Chapter 35: Hells

35.1Then venerable Śāriputra inquired of the Lord, “Where did they die, Lord, bodhisattva great beings who have come here and believe in this perfection of wisdom? How long has it been since a son of a good family or daughter of a good family believing in this perfection of wisdom as the meaning and method set out for unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening? On how many tathāgatas, worthy ones, perfectly complete buddhas have they attended? For how long have they been practitioners of the perfection of giving? For how long have they been practitioners of the perfection of morality, patience, perseverance, and concentration? For how long have they been practitioners of the perfection of wisdom?”

35.2Venerable Śāriputra having thus inquired, the Lord said to him, “Śāriputra, those bodhisattva great beings have come here and have been reborn here after attending on tathāgatas, worthy ones, perfectly complete buddhas in the ten directions. Śāriputra, it has been an infinite, countless hundred thousand one hundred million billion eons since those bodhisattva great beings set out for unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. After their first production of the thought, from then on they practiced the perfection of giving, practiced [F.59.a] the perfection of morality, patience, perseverance, concentration, and wisdom, and took rebirth here; from then on they attended on infinite, countless, immeasurable, inconceivable, imponderable tathāgatas, worthy ones, perfectly complete buddhas and came here. Śāriputra, if those bodhisattva great beings even see or hear the perfection of wisdom, the thought arises, ‘I am beholding the Teacher,’ and the thought arises, ‘I am hearing the Teacher.’ Śāriputra, those bodhisattva great beings, by way of no causal signs, nonduality, and not apprehending anything, comprehend this perfection of wisdom as the meaning and method.”

35.3Then venerable Subhūti asked the Lord, “Lord, can you view or listen to the perfection of wisdom?”

35.4“No, Subhūti,” the Lord replied. “Subhūti, because dharmas are in an inanimate material state there is no viewer of, or listener to, the perfection of wisdom, so they do not see or hear the perfection of wisdom. Similarly, because dharmas are in an inanimate material state they do not see or hear the perfection of concentration, perseverance, patience, morality, or giving; because dharmas are in an inanimate material state they do not see or hear inner emptiness, up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature; and similarly, because dharmas are in an inanimate material state they do not see or hear the applications of mindfulness; because dharmas are in an inanimate material state they do not see or hear the right efforts, legs of miraculous power, faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, or paths; because dharmas are in an inanimate material state they do not see or hear the ten tathāgata powers, four [F.59.b] fearlessnesses, four detailed and thorough knowledges, or eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha; and because dharmas are in an inanimate material state they do not see or hear awakening, and do not see and hear an awakened one.”

35.5Then venerable Subhūti asked the Lord, “Lord, for how long have those bodhisattva great beings who do the yogic practice of this deep perfection of wisdom here been practicing?”

35.6The Lord said, “To pronounce on this you have to go into detail. Subhūti, if bodhisattva great beings who, after their first production of the thought, from then on do the yogic practice of this deep perfection of wisdom and similarly do the yogic practice of the perfection of concentration, perfection of perseverance, perfection of patience, perfection of morality, and perfection of giving‍—doing it, furthermore, with skillful means, without any dharma at all, and without seeing how there is increase or decrease ‍—then they will never be separated from the six perfections and never be separated from the lord buddhas. With whatever special offerings they want to respect, revere, honor, and worship the lord buddhas, immediately after their first production of the thought they obtain them and pass on from buddhafield to buddhafield. They are never born in a mother’s womb, they are never separated from the clairvoyant knowledges, they never entertain any afflictive emotion, they never entertain a śrāvaka thought or pratyekabuddha thought, and they also bring beings to maturity, purify a buddhafield, and pass on from buddhafield to buddhafield. [F.60.a] Subhūti, those bodhisattva great beings do the yogic practice of this deep perfection of wisdom.

35.7“Subhūti, there are those sons of a good family or daughters of a good family in the Bodhisattva Vehicle who have seen many hundreds of buddhas, many thousands of buddhas, many hundreds of thousands of one hundred million billion buddhas. When they were disciples in their presence, they gave gifts and cultivated morality, patience, perseverance, concentration, and wisdom by way of apprehending something. They leave the retinue when this deep perfection of wisdom is being taught. Those sons of a good family or daughters of a good family do not respect this deep perfection of wisdom when it is being taught, and they walk out on those lord buddhas.

