ZEN: Bodhidharma's 'Wake Up Sermon'

Bodhidarma (Hakuin Ekaku)

 

(Echoes of Lost Knowledge) The sermon that has awakened more minds than any other teaching in Zen Buddhism | Bodhidharma

"Bodhidharma" was a semi-legendary Indian Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE [1]. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan (Zen) Buddhism to China and is regarded as its first Chinese patriarch [a]. He is also popularly regarded as the founder of Shaolin kung fu [2, 3, 4, 5], an idea popularized in the 20th century [4, 5, 2] but based on the 17th century Yijin Jing and the Taoist association of daoyin gymnastics with him. More

The Buddha holds up a flower and smiles

CC Liu, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wikipedia edit Mahākāśyapa smiles at the lotus flower

The Buddha shows Maha Kassapa a lotus in an apocryphal Mahayana sutra (Hishida Shunso)

.

This monk gets it. He understands.

One of the Buddha's Great Disciples, Maha Kassapa (Mahākāśyapa) smiles at a lotus flower the Buddha shows instead of delivering a Dharma talk.

In East Asia, there is a Chan and Zen tradition, first recounted in the The Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp (Chinese 景德傳燈錄, Pinyin Tiansheng Guangdeng-lu), which is a 1036 genealogical record about Chan Buddhism.

According to this tradition, Venerable Mahākāśyapa once received a direct "transmission" from the historical Siddhartha Gautama Buddha.

Artist Hishida Shunsō

Chan and Zen purport to lead their adherents to insights akin to that mentioned by the Buddha in the [apocryphal] "Flower Sermon" (Chinese 拈華微笑, Pinyin Nianhua weixiao, literally, "Holding up a flower and smiling subtly") given on Vulture's Peak, Rajagriha (India), in which the Teacher held up a white flower and just admired it in his hand, without speaking.

All the disciples just looked on without knowing how to react, but only Ven. Mahākāśyapa smiled faintly, and the Buddha picked him as one who truly understood him and was worthy to be the one receiving a special "mind-to-mind transmission" (Pinyin yixin chuanxin).

The painting (wikiart.org) is by Hishida Shunsō, 1897, in the Nihonga style. Source

The Buddha's past BAD karma (sutra)

Pubbakammapilotikabuddhaapadāna—Jonathan S. Walters (trans.), Therāpadāna, "The Legends of the Theras [Elder Monastics]," edited by Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly

387. {390.} The Rags of Previous Karma

(Walt 3341) Near the lake named Anotatta,

on the lovely level rock ground,

where sparkled gems of different sorts

and varied perfumes filled the woods, (Verse 1)

(Walt 3342) surrounded by the Assembly

of monastics, the Best of the World,

while seated there, did then explain

the former deeds he had done: (Verse 2)

(Walt 3343) Hear from me, O meditators, the karma

which formerly I did [intentionally],

and how those karma rags’ effects

ripen in the Buddha himself. (Verse 3)

(Walt 3344) Among my other, former rebirths

I was a jerk named Munāli.

I told lies about Sarabhu,

an innocent Silent Buddha. (Verse 4)

(Walt 3345) As a result of that karma [deed],

a long time I circled through hell.

I experienced suffering

for numerous thousands of years. (Verse 5)

(Walt 3346) As its final karmic effect,

here in my final existence,

I received some nasty slander

connected with Sundarīkā. (Verse 6)

(Walt 3347) I was Nanda, a follower

of the Buddha Sabbābhibhu.

My rebirth was in hell

for long after I slandered him. (Verse 7)

(Walt 3348) My long rebirth in hell

continued for 10,000 years.

When I again got human rebirth,

I also got lots of slander. (Verse 8)

(Walt 3349) Through what remained of that karma,

Lady Ciñca did slander me

in front of a group of people

without any grounding in fact. (Verse 9)

(Walt 3350) I was an erudite Brahmin,

attended on, given reverence.

In a large wood, I was teaching

mantras to many young men. (Verse 10)

(Walt 3351) To that place had come Sage Gīma,

who possessed vast superpowers.

