In Paul of Tarsus, Joseph Holzner weaves together the New Testament Bible's often sketchy information about the life and mission of Saul of Tarsus, now called St. Paul by Pauline Christians, into a unified and inspiring hagiography.
With a novelist's ability to take readers into a scene and a historian's rigorous concern for accuracy, Holzner traces this Jewish Apostle's life from his early years as a disciple of the celebrated Rabbi Gamaliel through his overly zealous persecution of the Christian Assembly or "church" as a member of the competing Jewish school called the Pharisees, through his "miraculous" origin story conversion on the road to Damascus, his seemingly tireless efforts to spread the Gospel [of the newly minted Ceasar's Messiah, formerly Jesus the Nazarene not from any place called "Nazareth"], and his Christian martyr's death at the hands of his former bosses in imperial Rome.
Along the way, Holzner provides instructive background information about the religious and social situation of Saul's times and the circumstances of his New Testament letters (epistles). Here, then, is a complete and enlightening introduction to the Apostle to the Gentiles aka "the Converter of the Non-Jews" to this new much less Jewish Roman Empire-approved Universalist religion, the new opium of the masses]. More
Burn heretics for saying what we don't like!
John the Apostle with Marcion
Marcion preached that the benevolent God [the "One," the Monad] of the Gospel who sent Jesus (Yeshua) into this world as a "savior" was the true [omniscient, omnipotent] Supreme Being.
That unknowable, unfathomable, impersonal [Brahman-type GOD] is different and opposed to the malevolent Christian creator deity, the Demiurge [the "Craftsman" called Yaldabaoth], identified as Jehovah, Yahweh, YHWH in the Hebrew Bible [3, 4, 6].
He allegedly considered himself a follower of Saul of Tarsus or Paul the Apostle, whom he believed to have been the only true apostle of Jesus [3, 4], Ceasar's Messiah.
Thank you, Marcion, for creating the 1st Bible
Marcion's canon, the FIRST Christian Bible (biblical canon of which books to include) ever compiled. It consisted of 11 books: the Gospel of Marcion, which was a shorter version of the Gospel of Luke, and ten Pauline epistles [3, 4, 7].
Marcion's canon rejected the entire Old Testament, the crazed Jewish compilation (Sumerian appropriation) of a genocidal henotheistic "God" called Jehovah and his jealous and unhinged exploits, along with all other epistles and gospels of what would become the 27-book canon of the New Testament, which during his life had yet to be compiled [3, 4, 8, 9].
Let's find this heretic and crucify him.
"Marcion-ism" was denounced by its opponents as heresy and written against by the Church Fathers – notably by Tertullian in his five-book treatise Adversus Marcionem (Against Marcion) in about the Year 208 [3, 4].
Marcion's writings are lost [banned, buried, burned, destroyed], even though they were widely read and numerous manuscripts must have existed at one time [3, 4].
Even so, many scholars say it is possible to reconstruct and deduce a large part of ancient Marcionism through what later critics, especially Tertullian, said concerning him [3, 4, 10].
I'm your creator! Worship me...or else!
The movement was widespread, which forced rival sects to begin throwing up defenses. Marcionites founded churches across the Roman Empire. Their eventual decline is attributed to state intervention by later imperial edicts banning all groups deemed heretical from assembling [11].
Marcion of Sinope (Ancient Greek Μαρκίων [2, Note 1] Σινώπης (c. 85–c. 160 [3]) was a theologian [4] in early Christianity [4, 5].
Marcion preached that God had sent Jesus Christ, who was distinct from the vengeful God (Demiurge, the misbegotten son of Sophia Yaldabaoth, Jehovah, Yahweh, YHWH) who had created this physical world [4, 5, 6] or simulated reality. More
A Jewish man related to psychotherapist Sigmund Freud invented "public relations" and developed new propaganda techniques. His name is Edward Bernays. It's a form of propaganda and psychological operations when used in war.
Propaganda is a modern Latin word, a form of propagare, meaning "to spread" or "to propagate." Therefore, propaganda means the things to be propagated [5].
Jewish propagandist Eddie Bernays
Originally this word derived from a new administrative body (congregation) of the Catholic Church created in 1622 as part of the Counter-Reformation, called the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (Congregation for Propagating the Faith [or fidelity to the Vatican's corporate body]), or informally simply Propaganda [3][6].
Its activity was aimed at "propagating" the Roman Catholic [universalist] faith in non-Catholic countries [3]. From the 1790s, the term began being used also to refer to propaganda in secular activities [3].
