Simile of the Life Span in Hell

‘Venerable Sir, Sāriputta and Moggallāna have evil (unwholesome) desires and have come under the control of evil (unwholesome) desires’.

Do not say so, Kokālika! Do not say so, Kokālika! Place confidence in Sāriputta and Moggallāna, Kokālika. Sāriputta and Moggallāna are well behaved.

Then for a second time and yet a third time the Monk Kokālika repeated his words, and a second and third time The Perfectly Enlightened One advised him with the same words.

Then the Monk Kokālika rose from his seat, paid homage (respect) to The Perfectly Enlightened One, circled The Perfectly Enlightened One keeping the right side towards him, and departed.

Then, when the night had passed, The Perfectly Enlightened One addressed the Monks:

Monks, last night, when the night had advanced, Brahmā Sahampati approached me and said to me: ‘Venerable Sir, the Monk Kokālika has died, and because of his resentment against Sāriputta and Moggallāna, after death he has been reborn in the red‑lotus hell’. He then paid homage (respect) to me, circled me keeping the right side towards me, and disappeared right there.

‘How long, Venerable Sir, is the life span in the red-lotus hell?’

The life span in the red‑lotus hell is long, Monk. It is not easy to count it and say it is so many years, or so many hundreds of years, or so many thousands of years, or so many hundreds of thousands of years.

‘Then is it possible, Venerable Sir, to give a simile?’

It is, Monk,

Suppose there was a Kosalan cartload of twenty measures of sesamum seed. At the end of every hundred years a man would remove one seed from it.

In this manner the Kosalan cartload of twenty measures of sesamum seed might be depleted and eliminated more quickly than a life in a single abbuda hell would go by.

One life in the nirabbuda hell is the equivalent of twenty lives in the abbuda hell;

one life in the ababa hell is the equivalent of twenty lives in the nirabbuda hell;

one life in the ahaha hell is the equivalent of twenty lives in the ababa hell;

one life in the aṭaṭa hell is the equivalent of twenty lives in the ahaha hell;

one life in the water‑lily hell is the equivalent of twenty lives in the aṭaṭa hell;

one life in the sweet‑fragrance hell is the equivalent of twenty lives in the water‑lily hell;

one life in the blue‑lotus hell is the equivalent of twenty lives in the sweet‑fragrance hell;

one life in the white‑lotus hell is the equivalent of twenty lives in the blue‑lotus hell;

and one life in the red‑lotus hell is the equivalent of twenty lives in the white‑lotus hell.

Now, because he harbored resentment against Sāriputta and Moggallāna, the Monk Kokālika has been reborn in the red‑lotus hell.

This is what The Perfectly Enlightened One said. Having said this, The Fortunate One, The Teacher, further said this:

When a person has taken birth an axe is born inside his mouth with which the unwise person cuts himself by uttering wrongful speech.

He who praises one deserving blame or blames one deserving praise casts with his mouth an unlucky throw by which he finds no peacefulness.

Slight is the unlucky throw at dice that results in the loss of one’s wealth, [the loss] of all, oneself included; much worse is this unlucky throw of harboring hate against the holy ones.

For a hundred thousand and thirty‑six nirabbudas, plus five abbudas, the slanderer of Noble Ones goes to hell, having defamed them with evil (unwholesome) speech and mind.

(Reference: SN 6.10)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares the enormous life span in the realm of hell. He further shares how unwise it is to harbor resentment especially towards “Noble Ones” including slandering “Noble Ones”.

A Noble One is the way Gotama Buddha explained those Students who had deeply studied and were deeply practicing these Teachings.

During Gotama Buddha’s lifetime, there was a caste system in place that taught people that as they were born into a low or high family, they were either a low or high person in society. This rigid caste system made people believe that if they were of low status, they were essentially a low or somewhat of a worthless individual. But, if they were of a high status, they were a “noble” individual.

People were taught that if they were interested in a spiritual life, they would need to make offerings and payments to Brāhmins to be able to have them pray to the Gods on their behalf. People believed in multiple Gods during The Buddha’s lifetime. People of a low caste were convinced that they were unable to pray to the Gods because of their low status in life and due to that birth, they’d need to give money to the Brāhmin priests to have them pray on their behalf.

The Buddha observed that this was not true and only created opportunity for corruption and false beliefs. He understood that people of all backgrounds and upbringing are capable of attaining Enlightenment. He described his Teachings as “noble”, thus, The Noble Eight Fold Path, and he also referred to Practitioners as “Noble Ones” or a “Noble Disciple”.

The Buddha essentially provided guidance that people should adjust their thinking that being born into a certain family and the material possessions available to them within their family is not an indication of what makes them noble or un-noble. Instead, it is one’s wisdom, moral conduct, and mental discipline that determines if one is wholesome or unwholesome.

In this way, all beings are capable of becoming noble through learning, reflecting, and practicing these Teachings to improve the condition of their mind. The Buddha accepted all individuals as Students no matter what caste they were born into or what moral conduct they had participated in prior to deciding to undertake training in these Teachings. The Buddha was known to accept a prostitute and a murderer into his Community of Practitioners who eventually attained Enlightenment during their lifetime. He did not discriminate based on what family one was born into or past conduct. Instead, he focused on helping all people learn and progress in the development of their life practice to awaken the mind to Enlightenment.

At a time when all of society was discriminating against people of insignificant material possessions, occupations, past conduct, and even gender, The Buddha practiced loving-kindness and compassion towards all beings. He was willing to support anyone who was interested to investigate his Teachings helping them to progress towards Enlightenment through being invited and welcomed to do so within The Community of Practitioners.

This Teaching helps a Practitioner understand that harboring resentment or slandering others is unwise and leads to unwholesome results in this life and future lives.