BUDDHIST HELL in Sri Lanka: Demons and Devils: Dickwella Temple (Wewurukannala Vihara)

originally posted by: InhaleExhale
a reply to: Scrutinizing

Whatever, peacefulpete. You're just classic trolling now, looking for somebody to entertain a senseless argument.

Its their main purpose for being here,

This putting words and concepts in peoples' mouths is so very lame, textbook trolling.

and just happens way too often, very few posts are honest posts always twisting whats said.

I happen to know what Buddha taught, the rest of what you think is Buddhism? I couldn't care less.

I agree with how you described how modern Buddhism has changed and very much agree with your analogy how its similar to what the Catholic Church has done with Christianity.


Either the OP completely fails to grasp what you are saying or really is what they call about at least 5 posters in each of their threads.

You asked a question, I answered,

what really shows their dishonesty and what is considered trolling is that you answered before they asked.


You posted your views on Buddha's teachings and how many things have become attached over the years and then after you posted that they asked the question to which you already answered.

Its absolute insanity to try and have a normal discussion with OP, it seems if you have anything that is bordering to being critical or slightly differing views you are a troll.

In real life, Buddhism could not be structured more differently from Catholicism.

Anyone saying they're similar is obviously just completely ignorant about Buddhism.

It is not centrally organized or coordinated i.e. there is no equivalent to the Catholic church. This is just real life fact.

Buddhism has also morphed and changed for every culture it has become part of. There's not a criticism there. You guys are looking for criticisms that aren't there, on topics that you don't understand.

Actually I thought these things were commonly known anyway.

a reply to: peacefulpete

In real life, Buddhism could not be structured more differently from Catholicism. Anyone saying they're similar is obviously just completely ignorant about Buddhism.

Has anyone said they are similar other than giving an analogy how its evolution is similar to what Catholicism did for Christianity.

It is not centrally organized or coordinated i.e. there is no equivalent to the Catholic church. This is just real life fact.

No one in this thread ever said it is.


That is also just a real life fact.

Buddhism has also morphed and changed for every culture it has become part of. There's not a criticism there.

So you agree.

So why start this nonsense again and make up things no one said and try argue against something no one said?

You guys are looking for criticisms that aren't there, on topics that you don't understand.

What criticisms?


You mean the changes you just agreed with and the analogy made to compare how other systems of beliefs have evolved in a similar fashion as well?

Actually I thought these things were commonly known anyway.

What things?


You address things never said?

Yes that is commonly known by most readers that have read more than one thread of yours.

originally posted by: DividedByZero
I am a fan of most of the teachings of Buddhism as I think they promote positive ideals like showing loving-kindness, compassion and patience to others while abstaining from aggression, anger and violence.

However, it's still a shame to see that even non-theistic religions like Buddhism still use appeals to fear to encourage obedience from adherents instead of encouraging positive actions and leaving it at that.

Apparently human existence isn't quite suffering enough and the hell realms await those with really bad karma.

Escape the never-ending cycle of rebirth to reach enlightenment while accumulating good karma along the way. Easier said than done...

It's a smaller emphasis in Buddhism, as it's not really a fear-based religion. It's supposed to be about positive things like improving our lives.

But of course Buddhism has mythology of the 6 realms of unenlightened existence, and hell is one of them, so indeed it seems that people need to believe in some kind of hell afterlife for the worst sinners we see in the world.

The big difference is that hell is not permanent in Buddhist mythology, and it's mostly interpreted as hellish mental states more than literal afterlife.

And it's accurate that sinning produces suffering / hellish states of mind, of course.

Has anyone said they are similar other than giving an analogy how its evolution is similar to what Catholicism did for Christianity.

There is no similarity to Catholicism and Christianity.

The comparison just doesn't make any sense.

So you agree. So why start this nonsense again and make up things no one said and try argue against something no one said?

Dude you're just babbling. I didn't agree with anyone, just by describing some basic history of Buddhism.

Of course Buddhism has changed for every culture it has spread to, that's just basic world history.

However, it's not a criticism to point out that it has changed for each culture it spreads to, which other people seem to be trying to do (make a criticism out of that).