35.8“Those sons of a good family or daughters of a good family in the Bodhisattva Vehicle are gathered right here. They are those who leave when this deep perfection of wisdom is being taught. And why? Because those bodhisattva great beings walked out in the past when this deep perfection of wisdom was being taught, so they walk out again now when this deep perfection of wisdom is being taught. They are not collected in body and mind, so they amass the karma of those who act out of intellectual confusion. Those who have made and amassed that karma of the intellectually confused, on account of that, reject this deep perfection of wisdom when it is being taught, and because of rejecting this deep perfection of wisdom they reject the knowledge of all aspects of past, future, and present lord buddhas as well. Those who have made an enactment of, and amassed the karma that comes from, rejecting the knowledge of all aspects and those who have made [F.60.b] and amassed the karma that leads to the loss of the Dharma roast in the hells for many hundred years, many thousand years, many hundreds of thousands of one hundred million billion years. They pass on from great hells to great hells, and as they are passing on from great hells to great hells the destruction by fire, destruction by water, and destruction by wind come about. When the destruction is happening there, they are hurled into those great hells in other world systems. After they are born there they again pass on from great hells to great hells, and as they are passing on from great hells to great hells again the destructions happen and they are hurled from those world systems into yet other world systems. When the destructions come about in those as well, they are again hurled into the eastern direction and hurled into the great hells in the south, west, and north, the intermediate directions, and below and above. And when the destructions also happen in those world systems, they are again hurled into the great hells in other world systems. But even when the destructions happen in those world systems, still the karma for being deprived of the Dharma is not exhausted, so after they have died in those world systems they again take rebirth right here and again pass on from the great hells to the great hells. And when they are born in those great hells they experience the sufferings of hell, and their experience of the sufferings of hell continues until [F.61.a] the destructions again happen. But even after the destructions happen, they die here and are again reborn in the great hells in other world systems. Similarly, they are born over and over again in the animal worlds in all the ten directions, and they are born over and over again in the worlds of Yama in all the ten directions.

35.9“Born there, the experience of those feelings of suffering uses up the karma. When their experience of those many sufferings has used up the karma and they somehow or other gain a human rebirth, still, just because of amassing that karma that leads to the loss of the Dharma, wherever they are born they are born congenitally blind in congenitally blind families, in outcast families, in families of garbage workers, and in low-class families. And when they are born, they are born such that they also become blind, or blind in one eye, or without a tongue, or without arms, or without legs, or without ears, or without a nose, or where the word Buddha is never heard, the word Dharma and the word Saṅgha are never heard, and the words bodhisattva and pratyekabuddha are never heard.”

35.10Then venerable Śāriputra said to the Lord, “Lord, committing and amassing the five inexpiable sins does not rank with the karma that leads to the loss of the Dharma.”

35.11“Śāriputra,” replied the Lord, “when the perfection of wisdom is being taught there are those who think they have to put a stop to it and say, ‘This is not the Dharma, this is not the Vinaya, these are not the Teacher’s words; tathāgatas, worthy ones, [F.61.b] perfectly complete buddhas did not say, do not say, and will not say this, so you should not train in it.’ They think, ‘I too have to oppose this,’ and they cause other beings to separate from it. Having harmed their own mental continuums, they plot harm to the mental continuums of others; having poisoned their own mental continuums they poison the mental continuums of others; having ruined their own mental continuums, they want to ruin the mental continuums of others, and they think, ‘Since even I do not comprehend or understand the deep perfection of wisdom, I will put a stop to it,’ and they cause others to take it like that as well. Since this is the case you have to say, ‘Those who have committed the five inexpiable sins do not rank with those who have done and amassed the karma that leads to the loss of the Dharma.’ Śāriputra, I do not let such persons hear it, let alone look at it. How could that ever possibly be? And why? Śāriputra, you should know that it is because such persons spoil the Dharma; such persons are like rotten trees and have a wicked nature. Śāriputra, those are the sort of persons who think they should have faith and listen but who do it in a wrong way, so calamity befalls them.

35.12“Śāriputra, you should know that those persons who spoil my perfection of wisdom are those who spoil the Dharma.”

35.13Śāriputra said, “Lord, the Lord has not yet explained the extent of the physical horrors for a person born there who spoils the Dharma.”

