The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma
Introducing the Eighteen Grounds and Describing the Hells and the Starving Spirits

“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.b] Rain 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,41 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,42 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.43 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,44 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,45 such as the pains of being crushed between trees,46 being torn to pieces, bending down, being a road, being taken on the path of a ruler,47 the sensation of earth,48 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,49 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,50 having one’s skin cut,51 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,52 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 canvas53 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,54 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:55

“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.

“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 sharp56 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,57 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.60 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 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 fabric61 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.62

“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.64

“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.65 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 ninth66 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!’

“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:67 Scream, Screams Everywhere, Burning Hair, Sparks and Parasites, Flaming Iron Club, Rain of Burning Stones, Impossible to Die,68 Iron Wilderness, Veil of Complete Darkness, Borderlands of the Lord of Death, Śālmali Forest,69 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,70 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.

“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 head73 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,74 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 weapons75 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 Hell76 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.77 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.78 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.79 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.80 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 blame81 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,82 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.83 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.84 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 worms85 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.87

“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.88 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.89

“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;90 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,91 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.92 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,93 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,94 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’95 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.96 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,97 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 plaster98 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,99 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.100 [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.