bodies. In this regard, they will be born with bodies that are like a lump of flesh and they will be unable to see, hear, smell, or speak. When free from that condition, they will proceed to live three thousand lives as worms in filth. Thereafter, they may be born with the general lot in life of a human, yet for five hundred lives, they will be poor and their words will not be trusted by anybody. They will be forgetful, mute, and deaf.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Eaten by Iron Jackals. Inquiring into what type of karmic action may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive how some may develop an extremely disturbed and vicious mind. Thus, they might happily set fire to a temple of the saṅgha, burning the image of the Buddha, F.271.a and setting ablaze the bedding, garments, wealth, and food stores of the saṅgha. Without any regret, they might look back at their act with glee. They might also instigate similar acts and cause others to grow fond of and approve of such acts. Those who perpetrate such initiated and completed actions will, upon separating from their bodies, fall into the lower realms and take birth in the hell known as Eaten by Iron Jackals.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined sufferings of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, intensified a thousandfold. In particular, since their karmic actions are severe, so will their misery be. They will experience a result that accords with the harm they caused, since fruits manifest in accordance with their seeds. The karmic conditions for taking birth in this realm will produce a body that is aflame and has eleven heads, each of which measures ten leagues. Among all hells, this one is extremely vicious and excruciating. In its center stands a mountain of fire, always completely ablaze. Starving and thirsting, the hell beings are thus boiled, burned, and slaughtered. As they stand with their hands raised into the air, tongues of flames five hundred leagues tall engulf them, and so they will be set ablaze, just like the central mountain. While they burn, they cry, howl, wail, and weep, but as soon as they open their mouths they will be filled with flames. Thus, their open mouths and the flaming environment will turn into one single, expanding conflagration of fire. In this way they will burn for a long time.

“When they finally escape, they will take off as best they can, yearning for refuge, safety, protection, and relief. F.271.b Then, due to the correspondences of their previous wholesome and unwholesome actions, another hell will appear where tortures abound like the rain that falls in the mountains at night. Iron boulders a league in diameter will roll down from above, mashing and pulverizing them like ginger, from their brains to their feet. Yet even though they have died in this awful torrent of boulders, they will again be revived. Jackals with flaming fangs will then burst forth. Mincing them as if they were ginger, the jackals will devour the hell beings, who will then be reborn, only to be eaten once more by the ferocious jackals. In this manner, they will boil and burn for a long time.

“These repeated rebirths are experienced due to their karmic actions. Thus, as an experience of their actions, they will undergo torturous sensations and destruction. All that they encounter is of their own doing and not that of anyone else. That which they have done will not go to waste, and therefore these events are not uncaused, they are not arbitrary, and they are not due to discordant causes and effects. They do not happen in terms of an agent or an individual who senses. Thus, until the hell beings’ negative karmic actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to experience the consequences of the causes and conditions that they themselves created.

“When they finally escape from this hell, they will, as an effect that accords with their causal actions, experience the utterly excruciating ripening of becoming starving spirits for one thousand lives. With their bodies completely ablaze, they will cry and wail. At night, they will be crying within the dwellings of humans, while during the day they will feel the sunlight as if it were a rain of burning coals. Thus, until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to burn.

“When free of that condition they will be born as centipedes, living in the wilderness and suffering from constant hunger and thirst. F.272.a While subjected to this dual torment, biting insects will consume their bodies entirely. If they escape the animal realm and instead are born with the general lot in life of a human, they will resemble a black cloud and be weak, destitute, and poor. They will suffer from incurable scabies,^[149] depend on others in all regards, and suffer starvation and thirst. Thus, they will be in need of others to keep them alive. In this way, they will be born one thousand times as starving spirits, one thousand times as animals, and then become human under the aforementioned circumstances. B17

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Black Belly. Inquiring into what type of karmic action may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive how some people without permission take gifts offered to the Buddha. They partake of such offerings in an impure manner: without any conviction in the consequences of karmic actions, they partake of the gifts themselves and may also cause others to do so. When those who in this way treat the Buddha’s possessions and donations lightly separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Black Stomach.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell and the other six hells, intensified a hundredfold. In particular, tormented by hunger and thirst they will consume their own flesh. They will then be revived, and this state will go on for many billions of years. F.272.b In this way, they will undergo a twofold suffering that is intensified one hundred times by their own doing. While tormented by starvation and thirst, they must also endure the pain that derives from the consumption of their own bodies.

