Buddhism And hel_l

[YoungFarangNa]

my thai lady friend told me that monks are always talking about you going to hel_l for doing bad things. ive read a few books on buddhism and i dont remember hearing anything about hel_l. I asked her if it is a metaphor and she said no, that you will physically burn after you die. can you guys shed any light on whether buddhism in thailand has morphed into a religion or if it is true to the actual teachings of the buddha?

[meadish_sweetball]

As far as I understand, heaven and hel_l do exist in the cosmology, but as temporary states between incarnations.

[britmaveric]

Usually punishment means a lower lot in life, no hel_l or heaven as meadish has stated.

[YoungFarangNa]

the books i read on buddhism did not mention this type of nonsense. are these the actual buddha's teaching or ideas that were added on through time?

the stuff i read was about the 4 noble truths and the 8 pathfold. it talked about desiring and suffering. it seemed more like a philosophy then a religion. the idea that one is reincarnated or goes to hel_l - that is religion, because it doesn't rely on logic but instead wants to place our desires(judgement) onto the world, imho.

Edited October 28, 2007 by YoungFarangNa

[jumnien]

Religion is for people who are afraid of going to hel_l, spirituality is for people who have been there.

[Brucenkhamen]

the books i read on buddhism did not mention this type of nonsense. are these the actual buddha's teaching or ideas that were added on through time?

There is a lot in the Buddhist scriptures that comes out of the religious terminology of the time, much like Christianity uses Jewish terminology. Whether you take it literally is up to you, the Buddha doesn't ask you to believe anything.

As far as Hel_l is concerned the main difference between Buddhism and the judeo christian version is that it is not permanent, as a couple of posters have already pointed out.

Personally I think hel_l is what you create in your everyday life, when you do bad things and you create negative impacts in your life here and now or in the future as a result, that is really what hel_l is and you don't need to concern yourself beyond that.

Your gf may have a different view but bear in mind that 80% of popular Buddhism in Thailand doesn't really conform to the spirit of the Buddhas teaching and you won't be bothered by it so much.

Keep reading those books and make up your own mind.

[sutnyod]

Religion is for people who are afraid of going to hel_l, spirituality is for people who have been there.

Is this sentence already patented or registered or anything? If not, can I have it?

[chownah]

The Buddha did teach about heaven and hel-l....at least the terms "heaven" and "hel-l" are commonly used to describe some of the other planes of existence where beings are reborn.

From Natayaloka's Dictionary at:

http://what-buddha-said.net/library/Buddhi...c3_n.htm#niraya

Niraya: lit. 'the downward-Path', the nether or infernal world, usually translated by 'hel-l', is one of the 4 lower courses of existence apāya. The Buddhists are well aware that on account of the universal sway of impermanence a life in hel-l, just as in heaven, cannot last eternally, but will after exhaustion of the kamma which has caused the respective form of rebirth, necessarily be followed again by a new death and a new rebirth, according to the stored-up kamma.

(I put the dashes in to get the heck past the filter)

Chownah

[suegha]

According to the Hebrew text, he11 ust refers to the grave, not a place of eternal torment. It's Greek mythology which made it into that which many people believe. So for he11 in the bible just read 'grave' where we all go!