Is it
wise to staying in rebirth cycle?
Lord Buddha said that, we can't find starting points or origin points of
creatures whose swaying in rebirth cycle (Sansara Crakra). Creatures are
covered by unknowingness & bond to desires. Dependent Organism acts
inside creatures for helps to rebirth. Four kinds of nutrition roots help
to rebirth : desires for foods we eat from mouth, mind impacts (consciousness +
internal sensing organs + external masses),
volition states (thinking from mind) & consciousness itself as food. All
these foods are linking with desires of five senses, like to rebirthing &
dislike to rebirthing. Creatures are wandering inside rebirth cycle as
human, animal, god, hungry ghost, asura, hell being, etc. Lord Buddha
said it is good, if we can bear only human realms & heaven realms. But we
can't control our rebirth because it decides by karma which made from
dependent organism. If result made for rebirth in hell, we can't stop it
when we die. Buddha said hell realms, animal realms & hungry ghost
realms are like home to creatures. Creatures have possibility to rebirth
in hell than human or heavenly realms. Our mind more attract to sins, bad
habits & unskillful actions than merits & skillful actions. You can
decide it by concerning yourselves such as you like to sleep & eat more
than meditation or observe precepts. When you read details of hells,
animal realms, hungry ghost realms & asura realms, think that way how
many life times we rebirth in such realms cause of our mistakes in
rebirth cycle. Only Stream Enter & other higher states owned people can
escape from all these four hells. Except that people, person who has
steady devotion to Lord Buddha, also not born in next life in hell or other
low level realms, only born in heaven but it also like give another
opportunity to understand enlightening path & then impose to achieving it.
Sutra about Hells
In Majjima Nikaya there have sutra called as Devaduta Sutra, which
describes about hells in deep background. Devadutha means angles that
herald about hells. Lord Buddha see those hells & creatures stay with
pains from Devine-Eye which is some kind of supernatural power that
Buddha had. In this sutra Buddha said "Bhikkhus, I say this not hearing
from another recluse or monk, this is what I have myself known and seen
and so I say it". In this sutra said about eight main hells but in Jataka
Pali & Thera Apadana Pali, there have briefly described about more 130
sub hells. Here we describe about main eight hells & how hell beings are
get pains. Creatures’ existence in hell as astral body but has same organs
as same as human body such as muscles, blood vessels, skeletons, etc. So
they can get same pains from burnings & cuttings. There have king related
to hell who try to escape creatures from hell even he or she rebirth in
hell as Karma. His name is Yama. He ask five questions from hell beings mention about five
angles : "early born baby, aged person, sick person, person who punished
by government & death body" - "Kindly Man, being a wise aged one, didn't
it occur to you, I have not gone beyond birth, now I will do some good by
body, words and mind?". If hell being can't give answers beyond these
question by referring his merit works were done by himself in human
realms such as meditation, donations, observe precepts, etc. Finally king
of hell said - "Good one, owing to negligence you acted in that manner.
This evil action was not done by your, mother, father, brother, sister,
friends, co-associates or blood relations. It was not done by recluses,
monks or gods, it was done by you and you will experience its results".
Then King Yama becomes silent, he don't say punishments, he only try to escape
being because hell being was created punishments from himself via Karma.
King Yama can escape creature from hell, if so only that being did
merit works in human world. So here are some experiences of hell & their
painful punishments.
"Then the warders of hell give him the fivefold binding. That is
two hot iron spikes are sent through his two palms, and two other hot
spikes are sent through his two feet and the fifth hot iron spike is
sent through his chest. On account of this he experiences sharp piercing
unpleasant feelings. Yet he does not die, until his demerit finishes.
Next the warders of hell conduct him and hammer him On account of this
he experiences sharp piercing unpleasant feelings. Yet he does not die,
until his demerit finishes. Next the warders of hell take him upside
down and cut him with a knife On account of this too he experiences
sharp piercing unpleasant feelings. Yet he does not die, until his
demerit finishes. Next the warders of hell yoke him to a cart and make
him go to and fro on a ground that is flaming and ablaze On account of
this too he experiences sharp piercing unpleasant feelings. Yet he does
not die, until his demerit finishes. Next the warders of hell make him
ascend and descend a rock of burning ambers On account of this he
experiences sharp piercing unpleasant feelings. Yet he does not die,
until his demerit finishes. Next the warders of hell throw him upside
down into a boiling, blazing pot of molten. There he is cooked in the
molten scum, and he on his own accord dives in comes up and goes across
in the molten pot. On account of this too he experiences sharp piercing
unpleasant feelings. Yet he does not die, until his demerit finishes.
Next the warders of hell throw him to the Great
Hell."....."Parallel and together with the Hell of Excretes
the Hell where hot ashes rain, he falls into that. There he experiences
sharp piercing unpleasant feelings, yet he does not die until his
demerit comes to an end. Parallel and together with the Hell where hot
ashes rain, is the Simbali forest, more than seven miles tall, it has
thorns sixteen inches long, aflame and blazing, he climbs on them and
goes to and fro on them. There he experiences sharp piercing unpleasant
feelings, yet he does not die until his demerit comes to an end.
Parallel and together with the Simbali forest, is a forest of swords. He
enters that. The leaves that fall with the wind, cut his feet, hands,
feet and hands, ears, nose, ears and nose. There he experiences sharp
piercing unpleasant feelings, yet he does not die until his demerit
comes to an end.