In English, the cognate began taking a pejorative (negative connotation) in the mid-19th century, when it was used in the political sphere [3]. More
“There are, meditators, these three ‘messengers’ of the gods (devas). What are the three?
“Firstly, someone does unskillful things by way of body, speech, and mind. When that person’s body breaks up, after death, one is reborn in a place of loss, an unfortunate place, the underworld, even in hell(s).
The King of the Dead Yama is kind and just
“Then the wardens of hell take one by the arms and present one to the King of the Dead Yama, saying: ‘Your Majesty, this person did not pay due respect to mother and father, wandering ascetics and temple priests (Brahmins), nor honor the elders in the family. May Your Majesty judge this person!’
“Then King Yama questions, presses, and grills that person about the first messenger of the gods: ‘Sir, did you not see the first messenger of the gods who appeared among human beings?’
“The person answers, ‘I saw nothing, sir.’
A typical old person, balding and falling apart
“Then King Yama asks, ‘Sir, did you not see among human beings an elderly woman or man — 80, 90, or 100 years old — bent double, crooked, leaning on a staff, trembling to walk, ailing, past one’s prime, with teeth broken, hair grey, scanty or bald, skin wrinkled, and limbs blotchy?’
“The person answers, ‘I did see that, sir.’
I love you, Baby. Stay healthy, and wear a coat.
“Then King Yama asks, ‘Sir, did it not occur to you — being sensible and mature — “I, too, am liable to grow old. I am not exempt from old age. I should better do good by way of body, speech, and mind”?’
“The person answers, ‘I couldn’t, sir. I was negligent.’
“Then King Yama asks, ‘Sir, because you were negligent, you didn’t do what is skillful by way of body, speech, or mind. Indeed, they’ll definitely torment you to fit your negligence. That unskillful deed wasn’t done by your mother, father, brother, or sister.
This is Death turning samsara.
[NOTE: What deeds (karma) are skillful, wholesome, and profitable, and what intentional actions are unskillful, unwholesome, and unprofitable? Why? By natural course of results, some deeds produce pleasant, wished for, welcome results, whereas by the same natural course of results, not anyone's punishment or education, some deeds produce unpleasant, unwished for, unwelcome results. This is a natural fixity of the universe and not a meting out of rewards and punishments, as it is often presented for the sake of simplicity, clarity, and believability by many of the world's spiritual teachings. If something produces a bad result and that is not clear because it does not happen immediately or even necessarily in this life, the Buddha has pointed it out so that people and devas may guard against it if they heed the Buddha's enlightened advice. If an plant, for example, were poisonous such that anyone who ate of it, it would bring about their illness, they would not eat of it. However, if another plant seemed to produce no such result, and was inviting and experienced as pleasant, but later produced illness, people would eat of it, eat a lot of it, blissfully unaware of the danger, and one who knows might warn them. Who would listen? People would argue against such a person, laugh at such a person, stick in the mud, killjoy, goody two-shoes, judge, critic, buttinsky, and neither listen nor cause others to listen but instead urging them to eat and enjoy and not worry, having for themselves tested the plant and found it to be pleasant and without harm. Then, later, when the harm set in, long after its consumption, people would become confused: "Some say it's fine, some that it's dangerous, I don't know who to believe or what to do? I like it, so I'll do it. I don't see any harm in it, and until I do, I'll do what I want." People have that choice. In this discourse, the Buddha warns against actions that seem harmless to one who does them even though they harm others as one would not wish to be harmed. And they see no danger in this so long as the result does not ripen and come to fruition. Are Buddhist hells real? There is no need for faith or belief. One may develop meditative absorption and look for them under the ground in a designated area, and one will see for oneself. Unless one sees, how likely is anyone to believe? This traditional method of investigation is taught in detail by Pa Auk Sayadaw and his accomplished students able to enter the jhanas at will. A similar instruction is also given to perceive vimasnas or heavenly mansions above the tree tops. However it may sound to us, it is not a matter of belief or skepticism; it is a matter of looking for oneself so that one needs no teacher or teaching to tell one what is real and what is merely metaphorical. We hope it's a metaphor, a simile, or hyperbole. That is a comforting thought. But we have known people who have known-and-seen for themselves, revealing that it is completely possible to know for sure while one is yet alive and do something about it. Consider the case of the Dickensian Ebenezer S.]
“It wasn’t done by friends and colleagues, by relatives and kin, by the deities (devas), nor by wandering ascetics and temple priests. That unskillful deed was done by you alone, and you alone will experience the results.’
