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| Hell Courtesan by Kawanabe (1870s) |
In Buddhism the lowest and most miserable form of existence is hell (naraka). Most living beings are susceptible to repeated visits to hell, unless they are ascendant Buddhists who have attained the state of non-regression (avaivartika).
Getting to Hell
In Theravada / Nikaya Buddhism it is taught that beings experience hell as a karmic consequence of wrong conduct, which have their origin in wrong views:
“Just as, when a seed of neem, bitter cucumber, or bitter gourd is planted in moist soil, it transforms any nutrient it obtains from the soil and the water into a fruit with a bitter, harsh and disagreeable taste, even so is it for a person of wrong view. For what reason? Because the view is bad [Bodhi at 214-15].”
Views that are particularly wrong include not believing in karma, not believing in rebirth, and not believing there are good and virtuous people “who have themselves realised by direct knowledge and declare this world and the other world” (Bodhi at 158).