Welcome to Buddhist Hell

[Jessie Fong]

The Daily Beast, Jan 23, 2014
Bangkok, Thailand -- In Thailand, the horrors of hell aren't just the stuff of kids' nightmares. Families can visit entire sculpture gardens featuring vivid depictions of what sinners face in the afterlife.
Attention all other religions, your hell is a tame paradise compared to the dark, bloody underworld of Buddhism.

In Thailand, gruesome sculptural depictions of the 136 fiery pits of Buddhist hell, known as Naraka, are scattered throughout the country in parks and gardens that serve as popular weekend attractions at which families can teach their kids morality lessons. Filled with stomach-turning, gruesome sculptures, each garden warns of what happens to those who defy the otherwise peace-loving religion’s tenets.

About an hour and a half from Bangkok, the Wang Saen Suk Hell Garden is the largest of the themed areas. Orange robe-clad monks from the adjoining Buddhist temple oversee the morbid sculpture park. But the real boss is the “Death King” Phya Yom, who weighs the record of each recently deceased human’s good deeds (which are engraved in his gold ledger) against their sins (which are scratched onto a piece of dog leather). If the bad overshadows the good, they are inflicted with the proper punishment for their crimes before being reincarnated and returned to earth.


 Following a long tradition of artistic depictions of the underworld, these 3D Thai renditions of the punishment sinners can expect are absurdly graphic. Civilian adherents to Buddhism live by five religious precepts, which forbid murder, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxication. Monks, meanwhile, must abide by 227 rules. Those who break them will pay in brutal fashion.



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Do you know of any locations of such depictions?
Care to share them here?

Thank you.

[Matibhadra]

Orange robe-clad monks from the adjoining Buddhist temple oversee the morbid sculpture park.

Actually samsara, and attachment to it, are morbid. Therefore, the sculpture park, helping one to overcome both, is an antidote to such morbidity, and thus quite healthy.

A most interesting point is that the sufferings of samsara, graphically depicted in the sculpture park, are only the result of one's own unskilful actions and motivations, rather than the punishment inflicted by some depraved, schizophrenic-paranoid character as in Abrahamic ideologies (Judaism and its branches, such as Christianity and Islam).

[kris]

oh.. I have been to this Hell Garden before! These 2 sculptures are REALLY huge! What I like most about this garden is that it displays all the different hells as described in the Buddhist scriptures and according to a Lama (who has clairvoyance), the garden is VERY real and very accurate.

Also, the garden is designed in a way that, it started with all the different hells, and towards the end of the garden, it show the "solution", i.e. how not to get to hell buy taking refuge in 3 jewels, and be virtuous etc. and after the garden, it is the HUGE outdoor Shakyamuni Buddha statue.

It is highly recommended everyone should go visit (at least) this HUGE outdoor Shakyamuni Buddha statue, and the Hell Garden as well.

[dondrup]

It is commendable that such sculpture gardens depicting hells are made widely available in Thailand. The actual hells must be very much worst than these depictions. Those who disbelieve the existence of hells may not take these sculptures seriously though. However for those who do believe, these scenes in the hells are excellent reminder to warn of the consequences of negative actions. They are great educational tools to teach children virtues and avoidance of non virtues. The realities in the hells cannot be denied even though we cannot perceive or experience them now. Many in real life have already experienced hell-like experiences. Buddhas cannot be wrong about the existence of the hell realms!

[fruven]

There are two sides to a story, in this case, two sides to these 'hell garden'. People can take it positively and learn something from it, or take it negatively in denial and don't learn anything from it. In my opinion in Thailand they are open minded to allow such depiction of hell garden in public places. They choose to put these available for the sake of the people who may get something out of it instead of thinking of those people who are denial or would criticism the its construction. In a sense this speak of Thailand's people faint in Lord Buddha's teachings. The teachings will bring benefit regardless of how gruesome or offended one may think after from hearing or seeing. These negativity are wrong perception from our mind.

[Tenzin K]

I quite like the idea of having these Hell Garden. It's really an open spiritual education for public on karmic relation. It's not just to scared people with the gruesome sculptures but to give a scenario for people able to relate on the consequences from the negative actions.

The Buddha once said, 'When the average ignorant person makes an assertion to the effect that there is a Hell (patala) under the ocean he is making a statement which is false and without basis. The word 'Hell' is a term for painful sensations. 'The idea of one particular ready-made place or a place created by god as heaven and hell is not acceptable to the Buddhist concept.

The fire of hell in this world is hotter than that of the hell in the world-beyond. There is no fire equal to anger, lust or greed and ignorance. According to the Buddha, we are burning from eleven kinds of physical pain and mental agony: lust, hatred, illusion sickness, decay, death, worry, lamentation, pain(physical and mental), melancholy and grief. People can burn the entire world with some of these fires of mental discord. From a Buddhist point of view, the easiest way to define hell and heaven is that where ever there is more suffering, either in this world or any other plane, that place is a hell to those who suffer. And where there is more pleasure or happiness, either in this world or any other worldly existence, that place is a heaven to those who enjoy their worldly life in that particular place. However, as the human realm is a mixture of both pain and happiness, human beings experience both pain and happiness and will be able to realize the real nature of life. But in many other planes of existence inhabitants have less chance for this realization. In certain places there is more suffering than pleasure while in some other places there is more pleasure than suffering.