“When these beings who consume their own bodies somehow manage to escape, they will encounter a giant gray snake with a black stomach. This snake will gradually ingest them completely, including their nails, bones, and so on. They will then be revived, only to be swallowed once again. Thus, those who mistreated the best among all, the Buddha, will suffer for a long time.

“If they manage once again to escape, they will sink into a pit of teak tree embers one league wide. They will then be stuck there, burning and broiling for many billions of years. If they manage to escape this, they will run off as best they can, yearning for safety, refuge, and protection. Yet they will encounter the henchmen of the Lord of Death who will seize them with burning tongs and stuff them into a burning iron pot. There they will broil, burn, and boil like peas and lentils, swirling around from the top to the bottom. It is not easy to find an example to illustrate the gravity of their terrifying and excruciating pain. There is no causal relationship anywhere else within the three realms that can match even a hundredth or a thousandth of a fraction of the pain that these hell beings must endure. Thus, as they are tossed around in a swirling ocean of terrible pain, undergoing hundreds of thousands of tortures, the effect of their own actions becomes directly perceptible, and until their unwholesome actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to boil.

“At some point in the future those beings will escape the hell of Black Belly. F.273.a However, in accordance with their causal actions, after that they will be born two hundred times as starving spirits subsisting on filth. When they become free of that condition, they will take birth seven hundred times as animals that subsist on vomit. If then, with the likelihood of a sea turtle poking its head through a yoke floating on the ocean, they should be born with the general lot in life of a human, they will become cow herders who feed on garbage.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Battered Bodies. Inquiring into what type of karmic action may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive how some people partake of offerings given to the Dharma. Thus, they may complete and accumulate such acts, including their relevant preparatory stages and conclusions, and they may also encourage others to indulge in such acts. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Battered Bodies.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, intensified a hundredfold. Thus, even bringing to mind the mere names of their tortures is not easy. In particular, two burning iron trees grow there, and the fierce winds of karmic action make their branches strike each other. Stuck between these two trees the hell beings will be forcefully beaten and battered from the right and left,^[150] and so their bodies will end up like the leaves of the palmyra palm. They will then be reborn, but only to be battered again. Caught between these two terribly torturous, giant trees, these hell beings will be thrown against each other and subjected to physical torment.

“When at some point the trees stop shaking, F.273.b the hell beings, bruised and battered, will fall to the ground. When they fall, iron birds with vajra beaks will swoop down upon them from the branches of the trees. Cracking open their skulls, the birds will proceed to devour their brains. As the hell beings wail and moan miserably, the birds will also consume their eyes. Splitting open their heads, they will swallow their brains. Then they will sever the hell beings’ hearts, hop into their bodies, and guzzle their blood. Bit by bit, they will proceed to consume their intestines, spleens, entrails, groins, thighs, knees, and toes, and so the hell beings will undergo intense suffering for innumerable years. In fact, the mere names of these tortures could not easily be fathomed in a hundred years. What is presented here is just a slight introduction to some partial aspect of their suffering, like a cup of water drawn from the sea. Yet, the monk will understand how these beings experience the torturous consequences of their completed and accumulated acts until finally those acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“When they finally escape this hell, they will, as an effect that accords with their causal deeds, be born one thousand times as starving spirits, subsisting on spit. Barely keeping alive, they will suffer from extreme hunger and thirst. If they should die and then escape the world of starving spirits, they will next take birth as fish in the salty sea. Caught within the confines of the ocean, they will fall prey to crocodiles, sea monsters, and sea turtles. Thus, suffering from constant starvation and thirst, F.274.a they must partake of the ocean’s salty waters for one thousand lives.

