Diyu
With Diyu ( Chinese 地獄 / 地狱 , Pinyin DIYU - "Erdgefängnis" Jap. Jigoku ) is in Buddhism the underworld referred to in the Yánluó or Yama (Jap. Enma prevails).
Diyu
Diyu ( Sanskrit नरक Naraka ) is the realm of the dead or " underworld " in Chinese mythology . It is loosely based on a combination of the Buddhist concept of Naraka , traditional Chinese ideas of the afterlife, and a variety of folk paintings and reinterpretations of these two traditions.
Diyu is typically depicted as an underground maze with different levels, layers and chambers, where souls are taken after their death to atone for the sins they committed during their lifetime. The exact number of levels in the "earth prison" and the associated deities differ between Buddhist and Daoist interpretations. Some speak of three to four courts of justice, others of the "10 Underworld Courts", each under a judge (collectively known as the "Ten Yama (god of death) kings"); other Chinese legends speak of the "18 levels of the underworld". Each court deals with different aspects of atonement; Most legends claim that sinners are subjected to cruel tortures until they die, only to be fully restored for the next torture.
Concepts of Diyu
According to ideas from Daoism , Buddhism and traditional Chinese folk religion , Diyu is a purgatory that serves to punish and renew souls in preparation for their reincarnation in their next life. Many deities, whose names and purposes are subject to various conflicting accounts, are associated with Diyu.
Some early Chinese cultures speak of people going to Tai Shan , Jiuyuan, Jiuquan, or Fengdu after death . At present, Fengdu City and Mount Tai temples have been rebuilt into tourist attractions, including artistic drawings of the underworld and life after death.
Some controversial folk religious planchette documents , such as Journeys to the Underworld, say that as the world changes, new underworlds with new punishments arise and that there is also a city of the innocent dead ( Chinese 枉死 城 , Pinyin Wǎng Sǐ Chéng ). Some claimed that there are other facilities
The ten underworld courts
The concept of the "Ten Underworld Courts" began after the Chinese folk religions were influenced by Buddhism. In Chinese mythology, the authorized Jade Emperor to King Yama , to take care of affairs of the underworld. There are 12,800 underworlds underground - eight dark underworlds, eight cold underworlds and 84,000 other underworlds on the edge of the universe. All go to the underworld after death, but the amount of time spent there depends on the severity of the sins one has committed, and after receiving just punishment, one may be sent to reincarnation . In the meantime the souls go from one stage to the next at the decision of Yama. Yama also reduced the number of underworlds to ten. He later divided the underworld into ten courts of justice, each administered by its own "Yama King", while he himself remained the ruler of the entire underworld.
| # | Name and title | Birthday (according to the Chinese calendar ) |
Responsible for (see Cold and Warm Narakas ) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jiang, King Qinguangwang 秦 廣 王 蔣 |
1st day of the 2nd lunar month | Life and death and fate of all people | Presumably model Jiang Ziwen of the Eastern Han Dynasty |
| 2 | Li, King Chujiangwang 楚江 王 歷 |
1st day of the 3rd lunar month | Sañjīva, Arbuda | |
| 3 | Yu, King Songdiwang 宋 帝王 余 |
8th day of the 2nd lunar month | Kālasūtra, Nirarbuda | |
| 4th | Lü, King Wuguanwang 五官 王 呂 |
18th day of the 2nd lunar month | Saṃghāta, Aṭaṭa | |
| 5 | Bao, King Yanluowang 閻羅 王 包 |
8th day of the 1st lunar month | Raurava, Hahava | Probable model of Bao Zheng of the Northern Song Dynasty |
| 6th | Bi, King Bianchengwang 卞 城 王 畢 |
8th day of the 3rd lunar month | Mahāraurava, Huhuva and City of the Innocent Dead | |
| 7th | Dong, King Taishanwang 泰山 王董 |
27th day of the 3rd lunar month | Tapana, Utpala | Probable role model Dong Ji (董 極) ( later Han dynasty ) |
| 8th | Huang, King Dushiwang 都市 王 黃 |
1st day of the 4th lunar month | Pratāpana, Padma | Probable role model Huang Sile (黃 思 樂) ( Five Dynasties Period) |
| 9 | Lu, King Pingdengwang 平等 王 陸 |
8th day of the 4th lunar month | Avīci , Mahāpadma | |
| 10 | Xue, King Zhuanlunwang 轉輪王 薛 |
17th day of the 4th lunar month | Sending the soul to reincarnation |
Capital of the underworld
Among the numerous other presumed main geographic features of Diyu is the capital, which is said to bear the name Youdu . It is commonly conceived as a typical Chinese capital, such as Chang'an , but surrounded and permeated by darkness.
