泥犁經

Thus have I heard:

At one time the Buddha was dwelling in Prince Jeta's Grove, in Anathapindika's Park, in the country of Sravasti. The Buddha addressed the bhikkhus:

“Ordinarily, foolish and deficient people are marked by three things. What are the three? Foolish people think evil thoughts, speak evil words, and perform evil deeds. In this very life, they encounter calamity, bringing upon themselves bodily suffering, mental suffering, and the suffering of anxiety.

“What is the suffering of anxiety?

“A foolish person associates with a wise person, and the wise person says: ‘Those who are deluded and commit evil will, upon death, fall into the Nê Lê hell.’ The deluded person remembers in his heart the wise person’s words: ‘If I commit evil, upon death I shall fall into the Nê Lê hell.’ This is the suffering of anxiety.

“What is mental suffering?

“A deluded person sees a thief who has stolen property being cruelly punished: tightly bound, his feet and hands cut off, and then thrown as food to hungry tigers; or placed in a sack and burned with fire; or hacked limb from limb with an iron blade; or laid upon the ground to be trampled by elephants; or put into an iron cauldron and steamed; or bound by all four limbs and torn apart. The fool thinks: ‘Because this evildoer committed crimes, the officials arrested and punished him in this way. If the chief official learned of the evil I have done, he would arrest me in the same way.’ This is called mental suffering.

“What is bodily suffering?

“From morning until evening, whether lying down or sitting, the foolish person never finds peace. His mind continually thinks evil, his mouth continually speaks evil, and his body continually performs evil. Having done such evil, when he later falls ill, he sees people being burned in cauldrons in the Nê Lê hell.

Seeing people burned and boiled, the evil deeds he has committed return to torment him. Just as after midday one’s shadow stretches long across the ground, that person gradually descends into the Nê Lê hell. The evildoer then thinks: ‘While living in the world, I delighted in killing living beings, stealing, violating others’ wives, lying, jealousy, and stinginess.

I did not believe in the Buddha or the sutras; I did not believe that the causes and conditions one creates bring wrongdoing or merit; and I did not believe in a future life. Thus, when I die, I must fall into the Nê Lê hell.’ This is bodily suffering.”

The Buddha taught:

“If evildoers had eyes like mine and saw evildoers being taken to the place of interrogation and subjected to such calamities, their hearts would be seized by fear; consumed by anguish, they would vomit hot blood and die.”

The Buddha taught:

“If you wish to know suffering so extreme that it cannot be endured, it is precisely the Nê Lê hell. The Nê Lê hell is exceedingly painful; its suffering cannot be fully described.”

The bhikkhus knelt and said:

“We wish to hear a simile for the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.”

The Buddha taught:

“Suppose officials captured a rebel and brought him before the king, saying: ‘This man has rebelled and brought harm to the country and its people.’ The king ordered the officials to stab him one hundred times with spears. The next morning, the king asked: ‘How is that man?’ They replied: ‘He is still alive.’ The king ordered: ‘Stab him another hundred times.’”

The Buddha asked the bhikkhus:

“Thus that man was stabbed three hundred times. Would any place on his body remain intact, even as large as a jujube leaf?”

The bhikkhus replied:

“No place would remain intact.”

The Buddha asked the bhikkhus:

“That man suffered three hundred stab wounds. Would he be in pain?”

The bhikkhus replied:

“If a person is stabbed by only one spear, his whole body is in pain; how much more so if he is stabbed three hundred times?”

The Buddha took a small stone in his hand and asked the bhikkhus:

“Is this stone larger, or is Mount Tai larger?”

The bhikkhus replied:

“The stone in the Buddha’s hand is small. How could it compare with the mountain? Even if one wished to compare them hundreds of millions upon hundreds of millions of times, that stone could never equal the great mountain.”