What criticisms? You mean the changes you just agreed with and the analogy made to compare how other systems of beliefs have evolved in a similar fashion as well?

Specifically you guys are looking for criticisms based on false assertions.

Of course Buddhism has changed for every culture.

And of course that's not a criticism.

And no, Buddhism does not have any similarity to Catholicism / Christianity or "how other systems of beliefs have evolved in a similar fashion as well."

No, they have not evolved in any remotely similar way.

What things? You address things never said? Yes that is commonly known by most readers that have read more than one thread of yours.

I was obviously saying that I thought the basic history of Buddhism was common knowledge.

You're pretending ignorance on the topic and making false assertions and blabbing about my usage of the word "things."

originally posted by: InhaleExhale
a reply to: Scrutinizing

Whatever, peacefulpete. You're just classic trolling now, looking for somebody to entertain a senseless argument.

Its their main purpose for being here,

This putting words and concepts in peoples' mouths is so very lame, textbook trolling.

and just happens way too often, very few posts are honest posts always twisting whats said.

I happen to know what Buddha taught, the rest of what you think is Buddhism? I couldn't care less.

I agree with how you described how modern Buddhism has changed and very much agree with your analogy how its similar to what the Catholic Church has done with Christianity.


Either the OP completely fails to grasp what you are saying or really is what they call about at least 5 posters in each of their threads.

You asked a question, I answered,

what really shows their dishonesty and what is considered trolling is that you answered before they asked.


You posted your views on Buddha's teachings and how many things have become attached over the years and then after you posted that they asked the question to which you already answered.

Its absolute insanity to try and have a normal discussion with OP, it seems if you have anything that is bordering to being critical or slightly differing views you are a troll.

Yes, it's a pattern of trolling we've all seen some people engage in, and no matter the topic. If you joke about something, just some silliness, they try to make your remark serious and argue with it. If you say something completely true and obvious, matter of fact, they'll morph what you said into something you didn't say, then argue against that, which is so dumb: they're really arguing with themselves, as if you want to respond to words they put in your mouth, something not your view, in the first place?

Thank you for that clarity on this person and also affirmation that, what I thought I was clearly saying, you also understood, which further demonstrates the disingenuous nature of trolls. It's also interesting that I clearly stated I was not interested in going to Buddhist doctrinal depths, am not interested in promoting Buddhist exegesis, and this dude paid no attention: they don't really care what you say. We've all seen people on the web that live to argue over any and all topics, can even just see them quickly Googling things they know nothing about, to provide some pretense they should even be commenting on the subject, at all. I have seen some things so amusing, had one guy once arguing that admitted, as to a topic that takes perhaps years study, that he'd never heard of what I was talking about. The dude comes back, less than an hour later, after reading some crackpot website, and proceeds to try and argue with me. I told him it was astounding he was up to speed, in less than an hour, involving something scholars have had to study, for years, just to get a proper orientation.

It's sad that people would feel the need to be such attention whores, borderline mental illness what it really is.

originally posted by: Scrutinizing

originally posted by: InhaleExhale
a reply to: Scrutinizing

Whatever, peacefulpete. You're just classic trolling now, looking for somebody to entertain a senseless argument.

Its their main purpose for being here,

This putting words and concepts in peoples' mouths is so very lame, textbook trolling.

and just happens way too often, very few posts are honest posts always twisting whats said.

I happen to know what Buddha taught, the rest of what you think is Buddhism? I couldn't care less.

I agree with how you described how modern Buddhism has changed and very much agree with your analogy how its similar to what the Catholic Church has done with Christianity.


Either the OP completely fails to grasp what you are saying or really is what they call about at least 5 posters in each of their threads.

You asked a question, I answered,

what really shows their dishonesty and what is considered trolling is that you answered before they asked.


You posted your views on Buddha's teachings and how many things have become attached over the years and then after you posted that they asked the question to which you already answered.

Its absolute insanity to try and have a normal discussion with OP, it seems if you have anything that is bordering to being critical or slightly differing views you are a troll.

