not simply ground to bits, but every component of the
body (skin, bone, marrow, muscle, sinew, pus, blood,
etc.) is discussed. Although Buddhist ethics are
founded on nonkilling, Buddhist accounts of the un-
derworld dwell on the violence meted out to average
sentient beings. Alongside this graphic interest in the
use of force, there is an equally strong comic strain.
Many stories of Buddhist near-death experience in-
volve mistaken identity, in which the protagonist is er-
roneously sentenced to someone else’s punishment.
Even austere philosophical sources list the cold hells,
three of which are named onomatopoetically after the
sounds of chattering teeth: Atata, Hahava, Huhuva.
Attitudes toward hells
Buddhists take a wide range of attitudes toward the
hells. Like most teachings, the hells can be regarded as
an expedient device, an effective way of motivating
people to follow the Buddhist PATH. The hells have also
been interpreted as psychological metaphors, as sum-
mations of the state of mind one engenders by doing
EVIL. While certainly authentic, these two interpreta-
tions do not exhaust Buddhist views of hell.
Tours of hell are found throughout Buddhist cul-
tures. MAHAMAUDGALYAYANA, one of the DISCIPLES OF
THEBUDDHAwho was most skilled in supernatural pow-
ers, was especially famous for his travels up and down
the cosmic ladder. His tours of the underworld are re-
counted in sources ranging from Mulasarvastivada
mythology of the first few centuries C.E., to the
MAHAVASTU(Great Story) in the fifth century, to pop-
ular literature in China, Tibet, Japan, Korea, and Thai-
land. Judging from the narratives of delokstorytellers
in Tibet, the hells are one of the most frequent desti-
nations of modern spirit-mediums as well.
The hells supply a rich fund of mythology for Bud-
dhist preachers. Dharma talks use the tortures of hell
to spark reflection on the law of karma and to en-
courage ethical action. Stories of what happens after
death replay the process of warning, reflection, and
conversion. Some tales portray the lord of the under-
world, King Yama, questioning the dead about the
“three messengers” (old age, sickness, and death) they
have seen while alive. Most people ignore these signs
of impermanence, perpetuating egocentrism and evil
deeds. Under Yama’s questioning after death, people
who awaken to the perils of attachment can be released
from suffering.
Many saviors are paired with King Yama’s unbend-
ing administration of impersonal law. Bodhisattvas like
Ksitigarbha (Chinese, Dizang; Japanese, Jizo) and
Avalokites ́vara (Chinese, Guanyin; Japanese, Kannon)
specialize in rescuing sentient beings from the tor-
ments of hell. Visions of the hell regions are also sup-
posed to motivate believers. NAGARJUNA’s Dazhidu lun
(Commentary on the Great Perfection of Wisdom) dis-
cusses the hells under the category of “vigor” (vlrya),
one of the virtues of the bodhisattva. Reflecting on the
pain people experience in the hells, the bodhisattva is
supposed to develop greater energy. Surveying the un-
derworld makes the bodhisattva think, “The causes of
this painful karma are created through ignorance and
the passions. I must be vigorous in cultivating the six
perfections and amassing virtue. I will eliminate the
sufferings of sentient beings in the five paths, give rise
to great compassion, and augment my vigor” (Dazhidu
lun, Mahaprajñaparamita ́asstra, trans. Kumarajva
(350–413), T1509:25.177c).See also:IcchantikaBibliography
Feer, Leon. “L’enfer indien.” Journal Asiatique, ser. 8, 20
(September–October 1892): 185–232; ser. 9, 1 (January–
February 1893): 112–151.
Kloetzli, Randy. Buddhist Cosmology, from Single World System
to Pure Land: Science and Theology in the Images of Motion
and Light.Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, 1983.
La Vallée Poussin, Louis de. Abidharmakos ́abhasyam, Vol. 2., tr.
Leo Pruden. Berkeley, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 1988.HELLSThe Hell of Shrieking Sounds. (Japanese painting, Kamakura pe-
riod, ca. 1200.) © Seattle Art Museum/Corbis. Reproduced by
permission.