After having seen him coming,

I slandered that blameless person. (Verse 11)

(Walt 3352) I said this to my students then:

“This sage delights in sense pleasures!”

The young men there took that to heart

when I made that declaration. (Verse 12)

(Walt 3353) Then all the young men, my students,

going for alms from clan to clan,

repeated to a lot of folks,

“This sage delights in sense pleasures!” (Verse 13)

(Walt 3354) As a result of that karma,

these many monastics now with me

all received some nasty slander

connected with Sundarīkā. (Verse 14)

(Walt 3355) One time eying wealth I murdered

brothers by a second mother.

I put them on a mountain road

and crushed them in an avalanche. (Verse 15)

(Walt 3356) As a result of that karma,

Devadatta threw a boulder

and a splinter off that boulder

then crushed the big toe on my foot. (Verse 16)

(Walt 3357) One time I was a little boy,

playing by the great thoroughfare.

Having seen a Silent Buddha,

I threw a clod of dirt at him. (Verse 17)

(Walt 3358) As a result of that karma,

here in my final existence,

Devadatta hired some killers

for the sake of murdering me. (Verse 18)

(Walt 3359) Once, while I was on my tusker,

I saw a supreme Silent Sage,

wandering about for alms food —

with that elephant I attacked him. (Verse 19)

(Walt 3360) As a result of that karma,

the elephant Nāḷāgiri,

agitated, cruel, ran at me

in the fine town at Vulture’s Peak. (Verse 20)

(Walt 3361) I was the King Patthiva;

I killed a man with a dagger.

As a result of that karma,

I roasted in hell a long time. (Verse 21)

(Walt 3362) Through what remained of that karma,

the skin on my foot got all cracked

and caused me a lot of trouble —

karma surely does not just vanish! (Verse 22)

(Walt 3363) I once lived as a fisher-boy,

in a village of fishermen.

Having seen the fish getting killed,

pleasurable thoughts filled my mind. (Verse 23)

(Walt 3364) As a result of that [mental] karma,

I suffered a headache one time;

all of the Ścythians (Shākyans) were murdered,

when Viḍuḍabha murdered them. (Verse 24)

(Walt 3365) I reviled the holy words and

followers of the Buddha Phussa,

“Chomp and eat inferior grain,

you all, and don’t eat any rice.” (Verse 25)

(Walt 3366) As a result of that karma,

I had to eat grain for three months

when, invited by a Brahmin,

I lived in various kingdoms. (Verse 26)

(Walt 3367) In the midst of a wrestling match,

a wrestler’s son, [I broke a back in a] fight;

as a result of that karma,

one time I suffered a backache. (Verse 27)

(Walt 3368) I was a practicing doctor

and purged the son of a rich man;

as a result of that karma,

I contracted dysentery. (Verse 28)

(Walt 3369) One time I, Jotipāla, said

to [the Buddha] Kassapa, the Well-Gone One,

“Whence then this baldy’s Waking Up,

Awakening so hard to reach?” (Verse 29)

(Walt 3370) As a result of that karma,

I practiced great austerities

in Uruvela, six long years,

and then achieved Awakening. (Verse 30)

(Walt 3371-72) “Along that path I did not reach

supreme Awakening,” I thought,

“along which path then should I search,

hindered by previous karma?

Exhausting skillful and unskillful karma

and avoiding every torment

free of grief, troubles, and outflows,*

I shall realize nirvana.” (Verse 31-32)

(Walt 3373) Thus did he explain, the Victor,

Endowed with All Superpowers,

in front of the Assembly of monastics,

at the great Lake Anotatta. (Verse 33)

Thus, indeed the Blessed One spoke this short discourse on Dharma, revealing his own previous unskillful conduct [as the Bodhisatta, "a being bent on supreme-enlightenment" but not yet a buddha], the Buddha-apadāna named “The Rags of Previous Karma.”

The Buddha-apadāna named “The Rags of Previous Karma” is finished.

The Summary:

Avaṇṭa and Labuja, too,

Udumbara and Pilakkhu,

Phāru, Valli, and Kadali,

Panasa, Koṭivīsaka

and the Rags of Former Karma,

the legend of the Sage so Great:

verses numbering 91

are counted by those who are wise.

