Talk:Naraka (Buddhism)

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[edit] Jainism?

I don't understand why this article is being asked to double as an article about the Jain concept of Naraka, which, I am sure, differs from the Buddhist concept in both details and in general cosmological principles. There is plenty of room for an article on Naraka (Jainism) if someone can be found who's qualified to write it. RandomCritic 17:00, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] emphasize the very

I really think we should emphasize the length of the suffering, with the word very at least twice "...the length of suffering is very very long."

[edit] Not true

First, beings are not sent to Naraka as the result of a divine judgment and punishment

Most Buddhist sects that actually give a shit about the Chinese-derived concept of Narakas do believe that beings are sent there as the result of divine judgment. Namely, the judgment of Lord Yama. Not to mention that the concept of karma itself is a form of divine judgment. --75.49.222.55 18:05, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

The concept is not "Chinese-derived". The characterization of karma as "a form of divine judgment" is highly dubious. RandomCritic 18:37, 10 October 2007 (UTC)
He's a Hindu presenting a Hindu view of a Buddhist concept. I advise that we just ignore him. Armyrifle (talk) 20:00, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Folk religion grafted onto Buddhism?

Were these hells actually part of Buddhism from the beginning? I'm beginning to suspect that these were folk beliefs that were pasted onto Buddhist dharma. If they were, can we include that in the article? Can we also include how many contemporary Buddhists (don't) believe in Naraka? Of all the Buddhists I run into (mostly Anglophone Buddhists), I find very few who actually think that bad people are punished in grotesque ways from 1,620,000,000,000 to 3,397,386,240,000,000,000 years. Lothar76 (talk) 15:23, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

The evidence indicates that is not the case. References to the hells are common in what are considered the very oldest sutras, and indeed the concept of different realms (including the hells) is a fundamental aspect of Buddhism and has been from the start. We could include something about westerners choosing to disbelieve this point of doctrine if we can find citable sources for that assertion. Sylvain1972 17:17, 12 March 2008 (UTC)