“Once they are free from that state, if they should be born with the general lot in life of a human, they will take birth on the border between two warring countries. All their accumulated wealth will be taken in plunder and they will be subjected to royal punishment. They will be captured and imprisoned and thus suffer from starvation and thirst, barely keeping alive, and at the mercy of others.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Terrifying Nightmares. Inquiring into what type of karmic action may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive how during bad harvests some evil individuals may raid the storehouses of the saṅgha, partaking of and consuming the food and drink that had been reserved for monks. As a result of the reduction in food supplies, the monks may suffer physically and become unable to direct their minds toward virtuous qualities. They may thus lose their appreciation of concentration and fail to train their minds. Without confession or regret, the perpetrators may even rejoice in their negative acts and instigate others to pursue them, including their preparatory stages and conclusions. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Terrifying Nightmares. F.274.b

“The beings in that realm suffer the combined agonies of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. In particular, the effects are here intensified a hundredfold. Still, all the infinite sufferings of excruciating, torturous, and unbearable pain that sentient beings experience here only manifest as the effects of their own actions. Even the names for the torments that these beings must suffer are hard to fathom. The following account expresses just a mere fraction of them, like a cup of water drawn from the ocean.

“Resembling the way humans may encounter horrors in a dream, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will appear before the beings in this hell of Terrifying Nightmares, wielding various sorts of hammers. The henchmen will seize the beings and pin them to the iron ground. Having thus pinned down their bodies within this world of iron, the henchmen will proceed to mash them with clubs and crush their skeletons as if they were honeycombs. The hell beings will then be revived, but only to once again suffer violent pulverization. In this way, until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to suffer these tormenting consequences.

“Should they manage to escape this realm of torture, their karmic actions will next drive them into a forest of weapons. As they enter that forest, a rain of weapons will shower down upon them, causing extensive harm as the weapons cleave, crush, and pulverize them. With their bodies being smashed to pieces they may still try to run, yearning for protection, refuge, and safety. Yet great weapons will pour down upon them like a cleaving and crushing rain. Their veins and muscles will be ripped asunder until not even a piece of skin the size of a feather will remain on their bodies, but only bones. As the weapons fall, their joints and vital points will be severed and cleaved, F.275.a causing them to howl, scream, and wail as they desperately try to escape.

“Thus, those deceived by their own negative acts of body and mind will be utterly boiled by their own actions. The experiences of the ripening of their actions will not stop, and there is therefore no escape from the experience of their unwholesome actions until all of it has been lived through. Once they escape, they will, as an effect that accords with their causal actions, be born one thousand times as starving spirits subsisting on spit. When they also become free from that state, they will be born five hundred times as insects in a bamboo grove and there suffer the injury of having their bodies flattened, as when sugarcane is ground between two stones. Once they are free from that state, should they be born with the general lot in life of a human, they will be poor and sickly, and they will be ordered around by others. Born in a sandy desert or a canyon, they will find no water, no grass, no forests, no ponds, and no pools, but only constant harm.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Terrible Dangling of Battered Bodies. Inquiring into what type of karmic action may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive how some donors or benefactors offer medicine to be used by the sick. They do so with respect, faith, sincerity, and pure motivation and they may even deliver that medicine to the homes of the ill. However, some evildoers, who conduct themselves like oxen, who are hollow inside, and who wear saffron-colored garments, F.275.b may seize the medicinal supplies that belong to the sick and consume them themselves. Such people may not confess their misdeeds, nor regret or purify them. Instead they may repeat such acts and inspire others to follow suit, establishing them in the practice and making them feel good about it, letting their minds relish such deeds again and again. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Terrible Dangling of Battered Bodies.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. In particular, this hell features iron trees, one league tall, that have giant, burning branches and flaming interiors. The stones in this hell are as hard as vajra and they burn fiercely, just like the branches of the trees. The ferocity with which the fires of the trees consume things is increased several hundredfold. Underneath the roots of these trees the beings of this hell are born. They are afflicted and attacked by the four hundred and four diseases, which they must endure, alone and unaccompanied. Their heads point downward and their feet upward, and the power of the fire in the trees is so strong that any other fire would seem like cool water in comparison. Thus, the beings of this realm suffer at the roots of these trees without ever receiving the tiniest bit of relief. Afflicted by diseases, burned by the hundredfold fires, and caught under the trees, they will endure torture for innumerable years. While suffering so, they will also be found by the weapon-wielding henchmen of the Lord of Death. The henchmen will use their weapons to slice through all the hell beings’ vital points and skin them alive. Thus, for innumerable years these beings must undergo the five tortures of disease, fire, weaponry, hunger, and thirst. F.276.a Subjected to millions of hair-raising horrors,^[151] they will continue to experience excruciating, distressing, and intense pain until finally their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“Once they escape this hell they will, as an effect that accords with their causal actions, be born as starving spirits, subsisting only on embers and smoke. Tormented by hunger and thirst, their bodies will look like scorched pine trees. Once they escape the world of starving spirits, they will be born five hundred times as animals that are burned and boiled in a rain of embers and sand. When they become free from the animal realm, should they be born with the general lot in life of a human, they will live in crowded places where they resort to eating stones.^[152] Living an extremely painful life, they will never know a full stomach. They may hear about good food, but they will never so much as touch it with the tips of their tongues. They will be enslaved by others and live in poverty, sickly and despised.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Falling Like Rain on High Mountains. Inquiring into what type of karmic action may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive how some people take the food of solitary buddhas. When they later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Falling Like Rain on High Mountains.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, intensified a hundredfold. In particular, they are trapped within clay pots, or valleys, where they suffer under a downpour of weapons such as hammers and spears that cascade downward like mountain torrents. F.276.b On top of that, mountains that are one league high will fall upon them and pulverize them so that they come to resemble a handful of sand that is thrown to the wind. When thus reduced to dust, they will be revived, only to be pulverized once again. Also, surrounded by eleven fires, their bodies will be consumed by flames that in the end leave no remainder. Their eyes will be plucked out, chopped up, cut to pieces, and scattered around. Henchmen of the Lord of Death will cut off their tongues, which then will grow back. Their noses will be cut off and the holes filled with boiling lead. Their ears will be filled with boiling copper. Iron cauldrons filled with noxious boiling acid will be fetched and the acid will be sprayed on them while their bodies are chopped up with meat cleavers. They will also constantly be afflicted by the four hundred and four diseases. All these painful miseries will swell into a single raging fire of torment. In this manner, these beings will experience viciously excruciating pain until finally their completed and accumulated misdeeds have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. Thus they will suffer for innumerable years.