35.14“Śāriputra,” said the Lord, “leave aside the extent of the physical horrors for that person born there who spoils the Dharma. And why? Because the consequences from hearing about the extent of the physical horrors for the person who spoils the Dharma are as bad as those physical horrors encountered by that person who spoils the Dharma, as much as that‍— [F.62.a] vomiting warm blood from the mouth, or dying, or experiencing pain enough to die, or on hearing it being impaled on a shaft of pain, or drying out and shriveling into oneself like a severed blue green naḍa reed.”

35.15So the Lord did not make a space for venerable Śāriputra to know just how great an extent the physical horror there would be.

35.16Śāriputra said, “Lord, please explain so later generations will be given a glimpse of the fact that persons who spoil the Dharma will appropriate physical horrors like that on account of having done and amassed karma that leads to the loss of the Dharma.”

35.17“Śāriputra,” replied the Lord, “later generations, just from this, will also glimpse the fact that ‘on account of having completely done and amassed karma that leads to the loss of the Dharma, they will experience suffering in the hells lasting that long, they will experience the immeasurability of that suffering‍—the amount of it and its duration‍—for that amount of time.’ ”

35.18“Lord, sons of a good family or daughters of a good family who have a bright nature will, just from this, turn back from those actions that lead to the loss of the Dharma. And we too, thinking ‘we will meet with such sufferings as those,’ will not reject the good Dharma even at the cost of our lives,” said Śāriputra.

35.19Then venerable Subhūti said to the Lord, “Those who have made and amassed speech karma that rejects the good Dharma make and amass karma that leads to the loss of the Dharma, so we sons of good family or daughters of good family will restrain well our actions of body, speech, and mind lest we meet with such suffering as that, or lest we not see the tathāgatas, or not hear the Dharma, or not provide service to the saṅgha, or be born in buddhafields where there are [F.62.b] no buddhas, or be born as paupers, or become those whose words are not accepted.”

35.20“Subhūti,” replied the Lord, “those ignorant persons gone forth to homelessness in the well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya thinking they have to strongly object to this perfection of wisdom, through the karma they have made and amassed, make and amass karma that leads to the loss of the Dharma. Subhūti, strongly objecting and putting a stop to the perfection of wisdom is strongly objecting and putting a stop to the awakening of the lord buddhas; strongly objecting and putting a stop to the awakening of the lord buddhas is strongly objecting and putting a stop to the knowledge of all aspects of past, future, and present lord buddhas; strongly objecting and putting a stop to the knowledge of all aspects is strongly objecting and putting a stop to the Dharma; putting a stop to the Dharma is putting a stop to the Saṅgha; putting a stop to the Saṅgha is putting a stop to ordinary right view and extraordinary right view, and similarly putting a stop to the six perfections, thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening, ten powers, four fearlessnesses, four detailed and thorough knowledges, eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha, up to the knowledge of all aspects. Those who put a stop to the knowledge of all aspects get saddled with an unbounded, infinite, incalculable mass of demerit, and those who are saddled with a mass of demerit get saddled with unbounded, infinite, incalculable suffering and mental anguish.”

35.21“Lord, what different things [F.63.a] dispose those ignorant persons who put a stop to this deep perfection of wisdom to put a stop to this deep perfection of wisdom?” asked Subhūti.

35.22“Subhūti,” replied the Lord, “four things dispose them to put a stop to this deep perfection of wisdom. What four things? Those ignorant persons are these, namely, they are possessed by Māra, they do not believe in and do not find faith in the deep Dharma, they fall into the clutches of bad friends, so they settle down on the five aggregates, and while those ignorant persons are doing wrong they praise themselves and disparage others. Subhūti, ignorant persons beset by these four things put a stop to this deep perfection of wisdom.”

35.23Subhūti said, “Lord, it is hard for those who do not work hard, who are without wholesome roots, and who have fallen into the clutches of bad friends to believe in this perfection of wisdom.”

35.24“Exactly so, Subhūti, exactly so,” said the Lord. “It is hard for those who do not work hard, who are without wholesome roots, and who have fallen into the clutches of bad friends to believe in this perfection of wisdom.”

35.25Subhūti then asked, “Just how deep, Lord, is this perfection of wisdom in which it is so hard for them to believe?”

