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Representation of Buddhist Hell

Representation of Buddhist hell (Naraka) in the Lung-wang Miao at Yan'an, Shaanxi, China. Photograph by Arthur de Carle Sowerby (1885-1954). These photographs were taken on Robert Sterling Clark's 1908-09 expedition to the Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces of China. Note the man hoisted to the rafters at top right, who is presumably being tormented. Naraka is a term in Buddhist cosmology, usually referred to in English as "hell" or "purgatory." The Narakas of Buddhism are closely related to diyu, the hell in Chinese mythology. A Naraka differs from the hells of Abrahamic religions in two respects: firstly, beings are not sent to Naraka as the result of a divine judgment and punishment; secondly, the length of a being's stay in a Naraka is not eternal, though it is usually very long. A being is born into a Naraka as a direct result of his or her accumulated karma and resides there for a finite period of time until that karma has achieved its full result. After his or her karma is used up, he or she will be reborn in one of the higher worlds as the result of karma that had not yet ripened.
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Title:
Representation of Buddhist Hell
Caption:
Representation of Buddhist hell (Naraka) in the Lung-wang Miao at Yan'an, Shaanxi, China. Photograph by Arthur de Carle Sowerby (1885-1954). These photographs were taken on Robert Sterling Clark's 1908-09 expedition to the Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces of China. Note the man hoisted to the rafters at top right, who is presumably being tormented. Naraka is a term in Buddhist cosmology, usually referred to in English as "hell" or "purgatory." The Narakas of Buddhism are closely related to diyu, the hell in Chinese mythology. A Naraka differs from the hells of Abrahamic religions in two respects: firstly, beings are not sent to Naraka as the result of a divine judgment and punishment; secondly, the length of a being's stay in a Naraka is not eternal, though it is usually very long. A being is born into a Naraka as a direct result of his or her accumulated karma and resides there for a finite period of time until that karma has achieved its full result. After his or her karma is used up, he or she will be reborn in one of the higher worlds as the result of karma that had not yet ripened.
Credit:
Album / Science Source / Smithsonian Libraries
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Image size:
3660 x 2573 px | 26.9 MB
Print size:
31.0 x 21.8 cm | 12.2 x 8.6 in (300 dpi)
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