THE AVAṆṬAPHALA CHAPTER, THE THIRTY-NINTH

• [*EDITORIAL NOTE: "Outflows" = "taints" (asavas), "defilements" (kilesas), "corruptions" (upakkilesas).]

Full moon Dharma talk, Pasadena (9/15)

Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara, Pasadena (Facebook); Bhante, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

• Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara, 920 N. Summit Ave., Pasadena, California 91103, (626) 797-6144

We must search within where liberation is.

COST: Free. Includes a vegetarian meal of delicate island cuisine and desserts. Why? The Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara (Monastery) or LABV follows the ancient Theravada Buddhist Sri Lankan tradition of Vas or the "Rains Retreat." This is when the historical Buddha enjoined monks and nuns, all of whom were wandering ascetics or shramanas to stay in one place and not travel for the rainy season. This was to preserve the life of small creatures that crawl and slither throughout South and Southeast Asia at this time. It was also a time to concentrate on meditation, self-discipline, and studying the Dharma. Sutras are examined and discussed, more often than not chanted, practice time is made available, and a wholesome atmosphere around the temple. This includes a weekly Dharma talk, often in English, sometimes just in the native language of Sri Lanka called Sinhalese. This week's visiting speaker is Ven. Kolita. He ordained as a child and was educated at Cal State University Northridge (CSUN). He is very knowledgeable and is the abbot of a temple in North Hollywood called the Sarathchandra Buddhist Vihara. Prior to that he was a resident monk in the Hollywood temple on Beechwood, which became the LABV.

RECAP
The American monk Ven. Sanathavihari, the U.S. student of Ven. Kolita, replaced his teacher and delivered a message to the youth on basic Buddhist principles.

Buddhist Lent lecture: Forgiveness (Sept. 2)

Bhante, Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara, Pasadena; Amber Larson (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Rains Retreat, informally called "Buddhist Lent," continues on Sundays in LA.

Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara, 920 N. Summit Ave.,  Pasadena, CA 91103: (626) 797-6144

MIRACLES the Buddha performed

G.P. Malalasekera, Dictionary of Pali Proper Names (Pali Text Society) via Palikanon.com; edited and illustrated by Dhr. Seven, Crystal Quintero, and Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

The Buddha created a walkway in space then walked to the World of the Thirty-Three.

  

The Buddha was against performing miracles, perceiving some inherent danger in them. He lauded something more miraculous -- teaching the path to enlightenment. He regularly used some of those powers to aid in teaching without making a grand display. Yet there was a time, seven years after his enlightenment, when he did make a grand display that lasted more than two weeks.

 

When the Buddha set down a monastic (vinaya) rule forbidding the exercise of supernatural powers by Buddhist monastics -- following a miracle performed by the monk Pindola Bhāradvāja -- ascetics from other schools went around saying that from then on they would not perform miracles except with the Buddha.

 

King Bimbisāra, a noble disciple who ruled Rajagaha (Rajgir), reported this matter to the Buddha, who at once accepted the challenge.

He explained that the training rule was laid down for disciples and did not apply to their enlightened teacher.

Thereafter he went to Sāvatthi, the place where all buddhas perform the miracle of the "double appearances” (yamaka pātihāriya).

Artist's rendition of flames and water emanating simultaneously (what-buddha-said.net).

 

In response to a request by King Pasenadi of Savatthi, the Buddha said he would perform the miracle at the foot of the Ganda-amba (Ganda's mango or amba) tree on the full moon day of the month of Asālha [July]. This was the seventh year after his enlightenment (DA.i.57).
 

Mango tree miraculously sprouts from seed.

The ascetics of other traditions therefore uprooted all of the mango trees for a league (3 miles) in all directions. Nevertheless, on the promised day, the Buddha went to the king's garden, accepted a mango offered to him by Ganda, and caused a marvelous tree to sprout from its seed.

The people, discovering what the other ascetics had done, attacked them, and they had to flee in every direction. During their flight Pūrana Kassapa committed suicide.