Parallel and together with the forest of swords is a huge salt water
river He falls into that. In it he is carried up stream and down stream.
There he experiences sharp piercing unpleasant feelings, yet he does not
die until his demerit comes to an end."
(From Sutra Pitakaya at
metta.lk web site)
Animal & Asura Realms
We can understand pains & unhelpfulness of animal realms. Animals can't
take foods as they want, they can't talk, they can't take medicines when
they got ills, sometimes small animals become foods stuff to other
animals. Some animals always stay with fear. So there have untellable
pains in animal realms.
Asura realms are widely described as group of gods but they do opposite
actions against to “five precepts & ten skillful actions” such as they
don't respect to monks, they make fear humans, influence to bad climate in
earth, etc. These asuras are considered as demons but not as gods. They often
live in astral houses in ocean. One groups are evil ghosts who have very
long life time as even one Kappa & have extraordinary power such as make
creations, kill someone from mind, destroy human life, etc. Other type of asura group is creatures between gods & devils. These are called as
demons that have all power & luxury life as god but they eat human meat.
They don't kill human being from effort but use tricky actions via
cheating, such as people who are traveling in deserts see nice women &
these women say there have village in desert so throw water. But there
has no any water or village, these women are asuras who make tricky trap
to kill those people in desert then eat their meat. Those foolish people
throw water tanks, then die without water in desert. So like these ways, asura beings are do opposite actions
against to “five precepts & ten skillful actions”. Therefore rebirthing
in this realms also help to gain sins & probably lost their merits then
again drop down to hell or animal realms.
Hungry Ghost Realms
After the hell, hungry ghost are the most painful creatures in rebirth
cycle. They have very long life times without food, cloths, water & they
stay on excretes, mud, toilets, bath rooms, old dirty buildings, dirty
homes, intersection roads, etc. Lot of times, they come into houses which
is not maintain long time & not clean proper way. They like dirty smells
such as urines. In Sutra Pitakaya, there have section related to them
called Pretha Vaththu Pali & Sanyuttha Nikaya. There have ghost stories
as same as modern ghost stories. However hungry ghosts are lucky than
other hell creatures cause some of them can gain merits while people
transfer merits when they are doing merit actions. Hungry ghost also born
as astral body. But their body can be seen by some human being. Some
hungry ghosts have all luxury things same as gods but one essential thing
is missing. As example some ghost have nice house with decorations & stay
on lot of foods as heaven. But they don't have cloths. Hence they can't
go out from their home. Here is example of hungry ghost in Pretha Vaththu
Pali.
"Mother of Sariputhra arahant monk before five life times back,
was born that hungry ghost who has very naked thin, skeleton, blood
vessels shown body, who sleep in cemetery. She suffering from taste
& hungry. She can't eat normal food stuff & drink water. Then
she make her mind to eat excretes of human & animals, drink blood
which drop from human & animal wounds, drink blood when youth girls
got monthly sick, etc... When Sariputhra arahant monk transfer merit from
donations to other arahant monks, she became as same as heavenly
goddess."
"One wife of tailor became hungry ghost because she neglect her
husband's Buddhist fellowship & blame him when he donate alarms to
monks. She blame by telling to become those donations into excretes
& urines, but after that husband die rebirth as god & wife
rebirth as hungry ghost who can only eat excretes & urines."
"Another two stores are one women rebirth as hungry ghost with face
is like pig while body is like human because she didn't observe precepts
via mouth. Other hungry ghost has upper path of body is like god with
nice cloths but lower path of body is naked & spoiled cause when he
was human he did bad actions from body."
"In Sanyuththa Nikaya had story about group of hungry ghosts who
are same as Buddhist monks but their cloths are burning cause in Kasapa
Buddha's time they are Buddhist monks but didn't observe higher
precepts."
Bad One Of Death (Mara)
In the Buddhist Cosmology, there have some kind of officers in universe.
King of Hell, Great Brahma, Skkra God. As well as “Bad One of Death” also
such officer who bond creatures to rebirth cycle via lustful - figures,
sounds, odors, tastes, body feelings & thoughts. In Pali language he is
called as Papima Mara or Vasawarthi (king of lustful bonding). As same as
god, person who did merit will rebirth as Mara king & people who did mere
merit become his servants. Lord Buddha said Mara has most power except
Buddha & greater than Brahma gods. Once time Maha Moggallana arahant monk
also became as bad one of death in Kasapa Buddha's time, he also troubled
that Buddha & arahant monks then as result of that sins, rebirth in hell.
Wonderful factor is even Mara king have such great controllable power,
after his merit finish he born in hell. Lot of time Asuras are associated
with Mara & his servants. Lord Buddha said when someone promises himself
to achieve enlighten states such as Stream Entry, the Mara come close to
him & disturbs him. Great persistence, precepts & concentration need to
be neglect Mara & his troublesome servants.
Conclusion
After read these stories, we can conclude all four hell realms are very
painful. If we decide to wander in rebirth cycle, we happen to go through
hells, animal realms, hungry ghost realms & asura realms. Reasons to born
in these realms are accepting theory of soul, doubt about noble truths & bond to mere traditional activities which are removed from stream entry
state. Only way to get rid
from hells realms, animal realms, hungry ghost realms & asura realms is, going
on
eight noble path & grow steady devotion to threefold refuge. So our main
aim in this life must be enlightened into stream entering as real Buddhist
person.
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