The Buddha taught:

“Even if the pain of being stabbed by spears were multiplied hundreds of millions upon hundreds of millions of times, it could not equal the suffering in the Nê Lê hell. The small stone in my hand is like the pain of three hundred spear thrusts; the mountain is like the suffering in the Nê Lê hell. A foolish person thinks evil in his mind and performs evil with his body.

After death he must fall into the Nê Lê hell. There, demonic beasts seize him and drag him forward. They catch him with hooks, hook his jaw, and force his mouth open.

They then pour boiling molten copper into his mouth, burning away his lips, tongue, intestines, and stomach; the molten copper then flows out. The pain cannot be described. Because, while living in the world, he sought wealth and gain by improper means in order to obtain food and drink, boiling molten copper is poured upon him.

Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell. The demons of the Nê Lê hell seize people with hooks. They hook their upper and lower jaws and force their mouths open, then thrust red-hot iron pestles down their throats, burning away their lips, tongues, intestines, and stomachs.

Such intense suffering cannot be endured; yet, if their karma is not exhausted, they still do not die. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“The demons of the Nê Lê hell also force people to climb an iron mountain. They set the mountain ablaze until it glows red, and the offenders run up and down upon it, enduring unbearable suffering. Yet, if their evil karma is not exhausted, they still cannot die. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“The demons of the Nê Lê hell also seize offenders and use glowing red-hot axes to cut off their hands, feet, and hundred joints, severing them into pieces. The suffering cannot be endured; yet, if their evil karma is not exhausted, they still cannot die. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“The demons of the Nê Lê hell also seize offenders and use iron axes to chop apart their bodies, severing all their bones and flesh. The suffering cannot be endured; yet, if their evil karma is not exhausted, they still cannot die. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“In that hell are birds whose beaks are like sharp iron. They peck into people’s heads and eat their brains. The suffering cannot be endured; yet, if their evil karma is not exhausted, they still cannot die. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“In the Nê Lê hell are also herds of camel-like beasts that seize and devour people, gnashing their teeth. The pain cannot be endured; yet, if their evil karma is not exhausted, they still cannot die. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“In the Nê Lê hell, demonic wardens seize people and use knives to cut open both sides of their bladders and small intestines, extending to both flanks. They then bind the flesh on both sides of the offenders’ flanks to an iron cart, set the cart blazing red, and force the offenders to drag it back and forth. The pain cannot be endured. If their evil karma is not exhausted, they still cannot die. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“The demons of the Nê Lê hell seize offenders by both feet, hold them upside down with their feet toward the sky and their heads toward the ground, and cast them into cauldrons of violently boiling water. At the bottom of the cauldron they are cooked; when they rise to the surface, they are also cooked. The boiling water tosses them up and down, and no part remains uncooked. It is like boiling beans: those above and below are cooked; whether the lid is closed or opened, they are cooked. The offenders in the Nê Lê hell are boiled to pieces, whether in the east or west, above or below. This happens because, while living in the world, they indulged their minds, mouths, and bodies without restraint.

“The demons of the Nê Lê hell also force offenders to lie upon the burning red ground and torture them with five torments. They drive a burning nail through the left hand, another through the right hand, another through the right foot, another through the left foot, and another through the heart and into the ground. Such cruel suffering cannot be endured. If their evil karma is not exhausted, they still cannot die. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“The demons of the Nê Lê hell take offenders by the hand and lead them into the hell-city of Nê Lê. This city faces four directions and has gates on all four sides. All four gates are strongly fortified, and demons guard each one.

Its walls and ground are made of iron, and the city is covered over with iron so that no one can escape. The ground beneath is heated until it glows red. The city is four thousand li in circumference.

Flames from the eastern wall reach the western wall; flames from the western wall reach the eastern wall; flames from the southern wall reach the northern wall; and flames from the northern wall reach the southern wall. Fire from above burns straight down to the ground, and fire beneath the ground burns straight upward. Evildoers who commit the following ten acts all fall into that hell: killing living beings, stealing, violating others’ wives, deception, divisive speech, harsh speech, falsehood, jealousy, stinginess, and disbelief in the Buddha and the Dharma and in the fact that evil causes bring calamitous retribution while virtuous causes bring merit.

