English
English version ‘Niraya’ (地狱, Hell), refers to the place where people enter based on the weight of their good and bad deeds during their lifetime.’ The Buddha said, ‘There are eighteen Nirayas. From phoenixes and dragons down to small insects, all are included in these eighteen Nirayas. If a person does more good deeds and less evil, they will quickly escape the Niraya; if they do more evil and less good, their escape from the Niraya will be slow.’ The Buddha said, ‘These places are guarded by Ande ghosts (安得鬼). The residences of the eighteen Nirayas are all dark. When the Buddha was first born, throughout heaven and earth, up to the thirty-second heaven, all the eighteen Nirayas became bright. When the Buddha first attained enlightenment, there was another illumination; when the Buddha paid homage to Brahma, there was another illumination; when the Buddha began to practice and teach the world, there was another illumination; when the Buddha entered Nirvana, there was another illumination, up to the thirty-second heaven, all were completely illuminated. Therefore, it is known that the Buddha's path cannot be ignored. If a person does more good deeds, they will ascend to heaven; if they do more evil, they will enter the Niraya. If they are reborn as animals, knowing the Buddha's path, they will not die. Petty people will surely live long, but because they often hear the Buddha's path but do not learn, do not associate with good people, and do not hear good deeds, they will have worries. Those who laugh at the Buddha's path will enter deeper into the Niraya, so the Buddha denies them. If a person does evil, likes to curse and speak evil words, and does not stop even in old age, the gods will detest them, causing them to be reborn as birds, beasts, livestock, and blood-breathing insects and animals, and their descendants will use the proper Dharma to sacrifice to them on the Zhengla day (正腊日).’ The Buddha said, ‘If a person does not do good, they will leave humanity and be reborn as insects and livestock, living with ghosts in their lifetime. Can they obtain the food of the Ande ghosts?’ The Buddha said, ‘If a person does good, they will ascend to heaven, and afterwards, they can be reborn as a human again.’ The Buddha speaks the Sutra of the Eighteen Nirayas. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------