“Then King Yama grills that person about the second messenger of the gods: ‘Sir, did you not see the second messenger of the gods who appeared among human beings?’
“The person answers, ‘I saw nothing, sir.’
A typical sickly hag, festering
Then King Yama asks, ‘Sir, did you not see among human beings a woman or man, sick, suffering, gravely ill, collapsing in one’s own urine or feces, being picked up by some and put down by others?’
“The person answers, ‘I did see that, sir.’
“Then King Yama answers, ‘Sir, did it not occur to you — being sensible and mature — “I, too, am liable to become sick. I’m not exempt from sickness. I’d better do what is skillful by way of body, speech, and mind”?’
“The person answers, ‘I couldn’t, sir. I was negligent.’
“Then King Yama asks, ‘Sir, because you were negligent, you didn’t do what is skillful by way of body, speech, and mind. Well, they’ll definitely torment you to fit your negligence. That unskillful deed wasn’t done by your mother, father, brother, or sister.
“It wasn’t done by friends and colleagues, by relatives and kin, by the deities, nor by wandering ascetics and temple priests. That unskillful deed was done by you alone, and you alone will experience the results.’
“Then King Yama grills that person about the third messenger of the gods: ‘Sir, did you not see the third messenger of the gods who appeared among human beings?’
“The person answers, ‘I saw nothing, sir.’
“Then King Yama asks, ‘Sir, did you not see among human beings a woman or man, dead for one, two, or three days, bloated, livid, and festering?’
“The person answers, ‘I did see that, sir.’
“Then King Yama asks, ‘Sir, did it not occur to you — being sensible and mature — “I, too, am liable to die. I’m not exempt from death. I’d better do what is skillful by way of body, speech, and mind”?’
“The person answers, ‘I couldn’t, sir. I was negligent.’
“Then King Yama asks, ‘Sir, because you were negligent, you didn’t do what is skillful by way of body, speech, and mind. Well, they’ll definitely torment you to fit your negligence. That unskillful deed wasn’t done by your mother, father, brother, or sister.
“It wasn’t done by friends and colleagues, by relatives and kin, by the deities, or by wandering ascetics and temple priests. That unskillful deed was done by you alone, and you alone will experience the results.’
“Then, after grilling that person about the third messenger of the gods, King Yama falls silent. Then the wardens of hell torment one with the five-fold crucifixion.
“They drive red-hot stakes through the hands and feet, and another in the middle of the chest. And there that person suffers painful, sharp, severe, acute feelings — but that person does not die until that unskillful deed is eliminated.
“Then the wardens of hell throw that person down and hack that person with axes. …
What torments await in purgatory?
“They hang that person upside down and hack that person with hatchets. …
“They harness that person to a chariot and drive that person back and forth across burning ground, blazing and glowing. …
“They make that person climb up and down a huge mountain of burning coals, blazing and glowing. …
“Then the wardens of hell turn that person upside down and throw that person in a red-hot copper pot, burning, blazing, and glowing. There one is seared in boiling scum and one is swept up and down and round and round. And there that person suffers painful, sharp, severe, acute feelings — but that person doesn’t die until that unskillful deed is eliminated.
“Then the wardens of hell toss that person into the Great Hell (Avici, the "Waveless").
“Now, about that Great Hell:
‘Four are its corners, four its doors,
Squarely divided in equal parts.
Surrounded by an iron wall,
of iron is its roof.
The ground, too, is made of iron,
it burns with fierce fire.
The heat constantly radiates
a hundred leagues around.’
“Once upon a time, the King of the Dead Yama thought, ‘Those who do such unskillful deeds in the world receive these many different torments. Oh, I hope I might be reborn as a human being and that a Realized One — a Perfected One, a fully Awakened One, a Buddha — arises in the world! Oh, that I may pay homage to that Buddha! Then the Buddha can teach me Dhamma so that I may understand the timeless Teaching.’
“Now, I do not say this because I have heard it from some other wandering ascetic or Brahmin. I only say it because I have known, seen, and realized it for myself.
Bhikkhu Sujato (trans.), SuttaCentral.net, Devadūta Sutta(AN 3.36), Tikanipāta, Paṭhamapaṇṇāsaka, Devadūtavagga,—"Numbered Discourses" 3.36, 4. "Messengers of the Gods [Devas]" edited by Dhr. Seven; submitted by Eli W., Wisdom Quarterly
The First Episode: Recovering from Tragedy, Trusting Guides, Atheists in Spirit
(Suzanne Giesemann, Aug. 7, 2022) Should we trust spirit guides? How can we recover from tragedy? Prior life relationships? Is euthanizing (karmically misguided "mercy killing") pets okay? How can we know our life's purpose? A stunning evidential mediumship reading!