Such offenders fill the Nê Lê hell and undergo its cruel suffering for tens of millions of years. Then, seeing the eastern gate open in the distance, they all run toward it. As soon as their feet touch the ground, they are burned away; when they raise their feet, the flesh is restored as before.

Those who manage to pass through do so, while the gate closes upon those who have not. Those who think they have passed through the gate, like those who have not, find that their legs cannot take another step. The gatekeeping demon says:

“‘You dead evildoer! What do you seek beneath this gate?’

“He replies:

“‘I am hungry and thirsty.’

“The demonic warden immediately hooks his upper and lower jaws and forces his mouth open. He then pours boiling molten copper into it, burning away the lips, tongue, intestines, and stomach, after which the molten copper flows out. Because, while living in the world, that person sought wealth and gain without righteousness and committed perverse evil, he must receive this calamity. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“There is also a Nê Lê hell glowing red like iron coals in the human world and extending several thousand li. The offenders all flee the city and rush into this Nê Lê hell of fiery coals, where they are burned, roasted, and cooked without respite. The pain cannot be endured; yet, if their evil karma is not exhausted, they still cannot die. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“Furthermore, they enter the Nê Lê Hell of Freezing Ice, which extends several thousand li. Those who enter are frozen, trembling with terror, and shattered by the intense cold. The suffering cannot be described; yet, if their evil karma is not exhausted, they still cannot die. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“Furthermore, they enter the Phất Thí Nê Lê Hell, which is several thousand li in circumference and filled with foul, boiling excrement. Those who rush into it are immediately boiled to pieces. The suffering cannot be endured; yet, if their evil karma is not exhausted, they still cannot die. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“Furthermore, there is the Nê Lê Hell of Blood and Pus, several thousand li in circumference, whose stench is indescribable and whose blood and pus boil violently. When offenders enter, their bodies are thoroughly cooked and decay, and ravens devour their flesh. The suffering cannot be endured; yet, if their evil karma is not exhausted, they still cannot die. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“Furthermore, they enter the Mountain of Blades That Sever Heads, several thousand li in circumference. Offenders fleeing the Nê Lê Hell of Blood and Pus try to climb the mountain, but its blades cut their feet, hands, bellies, backs, neck bones, and flanks. The suffering cannot be endured; yet, if their evil karma is not exhausted, they still cannot die. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“Furthermore, they enter the Hell of Sword Trees, whose branches are all like swords. When offenders enter, the swords pierce their chests, flanks, backs, hands, feet, and bodies, cutting them apart from front to back. Such suffering cannot be described. If their evil karma is not exhausted, they still cannot die. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“Furthermore, they enter the Hell of the Iron Bamboo Grove, extending several thousand li. Its leaves are all like sharp blades. When offenders enter, the wind shakes the bamboo leaves, and the leaves pierce through their bones until no part of their bodies remains intact. The suffering cannot be endured; yet, if their evil karma is not exhausted, they still cannot die. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.

“Furthermore, they enter the Nê Lê Hell of Salt Water, extending several thousand li. The salty water boils like brine, and in it are birds with beaks like sharp iron. They peck at the offenders’ skin and bones. Unable to endure this suffering, the offenders swim across the river. The demons guarding the Nê Lê hell ask:

“‘You dead evildoers! What are you seeking?’

“The offenders reply:

“‘We suffer from hunger and thirst.’

“The demons then hook their upper and lower jaws and force their mouths open. They pour boiling molten copper into their mouths, burning their lips, tongues, and throats, and burning away all five inner organs, after which the molten copper flows out. Unable to endure any more, the offenders return to the boiling salt water and undergo the same suffering as before.