Yes, it's a pattern of trolling we've all seen some people engage in, and no matter the topic. If you joke about something, just some silliness, they try to make your remark serious and argue with it. If you say something completely true and obvious, matter of fact, they'll morph what you said into something you didn't say, then argue against that, which is so dumb: they're really arguing with themselves, as if you want to respond to words they put in your mouth, something not your view, in the first place?

Thank you for that clarity on this person and also affirmation that, what I thought I was clearly saying, you also understood, which further demonstrates the disingenuous nature of trolls. It's also interesting that I clearly stated I was not interested in going to Buddhist doctrinal depths, am not interested in promoting Buddhist exegesis, and this dude paid no attention: they don't really care what you say. We've all seen people on the web that live to argue over any and all topics, can even just see them quickly Googling things they know nothing about, to provide some pretense they should even be commenting on the subject, at all. I have seen some things so amusing, had one guy once arguing that admitted, as to a topic that takes perhaps years study, that he'd never heard of what I was talking about. The dude comes back, less than an hour later, after reading some crackpot website, and proceeds to try and argue with me. I told him it was astounding he was up to speed, in less than an hour, involving something scholars have had to study, for years, just to get a proper orientation.

It's sad that people would feel the need to be such attention whores, borderline mental illness what it really is.

This is blatant trolling and dishonesty and nonsense.

InhaleExhale is the most obvious troll I've seen in the forums.

You've been trolling me and then agreed with the forum's biggest troll that I'm a troll. Right.

The only "clarity on this person" re: trolling is that I don't appreciate the obvious, dishonest trolls in this forum, yourself included.

I started out thinking that you were interested in discussing Buddhism but that is obviously not the case.

This thread isn't even about Buddhism, it's about a specific temple's depiction of afterlife.

You and Inhale have been trying to derail the thread into a topic that's not relevant to the actual topic. Discussing Buddhism as a whole would be an interesting side-topic, except you guys have shown that you're not even genuinely interested in discussing Buddhism overall, which was your own derailment in the first place.

Facts are not trolling, and it's fact that Catholicism / Christianity does not bear any resemblance whatsoever with Buddhism, in any tangible way.

And I would think you were just uninformed except you just keep saying false assertions and then attacking me ad hominem about your own factually-inaccurate statements.

Also people that have no respect for discussing spirituality and world history... Really, you guys must have respect for nothing at all. You don't even respect established facts of global history and current affairs.

And people who don't respect factual knowledge are quite concerning people.

It's sad that people would feel the need to be such attention whores, borderline mental illness what it really is.

Also this is a hilariously pathetic insult. THE TOPIC OF THE THREAD IS A TEMPLE. IN SRI LANKA.

You're attacking me ad hominem and calling me an attention whore and mentally ill BECAUSE I MADE A THREAD ABOUT A TEMPLE IN SRI LANKA.

Your insults don't even fit the topic of the thread.

Being interested in global religions, temples, beliefs, ways of life... is what you find mentally ill? People like you are impossible to take seriously if I tried.

And that would make you mentally sick for judging other people as sick for being interested in learning about the world.

You're essentially judging anyone sick for wanting to learn about the world and its history.

You can be deliberately ignorant if you want to, but you don't need to insult other people for valuing knowledge and learning and facts.

originally posted by: Woodcarver
a reply to: Raggedyman

Wouldn’t it be funny if your strict adherence to Christian beliefs landed you in Buddhist hell?

Hell for Buddhists isn't optional.

a reply to: peacefulpete

Well the more you know.

I'd say he more or less is dreaming, but that left to interpretation.

There isn't any real connection to Buddha and Vishnu, it just that he laying down like him in a deoiction, but alot of what shown in the video does look more hindi then oriental. Buddhism lore and theology is based of Hinduism to a certain degree, much like Judaism and Christianity.

Yea, I've seen the light without having to die too man. Although I told one Buddhist once, he said it was the Devil.

originally posted by: chr0naut

originally posted by: Woodcarver
a reply to: Raggedyman

Wouldn’t it be funny if your strict adherence to Christian beliefs landed you in Buddhist hell?

Hell for Buddhists isn't optional.