0:00 The very first episode of Ask Suzanne & Sanaya
1:50 How can we know our life's purpose?
12:30 Reincarnation ~ Will we meet people from prior lives?
15:00 How would that be decided?
16:30 Why do we so resist sitting in meditation?
18:50 How can I handle physical symptoms when connecting with spirit?
23:10 Dreams versus Dream Visits: How to tell the difference
26:50 How does Suzanne access higher wisdom?
27:22 Mediumship ~ connecting with a child ~ and stunning evidence!
30:10 Sanaya's Messages: How is Suzanne guided to images?
32:38 How can we trust the signs from spirit?
36:04 How can we live in awareness of spirit, while still in human form?
37:14 Should we trust our guides? Or our intuition?
40:08 Do atheists change their minds?
43:30 Why is depression on the rise?
46:25 Is there a higher meaning in tragic death?
47:00 How to find the meaning in tragedy
48:50 Why we may not connect in meditation
50:37 How to clear blockages
These questions and answers are included in this first episode of the very popular series of podcasts, "Ask Suzanne & Sanaya." Though you may not call in, as with the live Q&As, there is much wisdom and comfort here.
This audio episode of Messages of Hope was recorded in 2018. Hope you enjoy this new format.
ABOUT: Suzanne Giesemann is a retired U.S. Navy Commander who now serves humanity as a messenger of hope. She is an author and teacher of The Awakened Way — a mindful approach to living in awareness that we are not only human, but part of one interconnected web of higher consciousness.
Find out more about Suzanne and her mission at: suzannegiesemann.com. Find many more answers to Big Questions on Suzanne's website: suzannegiesemann.com/faq. Get your free e-guide from Suzanne, “Where Do I Begin? – Your Path to Hope and Healing Now” at bit.ly/sgiesemann.
Join The Monthly Connection, a two-hour community gathering directly with Suzanne online: suzannegiesemann.com/conn...
(Josie Grouse, streamed live on July 7, 2022) 5 Things You Need To Know About Full Moon July 13, 2022
This full moon is mega-powerful, as the number 13 is the magical lunar number.
Download free ebook: “11:11 Angel Prayer Book. Powerful Prayers for All Occasions” at JosieGrouse.com
SUBSCRIBE to the channel and SHARE loving kindness ❤️😇
New Popular Video: Spirit Caught on Camera...
People Like Cats is a collaborative book with art by Chuka Susan Chesney and poetry by Laura Madeline Wiseman published by Red Dashboard.
Featuring Chesney's lush and varied art and Wiseman's prose poetry, it contains all things of cat fancy as it meditates on the human itch for feline companionship.
At least since the time of Christopher Smart and Thomas Gray through that of T. S. Eliot, poets have focused on their affection for cats
...People Like Cats continues this strong tradition with beauty, variety, and sensitivity. The book's title poem embodies the clever ambiguity which characterizes Wiseman's playful and engaging games with language...her witty verbal play on common language about cats does not undermine the serious theme of a growing girl's encounters with the complexities of life.
She gains an early introduction to responsibilities such as cleaning and shopping, to the grim realities of hardship and delight, of sex and love, of frustration and satisfaction, of disappointment and... More
More than 1,000 young people have been charged by police in Denmark with distributing sexually explicit material.
They are accused of using Facebook Messenger to share indecent video clips of two 15-year-olds having sex.
Police said it could amount to distribution of indecent images of children, as the two people filmed are under 18.
Prison? All I did was watch amateurs do it!
Facebook tipped off the US authorities, who notified police in Denmark.
One thousand and four young people from across the country are facing charges after allegedly circulating the material via the messaging app in autumn last year.
WARNING: Beheading! Breasts! Weird underworld (6th dimension) beneath Venice, CA from the unrated comic cult classic "Forbidden Zone" featuring The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One [the Buddha] was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. There he addressed the monastics, "Meditators!"
"Yes, venerable sir," the monastics responded.
The Blessed One said, "Meditators, it is as if there were two households with doors, and a person with good eyesight, standing there between them, were to see people entering and leaving a house, wandering out and about.