“When they finally are free from this hell, they will, as an effect that accords with their causal deeds, be born five hundred times as starving spirits that are attacked by biting ants and that subsist only on spit. When they become free from that condition, for seven hundred lives they will take birth as forest deer with an inauspicious call. In the event that they are freed from that condition and are born with the general lot in life of a human, they will live as porters who are employed by others. F.277.a Their bodies will be broken under numerous types of oppression and they will know no happiness during the night or day. Their hands and feet will be rough, and their faces will always have a savage look. Their complexions and bodily odor will be foul, and they will always roam around without clothes. If they are born as humans in accordance with such karmic actions, their bodies will resemble those of starving spirits for more than five hundred lives. Throughout the night and day, they will find no comfort in body or mind.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Sound of the Jambu Bird. Inquiring into what type of karmic action may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive how, at isolated places with little water, cruel people out of anger cut off the water supplies that other beings need, depend upon, and receive their vital sustenance from. Thus, they may render that entire location unsuitable for living beings, such that all the animals there, from deer to birds, will die. Moreover, the mendicants and brahmins in the villages and towns will suffer harm and become tormented by thirst. When those people, who thus render a location unfit for life by redirecting the water, later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Sound of the Jambu Bird.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. In particular, they will hallucinate an exquisite place filled with streams, trees, groves, and pools that actually turns out to be a wilderness stretching for seven hundred leagues, featuring torturous, burning iron trees and boulders. Because they are exposed to the ferocious fire F.277.b of an incomparably excruciating hunger and thirst, these hell beings cry and wail, and when they perceive the pools, they race toward them, longing for something to drink. Yet the pools turn out to be pits of boiling acid. At that point, one hundred henchmen of the Lord of Death, wielding hammers, will appear and capture the hell beings. They will proceed to subject them to their weapons, destroying^[153] their bodies and breaking them apart. Thus, those beings will undergo a twofold misery, suffering under the weapons as well as from starvation and thirst. In this way, they will for a long time continue to suffer due to weapons and deprivation.

“Should they escape, they will, in the grip of thirst and starvation, take off as best they can. When they at some point perceive clear and cool water, they will hasten toward it, yet at the water lurk screaming jambu birds, the size of elephants. The birds will snatch them up with their sharp beaks and hurl them into the sky. Shocked, they will lose consciousness. When they fall back down, they will plummet like stones upon the burning, hard surface that is unbearable to touch. Their bodies will break into one hundred pieces, but will reassemble again so that the hell beings are restored. At that point, the birds catch them again and so they will suffer in the same way as before. They will also contract all manner of diseases, and in this way continue to suffer for many billions of years.