Isn't the idea of the Buddhist hell to repeat live over and over again, on the Merry go Round called Life?

a reply to: peacefulpete

Funny a few posts back you stated Christianity teaches hell is eternal, it doesn't, simply wrong, but that's ok.
You say Buddhism is a peaceful belief, I don't doubt that, you say Buddha was a good teacher who taught good things, I can accept that, then you say Buddhists are all good, that's not true
I believe in Jesus, I am a Christian, I believe Jesus was a great teacher, taught great things, was a peaceful man, I can also say this clearly, the Christian church and Christians have been utter failures in proclaiming and living as Christ taught
We just fail at what we proclaim.

You, you seem to sincerely believe that Buddhist are some altruistic faith and Buddhist countries never had violence or wars, Budhist people,are sweet, wholesome, loving and beyond reproach and I am afraid when I have visited Budhist countries I just don't see that

Now I have no doubt to you, my opinion is trolling, that I question your beliefs, have an opposing opinion I am interfering in your thread, that I am off topic, sorry it's the discussion

Also I note you say you are not a Budhist but your defense of them looks a little strange when considering your position. Normal people know, can see the followers of bufhisms failures as they see the followers of christianities failures
Why deny it

originally posted by: Specimen

originally posted by: chr0naut

originally posted by: Woodcarver
a reply to: Raggedyman

Wouldn’t it be funny if your strict adherence to Christian beliefs landed you in Buddhist hell?

Hell for Buddhists isn't optional.

Isn't the idea of the Buddhist hell to repeat live over and over again, on the Merry go Round called Life?

Gautama achieves enlightenment, a mini play:

"I am here, oh universe, I have achieved enlightenment and can become one with the universal spirit"... "Wait, what's this? This button says ERASE?"

"Yawn, well, it's that, or go back on the wheel".

"So, I'll be in heaven?"

"Well, you won't be back on the wheel. There were some pretty bad situations there. This will stop all that".

"But I don't want to die".

"But you'll miss out on the tremendous opportunity that all those who have pressed the button before you have achieved. You will be in unity with them, forever".

"But they're gone, erased."

"Yup"

"Bummer. I think I'll go round again".

"Fair enough, hardly anyone ever presses the button. Have a nice life".

originally posted by: Raggedyman
a reply to: peacefulpete

Funny a few posts back you stated Christianity teaches hell is eternal, it doesn't, simply wrong, but that's ok.
You say Buddhism is a peaceful belief, I don't doubt that, you say Buddha was a good teacher who taught good things, I can accept that, then you say Buddhists are all good, that's not true
I believe in Jesus, I am a Christian, I believe Jesus was a great teacher, taught great things, was a peaceful man, I can also say this clearly, the Christian church and Christians have been utter failures in proclaiming and living as Christ taught
We just fail at what we proclaim.

You, you seem to sincerely believe that Buddhist are some altruistic faith and Buddhist countries never had violence or wars, Budhist people,are sweet, wholesome, loving and beyond reproach and I am afraid when I have visited Budhist countries I just don't see that

Now I have no doubt to you, my opinion is trolling, that I question your beliefs, have an opposing opinion I am interfering in your thread, that I am off topic, sorry it's the discussion

Also I note you say you are not a Budhist but your defense of them looks a little strange when considering your position. Normal people know, can see the followers of bufhisms failures as they see the followers of christianities failures
Why deny it

Apparently Gautama said: "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him".

So pacifist and loving.

originally posted by: Raggedyman
a reply to: peacefulpete

Funny a few posts back you stated Christianity teaches hell is eternal, it doesn't, simply wrong, but that's ok.
You say Buddhism is a peaceful belief, I don't doubt that, you say Buddha was a good teacher who taught good things, I can accept that, then you say Buddhists are all good, that's not true
I believe in Jesus, I am a Christian, I believe Jesus was a great teacher, taught great things, was a peaceful man, I can also say this clearly, the Christian church and Christians have been utter failures in proclaiming and living as Christ taught
We just fail at what we proclaim.