"In the same way, I see -- by means of the divine eye, purified and surpassing the human -- beings passing away and re-appearing. I discern how they are inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate in accordance with their karma (previous and present actions):
"O, how these beings -- who were endowed with good conduct of body, speech, and mind, who did not revilenoble ones (those who have gained any of the stages of enlightenment), who held right views and undertook actions under the influence of right views -- with the breakup of the body, after death, have reappeared in a fortunate destination, even the heavenly realm (sagga, celestial-deva worlds).
"Or how these beings -- who were endowed with bad conduct of body, speech, and mind, who reviled noble ones, held wrong views and undertook actions under the influence of wrong views -- with the breakup of the body, after death, have reappeared in the realm of hungry ghosts (peta loka).
"Or how these beings -- who were endowed with bad conduct of body, speech, and mind, who reviled noble ones, held wrong views and undertook actions under the influence of wrong views -- with the breakup of the body, after death, have reappeared in the animal world.
"Or how these beings -- who were endowed with bad conduct of body, speech, mind, who reviled noble ones, held wrong views and undertook actions under the influence of wrong views -- with the breakup of the body, after death, have reappeared in a plane of deprivation, an unfortunate destination, a lower realm, even in [one of the] hells."
"Then the hell-wardens, seizing (such a being) by the arms, present that person to King Yama [the sympathetic Buddhist "Judge" of the Dead]:
"'This is a person, your majesty, with no respect for mother, no respect for father [Note 1], no reverence for wandering ascetics, no reverence for temple priests [shamansand Brahmins], no honor for the leaders of one's clan. Let your majesty decree a punishment.'
NOTE 1: The word "no respect for father" (apetteyyo) does not appear in the Thai edition, but it does appear in the Sri Lankan, Burmese, and British Pali Text Society editions.
WARNING: Topless breasts, electrified balloon torture (almost), and cursing! What must "hell" be like? Is it like "The Queen's Revenge" on Frenchy from "Forbidden Zone"?
"Then King Yama interviews and interrogates and castigates the person regarding the first deva [angelic] messenger:
"'Good person, did you not see the first devamessenger that has appeared among human beings [on the human plane, which means all of the manussya world]?'
"'I did not, your honor,' one says.
Then King Yama says, 'Good person, did you not see among human beings a tender baby boy lying prone in its own urine and excrement?'
"'I did, your honor,' one says.
Then King Yama says, 'Good person, did not the thought occur to you who are observant and mature: "I, too, am subject to rebirth and have not gotten beyond rebirth. I had better do good with body, speech, and mind"?'
"'I could not, your honor. I was heedless, your honor.'
Then King Yama says, 'Good person, through heedlessness you did not do what is good with body, speech, or mind. And of course, good person, they will deal with you in accordance with your heedlessness. For that harmful karma [2] of yours was neither done by your mother, nor done by your father, nor by your brother, nor by your sister, nor by your friends and companions, nor by your kinsfolk and relatives, nor done by the devas.
NOTE 2: The Pali language uses the word kamma (Sanskrit and English karma) in the singular here, as if it were an uncountable noun (like "water" or "information"). In other words, though singular in form, it could mean any number of actions. Because English does not have an equivalent uncountable noun for action, [it is here untranslated as karma, "actions," which is both singular plural].
WARNING: Sex and violence, sort of! (Creator Richard Elfman) "Forbidden Zone 2" the sequel wants to be funded so it can be remade and go beyond cult status (forbiddenzone2.com).
"'That unwholesome karma was done by you yourself, and you yourself will experience the results.'
"Then, having interviewed and interrogated and castigated the person regarding the first deva messenger, King Yama continues regarding the second:
'Good person, did you not see the second deva messenger that has appeared among human beings?'
"'I did not, your honor,' one says.
"Then King Yama says, 'Good person, did you not see among human beings a woman or man 80, 90, 100 years old -- aged, roof-rafter crooked, bent over, supported by cane, trembling with palsy, miserable, broken-toothed, gray-haired, scanty-haired, or bald, wrinkled, with limbs all blotchy?'
"'I did, your honor,' one says.
"Then King Yama says, 'Good person, did the thought not occur to you who are observant and mature: "I, too, am subject to aging, have not gotten beyond aging. I had better do good with body, speech, or mind"?'
"'I could not, your honor. I was heedless, your honor.'
"Then King Yama says, 'Good person, through heedlessness you did not do what is good with body, speech, or mind. And of course, good person, they will deal with you in accordance with your heedlessness. For that harmful karma [those intended actions] of yours was neither done by your mother, father, brother, sister, friends and companions, kinsmen and relatives, nor done by the devas. That unwholesome action was done by you yourself, and you yourself will experience the results.'