18 levels of the underworld
The concept of the 18 Underworlds began in the Tang Dynasty . The Buddhist text Wen Diyu Jing (問 地獄 經) mentions 134 underworlds, but for the sake of simplicity has been simplified to 18 levels of the underworld. Sinners experience pain and agony just like living human beings when subjected to the tortures listed below. They cannot “die” from the agony because when the ordeal is over their bodies will be restored so that the ordeal can be repeated. The following is a list of the common punishments and tortures in the 18 levels of the underworld:
- The mountain of blades: sinners have to shed their blood by climbing a mountain with sharp blades protruding from it. Some drawings show law breakers climbing trees with knives or sharp thorns sticking out of the trunks and branches.
- Cauldron torture: sinners are fried in oil cauldrons. Some drawings show lawbreakers being scalded with hot steam instead of deep-fried.
- Divide: The bodies of sinners are divided by various means including, but not limited to, the following:
- Sawing up
- Dismember
- Cut in half
- grind to a pulp or pound
- Grinding by heavy rocks or boulders
- Run over
- Grind up: sinners are put in a grinder and ground into a bloody pulp.
- Fire ordeals:
- Burning: sinners are set alight or thrown into fiery infernos.
- Paolao Torture: The sinners are stripped naked and cause a large metal cylinder to climb up, which is heated from below.
- Boiling liquid torture: sinners are forced to swallow boiling liquid or parts of the body are doused with it.
- Tortures with removal of body parts or organs:
- Tear out tongue
- Eye stinging
- Tear out the heart
- Cut out intestines
- Skinning
- Cut off fingers and toes in slices
- Ice world: sinners are frozen in ice. Some drawings show undressed sinners with frostbite in an ice world: at some point their bodies fall apart or break into pieces.
- Scales and hook torture: sinners are put hooks through their bodies and then hung upside down. Some drawings show sinners with nails driven through their bodies (similar to a crucifixion ).
- Blood pool: sinners are thrown into a pool full of blood. Blood spurts out of all orifices.
- Torture with animals: sinners are trampled by cattle, pierced / impaled by animals with tusks or horns, mangled or eaten by predators, stung or bitten by poisonous animals, etc.
- Avīci (lowest level of the underworld): The period of suffering in this chamber is the longest and is reserved for sinners who have committed crimes of hate including the Five Serious Crimes .
Some literature refers to 18 underworld types or 18 underworlds per type of punishment. Some religious or literary books say that wrongdoers who were not punished while alive will find their punishment in the underworld after death.
Alternative names for the underworld
The most common Chinese names for the underworld are:
- Diyu ( Chinese 地獄 , Pinyin Dìyù ), "earth prison".
- Difu ( Chinese 地 府 , Pinyin Dìfǔ ), "earth mansion".
- Huangquan ( Chinese 黃泉 , Pinyin Huángquán ), "yellow springs", called yomi in Japanese.
- Yinjian ( Chinese 陰間 , Pinyin Yīnjiān ), "land of shadow".
- Yinfu ( Chinese 陰 府 , Pinyin Yīnfǔ ), "shadow mansion".
- Yinsi ( Chinese 陰 司 , Pinyin Yīnsī ), "shadow office".
- Senluo Dian ( Chinese 森羅殿 , Pinyin Sēnluódiàn ), "Court of Senluo".
- Yanluo Dian ( Chinese 閻羅殿 , Pinyin Yánluódiàn ), "Court of Yanluo ".
- Jiuquan ( Chinese 九泉 , Pinyin Jiǔquán ), "Nine Sources".
- Chongquan ( Chinese 重 泉 , Pinyin Chóngquán ), "recurring spring".
- Quanlu ( Chinese 泉 路 , Pinyin Quánlù ), "way to the source".
- Youming ( Chinese 幽冥 , Pinyin Yōumíng ), "quiet darkness".
- Yourang ( Chinese 幽 壤 , Pinyin Yōurǎng ), "Quiet Land".
- Huokang ( Chinese 火炕 , Pinyin Huǒkàng ), " fiery furnace".
- Jiuyou ( Chinese 九幽 , Pinyin Jiǔyōu ), "Nine Serenities ".
