Is there a judge, a Yama, who helps us transition and calls on us to account for our deeds in the afterlife? It's nicer to think there's not. Or if there is, it's all an illusion. But this world is all an illusion, and look how "real" it seems!
It seems more "progressive" to firmly believe there's not a "hell," no place of torment for the fruition of bad karma like
- killing or causing others to kill,
- taking what is not giving or encouraging others to steal,
- sexual misconduct or harming relationships (or abuse of any of the senses up to and including gluttony),
- harmful speech (perjury, harshness, divisiveness, nonsense),
- consuming intoxicants that lead to heedlessly doing one or more of these.
There are, in fact, Ten Courses of Unwholesome Action. Where does the fruit of those deeds ripen, only here? Only among animals or ghosts, only in heavens, only right here right now in our minds?
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| Now? (Francis Ford Coppola) |
There are other worlds, there are results of actions, and there are hellish (not Christian or Jewish final hells) worlds one may be reborn in.
With many good actions, karmas, to counteract that eventuality, no one is damned. (Except that there are five heinous deeds with fixed results that are said to lead to such a hellish world and lots of unpleasant experiences).
But let's say there are no other hells, no eight great hells as described in the texts, possibly written by teaching monks with feverish imaginations exaggerating to help warn people.
Even then there are surely hellish parts of this human plane. And this human world extends in all directions to, according to Michael Cremo interpreting the ancient Vedic texts that preceded Buddhist sutras and commentaries, there are said to be 400,000 "species" of humans in worlds (dimensions, planets, sectors, divisions, levels) in the vicinity of this world, all called "the human plane" (manusya loka) of existence (C2C, 1/28/20).
They can't all be as nice as this one is on a good day.
What karma (deed) merits sentences in hell more than the mass murder of defenseless civilian victims? Peaceful Vietnamese Buddhist civilians had no way to ward off a violent US invasion, occupation, and sexual abuse.
Who views the US War on Vietnam as just? Who calls it the "glorious" to turn a weak country an imperial colony? French colonialism was ending, so the USA stepped in to rule.
Guerilla fighters try to defend their homes, so our military drops Dow and Monanto's jellified gasoline ("Agent Orange") on them?
With many good actions, karmas, to counteract that eventuality, no one is damned. (Except that there are five heinous deeds with fixed results that are said to lead to such a hellish world and lots of unpleasant experiences).
But let's say there are no other hells, no eight great hells as described in the texts, possibly written by teaching monks with feverish imaginations exaggerating to help warn people.
Even then there are surely hellish parts of this human plane. And this human world extends in all directions to, according to Michael Cremo interpreting the ancient Vedic texts that preceded Buddhist sutras and commentaries, there are said to be 400,000 "species" of humans in worlds (dimensions, planets, sectors, divisions, levels) in the vicinity of this world, all called "the human plane" (manusya loka) of existence (C2C, 1/28/20).
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| "Hells"? Who can believe such fairytales? |
What karma (deed) merits sentences in hell more than the mass murder of defenseless civilian victims? Peaceful Vietnamese Buddhist civilians had no way to ward off a violent US invasion, occupation, and sexual abuse.
Who views the US War on Vietnam as just? Who calls it the "glorious" to turn a weak country an imperial colony? French colonialism was ending, so the USA stepped in to rule.
Guerilla fighters try to defend their homes, so our military drops Dow and Monanto's jellified gasoline ("Agent Orange") on them?
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