The Buddha creating a miraculous walkway in the sky (Mig_T_One/flickr.com)

 .

Devas and humans extended for 100+ miles.

The multitude [of devas and humans] who had assembled to witness the miracle extended for a distance of 36 leagues. The Buddha then miraculously created a jeweled walk [bridge] in the air by the side of the Gandamba tree.

When the Buddha's disciples knew what he had in mind, several of them offered to perform miracles so as to refute the insinuations of the other ascetics that they could not.

Among such disciples were Gharanī, Culla Anātthapindika, Cīrā, Cunda, the chief female disciple foremost in magic powers Uppalavannā Theri and the male disciple foremost in magic powers Maha Moggallāna Thero.

 

Thunder and lightning from the world of the weather akasha-devas (zastavki.com)

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Earliest human representation of the Buddha

The Buddha declined their offers and related the Kanhausabha and Nandivisāla Jātakas (rebirth tales).

Then, standing on the jeweled walk, he proceeded to perform the Twin Miracle (yamaka-pātihāriya), so called because it consists of the appearance of phenomena of opposite character in pairs: for example, producing flames from the upper part of his body and a stream of water from the lower then alternating the two.

Flames and streams of water proceeded alternately from the right and left sides of his body (DA.l.57); DhA.iii.214f. explains how this is done:

From every pore of his body an aura of six-colored rays shot forth upwards to the realm of Brahmā and downwards to the edge of the world-system (cakkavāla).

Levitation (dreamtime.com)

The miracle lasted for a long time, and as the Buddha walked up and down the jeweled terrace he taught the multitude from time to time.

It is said that he performed miracles and delivered sutras (delivered "sermons," as it were) for 16 days, according to the various psychological dispositions of those present in the assembly to watch.

• [Buddhas have the miraculous power of knowing peoples' minds, dispositions, and capacities and are therefore able to teach just the right thing for their rapid progress toward insight.]

At the conclusion of the miracle, the Buddha -- following the example of his predecessors (buddhas of the past) -- made his way in three strides to the space plane known as the "World of the Thirty-Three" (Tāvatimsa).

The Buddha in the World of the Thirty-Three, teaching his mother the Abdhidharma.

 

He went there to teach the Abhidharma to his biological mother Queen Maya who, having passed away when he was only a week old, had been reborn in that world as a devaputta, figuratively a "son of god" but actually meaning "one reborn among the devas."
 

The Twin Miracle is described in the Sumangala Vilāsinī (DA.i.57) and in great detail in the Dhammapadatthakathā (DhA.iii.204); see also J.iv.263ff. The DhA. version appears to be entirely different from the Jātaka version. The latter is very brief and lacks many details, especially regarding Pindola's miracle and the preaching of the Abhidharma in the World of the Thirty-Three.

The account given in the Divyāvadāna (Dvy., 143-66) is again different; the miracle was repeatedly performed by the Buddha (see, e.g., Candanamālā), and it is often referred to, for example, at J.i.77, 88, 193; Ps.i.125; SNA.i.36; AA.i.71; MA.ii.962; Mil. 349; Vsm.390; PvA.137; Dāthāvamsa i.50.

The Twin Miracle at Sravasti (btrts.org.sg)

The miracle was also performed by the Buddha's relics; see, for example, Mhv.xvii.52f.; Sp.i.88, 92.

 

It is said (Mil.349) that 200 million beings (most of them devas) penetrated to an understanding of the Dharma at the conclusion of the miracle.

It is noteworthy that due to its complexity and difficulty, the Twin Miracle can only be performed by a buddha (Mil.106).

Spirituality: 10 things to make you happier

Narada Thera (trans), Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly, Great Mangala Sutta, "Discourse on Blessings" (Sn 2.4; Khp 5) from Everyman's Ethics (BPS Wheel 14)

"Those who abide in this way ever remain invincible and established in happiness."

 

Deva full of splendor visits the forest grove

SAVATTHI, ancient India - Thus have I heard. Once upon a time a being of light, who illuminated the entire Jeta Grove around Anathapindika's monastery where the Buddha was staying, came to ask a question. 

