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Diyu

Diyu (simplified Chinese: 地狱; traditional Chinese: 地獄; pinyin: dìyù; lit. 'earth prison') is the realm of the dead or "hell" in Chinese mythology. It is loosely based on a combination of the Buddhist concept of Naraka, traditional Chinese beliefs about the afterlife, and a variety of popular expansions and reinterpretations of these two traditions. The concept parallels purgatory in certain Christian denomininations.

Diyu is typically depicted as a subterranean maze with various levels and chambers, to which souls are taken after death to atone for the sins they committed when they were alive. The exact number of levels in Diyu and their associated deities differ between Buddhist and Taoist interpretations. Some speak of three to four "courts"; others mention "Ten Courts of Hell", each of which is ruled by a judge (collectively known as the Ten Yama Kings); other Chinese legends speak of the "Eighteen Levels of Hell". Each court deals with a different aspect of atonement and different punishments; most legends claim that sinners are subjected to gruesome tortures until their "deaths", after which they are restored to their original state for the torture to be repeated.

Alternative names

Among the more common Chinese names for the Underworld are:

Conceptions

Dead of the underworld depicted in a Qing dynasty Water and Land Ritual painting.
Depiction of the punishments of Diyu at the Hell Museum, Bao Gong Temple, Singapore.

According to ideas from Taoism,[citation needed] Buddhism[1][2][3] and traditional Chinese folk religion, Diyu is a purgatory that serves to punish and renew spirits in preparation for reincarnation. Many deities, whose names and purposes are the subject of conflicting accounts, are associated with Diyu.

Some early Chinese societies speak of people going to Mount Tai, Jiuyuan, Jiuquan or Fengdu after death.[4][5] At present, Fengdu and the temples on Mount Tai have been rebuilt into tourist attractions, incorporating artistic depictions of hell and the afterlife.[citation needed] Some Chinese folk religion planchette writings, such as the Taiwanese novel Journeys to the Under-World, say that new hells with new punishments are created as the world changes and that there is a City of Innocent Deaths (枉死城) designed to house those who died with grievances that have yet to be redressed.[6]

Other terminology related to Diyu includes:

Ten Courts of Yanluo

The concept of the "Ten Courts of Yanluo" (十殿閻羅) began after Chinese folk religion was influenced by Buddhism. In this variation of Chinese mythology, there are 12,800 hells located under the earth – eight dark hells, eight cold hells and 84,000 miscellaneous hells located at the edge of the universe. All will go to Diyu after death but the period of time one spends in Diyu is not forever – it depends on the severity of the sins one committed. After receiving due punishment, one will eventually be sent for reincarnation. Diyu is divided into ten courts, each overseen by a Yanwang. Souls pass from stage to stage at the decision of a different judge. The "Ten Courts of Yanluo" is also known as the Ten Courts of Yanwang (十殿阎王), Ten Lords of Minggong (冥宫十王), Ten Courts of Yan-jun (十殿阎君), Ten-Lords of Difu (地府十王), and Ten-Lords of Mingfu (冥府十王).


  • Entrance to the "Ten Courts of Hell" attraction in Haw Par Villa, Singapore. The Ox-Headed (right) and Horse-Faced (left) Hell Guards stand guard at the entrance.
    Entrance to the "Ten Courts of Hell" attraction in Haw Par Villa, Singapore. The Ox-Headed (right) and Horse-Faced (left) Hell Guards stand guard at the entrance.
  • Ming dynasty (16th century) glazed earthenware figurines representing three of the ten Yanwang or Yama Kings.
    Ming dynasty (16th century) glazed earthenware figurines representing three of the ten Yanwang or Yama Kings.
  • Stoneware figure from a judgement group, holding records of evil deeds. From China, Ming Dynasty, 16th century CE. The British Museum.
    Stoneware figure from a judgement group, holding records of evil deeds. From China, Ming Dynasty, 16th century CE. The British Museum.
  • Stoneware figure from a judgement group, holding a slim record of good deeds. From China, Ming Dynasty, 16th century CE. The British Museum.
    Stoneware figure from a judgement group, holding a slim record of good deeds. From China, Ming Dynasty, 16th century CE. The British Museum.