Unable to endure it, they enter the Hell of the Iron Bamboo Grove and suffer as before. Unable to endure it, they enter the Hell of Sword Trees and suffer as before. Unable to endure it, they enter the Hell of the Mountain of Blades That Sever Heads and suffer as before.

Unable to endure it, they enter the Nùng Huyết Hell of Blood and Pus and suffer as before. Unable to endure it, they enter the Phất Thỉ Hell and suffer as before. Unable to endure it, they enter the Khôi Hỏa Hell of Fiery Ashes and suffer as before.

They then enter the Hell of the Iron City and undergo unbearable suffering. At the eastern gate of the hell, their suffering is the same. At its southern gate, their suffering is the same.

At its western gate, their suffering is the same. At its northern gate, their suffering is the same. Such is the suffering in the Nê Lê hell.”

The Buddha told the bhikkhus:

“The suffering in the Nê Lê hell cannot be fully described. I have given you only a brief account.”

The Buddha taught:

“Those who commit evil are born among animals that eat grass and leaves, using their tongues to lick and their teeth to bite. What creatures lick with their tongues and bite with their teeth? They are oxen, horses, donkeys, elephants, and camels. In this way, many people, while living in the world, think evil with their minds, speak evil with their mouths, and perform evil with their bodies. After death, they gradually become animals and undergo such suffering.”

The Buddha taught:

“There are birds and beasts born in darkness, living in darkness, and dying in darkness. What creatures are these? They are snakes, rats, foxes, otters, worms, and ants. There are very many such creatures. These were people who, while living in the human world, thought evil with their minds, spoke evil with their mouths, and performed evil with their bodies. After death, they gradually undergo transformation and are born as birds and beasts, suffering in this way.”

The Buddha taught:

“There are fish born in water, growing in water, and dying in water. What creatures are these? They are aquatic dragons, fish, turtles, crocodiles, and many others. These were people who, while living in the world, thought evil with their minds, spoke evil with their mouths, and performed evil with their bodies. Therefore, after death, they gradually undergo transformation and are born as suffering worms and fish.”

The Buddha taught:

“There are maggots and worms born in filth, growing in filth, and dying in filth. What creatures are born in filth? They are worms born in damp earth, worms born in drains and ditches, and maggots born in cesspits. There are very many such creatures. These were people who, while living in the world, thought evil with their minds, spoke evil with their mouths, and performed evil with their bodies. After death, they become these worms and maggots and suffer in this way.”

The Buddha taught:

“There are worms and animals that feed exclusively upon impurity. When they smell the foul odor of people’s garments from afar, they immediately run toward it, saying: ‘I have found food.’ What creatures feed exclusively upon impurity? They are dogs, pigs, flies, dung beetles, and many other creatures associated with filth. These were people who, while living in the world, thought evil with their minds, spoke evil with their mouths, and performed evil with their bodies. After death, they gradually take birth as such worms and animals and undergo this suffering.”

The Buddha told the bhikkhus:

“There are exceedingly many such worms and animals. I have given you only a brief account of a small portion.”

The Buddha taught:

“Those who commit evil are born among hungry ghosts and continually consume feces and urine. Why do they continually consume such things? These were people who, while living in the world, thought evil with their minds, spoke evil with their mouths, and performed evil with their bodies.

Because they were stingy and begrudged others food and drink, they were born among hungry ghosts. Furthermore, hungry ghosts consume blood and pus. These were people who, while living in the world, committed evil out of attachment to beauty, and therefore they are made to consume blood and pus.

Among the hungry ghosts are black dogs and white dogs that feed upon the hungry ghosts’ skin and flesh. There are also birds that feed upon their brains. Some hungry ghosts do not see water for ten years, while others do not see water for a hundred years.

Some see flowing water from afar and try to run toward it to obtain food and drink, but when they arrive, there is no water. At other times there is water, but it turns into boiling molten copper or boiling brine. Just as they approach to drink, demons beat them.

Such is the suffering among hungry ghosts.”

The Buddha taught:

“There are exceedingly many kinds of hungry ghosts. I have given only a brief account of a small portion.”