 

The night was far spent, and this deva of surpassing splendor came before the Exalted One, saluted him, and respectfully stood to one side. He addressed the Exalted One in verse:

 

"Many devas and humans, yearning after good, have pondered happiness. [Commentary: mangala, or "blessings," means what is conducive to happiness and prosperity.] Tell me, what leads to the greatest blessing!"

(Treasures of Wisdom/earth-spirit/flickr.com)

[The Buddha answered the deva's question in 10 ways:] 1. "Not to associate with fools, to associate with the wise, to honor those worthy of honor — this is the greatest blessing.

 

2. To reside in a suitable place [not too noisy, crowded, or distracting, where good people are bent on the performance of the Ten Meritorious Deeds*, and where the Dharma exists as a living principle], to have made merit [profitable karma, good deeds] beforehand, and to set oneself in the right course [making the resolve to abandon immorality for virtue, doubt for confidence, selfishness for generosity] — this is the greatest blessing.

• *10 Wholesome Actions (kusala-kammapatha) in thought, word, deed: freeing the mind/heart of greed, anger, wrong views; avoiding speech that is untruthful, slanderous, abusive, or frivolous; avoiding killing, stealing, sexual misconduct.

3. To have much learning, to be skilled [in harmless crafts], well-trained in discipline [self-discipline in thought, word, and deed. Commentary: there are two kinds of discipline — that of the householder, which is abstaining from ten unwholesome actions and that of the monastic, which is the non-transgression of the offenses enumerated in the Path to Liberation (patimokkha, the monastic code)], and to be of good speech [speaking what is opportune, truthful, friendly, profitable, and uttered with thoughts of loving-kindness] — this is the greatest blessing.

4. To support mother and father, to cherish spouse and children, and to be engaged in a harmless livelihood — this is the greatest blessing.

 

5. To be generous in giving, to be upright in conduct, to help one's relatives, and to be blameless in action — this is the greatest blessing.

 

6. To be averse to any more unwholesomeness and to abstain from it, to refrain from intoxicants, and to be steadfast in virtue — this is the greatest blessing.

 

7. To be respectful, humble, contented, grateful, and to listen to the Dharma on suitable occasions [such as when one is harassed by unwholesome thoughts] — this is the greatest blessing.

 

8. To be patient and behaved, to associate with inspiring teachers [ascetics], and to have uplifting discussions on suitable occasions — this is the greatest blessing.

 

9. Self-restraint [suppressing greed and aversion by guarding the senses, abandoning indolence by rousing energy], a wholesome and beneficial life, the perception of the Four Noble Truths [which represent Buddhism in a nutshell], and the realization of nirvana — this is the greatest blessing.

 

10. A heart/mind undisturbed by good and ill fortune [loka-dhamma: "worldly things," conditions connected with this world, such as these eight: gain and loss, honor and dishonor, praise and blame, pain and joy], from sorrow freed, from defilements cleansed, from fear liberated — this is the greatest blessing.

• Each of these three expressions refers to the mind of a fully enlightened individual: sorrowless, stainless (free of lust, hate, delusion), security from the bonds of sensual cravings, rebirth, wrong views, and ignorance.

Those who abide in this way ever remain invincible and established in happiness. These are life's greatest blessings."

Rains Retreat: Sunday Dharma Sermons

Dharmachari, Wisdom Quarterly; Ven. Chandananda, LABuddhistVihara.org

Line of ancient robed Buddhas in the sunshine, Thailand (Trianons Oficial/flickr.com)

  

Sacred Pali text, Burma (theworld.org)

"O, meditators, take the medcine of the Dharma since there is no other medicine which can [once and for all] cure your disease of suffering!"

"Rare is birth as a human being. Rare is hearing the sublime Dharma."