 

[Q]

Very interesting depiction of Hell they have there in Thailand. I have friends that have been to this temple and they told me it was truly amazing. I'm planning a trip there myself some time this year, really looking forward for the trip.

I remember reading some illustrated comics on the causes and effects of Karma, I'd say it's quite a graphic comic, but it makes things really clear to us that karma is karma... it is unforgiving and it will ripen when the time comes.

I wonder if the hells depicted in the temple (which I think it's from the Theravada tradition) is similar to the ones described in the Lamrim.

[hope rainbow]

I believe that hell is not a place actually, but the result of karma.
I believe that two people can be in the same geographic place while one is in "hell" and one is in "nirvana".
Example: I can eat peanuts and enjoy it with ease while someone else may find his death in pain over it because of a bad allergy.

[Big Uncle]

I think hell is a real physical place that one can take rebirth in due to karmic forces. The karmic forces is moulded by our actions and the chief cause is anger. Hell is thus both a physical and a mental state as well. One need not take rebirth in Hell to see what hell is like. Just look at war-torn countries and how some people mutilate, rape and kill their victims, one would already have a glimpse of hell. However, unlike Judeo-Christian hell, the Buddhist understanding of hell is not a place of eternal damnation but a place of karmic retribution and when the causes have been exhausted, one would take rebirth elsewhere.

[Matibhadra]

However, unlike Judeo-Christian hell, the Buddhist understanding of hell is not a place of eternal damnation but a place of karmic retribution and when the causes have been exhausted, one would take rebirth elsewhere.

Worth noting that the “eternal damnation” of the Abrahamic (Jewish, Christian and Muslim) hell is the curse of their psychotic “god” against those who disbelieve it, “disobey” it, or, supreme anathema, believe in another competing god.

Meanwhile, the Buddhist karmic retribution has to do with the nature of one's actions and motivations, whether they are egoistic or altruistic, irrespectively of one's beliefs or lack thereof in any god or other personality, real or imaginary.

Since the evil dalai curses people just because of their faith in someone he, in his paranoid schizophrenia, sees as a competitor (Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen and his successors such as Dorje Shugden), it is clear that the psychotic entity has an Abrahamic, rather than a Buddhist, mindset.

This does not come as a surprise, considering how much he, the evil dalai, in his frantic greed for personal power, puts himself as a lackey at the service of his Western, Jewish-Christian colonialist sponsors.

[bambi]

I found another 1 in Phang Nga which also have something similar.


Heaven and Hell Tapan Cave

Phang Nga town offers a unique site of fierce attacks, including orifice abuse, decapitation, whipping, lynching, amputations and other assaults amid tropical greenery.







And a post by CNN Travel.
http://travel.cnn.com/bangkok/play/where-experience-buddhist-hell-thailand-965691

[metta girl]

There is another Tourist spot depicting hell:-
http://gizmodo.com/5814083/welcome-to-singapores-most-baffling-tourist-attraction

Haw Par Villa — which is also known as Tiger Balm Park — was built in 1937 by Tiger Balm magnates Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par. After the park was damaged in World War II, Boon Haw's nephew began adding statues of various beings from Chinese mythology.
The 10 Courts of Hell attraction grew to be the park's most famous addition

[gbds3jewels]

Wow! That's for sharing this. I never knew such a place exist. I love the idea because Hell is very real. Coming from a Christaina background I can tell you that it is a very common mistaken view that there is no Hell in Buddhism unlike the Christian belief which centres on Heaven&Hell.

The only certainty in life is death. And after death I think most of us are likely or at some point condemned to suffer in Hell. We live in delusion and denial just so we can continue to indulge in our desire but then no matter what death catches up with us.

[Kim Hyun Jae]

There are several places in Asia where there are Hell Gardens like these ie. Singapore (http://www.yoursingapore.com/content/traveller/en/browse/see-and-do/arts-and-entertainment/architecture/haw-par-villa.html and Malaysia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Saen_Suk]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chin_Swee_Caves_Temple{/url}). This location can be located at [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Saen_Suk in Thailand.

Hell doesn't just exists in a physical form like a location we descend into. We can experience Hell on Earth as well, like being impoverished or poor or homeless or suffering in the hospital. Its more of the mental suffering we experienced.

These Hell Gardens do depict the scenes of "samsara" reflective in our minds on earth too.
 

[eyesoftara]

I think hell is a real physical place that one can take rebirth in due to karmic forces. The karmic forces is moulded by our actions and the chief cause is anger. Hell is thus both a physical and a mental state as well. One need not take rebirth in Hell to see what hell is like. Just look at war-torn countries and how some people mutilate, rape and kill their victims, one would already have a glimpse of hell. However, unlike Judeo-Christian hell, the Buddhist understanding of hell is not a place of eternal damnation but a place of karmic retribution and when the causes have been exhausted, one would take rebirth elsewhere.

Big Uncle,

If  the hells are real physical places, then how are the beings born there? Certainly not from the mothers' wombs I suppose. By transformation would be my guess. Basically just pop into existence in the form that the beings karma dictates. I heard a Dharma talk long ago by a Theravadan monk that the the hell existences are mental states only. Vajrayana's understanding for the hells is both physical and mental.