Buddhist Stories: The Story of Ananda, the Names of Hells, and the Praise of the Buddha, Part 3 of 11 Aug. 10, 2015

And now we come to “The Names of Hells.” “In Eastern Jambudvipa, is a mountain range called Iron Ring. The mountain is pitch black because the light of the sun and moon do not shine on it. A great hell is located there named Ultimately Uninterrupted. …Within the Iron Ring are endless hells like that. There is also the hell of Crying Out, the hell of Pulling Tongues, ….” “Each of those hells contains lesser hells numbering from one or two or three or four to hundreds of thousands. Each of those lesser hells has its own name. Such are the karmic responses of beings in Jambudvipa who commit evil deeds. The power of karma is extremely great. It rivals Mount Sumeru in its heights. It surpasses the great oceans in its depth. It obstructs the path leading to sagehood. For that reason, beings should never think that minor bad deeds are unimportant or assume that they do not count as offenses. After death, there will be retributions to undergo that cover all those details.” “To inflict these retributions in each hell, hundreds of thousands of instruments made of copper, iron, stone, or fire arise from karmic forces. Those four materials come into being in response to the kinds of karma offenders created. How much more would that be the case for the sufferings in all the many hells? If I were to speak in detail, it would take eons.”