The annual Rains Retreat is observed in Asia as well as Los Angeles by members of the Greater Monastic Community (Maha Sangha). According to Sri Lankan Theravada ("School of the Enlightened-Elders," namely the historical Buddha's immediate disciples) tradition, "hearers" formally invite Buddhist monks and nuns to observe the Rains Retreat in a particular temple complex (vihara) during the months of July, August, September, and October. This period of intensive teaching and practice culminates in the Katina robe-offering ceremony.

Special Dharma activities are performed -- including this series of Sunday lectures on a variety of sutras (discourses) and feasting on exotic island dishes (free). Events are open to all and may even be sponsored as a means of transferring merit to departed relatives. Wear white in temple-appropriate style, and consider bringing flowers or candles to offer if one wishes. Sundays, 5:00 pm, through October 27, 2013:

• Los Angeles Buddhist Monastery
• vbuddhist@yahoo.com
• 920 N. Summit Avenue
• Pasadena, CA 91103
• (626) 797-6144

Can a Buddhist be a Christian?

Text by John Suler, Rider.edu, Zenstory; Wisdom Quarterly

Jesus the Christ and Siddhartha the Buddha from the awesome Japanese manga 聖☆おにいさん。or "Saintly Young Men" (Gerald Ford)

Christian Buddhist
John Suler, Zen Stories to Tell Your Neighbors
One of Master Gasan's monks visited the university in Tokyo. When he returned he asked the master if he had ever read the Christian Bible.

"No," Gasan replied, "please read some of it to me." The monk opened the Bible to the "Sermon on the Mount" in the Gospel of St. Matthew.

After reading Christ's words about the lilies in the field, he paused. Master Gasan was silent for a long time.

"Yes," he finally said, "Whoever uttered these words is an enlightened being [one attained to the level of stream enterer or higher]. What you have read to me is the essence of everything I have been trying to teach you here!"

(In another version of this old Zen tale, a Christian reads the Bible passage to Gasan.)

Reactions to the Story

"This story held no interest for me. I don't believe in the existence of God and therefore believe that the Bible is a bunch of bologna!"

"Maybe the point is that we don't need Bibles OR Zen teachers to find enlightenment. We already have it within ourselves."

"It's so sad that wars are fought over differences in 'religion,' when in reality all the world's religions are saying the same essential things. If nations really took religion to heart, so many lives would be saved."

"'Lilies of the field' is a rather zen story, encouraging naturalness acceptance of being."

"Universalism is an extremely faulty world view. All the worlds religions do not teach the same thing. Religion is not about being good to your fellow man, or doing nice things to other people. So many of these comments seem to think that because most religions teach that, in general, you should'nt kill people, and you should'nt steal, and that you should feed the poor, etc., that its all the same thing. That misses the point entirely, and trivializes a vast amount of the most deeply held beliefs of the world's populace...."

"It is interesting that when presented with the Bible, the Master was open to listening. I don't find the same to be true when the situation is reversed, . It feels very comfortable to me to be Buddhist and still feel at peace with others who do not share my views."

"If what is true for you is true, and what is true for me is true, than really nothing is true. If there are no absolutes in the universe higher than our own opinions or experiences, than we live on an ever shifting sand. True truth is true whether we know it, or believe it. It is absolute, unchanging, and independent of our reactions to it. God is God and we are not him. I believe this story is an attempt to dilute the hard division line that the Bible deliberately draws. Our culture trys to offer solutions that do not offend anyone. I wonder how Master Gasan would react to Christ's words "no one may come to the Father but by me." Or "the kingdom of heaven advances violently, and violent men lay hold of it"?

"This comment is not about the story but about the other comments: Taken collectively, they illustrate Martin Luther's observation, 'A book is like a mirror -- if an ape looks in, no saint will look out!'" More

• Westerners speak out on Zen stories

Concentration
After winning several archery contests, a young and boastful champion challenged the old Zen master who was renowned for his skills as an archer.

The young man demonstrated remarkable technical proficiency when he hit a distant bull's eye on his first try then split that arrow with a second shot.

"There," he said to the old monk, "see if you can match that!" Undisturbed, the master did not draw his bow, but rather motioned for the young archer to follow him up the mountain.