“Should they escape from this, they will next be caught by the henchmen of the Lord of Death, who will proceed to cast them into a river of boiling copper. At that point, their bodies will burst like bubbles, yet they will revive and thus continue to experience the consequences of their actions for innumerable years.

“If those who previously rendered land unfit for living should manage to escape from that river, they will rush away as best they can, starving and thirsting as they continue to experience the consequences of their actions. On their path will now appear pointed and extremely sharp spikes. F.278.a The spikes will break through the soles of their feet and penetrate all the way up to their knees. As their legs are pierced their bodies are tormented and they will suffer miserably. Pitifully howling, wailing, and crying, they will fall and sink into their own blood.

“When they once again extricate themselves from this torment of all their limbs, they will stagger onward in terror. This time burning dogs will appear and latch onto them. The dogs will devour all their major and minor body parts, wolfing down everything from their skin, blood, flesh, and fat, even down to their bone marrow. Thus, until those who destroyed the environment have relinquished and exhausted their completed and accumulated misdeeds, they will continue to suffer. Later, they will, as an effect that accords with their causal actions, be born five hundred times as serpents that are killed by hail, other snakes, or storms. If, when free of such existences, they should be born with the general lot in life of a human, they will take birth in a family of denizens of a charnel ground and be despised by everyone.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Garland of Stars. Inquiring into what type of karmic action may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive how monks, who emerge from their practice of bringing all afflictions to exhaustion and ceasing desire, may become extremely hungry. At that time others may steal their food, and even appreciate, delight in, and relish this act. Thinking that such a misdeed is an excellent thing to do, they may even encourage others to do the same. Those who thus complete and accumulate such awful acts, F.278.b including their preparatory and concluding stages, will, when they later separate from their bodies, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Garland of Stars.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, intensified a hundredfold. In particular, this hell has two sectors that are surrounded by cauldrons. One sector contains burning cauldrons that are aligned like bright stars. Within the cauldrons the hell beings will boil and broil, swirling like fish for trillions of quadrillions of quintillions of sextillions of septillions of octillions of years.^[154] Thus, every single day they will wail and cry as they suffer an unbearable intensification of excruciating torments. As their despicable misdeeds come from their own minds, they will continue to boil for a long time.

“If they manage to escape from that region, a razor-sharp wind known as riding on the mind and shoulders will descend upon them and rip through all their vital points. In this way they will be pushed into the second sector. Once driven there, their entire body will be minced and pulverized, leaving just sinew behind. Those remainders will then be picked up by henchmen of the Lord of Death. At this point, the wind will blow them into the cauldrons that are lined up like a garland of stars. As they fall into the cauldrons again and again, they will plunge with their feet pointing upward and heads pointing downward; they will fall head-first into the boiling copper. First their eyes will sink into the liquid metal, and then their faces and necks. F.279.a The burning metal will fill their throats, and, as they are thus burned alive, they can neither scream nor escape. While they in this way suffer miserably, the henchmen of the Lord of Death will keep whacking the head of anyone who happens to resurface. Thus, with their brains damaged and their bodies racked with pain, their heads, bodies, and interior organs will keep swirling about like fish for long periods of time. In this way they will remain boiling within the second sector of the hell of Garland of Stars until their completed and accumulated acts have finally been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“Once their completed and accumulated acts have been exhausted, they will escape. However, in accordance with their causal actions, they will next be born one thousand times as starving spirits, hankering for food—for seven hundred lives they will, under great duress, obtain food only once every hundred years. Thereafter ensue five hundred lives as mountain deer that live in confusion and dread, terrified of people even though their mountains are unpopulated. In this way, they will live in constant delusion, emaciated and with an unsightly appearance. Finally, due to the remainder of their karmic actions, huntsmen will appear in their habitat and slay them.