The Buddha taught:

“It is difficult for people in the three evil destinies to escape. Suppose there were an ocean eighty-four thousand li in circumference, and within it a blind turtle. Upon the water floated a piece of wood with a single hole in it. The blind turtle lived beneath the water and raised its head only once every hundred years. Could it place its head through the hole in that piece of wood?”

The bhikkhus replied:

“Even after hundreds of thousands of millions of years, that blind turtle might still be unable to place its head through the hole in the wood. Why is this?

“Sometimes the wood is in the east while the turtle is in the west.

“Sometimes the wood is in the west while the turtle is in the east.

“Sometimes the wood is in the south while the turtle is in the north.

“Sometimes the wood is in the north while the turtle is in the south.

“Sometimes, just as the blind turtle raises its head, the wind blows the wood onto dry land.”

The Buddha said:

“The blind turtle raises its head only once every hundred years, yet there may still come a time when it places its head through the hole in the wood. For beings in the three evil destinies, however, obtaining a human body is even more difficult than this. Why? Beings in the three evil destinies possess no understanding, have no Dharma or discipline, do not know good from evil, do not recognize their parents, and do not understand generosity. Moreover, they devour one another, the strong consuming the weak. Like butchers, their bodies are never free from cutting, flaying, wounds, blood, and pus. They pass from suffering to suffering and from darkness to darkness. Such are evildoers.”

The Buddha taught:

“Suppose a man loses at gambling. First he loses everything, then his wife, children, fields, and house. He falls destitute and naked, with nothing remaining, and is still in debt. His creditor orders servants to torment him with smoke and scorch him with fire.”

The Buddha taught:

“For such a ruined gambler, that loss is still slight. First he loses everything; then he loses his wife, children, fields, and house; and because he remains in debt, others torment him with smoke and scorch him with fire. Yet he is impoverished for only one lifetime.

This cannot compare with a person who thinks evil with his mind, speaks evil with his mouth, and performs evil with his body. After death, that person remains in the three evil destinies for innumerable kalpas, in a state far worse than the impoverished gambler. Even if he is liberated from the three evil destinies and again becomes human, he is born into a craftsman’s household in a desolate wilderness, or into a poor family that survives by begging.

He may labor with his hands to support himself, yet lack sufficient food to satisfy his hunger and sufficient clothing to keep warm. Even when born into such families, he may be crippled, blind, or deaf and unlike other people. Or he may be born into a butcher’s family that kills living beings, or into a family that sells oxen, goats, pigs, fish, fierce dogs, chickens, and dogs.

Having escaped an evil destiny, he becomes the child of a butcher and commits evil again; after death, he will once more be born into an evil destiny!”

Thus have I heard:

At one time the Buddha was dwelling in Prince Jeta’s Grove, in Anathapindika’s Park, in the country of Sravasti. The Buddha instructed the bhikkhus:

“Whether people enter a good destiny or an evil destiny after death depends upon their conduct while living in the world. If their bodies perform evil, their mouths speak evil, their minds think evil, and they continually delight in roasting and killing living beings as sacrifices to ghosts and spirits, then after death they must fall into the Nê Lê hell. If their bodies continually perform good, their mouths continually speak what is good, and their minds continually think good thoughts, then at death they are immediately born in heaven.”

The Buddha taught:

“People are like bubbles formed upon water when it rains. Rain falls from the sky; as one bubble bursts, another is formed. Living beings in this world are born and die like bubbles upon water: as soon as they arise, they perish. With the divine eye, the Buddha sees the people of the world: some are born in heaven, some fall into the Nê Lê hell, some are poor, some are wealthy, some are honored, and some are lowly. This accords with the good and evil they have done.”