"Then, having interviewed and interrogated and castigated the person regarding the second deva messenger, King Yama questions one regarding the third:
"'Good person, did you not see the third deva messenger that has appeared among human beings?'
"'I did not, your honor,' one says.
"Then King Yama says, 'Good person, did you not see among human beings a woman or man diseased, in pain, severely ill, lying in his or her own urine and excrement, lifted up by others, laid down by others?'
"'I did, your honor,' one says.
"Then King Yama says, 'Good person, did not the thought occur to you who are observant and mature: "I, too, am subject to illness, have not gotten beyond illness. I had better do good with body, speech, or mind"?'
"'I could not, your honor. I was heedless, your honor.'
"Then King Yama says, 'Good person, through heedlessness you did not do what is good with body, speech, or mind. And of course, good person, they will deal with you in accordance with your heedlessness. For that harmful karma of yours was neither done by your mother...your friends and companions...nor done by the devas.
"'That unwholesome action was done by you yourself, and you yourself will experience the results.'
"Then...regarding the third deva messenger, King Yama interviews and interrogates and castigates one regarding the fourth:
"'Good person, did you not you see the fourth deva messenger that has appeared among human beings?'
"'I did not, your honor,' one says.
Human tortures
Evil deeds done dirt cheap ripen later (UC).
"Then King Yama says, 'Good person, did you not see among human beings rulers -- catching a thief, a criminal -- having him tortured in many ways:
flogging him with whips,
beating him with canes,
beating him with clubs;
cutting off his hands,
cutting off his feet,
cutting off his hands and feet;
cutting off his ears,
cutting off his nose,
cutting off his ears and nose;
subjecting him to [these forms of medieval torture:] the 'porridge pot,'
the 'polished-shell shave,'
the 'Rāhu's mouth,'
the 'flaming garland,'
the 'blazing hand,'
the 'grass-duty (ascetic),'
the 'bark-dress (ascetic),'
the 'burning antelope,'
the 'meat hooks,'
the 'coin-gouging,'
the 'lye pickling,'
the 'pivot on a stake,'
the 'rolled-up bed';
having him splashed with boiling oil,
devoured by dogs,
impaled alive on a stake; or
cutting off his head with a sword?'
Those who support and approve harmful actions engage in harmful mental action (karma).
"'I did, your honor,' one says.
"Then King Yama says, 'Good person, did not the thought occur to you who are observant and mature: "It seems that those who do harmful actions are tortured in these many ways in the here and now. How much more in the hereafter? I had better do good with body, speech, and mind"?'
"'I could not, your honor. I was heedless, your honor.'
"Then King Yama says, 'Good person, through heedlessness you did not do what is good with body, speech, or mind. And of course, good person, they will deal with you in accordance with your heedlessness.
"'For that unwholesome action of yours was neither done by your mother...nor by the devas. That unwholesome karma was done by you yourself, and you yourself will experience the results.'
"Then, having...regarding the fourth deva messenger, King Yama interviews and interrogates and castigates one regarding the fifth:
"'Good person, did you not see the fifth deva messenger that has appeared among human beings?'
"'I did not, your honor,' one says.
"Then King Yama says, 'Good person, did you not see among human beings a woman or man, one day, two days, or three days dead: bloated, blue, oozing?'
"'I did, your honor,' one says.
"Then King Yama says, 'Good person, did the thought not occur to you who are observant and mature: "I, too, am subject to death, have not gotten beyond death. I had better do good with body, speech, and mind"?'
"'I could not, your honor. I was heedless, your honor.'
"Then King Yama says, 'Good person, through heedlessness you did not do what is good with body, speech, or mind. And of course, good person, they will deal with you in accordance with your heedlessness. For that harmful karma of yours was neither done by your mother, nor your father...nor by the devas.
"'That unwholesome action was done by you yourself, and you yourself will experience the results.'
"Then, having interviewed and interrogated and castigated the person regarding the fifth deva messenger, King Yama falls silent [3].
NOTE 3: In Asian Buddhist kingdoms, there was a custom that when a king was sentencing a criminal to death or to be tortured, he would not actually express the sentence, but would simply fall silent. The Commentary counsels that if a student asks not to hear the description of hell (which follows from this point), a teacher should teach the student meditation and then wait until the student has reached stream-entry before returning to a description of [the hells].
Hell awaits (Metal Blade Records) What must "hell" be like? Slayer tries to express it in their implicitly Christian/Satanic song "Hell Awaits."
