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According to Nicheren Buddhism, Hell is the lowest of the Ten Worlds we experience.


Establishing Buddhahood as our basic life-tendency does not mean we rid ourselves of the other nine worlds. All these states are integral and necessary aspects of life. Without experiencing the sufferings of Hell ourselves, we could never feel true compassion for others.


According to Buddhism, Hell (the ultamate suffering), a state where we experience total dispair and agony without justification, is necessary for us to develop empathy towards the suffering of others.

If we do not suffer ourselves, we can never care for another's suffering, or for another period.


Without the instinctive desires represented by Hunger and Animality, we would forget to eat, sleep and reproduce ourselves, and soon become extinct



Without Desire and passion, we wouldn't be motivated to actually experience this life, and do....

Although Desire is said to be the cause of all suffering, there is a reason for it, and a way to achive unison with natural desire.


Even if we establish Buddhahood as our fundamental life-tendency, we will still continue to experience the joys and sorrows of the nine worlds. However, they will not control us, and we will not define ourselves in terms of them. Based on the life-tendency of Buddhahood, our nine worlds will be harmonized and function to benefit both ourselves and those around us.


Desire and Attachment do lead to emotional and even physical suffering, but they exist without our permission.

It is not wrong to fulfill our desires, or to be attached. The point is to recognize the attachment, and to realize the cause of our suffering.

If you can regulate your desire, and recognize a harmful desire from a benevolent desire, and realize that you do not actually need the desire, then you can live a life in peace with your desires, without the intensity of suffering that would accompany it otherwise.


Achieving Buddhahood does not mean disregarding the other nine worlds...it simply means having power in all worlds.

I know very little of Buddism, and most of it is from what you just said, but I think thats true. There is a good level of desire and instinct, as long as it can be regulated as you said. In certain occasions it is alright to allow yourself to give in to those instincts, but a lot more times it is not (this is a lot of times where rape cases, murder, and other stuff happens). Primarily the ability to think the most independently as humans gives us the control over our instincts that is harder (phycologically) for animals, thats what makes us human.

But you need both sides to survive, and to live happily.

Interesting stuff. (its nice to have a religion post thats not caked in JIA's bible quotes )

This is quite similar to the hindu concept of hell (though there are conflicting concepts), the suffering before going to heaven, so experiencing hevean and hell. Though many people think that the actuaal "hell" is realy a state of conciousness

Originally posted by Crimson Phoenix
Interesting stuff. (its nice to have a religion post thats not caked in JIA's bible quotes )

This is quite similar to the hindu concept of hell (though there are conflicting concepts), the suffering before going to heaven, so experiencing hevean and hell. Though many people think that the actuaal "hell" is realy a state of conciousness


Yes, but you see, in Buddhism, Heaven is the last of the lower Six Worlds.


Also, Heaven is temporary and conditional. It is extreme bliss, over bearing joy, one of the most beautiful feelings ever...but its temporary, conditional, and the passion behind it will eventually die.

For example....Falling In Love, and having that man or woman love you back...that is Heaven (in Buddhist terms). It is a GREAT and BEAUTIFUL feeling/event/place.

You are in such intense joy, you can't even imagine pain.


However, it is short lived. Eventually when problems arise, Heaven starts to break down.

Afterward, if the two of you do not last, and you are still dependent on this Heaven, you will be Heart Broken and end up in Hell.



Bodhisvatta is a world higher than Heaven, a world when we are happy by making others happy. When we care more for another's happiness than our own.


Heaven and Hell are realms created out of selfish desire. It is only our own happiness or pain we care about.

However, we cannot reach Bodhisvatta without having experience Heaven and Hell first.

You cannot care for another's pain unless you felt pain first.

You cannot want another person to be happy, unless you experienced happiness already.




Heaven and Hell are not imaginary worlds in outer space....they are right here on Earth, and we have infinite access to them.

Originally posted by The Black Ghost
I know very little of Buddism, and most of it is from what you just said, but I think thats true. There is a good level of desire and instinct, as long as it can be regulated as you said. In certain occasions it is alright to allow yourself to give in to those instincts, but a lot more times it is not (this is a lot of times where rape cases, murder, and other stuff happens). Primarily the ability to think the most independently as humans gives us the control over our instincts that is harder (phycologically) for animals, thats what makes us human.

But you need both sides to survive, and to live happily.


It is attachment and desire that leads to emotional suffering. However, it is also attachment and desire that leads to enjoyment and bliss.


It is okay to give in to desires because that is a part of Life. Atleast our human lives, for animal existance may differ.


As long as you understand where the suffering is deriving from, then it will have less power over you.


For example...you fall in love....you are rejected. You don't have to suffer, yet you do. It's not the end of the world, yet it feels like it is. There are a million other men or women you can find, but you feel like there's no other.


A feeling is just a feeling and only has as much power as you allow it to have.


To conquer others is pointless, because you can never truly control another person. You can only control yourself. To conquer yourself, to train your own mind, to have control over your own passions, is the greatest power a human being can have.

Originally posted by Goddess Kali
It is attachment and desire that leads to emotional suffering. However, it is also attachment and desire that leads to enjoyment and bliss.


It is okay to give in to desires because that is a part of Life. Atleast our human lives, for animal existance may differ.


As long as you understand where the suffering is deriving from, then it will have less power over you.


For example...you fall in love....you are rejected. You don't have to suffer, yet you do. It's not the end of the world, yet it feels like it is. There are a million other men or women you can find, but you feel like there's no other.


A feeling is just a feeling and only has as much power as you allow it to have.


To conquer others is pointless, because you can never truly control another person. You can only control yourself. To conquer yourself, to train your own mind, to have control over your own passions, is the greatest power a human being can have.


That's very true. But emotions and feelings cannot be shut out, and it would be better to live in ignorant bliss and happy fantasy then the pure-truth world. The truth sucks sometimes, we need to have that special attachment and emotional feelings like one love, etc... or else everything is just robotic and pointless in life.

Originally posted by The Black Ghost
That's very true. But emotions and feelings cannot be shut out, and it would be better to live in ignorant bliss and happy fantasy then the pure-truth world. The truth sucks sometimes, we need to have that special attachment and emotional feelings like one love, etc... or else everything is just robotic and pointless in life.



I am not talking about shutting down feelings and emotions, I am talking about not allowing feelings and emotions to control you, but rather for you to have control over them.


You cannot choose how to feel or what to like, but you can choose how to handle your emotions, and how to train your mind to be calm, rational, and wise even during the most intense of emotional states.


I never said to let go of all attachments. I said do not let desires run your life. Your desires are only a part of yourself, not the other way around.

Keep your attachment as long as it doesnt control you. Have control over your attachment tendency, learn to be happy with the attachment, but not dependent on it.