35.26“Subhūti,” said the Lord, “ form is not bound and is not freed. And why? Because the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature in form is form . Similarly, Subhūti, feeling … perception … volitional factors … and consciousness is not bound and is not freed. And why? Because the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature in consciousness is consciousness.

35.27“Subhūti, the perfection of giving [F.63.b] is not bound and is not freed. And why? Because the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature in the perfection of giving is the perfection of giving. Similarly, Subhūti, the perfection of morality … the perfection of patience … the perfection of perseverance … the perfection of concentration … and the perfection of wisdom is not bound and is not freed. And why? Because the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature in the perfection of wisdom is the perfection of wisdom.

35.28“Subhūti, inner emptiness is not bound and is not freed. And why? Because the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature in inner emptiness is inner emptiness, up to Subhūti, the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature is not bound and is not freed. And why? Because the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature in the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature is the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature.

35.29“Subhūti, the applications of mindfulness are not bound and they are not freed. And why? Because the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature in the applications of mindfulness is the applications of mindfulness. Similarly, Subhūti, the right efforts … the legs of miraculous power … the faculties … the powers … the limbs of awakening … and the path is not bound and is not freed. And why? Because the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature in the path is the path.

35.30“Similarly, Subhūti, the ten tathāgata powers … the four fearlessnesses … the four detailed and thorough knowledges … the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha … and the knowledge of all aspects is not bound and is not freed. And why? Because the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature in the knowledge of all aspects is the knowledge of all aspects.

35.31“Subhūti, the prior limit of form is not bound and is not freed. And why? Because the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature in the prior limit is form . [F.64.a] Similarly, Subhūti, the prior limit of feeling … perception … volitional factors … and consciousness, up to the knowledge of all aspects is not bound and is not freed. And why? Because the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature in the prior limit is the knowledge of all aspects.

35.32“Subhūti, the later limit of form is not bound and is not freed. And why? Because the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature in the later limit is form . Similarly, Subhūti, the later limit of feeling … perception … volitional factors … and consciousness, up to the knowledge of all aspects is not bound and is not freed. And why? Because the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature in the later limit is the knowledge of all aspects.

35.33“Subhūti, present form is not bound and is not freed. And why? Because the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature in the present is form . Similarly, Subhūti, present feeling … perception … volitional factors … and consciousness, up to knowledge of all aspects is not bound and is not freed. And why? Because the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature in the present is the knowledge of all aspects.”

35.34Subhūti said, “Lord, it is hard for those who do not work hard, have not planted wholesome roots, have fallen into the clutches of bad friends, are under the control of Māra, and are lazy, deficient in perseverance, forgetful, and without introspection to believe in this perfection of wisdom.”

35.35“Exactly so, Subhūti, exactly so,” replied the Lord. “Subhūti, it is hard for those who do not work hard, up to are without introspection to believe in this perfection of wisdom. [F.64.b]

35.36“Subhūti, that purity of form is just the purity of the result. That purity of feeling … perception … volitional factors … and consciousness is just the purity of the result, up to that purity of the knowledge of all aspects is just the purity of the result.” [B28]

35.37“Furthermore, Subhūti, that purity of form is the purity of the result. That purity of the result is the purity of the perfection of wisdom. That purity of the perfection of wisdom is the purity of form . That purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects is the purity of the result. That purity of the result is the purity of the perfection of wisdom. That purity of the perfection of wisdom is the purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects. Thus, all of these‍—purity of form , purity of the result, purity of the perfection of wisdom, and purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects‍—are not two, are not divided, are not broken apart, and are not cut apart.

35.38“Furthermore, Subhūti, that purity of form is the purity of the perfection of wisdom. That purity of the perfection of wisdom is the purity of form . That purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects is the purity of the perfection of wisdom. That purity of the perfection of wisdom is the purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects. Thus, this purity of form , [F.65.a] purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects, and purity of the perfection of wisdom are not two, are not divided, are not broken apart, and are not cut apart.

35.39“Furthermore, Subhūti, that purity of self is the purity of form . That purity of form is the purity of self. Thus, this purity of self and purity of form are not two, are not divided, are not broken apart, and are not cut apart. This purity of a being, a living being, up to one who knows, and one who sees, and the purity of form , and the purity of feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness, up to the knowledge of all aspects are not two, are not divided, are not broken apart, and are not cut apart.