“If at that point their particular karmic experience determines that they are born with the general lot in life of a human, they will always become guides who escort merchants on their journeys. They will suffer constant hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and anxiety. Depending on others in numerous ways, they will barely manage to eke out a living. Living as pale reflections of humans, they will be haunted by perpetual misery.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Tormented by All Suffering. F.279.b Inquiring into what type of karmic action may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive how some people develop aggression and wrong view with respect to books that contain the statements of the Omniscient One. Thus, they may perversely develop the spiteful intention of thinking, ‘I will destroy all the bases of Dharma, so that those who listen to the Buddha will cease to have faith.’ Thus, due to their wrong view they will dispose of the Dharma scriptures and may even encourage others to complete, accumulate, and rejoice in such acts. Those who maliciously dispose of the scriptures containing the Dharma, initiating such acts and then completing them and rejoicing in them, will subsequently, as they separate from their bodies, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Tormented by All Suffering.

“The beings in that realm will experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell and the other six hells. In particular, their eyes will be sprayed with molten copper. Similarly, burning sand that is hard like vajra will be sprayed into their eyes and then rubbed in while their bodies are pinned down, causing excruciating pain. As the burning sand is rubbed into their eyes, they will melt and grow back again, only to receive more of the burning sand. Similarly, their hands will be sawed off and grow out again. They will then be tossed into a burning cauldron and, while half of their body boils, the other half will be cleaved and cut up with weapons. Such is the ripening of having seen the sacred the sacred Dharma with one’s own eyes and then discarded it. Those who discarded the Dharma with their hands will, as their acts ripen, have their hands cut off. F.280.a

“While those who accumulated such misdeeds are kept in the boiling cauldrons, birds will swoop down on them and dig into the upper half of their bodies with their sharp and burning beaks, gobbling their flesh and guzzling their bodily juices. Next, the remainder of the flesh on the lower half of their bodies that floats within the cauldrons will be cleaved to pieces by the henchmen using axes. The henchmen will hack off the outer layer of skin and spray the underlying flesh with acid. They will then proceed to pierce the body with sharp, burning needles. Then a wheel will be set spinning on their heads and, when they are released, they will be forced to drink the continuous stream of substances that flows from their heads. These are the torturous experiences of those who committed and accumulated such vicious acts and, until their negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, they will continue to suffer in this manner.

“When at some point they become free from this hell, they will, as an effect that accords with their causal actions, be born five hundred times as starving spirits that subsist only on smoke. Thus, with their minds obscured by the experience of the lower realms, their bodies will experience torments. If they escape that condition, they will next be born seven hundred times as owls that only stir at night and keep a downward gaze. If, when they become free from the animal realm, their karmic experience should make them take birth with the general lot in life of a human, they will spend seven hundred lives in the snowy mountains, subsisting on animal skins,^[155] thus living in poverty among barbarians.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Blanket of Smell. Inquiring into what type of karmic action may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive how some people with wrong view purposely, willfully, happily, F.280.b knowingly, and compulsively seek to destroy monks by burning their possessions. Thus, they may burn the fields, sugarcane crops, vegetable gardens, parks, or other facilities meant to provide the livelihood of the saṅgha. When those who engaged in such acts, including their preparatory and concluding stages, later separate from their bodies, they will fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell known as Blanket of Smell.

“The beings in that realm suffer the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell and the other six hells, intensified a hundredfold. In particular, they are encircled by a flaming net with holes no larger than the eye of a needle. Henchmen of the Lord of Death will shoot sharp, flaming arrows to penetrate the lungs of the hell beings and, as these hell beings seek to escape, they will run into the net. Unable to break through the net, they will be immobilized; the sharp net will not let them through. Instead, the sharp fabric will cut off their hands and lacerate the sides of their bodies. All their major and minor body parts will be severed until only the bones remain. While enmeshed in this net, they will be slaughtered hundreds and thousands of times by the henchmen’s sharp axes. In this way, those who are obscured by the web of karmic action will long suffer the torment of the arrows. Until their completed and accumulated unwholesome actions have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted, these hell beings will continue to suffer a vicious and excruciating pain that is unlike anything else.