"Then the hell-wardens torture [the person with a store of bad karma] with what's called a fivefold imprisonment: They drive a red-hot iron stake through one hand, they drive a red-hot iron stake through the other hand, they drive a red-hot iron stake through one foot, they drive a red-hot iron stake through the other foot, they drive a red-hot iron stake through the middle of his chest.
"There one feels painful, racking, piercing feelings, yet one does not die as long as one's unwholesome karma is not yet exhausted.
"Then the hell-wardens lay one down and slice one with axes. Then they hold one's feet up and head down and slice one with adzes. Then they harness one to a chariot and drive one back and forth over ground that is blazing, burning, and glowing.
"Then they make one climb up and down a vast mountain of embers that is blazing, burning, and glowing. Then they hold one's feet up and head down and plunge one into a red hot copper cauldron that is blazing, burning, and glowing.
"There one boils with bubbles foaming. And as one is boiling there with bubbles foaming, one goes now up, now down, now all around. There one feels painful, racking, piercing feelings, yet one does not die as long as hone's unwholesome karma is not yet exhausted [4].
NOTE 4: In the Sri Lankan (Sinhalese), Burmese, and British Pali Text Society editions, all in Pali, the sentence, "There one feels painful, racking, piercing feelings, yet one does not die as long as one's unwholesome karma is not exhausted" appears after each of the punishments [painful karmic consequences] listed in this paragraph. In the Thai edition, which is followed here, it appears only at the end of the paragraph.
Headless ghost of Yue Fei confronts recently deceased spirit of Qin Hui in 6th Court of Hell. Plaque held by attendant (left) reads: "Qin Hui's 10 wicked crimes" from a 19th-century Chinese Hell Scroll (W).
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Human torture exists but not hellish?
"Then the hell-wardens throw one into the Great Hell [Avici, "The Waveless"]. And as to the Great Hell, meditators:
"It is four-cornered and has four gates set in the middle of each side. It is surrounded by an iron fortress wall and roofed with iron. Its floor is made of red hot iron, heated, fully blazing. It stands always spreading 100 leagues all around.
"The flame that leaps from the eastern wall of the Great Hell strikes the western wall. The flame that leaps from the western wall strikes the eastern wall. The flame that leaps from the northern wall strikes the southern wall. The flame that leaps from the southern wall strikes the northern wall. The flame that leaps from the bottom strikes the top. The flame that leaps from the top strikes the bottom.
"There one feels painful, racking, piercing feelings, yet one does not die as long as one's unwholesome karma is not yet exhausted.
"There comes a time when, ultimately, with the passing of a long stretch of time, the eastern gate of the Great Hell opens. One runs there, rushing quickly. As one runs there, rushing quickly, one's outer skin burns, one's inner skin burns, one's flesh burns, one's tendons burn, even one's bones turn to smoke.
When [one's foot] is lifted, one is the just same [5].
NOTE 5: The Commentary does not explain the meaning of this ambiguous sentence. It could mean that when the hell-being's foot is lifted from the burning hot floor, either (1) one's skin and so on continues burning or (2) one's body returns to its original form, either of which is gruesome.
(MVD Entertainment Group) This is the "Citizen Kane" of underground movies. Sexy Frenchy falls into an insane underworld (sixth dimension) ruled by a horny little king and his jealous queen. Chicken-boy comes to the rescue, only to have his head cut off by the soul-singing Devil himself -- played by Danny Elfman and the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. Frog butlers, topless princesses, black gamblers and drug dealers, and rioting school kids sing and dance in unforgettable musical numbers!
Ethiopian Christian: Hell is terrible.
"But when one finally arrives, the door slams shut. There one feels painful, racking, piercing feelings, yet one does not die as long as one's unwholesome karma is not yet exhausted.
"There comes a time when, ultimately, with the passing of a long stretch of time, the western gate of the Great Hell opens... the northern gate... the southern gate of the Great Hell opens. One runs there, rushing quickly. As one runs there, rushing quickly, one's outer skin burns, one's inner skin burns, one's flesh burns, one's tendons burn, even one's bones turn to smoke. When [one's foot] is lifted, one is the just same. But when one finally arrives, the door slams shut. There one feels painful, racking, piercing feelings, yet one does not die as long as one's unwholesome karma is not yet exhausted.
"There comes a time when, ultimately, with the passing of a long stretch of time, the eastern gate of the Great Hell opens. One runs there, rushing quickly. As one runs there, rushing quickly, one's outer skin burns, one's inner skin burns, one's flesh burns, one's tendons burn, even one's bones turn to smoke. When [one's foot] is lifted, one is the just same. One gets out through the gate. But right next to the Great Hell is a vast Excrement Hell.