Eighteen levels of Hell

The headless ghost of Yue Fei confronting the recently deceased spirit of Qin Hui in the Sixth Court. The plaque held by the attendant on the left reads: "Qin Hui's ten wicked crimes." From a 19th-century Chinese Hell Scroll.

The concept of the eighteen hells started in the Tang dynasty. The Buddhist text Sutra on Questions about Hell (問地獄經) mentioned 134 worlds of hell, but was simplified to the Eighteen Levels of Hell in the Sutra on the Eighteen Hells (十八泥犁經) for convenience. Some literature refers to eighteen types of hells or to eighteen hells for each type of punishment.

Some religious or literature books say that wrongdoers who were not punished when they were alive are punished in the hells after death. Sinners feel pain and agony just like living humans when they are subjected to the tortures listed below. They cannot "die" from the torture because when the ordeal is over, their bodies will be restored to their original states for the torture to be repeated.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

The eighteen hells vary from narrative to narrative but some commonly mentioned tortures include: being steamed; being fried in oil cauldrons; being sawed into half; being run over by vehicles; being pounded in a mortar and pestle; being ground in a mill; being crushed by boulders; being made to shed blood by climbing trees or mountains of knives; having sharp objects driven into their bodies; having hooks pierced into their bodies and being hung upside down; drowning in a pool of filthy blood; being left naked in the freezing cold; being set aflame or cast into infernos; being tied naked to a bronze cylinder with a fire lit at its base; being forced to consume boiling liquids; tongue ripping; eye gouging; teeth extraction; heart digging; disembowelment; skinning; being trampled, gored, mauled, eaten, stung, bitten, pecked, etc., by animals.

See also

References

  1. ^ 诸经佛说地狱集要 [Collection of Buddhist Texts about Hell]]. read.goodweb.cn/ (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  2. ^ 萧登福 [Xiao, Dengfu] (August 1988). 汉魏六朝佛教之"地狱"说（上） [Conceptions of "Hell" in the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties (Part 1)]. 东方杂志 [Eastern Magazine] (in Chinese). 22 (2): 34–40. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  3. ^ 萧登福 [Xiao, Dengfu] (August 1988). 汉魏六朝佛教之"地狱"说（下） [Conceptions of "Hell" in the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties (Part 2)]. 东方杂志 [Eastern Magazine] (in Chinese). 22 (3): 23–30. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  4. ^ 印順法師 [Yinshun]. 華雨集第四冊 [Hua Yu Collection Volume 4]. www.yinshun.org.tw (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  5. ^ 泰山崇拜与东岳泰山神的形成 [Origins of the Worship of Mount Tai and the Deity of the Eastern Mountain Mount Tai]. www.taishanly.com (in Chinese). 3 March 2008. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  6. ^ =三. 枉死城亡魂戒改 [3. Rehabilitating the Souls of the Dead in the City of Innocent Deaths]. tienton.myweb.hinet.net (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  7. ^ Xue, Fucheng. Yong'an Biji (Notebook of Yong An).
  8. ^ 瀕死經驗（六則） [Near-death Experience (Six Parts)]. 佛教淨土宗.net (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  9. ^ 敦煌文献中的《还魂记》写本 ） [Manuscript of Huan Hun Ji among the Dunhuang Manuscripts]. The Grottoes of Dunhuang Information Network (in Chinese). Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  10. ^ 潘重規 [Pan, Chonggui] (1994). 九、唐太宗入冥記 [Volume 6: Chapter 9: Emperor Taizong of Tang's Journey to the Underworld]. Dunhuang Bian Wenji Xinshu 敦煌變文集新書 (in Chinese). China: 文津出版社 [Wen Jin Publishing House]. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  11. ^ 黎澍 [Li, Shu] (March 2006). 慧淨法師 [Huijing] (ed.). 地獄見聞錄 [Records of Observations of Hell] (in Chinese) (3rd ed.). Taipei: 淨土宗文教基金會 [Pure Land Sect Foundation]. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  12. ^ 泰国上校真实因果轮回见证

External links