The Buddha said:

“I know all of this clearly. It is like a dark night when great torches are lit on both sides of a city gate. Some people leave the gate and others enter it, numbering in the tens of thousands. Coming from the darkness, they all see the bright torches as they enter or depart. With the divine eye, the Buddha sees those born in heaven and those entering the Nê Lê hell, just as people coming from the darkness see the firelight and pass in and out. It is also like a person standing atop a high tower, beneath which lie tens of millions of houses; the person upon the tower sees them all.”

The Buddha taught:

“I see the people of the world being born in heaven or falling into the Nê Lê hell after death, just as a person standing upon a high tower sees all the houses below.”

The Buddha taught:

“It is like a person sailing upon clear water, who sees the fish, stones, and other objects beneath the surface. With the divine eye, the Buddha sees the people of the world being born in heaven or entering the Nê Lê hell, just as one looks into clear water.”

“In the world there is a Bright-Moon jewel threaded upon a cord of five colors. Those who examine that jewel see the five distinct colors, recognize the cord, and perceive the appearance of the jewel where the cord passes through it. The Buddha sees whence the beings of the world are transformed, their life and death, and their good and evil, just as a person examines that jewel.”

The Buddha taught:

“I see people in the world who are unfilial toward their parents, who do not serve and honor sramanas and brahmins, who do not respect elders, who take no delight in generosity, who do not fear this life or a future life, and who feel neither awe nor dread. Upon death, such people immediately enter the Nê Lê hell and meet King Yama; only then do they abandon evil and turn toward good. The chief warden of the Nê Lê hell is named Bàng. Bàng leads the offender before King Yama. Bàng of Nê Lê says:

“‘While living in the world, this person was unfilial toward his parents, did not attend upon sramanas and brahmins, did not respect elders, did not delight in generosity, did not fear this life or a future life, and did not fear the precepts and prohibitions. May the King judge this person’s evil deeds.’

“King Yama then summons the person before him and says:

“‘When you were a human being in the world, did you not reflect upon how your parents nurtured you? In hot weather, they carried you to a cool place; through the kindness of their nursing and feeding, you grew to maturity. Why, then, were you unfilial toward your parents?’

“The person replies:

“‘I was truly foolish and arrogant.’

“King Yama says:

“‘You shall be punished as a criminal. Your evil deeds were not created by your parents, by heaven, by kings, or by sramanas and brahmins. Since your own body committed the offenses, you must receive their consequences yourself.’ This is King Yama’s first interrogation. ‘Did you not see people in the world suffering intensely from illness, extremely emaciated, and unable to move their hands or feet?’

“The person replies:

“‘I truly did see them.’

“King Yama says:

“‘Why did you not reform yourself and become good?’

“The person replies:

“‘I was truly foolish and conceited.’

“King Yama says:

“‘What your own body created, you must bear yourself. That evil was not created by your parents, by heaven, by kings, or by sramanas and brahmins. Since your own body created it, you must receive it yourself.’ This is King Yama’s second interrogation.

“‘When you were in the world, did you not see men and women whose eyes could no longer see and ears could no longer hear, who walked with staffs, whose hair had turned entirely white, and who were no longer as they had been in youth?’

“The person replies:

“‘I truly did see old people walking with staffs.’

“‘Why, then, did you not reform yourself and become good?’

“The person replies:

“‘I was truly foolish and conceited.’

“King Yama says:

“‘That evil was not created by your parents, by heaven, by kings, or by sramanas and brahmins. Since your own body created it, you must bear it yourself.’ This is King Yama’s third interrogation. ‘When you were in the world, did you not see dead men and women whose bodies, after one to seven days, decomposed and decayed, were eaten by worms and ants, and were detested and cast aside by everyone? If you saw this, why did you not reform yourself and become good?’

“The person replies:

“‘I truly did see this. I was a foolish and arrogant person.’

“‘If you were capable of action, why did you not act uprightly? Had your actions been upright, then your speech and mind would also have been upright. This evil was not created by your parents, by heaven, by kings, or by sramanas and brahmins. Since your own body created it, you yourself must receive it.’ This is King Yama’s fourth interrogation. ‘When you were a human being in the world, did you not see officials capture robbers, murderers, and bandits, bind them, cast them into prison for torture and interrogation, lead them into the street to be executed, or take them back to their native villages to be burned? Did you see such things?’