"One falls into that. And in that Excrement Hell, needle-mouth beings bore into one's outer skin. Having bored into one's outer skin, they bore into one's inner skin... one's flesh... one's tendons... the bone. Having bored into the bone, they feed on the marrow. There one feels painful, racking, piercing feelings, yet one does not die as long as one's unwholesome karma is not yet exhausted.
"Right next to the Excrement Hell is the vast Hot Ashes Hell. One falls into that. There one feels painful, racking, piercing feelings, yet one does not die as long as one's harmful actions are not yet exhausted.
"Right next to the Hot Ashes Hell is the vast Simbali Forest, [with trees] reaching up a league, covered with thorns 16 finger breadths long -- blazing, burning, and glowing. One enters that and is made to climb up and down them. There one feels painful, racking, piercing feelings, yet one does not die as long as one's unwholesome actions are not yet exhausted.
"Right next to the Simbali Forest is the vast Sword-leaf Forest. One enters that. There the leaves, stirred by the wind, cut off one's hand, cut off one's foot, cut off one's hand and foot, cut off one's ear, cut off one's nose, cut off one's ear and nose. There one feels painful, racking, piercing feelings, yet one does not die as long as one's unwholesome karma is not yet exhausted.
"Right next to the Sword-leaf Forest is the vast Lye-water River. One falls into that. There one is swept downstream, one is swept upstream, one is swept downstream and upstream. There one feels painful, racking, piercing feelings, yet one does not die as long as one's unwholesome karma is not yet exhausted.
Islam: Muhammad visits to hell to see women
"Then the hell-wardens pull one out with a hook and, placing one on the ground, say: 'Well, good person, what do you want?'
"One replies, 'I'm hungry, venerable sirs.' So the hell-wardens pry open one's mouth open with red hot iron tongs -- blazing, burning, and glowing -- and throw into it a copper ball, blazing, burning, and glowing.
"It burns one's lips, it burns one's mouth, it burns one's stomach and comes out the lower side, carrying along one's bowels and intestines. There one feels painful, racking, piercing feelings, yet one does not die as long as one's unwholesome actions are not yet exhausted.
"Then the hell-wardens say: 'Well, good person, what do you want?' One replies: 'I'm thirsty, venerable sirs.' So the hell-wardens pry open one's mouth with red hot iron tongs -- blazing, burning, and glowing -- and pour into it molten copper, blazing, burning, and glowing.
"It burns one's lips, it burns one's mouth, it burns one's stomach and comes out the lower side, carrying along one's bowels and intestines. There one feels painful, racking, piercing feelings, yet one does not die as long as one's unwholesome karma is not yet exhausted.
"Then the hell-wardens throw one back into the Great Hell once more [6].
NOTE 6: The Commentary notes that not everyone who falls into [Avici] hell is tortured with all of these painful karmic consequences: some of the tortures are skipped; in some cases the hell-being's karma is exhausted before the full round of tortures is completed, so that one dies and is reborn elsewhere. Not everyone goes for repeated rounds. Also, it should be noted that suffering in hell is NEVER for eternity (though it may certainly feel like an eternity). As the discourse implies, when the hell-being's bad karma is exhausted, one dies and is reborn elsewhere, in accordance with one's other karma.
(FZ) What in the world is "Forbidden Zone" the cult movie about?
"Once, meditators, the thought occurred to King Yama: 'Those who did bad deeds in the world are tortured in these many ways. O, that I might gain [rebirth in] the human state! And that a Wayfarer (Tathāgata, a buddha) -- worthy and rightly awakened -- might arise in the world! And that I might attend to that Wayfarer! And that he might teach me the [liberating] Dharma! And that I might understand his Dharma!'
"I tell you this, meditators, not from having heard it from another wandering ascetic or Brahmin. On the contrary, I tell you this just as I have known for myself, seen it for myself, understood it for myself."
That is what the Blessed One said. Having said it, the [Welcome One and] Well-Gone One, the Teacher, further said:
Warned by deva messengers, those youths who are heedless grieve for a long, long time -- people entering a lower state.
But those here who are good, people of upright conduct, when warned by deva messengers are ever heedful of this ennobling Dharma.
Seeing danger in clinging, in the coming-into-play of rebirth and death, they are released from letting go (not being clingy), in the ending of rebirth and death. They, happy, arriving at safety, fully released here and now, having gone, gone beyond all anger and danger, have escaped all suffering and disappointment.
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