Curious about the old fellow's intentions, the champion followed him high up the mountain until they reached a deep chasm spanned by a single shaky log. Calmly stepping out onto this perilous and unsteady bridge, the old master picked a far off tree as a target, drew his bow, and fired a clean and direct hit.

"Now it is your turn," he said as he gracefully stepped off the log and back onto firm ground.

Staring with terror into the bottomless and beckoning abyss, the young man could not force himself to step out onto the log nor in any way focus on trying to hit a target.

"You have much skill with your bow," the master finally said, sensing his young challenger's predicament, "but you have little skill with the mind that lets loose the shot." Reactions

"Everything is burning!" (video)

Drrian, Seven, Hamilton, Wisdom Quarterly (Fire Sermon, SN 35.28 abbreviated)

Then there are the hot hells (narakas, nirayas).

What really "burns"

The Buddha said: "Everything is burning! What is the 'everything' that is burning?

"The eye [and other bases of consciousness -- ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind] is burning.

"Visible forms are burning. Consciousness born at the eye [ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind] is burning. Contact born at the eye is burning.

"And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye -- whether experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither-pleasure-nor-pain -- that too is burning.

"Burning with what is it burning?

"It is burning with the fire of passion (greed, lust, craving), the fire of aversion (hate, fear, revulsion), the fire of delusion (wrong view, ignorance, confusion).

"It is burning, I tell you, with birth, aging, and death, with sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, distress, and despair!" (The Fire Sermon, SN 35.28)

(KQEDondemand) In dry years, fires cost billions of dollars and often result in lost lives. QUEST goes inside the California fire season, looking at how the history of human fire suppression is actually feeding today's danger.

Then there are the hot purgatories

• Sañjīva - the "reviving" hell. where the ground is made of hot iron heated by an immense fire. Beings here appear fully grown, already in a state of fear and misery. As soon as one begins to fear being harmed, others appear and attack with iron claws. Or the attendants of the King of the Dead appear and attack with fiery weapons. Going unconscious as if dead, they are suddenly restored by karma to full health and attacked again. Other tortures experienced here include being splashed with molten metal, being sliced to pieces, and suffering from the oppressive heat. The lifespan here is not "eternal" but may as well be. In human years it can reach 1.62×10¹² years. It is said to be 1000 spans beneath Jambudvīpa [likely a reference to the Earth rather than just the subcontinent] and 10,000 spans in each direction.
• Kālasūtra - the "black thread" purgatory. Here, in addition to the torments mentioned above, black lines are drawn upon the body. And the King of Death's servants cut beings along these lines with fiery saws and sharp axes. Life here is 1.296×10¹³ years.
• Saṃghāta - the "crushing" purgatory. Also founded on hot iron, it is surrounded by huge masses of rock that smash together and crush the beings into a bloody jelly. When the rocks part again, karma restores life and the process begins again. The lifespan here is 1.0368×10¹⁴ years.
• Raurava - the "screaming" purgatory. Here beings run wildly about, looking for refuge from the burning ground. When they find any apparent shelter, they are locked inside screaming it as it blazes around them. Life here is 8.2944×10¹⁴ years.
• Mahāraurava - the "piercing" purgatory. The karmic results experienced here are for people who maintain their own body by hurting others. In this hell, ruru animals known as kravyāda torment them and eat their flesh. Lifespans are 6.63552×10¹⁵ years.
• Tapana - the "heating" purgatory. Here the King of Death's servants impale beings on a fiery spear until flames issue from their noses and mouths. Lifespans are 5.308416×10¹⁶ years.
• Pratāpana - the "great heating" purgatory. The torments here are similar to Tapana, but beings are pierced with a bloody trident. Lifespans are 4.2467328×10¹⁷ years. It is also said to last for the length of half an indeterminate aeon (antara kalpa).
• Avīci - the "uninterrupted" purgatory. Beings are roasted in an immense blazing oven. Lifespans here are 3.39738624×10¹⁸ years. It is also said to last for the entire length of an indeterminate aeon.

These worlds by no means exhaust the tale of possible places of suffering. Some sources describe 500 or even hundreds of thousands of different worlds. In later Chinese Buddhist texts, the numbers and types of miserable worlds were elaborated in a variety of creative ways. (See Di Yu for examples).