You, you seem to sincerely believe that Buddhist are some altruistic faith and Buddhist countries never had violence or wars, Budhist people,are sweet, wholesome, loving and beyond reproach and I am afraid when I have visited Budhist countries I just don't see that

Now I have no doubt to you, my opinion is trolling, that I question your beliefs, have an opposing opinion I am interfering in your thread, that I am off topic, sorry it's the discussion

Also I note you say you are not a Budhist but your defense of them looks a little strange when considering your position. Normal people know, can see the followers of bufhisms failures as they see the followers of christianities failures
Why deny it

A lot of that is putting words in my mouth. And I doubt you’ve been to Buddhist countries so that you’re speaking from experiences there.

There are legitimate criticisms against Buddhism, at least in specific cases, so talk about such cases if you want to criticize Buddhism. But it will never make sense to compare it to Catholicism lol. You must not realize how unstructured Buddhism is around the world. The Dalai Lama is not the head of Buddhism, only Tibetan Buddhism. He’s not the equivalent of the Pope.

Well apparently, after suffering eternal torment for a 1000 years, in a place where being there for a second an eternity.

That's alot of eternities.

And then our soul or hides have one more chance, so we don't f it up...even though we will, but God's love, and Satan's work is ever emuculate an never done...so many souls so little time.

Till the end of time...yea I'm not sure about the universe.

originally posted by: Specimen

originally posted by: chr0naut

originally posted by: Woodcarver
a reply to: Raggedyman

Wouldn’t it be funny if your strict adherence to Christian beliefs landed you in Buddhist hell?

Hell for Buddhists isn't optional.

Isn't the idea of the Buddhist hell to repeat live over and over again, on the Merry go Round called Life?

I appreciate that someone is actually interested in discussing Buddhism.

Well, what you're describing is samsara. The endless wandering of unenlightened existence.

It's not really hell, but it is suffering. And it includes wandering through the 6 realms of unenlightened existence (one of which is hell).

And samsara includes endless rebirths into human existence. (Human is one of the 6 realms of unenlightened existence.)

...

I think the best way to understand the 6 realms and the teachings of samsara and nirvana is that they are mostly based on our mental states. Each of the 6 realms represents one of our mental states.

For example we have a human mental state when we are making good use of our human abilities.

When we are overcome with our base impulses, such as lust, then we are living in an animalistic mental state.

When we are suffering then we are in a hellish mental state.

When we are angry and violent then we are being demonic (there is a demon realm, separate from the hell realm).

And so on.

...

So the 6 realms meant to represent our unenlightened mental states.

Enlightenment (through meditation) lets us go beyond those unenlightened mental states.

That is basically why the Buddha, and Enlightenment, are associated with leaving the 6 realms i.e. stopping the cycle of rebirth.

It's more about mental states than about specific cosmology, IMO.

Of course, Buddhism also has always believed in countless spiritual realms, so it actually makes perfect sense that there are all kinds of different spiritual realms that come from different mental states.

So for example, while hell is mostly referring to a suffering mental state... No doubt there are real spiritual hell realms for the murderers and rapists to suffer in.

The big difference that is commonly cited for the Buddhist idea of hell is that it's impermanent, it can't be forever (and that leads back to how these realms are mostly describing mental states).

The long and short of it is that meditation is healthy for everyone.

originally posted by: peacefulpete

originally posted by: Raggedyman
a reply to: peacefulpete

Funny a few posts back you stated Christianity teaches hell is eternal, it doesn't, simply wrong, but that's ok.
You say Buddhism is a peaceful belief, I don't doubt that, you say Buddha was a good teacher who taught good things, I can accept that, then you say Buddhists are all good, that's not true
I believe in Jesus, I am a Christian, I believe Jesus was a great teacher, taught great things, was a peaceful man, I can also say this clearly, the Christian church and Christians have been utter failures in proclaiming and living as Christ taught
We just fail at what we proclaim.

You, you seem to sincerely believe that Buddhist are some altruistic faith and Buddhist countries never had violence or wars, Budhist people,are sweet, wholesome, loving and beyond reproach and I am afraid when I have visited Budhist countries I just don't see that

Now I have no doubt to you, my opinion is trolling, that I question your beliefs, have an opposing opinion I am interfering in your thread, that I am off topic, sorry it's the discussion

Also I note you say you are not a Budhist but your defense of them looks a little strange when considering your position. Normal people know, can see the followers of bufhisms failures as they see the followers of christianities failures
Why deny it

A lot of that is putting words in my mouth. And I doubt you’ve been to Buddhist countries so that you’re speaking from experiences there.

