in my old english literature class, we studied dante’s ‘divine comedy’. in the book, dante goes on a journey with his pal, virgil, through hell, purgatory and heaven. in dante’s hell, there are nine horrific circles. in dante’s hell, if you land in one of the circles, you stay there for eternity. in dante’s hell, satan lives at the bottom guarding and punishing judas.
i find the story interesting and thought that such an idea would be unique to western culture. i had no idea that there was a buddhist equivalent.
two of my students offered to take me out to a pagoda about a half of a hour from long xuyen. the pagoda was relatively famous because it was covered in pictures depicting what happened in the different levels of buddhist hell.
the pagoda was placed next to a small tributary of the mekong. it was peacefully surrounded by green rice paddies and the sky was milky blue. the pagoda was yellow and red and we drove our motorcycles inside and parked. the first thing we did was walk in and talk to the monk.
the head monk was a quiet chap. he didn’t seem to interested in our being here and answered each of our questions as if we shouldn’t really have been asking them. the pagoda was 123 years old. the monk said he mostly prayed for dead people. he said he used to follow the teachings of the buddha and then, one day decided to give his life over to the religion entirely. that was 23 years ago.
we went outside to look at the different circles of hell. they were brightly pained on the walls of the pagoda and they came with instructions. they would all list the circle, the crimes that the people had committed and their punishment. the punishment was always painted graphically. here are the circles of buddhist hell (they are only the beliefs of a small sect of buddhism. this not universally applicable):
circle 1:
this circle was for people who killed other people, committed suicide, were hopeless, angry or who loved someone else when they didn’t love them back. they were sent to some sort of hellish prison where they were killed by ghoulish looking guards with blonde hair. this was also a place for people to go who were guilty but claimed to be innocent. they were placed in front of the ‘truth mirror’ and then killed. this was also the place for people who were thieves. they were eaten by animals.
circle 2:
this circle was for those who did not respect elders. they were being crushed by rocks. the whole crushing operation was administered by the blonde-haired demons. also, this circle was reserved for those who hit their daughter-in-law when she came to live with them. if you remember, the daughter-in-law has to live with the son’s mother after they get married. the daughter-in-law has to listen to everything the mother says and there is sometimes tension. the people that hit their daughter-in-laws are also crushed. this is also the place for those who fornicate. they are ground like rice is milled by blonde-haired monsters.
circle 3:
this circle was for those who were corrupt or unfair. people who were not fair to others were disemboweled by blonde-haired monsters. people who ate animals (after all, what did that pig ever do to you to deserve to be sitting in your denny’s grand-slam breakfast?) were killed like the animals were killed. they were killed by a blonde-giant acting like a butcher. people who made things that were fake were tied to large wooden spikes and nails were hammered into their flesh.
circle 4:
this circle was for those who had more than one wife or husband. they were boiled in blood. the blonde-giants stirred the soup with a long stick that doubled as some sort of a weapon. this circle was for women who had an abortion. they were sawed in half. this circle was also for those who liked to watch and bet on cock fights. their eyes were poked out with a long stick by a blonde-haired giant with fire eyes. this circle was also my favorite. people were sent to this circle if they ever ate ‘hot vit lon’. those are the boiled duck eggs filled with semi-developed fetus inside. they are disgusting and should be banned. people who eat semi-developed duck fetus’ are forced to eat fire.
circle 5:
this circle would be for those who cheated others in business contracts. they were thrown in a snake pit (watch out kenny lay). this circle was also for those who swore a lot, lied or started arguments. their tongue was cut out by a blonde-haired demon with long fingernails. this circle was also for those who mistreated handicapped people. they were bludgeoned by a number of forks. this pit can also be used by those who can not control their anger. they are made to sit in a pit of fire.
circle 6:
this circle was for those who killed their mothers. they were tied, naked, to a large, metal chimney that was under a very large fire. this circle was also for someone who withheld food from a child. they were locked in a small, metal cage. also, if you sold things but cheated people, you were hung by meat hooks like slabs of beef. and finally, if you didn’t respect your family, neighbor or relative, your flesh was eaten by birds.
circle 7:
this circle was for those who killed birds. they were shot by arrows while they were tied to large, wooden poles. the guards doing the shooting all had blond hair and now they had horns. this was also for those who did not follow ‘hieu’. they were beheaded. ‘hieu’ basically means piety. it is an idea that is supremely popular over here. it means that you have to honor and respect your elders and understand your position in society. this circle was also for those who used religion for personal gain. their hands were cut off. this circle was also for those who drank too much. they were made to drink lava.
circle 8:
this circle was for those who told serious lies. they were tossed off a cliff onto a bed of nails. they were tossed by blonde-haired guards. this circle was also for those who bought goods that they knew were stolen. they were crushed in some sort of a pasta machine. this circle was for women who washed their clothes in the river. they were made to soak in blood. i don’t understand the importance of not washing you clothes in the river, probably because it’s dirty, but i’ll do some more research.
circle 9:
this circle was for those who do not respect their teacher, their friends or betray their country. i use this to my advantage whenever the students get a little unruly. these people were all crushed under giant chariots being driven by blonde-haired demons. this circle was also for those who do not respect god. they were crushed by elephants controlled by blonde-haired demons. this circle was also for those who ate dog meat, cat meat or beef. they were killed with spears in their back. also, this circle was for those who abuse religion. they were crushed in the hand of god. god was a giant with blonde hair and huge horns and a grimace.
so, there are similarities and differences in the two stories. in dante’s story, everything is a little more clearly lined out. we know that, for example, all the gluttons will go to circle 4. this hell is a little more ambiguous. also, there are some sins here that we wouldn’t consider sins. the washing clothes in the river, or the not respecting a teacher, or the eating meat. those are all cultural differences. the main difference between the two religions is this: infinite vs. finite. people go to dante’s hell forever. if you sin on earth, you will suffer in hell for eternity. if you sin on earth in buddhism, you only have to suffer through hell for a little. for example, if you ate dog mean you would have to be killed by blonde-haired giants throwing spears into your back. after that, you moved on to circle 10 (read on). if you did a number of bad things, you would have to suffer a number of deaths. for example, if you ate dog mean, did not respect your elders and made something fake, you would have an appointment to be killed in circle 2, circle 3 and circle 9. (crushed by rocks, had nails hammered into you and got shot in the back with spears)
circle 10:
there is only one person in hell forever. her name is thanh de. she went to hell to save her mother who was being punished there. this was all against the wishes of god. she is forced to kneel on a bed of nails for eternity. she is the only exception. after you suffer through the 9 circles of hell you are given a bowl of ‘chao lu’. ‘chao’ is a kind of rice porridge that everyone eats here when they are sick. they say it makes you sweat out all the badness. ‘lu’ means to be forgetful or absent minded. it’s basically amnesia rice gruel. then, you walk through a large rainbow and you are turned into one of a number of things. if you are very bad, you become a blonde-haired demon. i don’t think it would be the worst job in the world, but it wouldn’t be best either. then, if you’re not that bad, you become an animal. i see how much out dog sleeps and am sometimes jealous of him. if you lead a normal life, you become a person again. you get another shot. if you are wonderful, you become an angel. i guess that would be great but i don’t like to wear white.
in a way, it is permanent. if you are very terrible, you become a demon. however, you do not suffer forever. the difference is that everyone has to suffer for the things that they did on earth in the afterlife. they don’t suffer as long, but they can’t be forgiven as christians believe.
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