Hi Everybody,
We pick up exactly where we left off a couple of days ago; we're talking about the fundamental Buddhist principle of the Ten Worlds. We've covered the initial question of why 10? We move on to another key point, not a ladder!
' Another important point to emphasise is that these ten states are not in any way represented as a sort of subjective or emotional ladder, on which we might move up or down in any progressive way, one rung at a time. Not at all. These ten life states represent rather the entire universe of our mind, and we can move from any part of that universe to any other part in a trice, depending on what is taken place within our minds and what is happening around us from moment to moment.
There is however a basic problem in putting this idea across. The movement of our mind is so dazzlingly swift, and words by comparison are so slow and cumbersome, that any attempt to describe these kaleidoscopic changes in our subjective or emotional life, in the slower medium of words inevitably appears somewhat laboured and unreal. It feels, and no doubt reads, a bit like walking in wet concrete, everything is slowed down and slightly caricatured. But don't let that put you off, the Ten Worlds are real in our life, and it really helps to know more about them.
OK, let's paint brief portraits of all ten life states, so that we can recognise them for what they are.
Hell
Hell as its name indicates, is a state of the deepest suffering or depression, often characterised by a feeling of helplessness. We feel we can't escape the pain we're in, we just have to endure it. That having been said there many gradations of course, from the somewhat auperficial hell of having really bad day at the office, when everything and everyone seems to be against you, and just nothing goes right, to the despair and panic of being made redundant and not knowing where you are going to find another job to pay the bills. The distinctive colour of Hell state is grey, we feel grey within and the world seems grey without.
And then there is the ultimate hell of the deep deep grief at the loss of a child or a partner, when you cannot believe that the darkness will ever lift, and you don't know how you can carry on.
We all immediately recognise this state as being real. There's nothing in the least theoretical about it, it's a real part of our lives. The examples of course are as many and as varied as there are people to experience them. And when we have been cast inot hell state, the memory of it may remain sharp and clear with us for a very long time, sometimes forever.
Buddhism tells us that all these life states have both a positive and a negative dimension, but can there possibly be a positive dimension to Hell? Buddhism argues that there is, that the deep suffering can be the greatest possible stimulus to action. It is so painful that we feel compelled to summon up from somewhere the life force to enable us to climb out of the hole that our life has fallen into. Hell is also a great teacher, in the sense that having been there ourselves, we are immensely more capable of understanding and feeling compassion for others who are in hell state now, and therefore finding the best way to support them. '
We move on over the next few episodes to examine all ten life states in the same way.
Hope to see you next time.
Best wishes,
William
The Case for Buddhism is available in paperback from Amazon and as a download from Kindle.
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