There are legitimate criticisms against Buddhism, at least in specific cases, so talk about such cases if you want to criticize Buddhism. But it will never make sense to compare it to Catholicism lol. You must not realize how unstructured Buddhism is around the world. The Dalai Lama is not the head of Buddhism, only Tibetan Buddhism. He’s not the equivalent of the Pope.

I never compared buddhism with Catholicism, but
Most Catholic and Budhist countries are third world or developing, can't think of to many Westernised Budhist countries

You doubting I have been to a Budhist country indicates you have never been to one
I live in Western Australia, it's cheaper and closer to holiday in Bali than anywhere in my own country, way cheaper.
Asia is on my doorstep, but "you know" I have never been to a Buddha country

The problem with this thread isn't just the discussion about the topic, your arrogance is a serious issue as well

originally posted by: Raggedyman

originally posted by: peacefulpete

originally posted by: Raggedyman
a reply to: peacefulpete

Funny a few posts back you stated Christianity teaches hell is eternal, it doesn't, simply wrong, but that's ok.
You say Buddhism is a peaceful belief, I don't doubt that, you say Buddha was a good teacher who taught good things, I can accept that, then you say Buddhists are all good, that's not true
I believe in Jesus, I am a Christian, I believe Jesus was a great teacher, taught great things, was a peaceful man, I can also say this clearly, the Christian church and Christians have been utter failures in proclaiming and living as Christ taught
We just fail at what we proclaim.

You, you seem to sincerely believe that Buddhist are some altruistic faith and Buddhist countries never had violence or wars, Budhist people,are sweet, wholesome, loving and beyond reproach and I am afraid when I have visited Budhist countries I just don't see that

Now I have no doubt to you, my opinion is trolling, that I question your beliefs, have an opposing opinion I am interfering in your thread, that I am off topic, sorry it's the discussion

Also I note you say you are not a Budhist but your defense of them looks a little strange when considering your position. Normal people know, can see the followers of bufhisms failures as they see the followers of christianities failures
Why deny it

A lot of that is putting words in my mouth. And I doubt you’ve been to Buddhist countries so that you’re speaking from experiences there.

There are legitimate criticisms against Buddhism, at least in specific cases, so talk about such cases if you want to criticize Buddhism. But it will never make sense to compare it to Catholicism lol. You must not realize how unstructured Buddhism is around the world. The Dalai Lama is not the head of Buddhism, only Tibetan Buddhism. He’s not the equivalent of the Pope.

I never compared buddhism with Catholicism, but
Most Catholic and Budhist countries are third world or developing, can't think of to many Westernised Budhist countries

You doubting I have been to a Budhist country indicates you have never been to one
I live in Western Australia, it's cheaper and closer to holiday in Bali than anywhere in my own country, way cheaper.
Asia is on my doorstep, but "you know" I have never been to a Buddha country

The problem with this thread isn't just the discussion about the topic, your arrogance is a serious issue as well

Well there have definitely been comparisons in this thread between Buddhism and Catholicism. My statement is that the two do not bear much resemblance. Buddhism is not a centralized religion.

And I'm not sure about your statement about Buddhist countries being undeveloped. I don't know if most are undeveloped.

I can point out Japan as very developed though, and a world leader in tech, videogames, etc. Japan is where Zen comes from, which came from China, which is not quite an undeveloped country.

But yeah I think Japan (and probably China) wproves wrong the association of Buddhism and undeveloped countries.

While many Buddhist countries are undeveloped, the truth is that many countries of the world are 3rd world in general, regardless their religion.

I don't think there's a compelling case of Buddhism causing poverty or whatever.


Also Buddhism has become popular to some extent in the US and Western countries since the 1950's and 60's. It's been a quiet presence in Western culture since then, and I think it's fair to say that it hasn't caused any problems to speak of, in Western countries since then.

I'd be curious to hear about your experiences in Bali but I still don't get the impression you're trying to have a genuine conversation about anything lol.