“When they finally escape this hell they will, as an effect that accords with their causal actions, be born seven hundred times as starving spirits that emit the awful sounds of an infant being delivered in the home.^[156] When also free from that condition, F.281.a they will take birth five hundred times in the animal realm, living among the excrement of domestic poultry, peafowl, or oxen. If, when free of such an existence as that, they should be born with the general lot in life of a human, they will, as an effect that accords with their causal actions, be born in the home of a family of savages.^[157]

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Iron Plates. Inquiring into what type of karmic action may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive how an unstable, unreliable, and deceitful person may provide monks with medical remedies and food during the summer, when the monks otherwise have no food. In this manner, such a person may then invite monks and tell them to have few worries, not trouble themselves much, and have few concerns. He will make the monks believe in him to the extent that they will not look for any other benefactor for the times when food is scarce. In this way, such unwholesome persons will cause the monks to become careless. Consequently, during a period without food some of them may die, others may become unable to develop virtuous qualities, some may suffer, and so they will leave for other places. Those who thus lie to monks will be born in the hell of Iron Plates.

“The beings in that realm experience the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth. In particular, these hell beings live encircled by eleven fires and are tormented by hunger and thirst. Henchmen of the Lord of Death will keep boiling them in red copper, striking their deprived bodies with burning iron hammers F.281.b so that they appear like closed and open lotus flowers. Thus, the hell beings will be burned, boiled, desiccated, and slaughtered—only to be revived again. As a special torture, in accordance with their actions, these deceivers will be encircled and surrounded by a fence of burning and blazing iron plates that measures five leagues across. With bodies ablaze they will wail miserably, lacking even as much happiness as could be contained within the eye of a needle. The fire and the plates are constantly around them, causing terribly vicious, excruciating pain. Starving, thirsting, and suffering due to the plates and the fire, they will continue to undergo torment until finally their completed and accumulated negative acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted.

“Once they escape this hell they will, as an effect that accords with their causal deeds, be born seven thousand times as starving spirits subsisting only on brain matter. After that, they will be born seven thousand times as starving animals or animals that feed on fire. If, when free from such existences, their karmic actions to be experienced should cause them to be born with the general lot in life of a human, they will in that case always be imprisoned by the authorities, and for five hundred lives they will die from hunger and thirst.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive a neighboring realm known as Advancing Fire. Inquiring into what type of karmic action may cause one to be born there, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and thus perceive how some people develop the intent to annihilate that which is noble, as well as noble persons. Thus, they may demolish the temples of the Buddha F.282.a or destroy texts that contain the words of the Buddha. Likewise, with a bias toward negativity, unlearned people may listen to the teachings of the Buddha from people of learning, yet without entering the Dharma-Vinaya they will instead speak ill of it. Those who resort to, become habituated to, and increase such acts will, when separating from their bodies, fall into the lower realms and be born in the hell of Advancing Fire.

“The beings in that realm suffer the combined tortures of the Reviving Hell, and so forth, intensified a hundredfold, as well as thousands of other special ordeals. Once there, snakes will slither forth, forming a lattice into which the hell beings walk.^[158] They will then be burned by hammer-wielding henchmen of the Lord of Death. They will also be burned by the snakes’ extremely powerful poison. Thus, burned by both poison and the fires of hell, they will wail and cry pitifully. As they cry, the henchmen will utter the following instructional verses:

“Thus, those who experience the consequences of their actions will for many hundreds of thousand of years continue to be slain by the henchmen, who wield numerous weapons, until finally their completed and accumulated acts have been overcome, relinquished, and exhausted. When at some point they escape this hell, they will be born seven hundred times as starving spirits that subsist on gutter fluids. Then, as an effect that accords with their causal actions, they will be born five hundred times as simisimi animals.^[161] Once they are also free from that state, they will be born as crow-like, inferior humans, who subsist on eating spoiled food and drinking polluted fluids. B18

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the regions that surround the great hell of Ultimate Torment, F.283.b he will not find any adjacent or neighboring seventeenth realm, whether subtle or coarse, or to any side or below. Thus, the monk who has seen the path will think as follows: ‘Amazing! I have now seen to their limit the eight hells and each of their sixteen neighboring hell realms. This is as far as the karmic action of misdeeds extends. These are the realms where infantile, ordinary beings meet with the tortures befitting their completed and accumulated acts. Once the actions they engaged in manifest, they are born in these eight great hells and, beyond, the extremely severe hell of Ultimate Torment. I do not perceive any ninth location where living beings are burned. And, indeed, it would not be easy for me to explain, convey, or illustrate even a thousandth fraction of just one single feature of those places. The suffering that beings must undergo in these hell realms is uniquely hard to endure and cannot be illustrated. Were I to convey the nature, extent, and reality of this torture, people would vomit blood and die. The tortures of these hell realms vastly exceed all other pains. They are so repulsive, revolting, and hideous.’