“The person replies:

“‘I truly did see them.’

“‘Why did you not reform yourself and become good? While you were human, why did you act unrighteously? Why did you not keep your body upright, your speech upright, and your mind upright?’

“The person replies:

“‘I was truly foolish and conceited.’

“‘What your own body created, you must receive yourself. This evil was not created by your parents, by heaven, by kings, or by sramanas and brahmins. Since your own body created it, you yourself must suffer it.’ This is King Yama’s fifth interrogation.

“When the interrogation is complete, Bàng, the warden of the Nê Lê hell, leads the offender to an iron city. This is the first Nê Lê hell, called A Tỷ Na Nê Lê. The city has four gates and is four thousand li in circumference.

Within it is a great cauldron forty li wide and forty li deep. Bàng, the warden of Nê Lê, pierces the offenders with spears, casts them into the cauldron, and boils them. Fires burn throughout innumerable such cities.

Seeing them from afar, the offenders are overwhelmed with sorrow and fear and tremble violently. Thousands upon tens of thousands enter them. Bàng, the warden of Nê Lê, drives the offenders inside, and they cannot escape by day or night.

They run toward the four gates seeking a way out, but all the gates are shut and they cannot leave. The offenders remain there for thousands upon tens of thousands of years; the fire does not go out, nor do they die. After a very long time, they see the eastern gate open by itself.

They all run toward it, wishing to escape, but as soon as they reach it, the gate closes. Those offenders wishing to escape struggle with the others crowded within the gate, all hoping to get out. At times they see the southern gate open in the distance.

They all run toward it, but when they arrive, it closes, and all the offenders struggle with one another within the gate, hoping to escape. At times they see the northern gate open in the distance. All the offenders run toward it, but when they arrive, it closes, and all those within the gate struggle with one another, hoping to escape.

At times they see the western gate open. All the offenders run toward it, but when they arrive, it closes. At times all four gates open, and all the offenders run to them and escape outside, believing themselves liberated.

“They then enter the second Nê Lê hell, Cưu Diên. When their feet run upon the ground, they are immediately burned away; when they raise them, the flesh is restored as before. Some offenders run east, west, south, or north, but the ground everywhere burns hot. Only after thousands upon tens of thousands of years does this end, and they believe themselves liberated.

“They then enter the third Nê Lê hell, Di Ly Ma Đức. Within it are creatures called Khuật-trác, with iron-like beaks and black heads. When these creatures see people, they pursue them and peck away their flesh, bones, and marrow until nothing remains. This continues for thousands upon tens of thousands of years before it ends, and they believe themselves liberated.

“They then enter the fourth Nê Lê hell, Băng Đa La. It is filled entirely with stones as sharp as blades. The offenders must walk upon the points of those stones. Some wish to run and escape, but do not know how to proceed, for their feet and legs are lacerated by the ground and stones, all of which are like sharp blades. This continues for thousands upon tens of thousands of years before it ends, and they believe themselves liberated.

“They then enter the fifth Nê Lê hell, A Di Ba Đa Hằng. Within it are hot winds, far hotter than the blazing fires of the human world. When the winds strike the offenders’ bodies, their bodies are burned away. All struggle against the winds, but the hot winds continually blow over them, and no matter how they try to hide, they cannot escape. They seek death but cannot die; they seek life but cannot live. This continues for thousands upon tens of thousands of years before they can leave, and they believe themselves liberated.

