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Finished with the fire of hell, then what?

AstralProjecteeAstralProjectee
edited February 2012 in Buddhism Basics
OK what if someone was in the fire of the deep hell and then they burn off all their karma how do they get back to the upper realms?

Peace!

Comments

  • SabreSabre Veteran
    edited February 2012
    Climbing?

    Or maybe by elevator.


    Ok, joking aside. The fact is we (or at least I) don't know. And the Buddha said not to bother about how karma actually works in detail. It's behind our comprehension. But we can work with what we see. You do kind things, you get happy. You meditate, you become peaceful. This is the karma that actually matters.
  • personperson Don't believe everything you think The liminal space Veteran
    My understanding is that once their negative karma is exhausted they then die and with no karma to propel the new birth into hell they are born elsewhere.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    yup.
    all gone.
    die.
    reborn in a new realm.
    as the change may be gradual, it will be up through the negative realms first, probably... you know, animals, hungry ghosts..... then as things get better, so do the rebirths.

    all supposition, but as the question is hugely hypothetical, so is the answer.... :)
  • IronRabbitIronRabbit Veteran
    Keep in mind - hypothetically - there is no "someone" or "they"- burning, being reborn, getting out of "somewhere" nasty, arriving at "upper" more desirable all inclusive resort-like realms. These are like fairy tales - children's stories - designed to illustrate in picture thinking - which we linearly logical westerners don't have a good handle on - how the continuum of consciousness or life energy works. The function of such "folk tales" are to alleviate the suffering of the common, uneducated, unsophisticated sangha of two millenia ago around the fear of death and allow them to practice in the present moment as unhindered by samsara as was possible. It must have worked to some degree because here we are so many centuries later and the tradition has been faithfully carried forward. Seems samsara has too - we suffer trying to wrap our 21st century minds around these concepts. That is why teachers advise not to spend too much effort honing a perfect understanding of karma and rebirth - stressing training, practice and generating merit as more skillful.

    image
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    When the realm is let go of. Another realm opens. And there is clear light of mind in between realms. It doesn't have to be at death. If you take the realms as places in mind.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    OK what if someone was in the fire of the deep hell and then they burn off all their karma how do they get back to the upper realms?
    Peace!
    Buddhist hell realms aren't necessarily fiery. There are cold hells. There's a hell that's both hot and cold. See: http://www.newbuddhist.com/discussion/13661/hell-realms-debate
    for references from Buddhist texts, Theravadan monks, etc.

  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    Dakini, how can it be both hot and cold? For that matter is it possible to be in all of these realms at once in seed consciousness? The six realms and the forms and the formless? Manifesting as the conditions to support them arise?
  • taiyakitaiyaki Veteran
    Surviving hell is a great experience.

    Now have empathy for those who are currently in the same situation.

    Their suffering now can be understood on a deep level and compassion should arise naturally. By helping others who are in the same circumstance (could be sharing the dharma, or giving a smile, holding a door, etc) we learn to finally let go and be happy.

    But do not throw away your accomplishments of surviving hell. These are precious experiences that can help bring great compassion, wisdom, and empathy.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    Dakini, how can it be both hot and cold? For that matter is it possible to be in all of these realms at once in seed consciousness? The six realms and the forms and the formless? Manifesting as the conditions to support them arise?
    It alternates between freezing cold and burning hot. I just came across that info recently.

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