- Jiuyuan ( Chinese 九 原 , Pinyin Jiǔyuán ), "Nine Origins".
- Mingfu ( Chinese 冥府 , Pinyin Míngfǔ ), "gloomy mansion".
- Abi ( Chinese 阿鼻 , Pinyin Ābí ), " Avīci ", underworld of uninterrupted torture, the last and deepest of the eight hot Narakas .
- Zugen ( Chinese 足跟 , Pinyin Zúgēn ), "heel".
- Fengdu Cheng ( Chinese 酆 都城 , Pinyin Fēngdū Chéng ), city of the spirits Fengdu .
Other terms related to the underworld:
- Naihe Qiao ( Chinese 奈何橋 , Pinyin Nàihé Qiáo ), "bridge of helplessness", a bridge that every soul has to cross before entering the underworld, just like the Styx in Greek mythology.
- Wang Xiang Tai ( Chinese 望 鄉 臺 , Pinyin Wàng Xiāng Tái ), "Heimschau Pavilion", a pavilion that every soul passes through on its journey into the underworld. From there you can see your families and loved ones in the world of the living.
- You Guo ( Chinese 油鍋 , Pinyin Yóu Guō ), "oil boiler", one of the tortures in the underworld.
- San Tu ( Chinese 三 塗 , Pinyin Sān Tú ), the "Three Tortures": Fire Torture ( Chinese 火 塗 , Pinyin Huǒ Tú ), Blade Torture ( Chinese 刀 塗 , Pinyin Dāo Tú ), Blood Torture ( Chinese 血塗 , Pinyin Xuě Tú - "bloodshed").
See also
- Obon festival
- Ghost Festival
- Ksitigarbha
Web links
- Bernhard Scheid: Hells and hunger ghosts
Individual evidence
- ↑ 玉 歷 鈔 傳 警世 (1814) monograph, Libri sin. 612. Retrieved September 11, 2013 .
- ↑ Inez de Beauclair: Gods and Myths of East Asia . Klett-Cotta, 1994, ISBN 978-3-12-909860-8 , pp. 780 ( google.de [accessed on January 6, 2018]).
- ↑ 北京 的 寺廟 -4 ( Memento of the original from July 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Tw.myblog.yahoo.com (2007 年 07 月 25 日). Retrieved on 2011 年 11 月 14 日.
- ↑ 上 鍊 經 第十 ( Memento of the original from February 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Jnk.org.tw. Retrieved on 2011 年 11 月 14 日.
- ↑ 诸 经 佛说 地狱 集 要 ( Memento of the original from February 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Read.goodweb.cn. Retrieved on 2011 年 11 月 14 日.
- ↑ 汉魏 六朝 佛教 之 “地狱” 说 (上) . Wuys.com (2006 年 12 月 22 日). Retrieved on 2011 年 11 月 14 日.
- ↑ 汉魏 六朝 佛教 之 “地狱” 说 (下) . Wuys.com (2006 年 12 月 22 日). Retrieved on 2011 年 11 月 14 日.
- ↑ 華 雨 集 第四 冊 05 ( Memento of the original from July 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Yinshun.org.tw. Retrieved on 2011 年 11 月 14 日.
- ↑ 泰山 崇拜 与 东 岳泰 山神 的 形成 ( Memento of the original from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Taishanly.com (2008 年 03 月 03 日). Retrieved on 2011 年 11 月 14 日.
- ↑ 山 不在 高 ， 有 仙 則 名 ── 論 泰山 、 上古 神山 與 生死
- ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: 蒿 里 山
- ↑ 有 “十八 层 地狱” 的 宫观 —— 东岳庙 ( Memento of the original from February 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Mcprc.gov.cn (2009 年 04 月 30 日). Retrieved on 2011 年 11 月 14 日.
- ↑ 觀 靈 實錄 - 枉死 城 系列 報導 PDF 電子書 . Wugin.com. Retrieved on 2011 年 11 月 14 日.
- ↑ 枉死 城 遊記 ( Memento of the original from March 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ 三. 枉死 城 亡魂 戒 改 . Tienton.myweb.hinet.net. Retrieved on 2011 年 11 月 14 日.
- ↑ 牽 亡魂 - 國家 之 窗 . Senwanture.com. Retrieved on 2011 年 11 月 14 日.
- ↑ [1] (PDF; 919 kB)
- ↑ 九 、 唐太宗 入 冥 記 . Eywedu.com. Retrieved on 2011 年 11 月 14 日.