“They then enter the sixth Nê Lê hell, A Dụ Thảm Ba Lê Hằng. Within it are very many trees, all of which impale people. Among the trees dwell demonic beings. Fire issues from the demons’ heads and also from their mouths, and throughout their bodies are sixteen Thích demons. Seeing people approaching from afar and entering the raging fire, they come forward and devour the offenders’ flesh. The sixteen Thích demons pierce the offenders’ bodies, tear them apart, and eat them. The offenders all wish to escape, but whenever they run, they encounter these demons. This continues for thousands upon tens of thousands of years before it ends, and they believe themselves liberated.

“They then enter the seventh Nê Lê hell, Thục Tùng Vụ. Within it are creatures called Đôn. When offenders enter, these creatures fly into their mouths and devour their bodies. The offenders all run, desperately wishing to escape, but the flesh-eating creatures give them no respite. They flee in all four directions but cannot escape. This continues for thousands upon tens of thousands of years before it ends, and they believe themselves liberated.

“They then enter the eighth Nê Lê hell, Đàn Ni Du. Within it flows a river, and all the offenders fall into the water. Both banks are lined with piercing thorns. The water is hotter than boiling water in the human world. It boils violently, and everyone is cooked to pieces. When they try to climb onto the bank, demons standing there stab them with spears, causing them to fall back into the river, unable to escape. The offenders are carried downstream by the current. Farther downstream are more demons, who catch them with hooks and ask:

“‘Where have you come from?’

“When asked this, they all reply:

“‘I do not know where I came from, nor do I know where I must go. I suffer only from hunger and thirst and merely wish to run in search of food and drink.’

“The demons say:

“‘We shall give you food.’

“They then pour boiling molten copper into the offenders’ mouths, burning away everything inside. Thus they seek death but cannot die and seek life but cannot live. Because they committed evil while in the world, they seek escape but cannot escape.

“The people in the Nê Lê hell are released again and believe themselves liberated, but they reenter the seventh Nê Lê hell. The demons in the seventh Nê Lê hell receive them and ask:

“‘Having departed, why have you returned?’

“The people in the Nê Lê hell all say:

“‘We suffer only from hunger and thirst.’

“They then enter the sixth Nê Lê hell. From the sixth hell, they enter the fifth; from the fifth, they enter the fourth; from the fourth, they enter the third; from the third, they enter the second; and from the second, they enter the first. Hoping to escape the A Tỷ Na Nê Lê hell, they see the iron city from afar. All rejoice and cry aloud, saying:

“‘Long life!’

“Hearing them, King Yama asks Bàng of Nê Lê:

“‘What are those voices?’

“Bàng of Nê Lê reports:

“‘Those are cries of joy. These people have already passed through the Nê Lê hells.’

“King Yama says:

“‘They are people who were unfilial toward their parents, did not fear heaven, did not fear kings, did not honor their ancestors, did not attend upon sramanas and brahmins, and did not fear the precepts and prohibitions.’

“King Yama looks at them again and says:

“‘I am King Yama. If you now escape and again become the children of human beings, you must be filial and obedient. You must attend well upon your teachers and elders, fear heaven, fear kings, and attend upon sramanas and brahmins. Keep your minds upright, speak upright words with your mouths, and perform upright deeds with your bodies. While living in the world, people see a minor evil and regard it lightly, yet in Nê Lê it becomes an exceedingly grave offense. If you encounter sramanas or brahmins, you must attend upon them. You will then be delivered from the grievous suffering of the evil destinies, and the road to those evil destinies will be forever closed.’

“All the people in the Nê Lê hells are allowed to leave and remain outside the city. During the night, they all die. Although in a previous life as humans they committed much evil, they also possessed a little goodness. Returning from the Nê Lê hell, they all attain the path of right understanding. Having emerged from the Nê Lê hell, they all maintain upright minds and upright conduct and never return to the Nê Lê hell. Nor does Nê Lê summon them again. Having been led by evil conduct to endure cruel suffering in the Nê Lê hell, they are able to recollect it themselves and are also able to perform good deeds.”

When the Buddha had taught this, all the bhikkhus rejoiced.

THE SUTRA OF NÊ LÊ SPOKEN BY THE BUDDHA