35.40“Furthermore, Subhūti, because of the purity of greed there is the purity of form , the purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects. Thus, this purity of greed, purity of form , purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects is not two, is not divided, is not broken apart, and is not cut apart. Similarly, because of the purity of hatred and confusion there is the purity of form , the purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects. Thus, this purity of hatred and confusion, purity of form , purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects is not two, is not divided, is not broken apart, and is not cut apart.

35.41“Furthermore, Subhūti, because of the purity of greed, hatred, and confusion there is the purity of form , the purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects. Thus this purity of greed, hatred, and confusion, the purity of form , [F.65.b] this purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects is not two, is not divided, is not broken apart, and is not cut apart.

35.42“Furthermore, Subhūti, because of the purity of ignorance there is the purity of volitional factors; because of the purity of volitional factors there is the purity of consciousness, and similarly, there is the purity of name and form, purity of the six sense fields, purity of contact, purity of feeling, purity of craving, purity of appropriation, purity of existence, purity of birth, and purity of old age and death.

35.43“Because of the purity of old age and death there is the purity of the perfection of giving; because of the purity of the perfection of giving there is the purity of the perfection of morality; because of the purity of the perfection of morality there is the purity of the perfection of patience; because of the purity of the perfection of patience there is the purity of the perfection of perseverance; because of the purity of the perfection of perseverance there is the purity of the perfection of concentration; because of the purity of the perfection of concentration there is the purity of the perfection of wisdom; because of the purity of the perfection of wisdom there is the purity of inner emptiness; because of the purity of inner emptiness there is the purity of … up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature; and because of the purity of the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature there is the purity of the applications of mindfulness. Similarly, there is the purity of the right efforts, legs of miraculous power, faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, and path; because of the purity of the path there is the purity of all-knowledge; because of the purity of all-knowledge there is the purity of the ten powers; because of the purity of the ten powers there is the purity of the fearlessnesses; because of the purity [F.66.a] of the fearlessnesses there is the purity of the detailed and thorough knowledges; because of the purity of the detailed and thorough knowledges there is the purity of the distinct attributes of a buddha; and because of the purity of the distinct attributes of a buddha there is the purity of the knowledge of all aspects. Thus, this purity of the knowledge of all aspects and purity of the distinct attributes of a buddha is not two, is not divided, is not broken apart, and is not cut apart.

35.44“Furthermore, Subhūti, that purity of the perfection of wisdom is the purity of form . That purity of form is the purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects. Thus, this purity of the perfection of wisdom, purity of form , purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects is not two, is not divided, is not broken apart, and is not cut apart.

35.45“Similarly, that purity of the perfection of concentration, purity of the perfection of perseverance, purity of the perfection of patience, purity of the perfection of morality, and purity of the perfection of giving is the purity of form . That purity of form is the purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects. Thus, this purity of the perfection of giving, purity of form , purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects is not two, is not divided, is not broken apart, and is not cut apart. Because of the purity of inner emptiness, up to the purity of the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature there is the purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects; because of the purity of the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening there is the purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects; because of the purity of the powers, fearlessnesses, detailed and thorough knowledges, and distinct attributes of a buddha there is the purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects. Thus, this purity of the aggregates, the constituents, the sense fields, the perfections, all the emptinesses, the dharmas on the side of awakening, the ten powers, the fearlessnesses, the detailed and thorough knowledges, the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha, [F.66.b] and the purity of the knowledge of all aspects is not two, is not divided, is not broken apart, and is not cut apart.

35.46“Furthermore, Subhūti, because of the purity of the compounded there is the purity of the uncompounded; because of the purity of the uncompounded there is the purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects. Thus, this purity of the compounded, purity of the uncompounded, and purity of … up to the knowledge of all aspects is not two, is not divided, is not broken apart, and is not cut apart.

35.47“Furthermore, Subhūti, because of the purity of the past there is the purity of the future; because of the purity of the future there is the purity of the past; because of the purity of the present there is purity of the past and future; and because of the purity of the past and future there is purity of the present. Thus, this purity of the past, purity of the future, and purity of the present is not two, is not divided, is not broken apart, and is not cut apart.”

35.48This was the thirty-fifth chapter, “Hells,” of “The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines.”