The types of suffering of the denizens here often resemble those of the hungry ghosts (pretas), and the two types of being are easily confused. The simplest distinction is that denizens are confined to their subterranean worlds, whereas ghosts wander.

• "Hell" is being left out in the cold

Are they real?
Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)
There is no "hell fire and brimstone" Buddhism. But these descriptions suggest that Christianity did not invent these worlds out of thin air. Another theory speculates that just as Christian (Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant) monastics and priests wanted to scare adherents into behaving, so too Buddhist monks, nuns, and scholars may have been similarly motivated. No doubt such worlds exist at least as metaphors, attempts to describe the grief, hopelessness, and suffering humans think is tantamount to the suffering they experience at the hands of others. There are definitely subterranean caverns, Deep Underground Military Bases (DUMBs), inhabited by reptoids (nagas), giants (titans, "demons," asuras), and ogres (yakkhas). But even with tangible evidence and first hand reports, we dismiss the entire idea out of hand. From at least the time of the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Sumerians, the worlds "mythologies" have included version of this exact same thing. Maybe the Buddha inherited Indus Valley Civilization and Vedic lore and simply utilized it as skillful means to teach. Perhaps a better question for commentators is, Do we believe these worlds exist? We do. They are not eternal, they are not accidental, and although they are exponentially worse than the karmic "courses of conduct" that lead to them by rebirth, they are not "unfair." Our teacher Bhikkhu Bodhi, on the other hand, reasonably suggests that they, along with the remaining 31 Planes of Existence, are metaphorical.

The devas or Greek "gods" imprisoned the titans ("demons") underground in a mountain. Should they ever be unleashed or break free, it would mean human devestation.

• The unhappy hells in detail
  

"Hell" is being left out in the cold (video)

Dorrian, Seven, Hamilton, Wisdom Quarterly (Naraka edit, SN 35.28 abbreviated)

A team of penguins goes in search of pyramids in hellishly cold realms Dante explores in the Divine Comedy from ancient Buddhist lore.

The Cold "Hells"

Arbuda – the "blister" purgatory or hell (naraka). This is a dark, frozen plain surrounded by icy mountains and continually swept by blizzards. Inhabitants of this plane of existence arise fully grown and abide life-long naked and alone, while the cold raises blisters on their bodies. The length of life in this unfortunate realm is said to be the time it would take to empty a barrel of sesame seeds if one only took out a single seed every hundred years.
Nirarbuda – the "burst blister" purgatory. This realm is even colder, and here the blisters burst open, leaving the beings' bodies covered with freezing blood and pus.
Aṭaṭa – the purgatory of shivering. Here the beings shiver in the cold, making an aṭ-aṭ-aṭ sound with their mouths.
Hahava – the realm of lamentation. Here the beings lament in the cold, going ha, ho in pain.
Huhuva – the realm of chattering teeth. Here beings shiver as their teeth chatter, making the sound hu, hu.
Utpala – the "blue lotus" unfortunate realm. Here the intense cold makes skin turn blue like the color of an utpala waterlily.
Padma – the "lotus" realm. In this place the blizzard cracks open the frozen skin leaving one raw and bloody.
Mahāpadma – the "great lotus" realm. Here the whole body cracks into pieces and the internal organs are exposed to the cold and they also crack.

The Fire Sermon

"Everything is burning! What is this 'everything' that is burning? The eye [as well as the other five bases of consciousness -- ear, nose, tongue, body, mind] is burning.

"Visible forms are burning. Consciousness born at the eye [ear, nose, tongue, body, mind] is burning. Contact born at the eye is burning.

"And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye -- whether experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither-pleasure-nor-pain -- that too is burning.

"Burning with what? It is burning with the fire of passion (greed, lust, craving), the fire of aversion (hate, fear, revulsion), the fire of delusion (wrong view, ignorance, confusion).

"It is burning, I tell you, with birth, aging, and death, with sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, distress, and despair!" (SN 35.28)

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