Enfant terrible
Kraken
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Buddhism divides incarnations into realms. They are referred to as the "Six Styles of Imprisonment", and Buddhists believe we all, sooner or later experience each of them. A hell realm, a hungry ghost realm, an animal realm, the human realm, the jealous god realm, and the god realm.
The Hell Realm
The hell realm is the lowest of the six realms, and an incarnation here is caused by extreme aggression. There are actually two kinds of hell in the Buddhist lexicon, one burning hot and one freezing cold. One is the result of the heat of rage, the other the product of icy hatred. In the hot hell, beings attack and kill each other over and over. Beings here are ceaselessly tortured by servants of Yama, the Lord of Death. But these torturers are not external creatures as Christianity defines devils, They are projections of the minds of the residents trapped in the realm. The only sentient beings in this realm are those who suffer there, and they are only trapped there by their own aggression and rage. In the cold hells people filled with pride and hate, bitter resentment and self-loathing, encounter self-enclosed isolation. No external tormentors here. Surrounded by walls of ice, their own reflections torment them. Some forms of Buddhism also speak of ephemeral hells which last for a much shorter time. beings can be trapped in ordinary inanimate objects such as rocks, lakes, or trees. These sufferings are usually considered the result of single actions or actions done within a single lifetime. In the other hells, life lasts for hundreds of thousands of years relative to human time. This is because for a person in such misery, time seems to hardly move at all. Liberation from this realm comes when a hell being begins to feel remorse or pity for another inhabitant. The barest glimmer of compassion is usually enough to result in a rebirth in a higher realm.It should be noted too, that even in this bleak realm, the Buddha and the path of liberation exists. Yama, the Lord of Death is also described as the Dharma King, Dharmaraja. According to Indian legend, he was the first mortal to die, so he became a guide to others. Even in the Hell realm, though comparatively unlikely due to the fury of the realm, enlightenment and COMPLETE liberation is possible here. Just as with any other realm, if the sentient beings there can let go of their illusions, they can liberate themselves.
The Hell Realm
The hell realm is the lowest of the six realms, and an incarnation here is caused by extreme aggression. There are actually two kinds of hell in the Buddhist lexicon, one burning hot and one freezing cold. One is the result of the heat of rage, the other the product of icy hatred. In the hot hell, beings attack and kill each other over and over. Beings here are ceaselessly tortured by servants of Yama, the Lord of Death. But these torturers are not external creatures as Christianity defines devils, They are projections of the minds of the residents trapped in the realm. The only sentient beings in this realm are those who suffer there, and they are only trapped there by their own aggression and rage. In the cold hells people filled with pride and hate, bitter resentment and self-loathing, encounter self-enclosed isolation. No external tormentors here. Surrounded by walls of ice, their own reflections torment them. Some forms of Buddhism also speak of ephemeral hells which last for a much shorter time. beings can be trapped in ordinary inanimate objects such as rocks, lakes, or trees. These sufferings are usually considered the result of single actions or actions done within a single lifetime. In the other hells, life lasts for hundreds of thousands of years relative to human time. This is because for a person in such misery, time seems to hardly move at all. Liberation from this realm comes when a hell being begins to feel remorse or pity for another inhabitant. The barest glimmer of compassion is usually enough to result in a rebirth in a higher realm.It should be noted too, that even in this bleak realm, the Buddha and the path of liberation exists. Yama, the Lord of Death is also described as the Dharma King, Dharmaraja. According to Indian legend, he was the first mortal to die, so he became a guide to others. Even in the Hell realm, though comparatively unlikely due to the fury of the realm, enlightenment and COMPLETE liberation is possible here. Just as with any other realm, if the sentient beings there can let go of their illusions, they can liberate themselves.