“As the monk sees these hell realms, he becomes disenchanted by the suffering of cyclic existence, because he sees that all conditioned phenomena are impermanent, painful, empty, and devoid of self. As he continues to examine this truth of noble beings, he will become utterly free of desire for cyclic existence. Deeply distressed and disenchanted, he will despise cyclic existence. Seeing these excruciating and terrifying features of cyclic existence he thinks, F.284.a ‘Alas, these sentient beings lack divine vision. It is as if they had no eyes at all. Again and again they take birth in utterly excruciating hells—they are born into extremely torturous and horrifying modes of existence, and yet they feel no sadness. Within beginningless cyclic existence, these infantile, ordinary beings remain chained by the shackles of craving.’

The Thirteenth Ground

“Thus, the monk, who is a spiritual practitioner, who carefully observes inner phenomena, and who applies continuous effort, will enter the thirteenth ground. He does so by means of observing all the ripenings of karmic action that create these utterly terrible hells, from the Reviving Hell down to Ultimate Torment. Without any interest in the objects of the māras, he does not fall under their sway. He cuts through their shackles and eludes their sphere of influence. Thus, with constant diligence he severs all latent bonds and enters the city of the transcendence of suffering.

“The terrestrial yakṣas who witness his efforts will inform the celestial yakṣas, saying, ‘A noble son of such and such a family, who is of such and such a village, town, and area, has shaved off his hair and beard, donned the saffron-colored robes, and with faith gone forth from the household to become a homeless mendicant. With effort and endeavor he has actualized the genuine path that is unlike any other, and accomplished the extraordinary view that is beyond the world. With knowledge of the ripening of karmic actions he has entered the thirteenth ground and is now aware of the way beings in hell suffer, from beginning to end.’

“When the celestial yakṣas receive this news from the terrestrial yakṣas, they will, as before, inform the Four Great Kings, and from them the message will gradually pass to the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, the Heaven Free from Strife, the Heaven of Joy, F.284.b the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations, and the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations. From the former gods the following message will, in the same way as before, gradually travel to the gods in Limited Light: ‘O you gods, listen with your minds in utter composure. In Jambudvīpa a noble son of such and such a family, who is from such and such an area and land, has shaved off his hair and beard, donned the saffron-colored robes, and with faith gone forth from the household to become a homeless mendicant. With rigorous effort and endeavor, his contemplation has not waned, and so he has no interest in any of the things of the māras and has become disillusioned with the craving that accompanies desirous excitement. He has no desire for utterly tiresome and repulsive forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures, and thus he has entered the thirteenth ground. This monk has knowledge of the ripening of karmic action within all the eight hells, and he recognizes all the sufferings within the darkness of cyclic existence. Thus, he has become disenchanted, and correctly so. He has tied down all the brigades of the māras! He has roused all the forces of the sacred Dharma!’

“When they hear this message the gods in Limited Light will be overjoyed and think, ‘The brigades of the māras have been bound, and the forces of the sacred Dharma have been roused!’

“In this way, the gods listen to the Dharma filled with joy. Thus, it goes without saying that the minds of holy beings, who are filled with faith and see reality, are joyous when the sacred Dharma is growing and expanding in accordance with such causal karmic actions.

“The monk who has knowledge of the ripening of karmic actions sees the tortures of the hells to be like the water of a great ocean. Moving within this expanse of craving—the vast subterranean abodes from the Reviving Hell down to Ultimate Torment—are giant fish and crocodiles, such as Pūraṇa, the wanderers, Kokālika, and Devadatta. F.285.a Such disturbing fish, alligators, crocodiles, turtles, and otters^[162] seize the beings of hell as they are tossed about in the churning waves stirred up by the thunderstorms of desire, anger, and delusion, which froth with all the force of the end of an eon. As the beings of hell are thus ravaged, their tears fall like rain and they wail and moan. The agitation of their cries of terror, and the excitement of their minds, well up like waves on the ocean while the force of their misdeeds brings down torrents of suffering. Within the depths of Ultimate Torment, fires blaze with the power of the end of an eon, making the entire environment boil as an infinite ocean of unbearable pain. Seeing this, the monk utters these verses: