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The Concept Of Heaven And Hell In Buddhism

Buddhism is essentially a religion which prefers peace to violence and humanity to cruelty. Not only that, its hands of mercy reach out to those who have gone beyond their conscience and done some misdeeds.

buddhism

Buddhism is essentially a religion which prefers peace to violence and humanity to cruelty. Not only that, its hands of mercy reach out to those who have gone beyond their conscience and done some misdeeds. Buddhism finds it hard to accept certain general facts about hell and heaven, concepts that are followed by other religions.

They see sin and punya, heaven and hell in an entirely different light. As per their knowledge, the hell is not a permanent abode for sinners. It is not fair to condemn a man to hell permanently for his weaknesses which could otherwise be corrected to put the person back to the righteous path. It gives a chance for even a criminal to mend his mistakes. Every man is entitled to correct himself even when he is in the depths of hell using his previous merits. It is a temporary place and not a life punishment.

Do Heaven or Hell Exist?

Gautama Buddha did not believe in permanent hell due to the reason that he believed that hell and heaven existed in the current life as well as beyond the world. To Buddha, the idea of a hell existing below the oceans looked dubious as he believed that the painful or negative sensations we go through, by themselves are to be dubbed as hell and the feeling of elation that we experience is to be thought of as heaven.

Pleasure And Pain Vs Heaven and Hell

The fire of hell encompasses the spectrum of human weaknesses we all have, in th form of anger, greed or ignorance. We have eleven kinds of physical and mental pai which we normally get to discern in our daily lives. It is people who, with the power of their negativity burn down this world. Any place is hell, here or beyond the here, if you are put to suffering and agony. The worldly life that you enjoy is your heaven brought down to earth. Due to going through pain and pleasure, we are able to reflect on the real nature and credibility of human life. In other planes of existence, according to Buddhists, there are no chances for such realisation and sometimes there could be more pleasure and sometimes, pain, in those realms. Buddhism encourages positive emotions. Because it does not believe in harsh punishment for the problem of sin. It gives him a chance to reform and go on with his life as usual. It deals with the human pain in the gentlest way it could ever.

Is Reincarnation A Part Of Our Journey To The Beyond?

Buddhists believe in rebirths. According to them, the last thoughts of a dying man determine where and how he is going to be born next. Last thoughts are formed on the basis of his positive and negative experience that he has passed through in his life. In case his dying thought is a happy one then his life next is going to be heaven on earth which inspite of the merits accumulated, does not stay that way for long. Once your punya is depleted, you would certainly come back and begin all over again. When he decides to follow the noble path of virtues, will he be able to get out of the cycle of birth and death. He needs the Right View for this.

How To View Life In The Karmic Perspective?

God is beyond the concept of karma and heaven and hell. Certainly, they were not his creations. It is our Karma that rules us, and metes out the judgment that we deserve to get. The prime focus of Buddhism is to build your character and strength of mind. Heaven is as temporary as hell. Buddha never frightened people with consequences, which put them in fear always.

What Does Hinduism Have To Say About This?

Hinduism and Buddhism are similar in this respect but Hinduism believes in action and reaction theory, which is the karma theory. Our destiny gets steered in the direction of our karma. We have to get what we deserve, whether good or bad. But Hinduism was thought to be more challenging in terms of practice and Buddhism was relatively easier to follow.

Disclaimer: The information is based on assumptions and information available on the internet and the accuracy or reliability is not guaranteed. Boldsky does not confirm any inputs or information related to the article and our only purpose is to deliver information. Kindly consult the concerned expert before practising or implementing any information and assumption.

Story first published: Wednesday, December 14, 2022, 9:25 [IST]