My Trip to Hell

Ardently do today what must be done. Who knows? Tomorrow, death comes.

There is this hidden place called 'Hell Garden'. I was a bit curious what hell in other religion would be like as I get confused sometimes where I would really go... just too many hells. But contrary to Christians' eternal damnation, Buddhists believe in reincarnation. The underworld here is just a transitional passage, like a purgatory where lost souls pay their dues before the new life transfer. Sometimes I want to believe in the existence of hell just so I can be assured where bad people would go - including yours truly.

Hidden from that overgrown road, there's this village with a very interesting museum. The Hell Garden is a glimpse to the torments of the Buddhist underworld. It was not yet a touristic place that time and I was very happy that my host took me here. Curious about what I might find out, I went inside in search of hell. And I was not disappointed.

As you can see, it felt like I really belong here! In case the Buddhist underworld runs out of torturers, I'm definitely in! I guess part of the torture training was to expose myself to a series of increasingly gruesome scenes - and feel nothing.

I walked through all these depictions of torture inflicted on those who go to the Buddhist hell. So if you want to be a good person, become a Buddhist! If not, then see you there....

I encountered sinners being torn apart by hell's dogs and vultures, sinners boiled in copper cauldrons and all those with protruding ribs. There was even a sign here that says "Donate a little each day and you'll have a happy life". So it's never too late not to be greedy. If you want to defeat the Devil in this life, don't postpone all that merit-making.

When a Buddhist dies, that person goes before four celestial beings who check his/her record of good and bad deeds. So if your bad deeds outweigh the good, you will be punished.

The punishment depends on the sins committed and it was a good thing to know that every form of punishment is a torture - many of those are depicted in this Hell Garden. 136 pits of hell, but individuals are to be reborn from each. There are special pits for rapists, murderers and those who hurt their parents, monks, and others. I really hope that the greedy bankers, evil presidents, and CEOs of international corporations would go for Buddhism. With all that stress in their work, I'm sure they need to meditate. And if they cause more suffering and injustice, I will know where to meet them in the end... they have a special place in hell. And a special kind of torture by @diabolika. At least they won't suffer eternal damnation - there's still an opportunity to change in the next life.

At least now I know where I would go if I have not been virtuous enough, this place was surely a meditative experience. The scene was becoming excessively violent as I explored the Hell Garden.

Stirring giant bowls of human soup, pulling a person's tongue out, squashing bodies and demons everywhere - this is surely a fascinating theater of cruelty!

Even though I am already experiencing hell on earth on so many levels, it was still nice to catch a glimpse of the Buddhist underworld. My trip to hell was surely a visually dense internal journey. Who knows for sure if there is really a hell? But don't forget that the visual atrocities of Hell Garden hold a moral purpose. Hell is not a fun place - even for a limited time. You'll never know how you would be until you are there...and I hope that in case I pass for that torturer job position - I would be able to teach mankind a lesson. I would make sure that every drop of your blood would serve as a vivid reminder.