Review of sufferings of the 5 non-human realms

The sufferings in the six realms

The sufferings in the hell realm

Rebirth in hell results from serious non-virtuous deeds, such as the karma generated by killing. Except for the karma of solitary hells, all other hells are a consequence of common karma. The sufferings of hells are long and intense. According to the sutras, the hell realm consists of eighteen hells: eight hot hells, eight cold hells, the neighbouring hells, and ephemeral hells.

In the eight hot hells, the ground is burning like red hot iron plates. When you put your feet on it, your feet will burn. In the pot full of iron lava, your body will burn when lava is poured into it. When made to swallow a piece of iron, your throat will burn. When entering the eight cold hells, your skin will be frozen, cut open and be full of blood. After being slaughtered by countless knives, you will be reborn to face the same torture again and again. The beings in the hell realm have giant naked bodies, thin skins with their red flesh showing, and therefore are very sensitive to suffering. Just a gentle touch is unbearably painful.

Imagine what it feels like on a cold winter’s day standing outside naked, then contemplate, “What if I were to be reborn in the eight cold hells?” It will be countless times colder than this winter weather. Imagine the feeling of burning your hands on an iron stove. Then contemplate what it feels like to be reborn in the eight hot hells. Your feet burn the moment they touch the ground. Now even a small needle prick hurts. In the human realm, the pain of being cut numerous times cannot be compared to even an instant of pain in the hell realm. Just imagining the pain in the hell realm may scare us, let alone experiencing it firsthand. The sentient beings in the hell realms will endure at least nine million years of pain. Some sentient beings live so long that there are no words to express the extent of their suffering.

The sufferings of hungry ghosts

Being reborn in the hungry ghost realm is due to greed and stinginess, not being willing to help others, only caring about our own well-being. It may also result from the negative karma generated by obstructing others from making offerings, and so on.

As stated in the sutras, there are many types of beings in the hungry ghost realms. Hungry ghosts with outer obstacles cannot even hear the word water in hundreds of years. They are often hungry and thirsty, trying to search for food. Sometimes they see a river from afar and they use their body to support their huge belly to run to the river. However, when they are close, they discover a dry river bed. They sometimes see fruit laden trees, but when they are close, the trees are withered. Sometimes they see a lot of good food, but when they run closer, there are soldiers guarding it, and they are beaten. In summer, they feel that the moon is hot, while in winter they feel that the sun is cold. They lead a very painful existence.

Hungry ghosts with internal obstacles have a mouth as small as the eye of a needle. They want to drink water, but the water cannot flow down their thin throats, and the poison in their mouths will dry out the water. Even if they manage to drink a little, it cannot satisfy their huge belly. If they are full, they will suffer from the burning feeling at night consuming all their internal organs. When they try to walk, their thin legs can hardly carry their big bellies.

An additional obstacle for hungry ghosts is that many small hungry ghosts try to eat their flesh. Flying ghosts, and so on, are constantly in a state of fear and confusion. Often raising harmful thoughts toward others and wishing to hurt them. Many will fall to the hell realm after death, and every seven days they will experience the pain of being killed by a weapon or the pain of committing suicide by hanging. No matter where the hungry ghosts are born they have to endure cold and hot environments, hunger and thirst, fear and fatigue. When the pain of hunger and thirst increases over time, they are only able to find waste and slime. They are driven to desperation in their search for food and water. Meanwhile, among hungry ghosts there are also power struggles and fights for food. These hungry ghosts have to endure at least fifteen thousand years of pain.

The suffering of animals

Ignorance is the main reason for being reborn in the animal realm. Many big animals have small insects living on them and biting them, their pain from moment to moment is unthinkable. The animals in the ocean live by preying on others and constantly live in fear. The animals in the mountains also prey on each other and are also killed by hunters. Animals on farms have to endure violent treatment when they are slaughtered. We can observe this cruelty in our own kitchens: animals are skinned alive, their guts are ripped open, heads and feet chopped off, and then fried or boiled. In the market, eels are pinned on a board, their whole spine cut out; fish are gutted while still moving; the chickens’ heads are chopped off, their eyes still blinking; the pig cries out while being slaughtered. Animals such as pigs, cows, and sheep are lined up for slaughter. When watching their own kind being slaughtered they shake in fear. In some cases, when their bodies are cut open, we can see that their hearts were physically broken from the horror of it all. You can imagine the terrible suffering of these animals.

The suffering in the god realm

The god realm consists of the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm. The beings in the desire realm obtain great merit by taking refuge in the Buddha Dharma, believing in cause and effect, practising the ten virtuous deeds, and avoiding the ten non-virtuous actions. During their lifetimes they have great merit and lead a long life with everything they need. Therefore they spend their whole lives indulging in enjoyment and, as a result, there is no time to practise the Dharma. However, when the merit is exhausted and they show the five symptoms of dying, they experience immense suffering. When their positive merit is spent and their negative karma manifests itself, most of them will descend to the three lower realms. Since they have the ability to foresee their future life, when they see the three lower realms, their suffering is like a live fish struggling on hot sand. Beings in the form and formless realms spend a long time staying in a meditative state. Most of them descend to the animal realm due to ignorance. However, since they think that such a meditative state is liberation, when they fall into the animal realm, strong doubt about enlightenment will arise. Such wrong view in relation to the Buddha Dharma will result in negative karma in their future lives.

The suffering in the asura realm

Being reborn in the asura realm is due to jealousy. The sufferings of the asura realm are due to envy and constant competition. In one of the sutras it is stated that there is a kind of tree whose root lies in the asura realm, but it blooms and bears fruit in the god realm. The beings in the asura realm therefore feel very jealous and fight with beings in the god realm. However, since their merit is not as great as that of the beings in the god realm, they always lose and suffer severe injuries. They know they will always lose, hence they are horrified on the battlefield.

This chapter is part of: Introduction Course - Part 1: Renunciation