It is believed that there are cold as well as hot hells. The least of the cold hells is called Arbuda naraka. Blizzards blow across this frozen cold plain through which lonely naked people walk for a few trillion years. There is also a belief that the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha tries to bring help to those who live here. It is said that his method is to convince people who live on earth to transfer a bit of the merit of their good deeds to those who live in hells. I suppose the idea is that kindness and caring works.
The good news is that social changes are working. Six months into the pandemic, 20 million out of 8 billion people have been infected; that is one fourth of a percent. I guess wearing masks counts as part of this transfer of merit.
An interesting idea of how our good deeds on earth can buy some relief for those in hell. I always thought our good deeds prevented us from going to hell ourselves and redeemed the wrongs in our past lives…..
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If you think of wearing masks as a good deed, then it helps you from going through hell, and also helps others. It also helps those who are already in the hell of serious COVID-19 infection by not overloading the doctors who have to take care of them.
A little metaphor goes a long way 🙂
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A little metaphor DOES go a long way.
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Doesn’t it just!
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That’s a message so well put. Even those millions could have been a lot lesser, if the number of people roaming the streets without a mask and a conscience would be less.
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As long as most people do it I think it works.
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Yes, absolutely.
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A mask helps but it’s not the only thing we should be doing to protect each other of course.
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Of course. It is the least we can do.
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Transfer the results of any good deed to those in hell….a different kind of making a difference.
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That seems to be most relevant to those in hells on earth
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Although I love winter, I’ll pass on walking naked in a cold hell and after our move to Arizona, I’ll pass on the hot one as well, as I’m pretty sure it will be hotter than 115. 🙂
janet
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A pleasant hell would not be very different from today, I suppose 🙂
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I love the way you built your thoughtful response around your tiny objects I.J. I’d not heard of the idea of transferring good deeds but I love the concept!
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Thanks. This Buddhist concept struck me as a great idea when I first heard of it in Korea.
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Fascinating idea, IJ. Good deeds on earth help those in hell. The news of the rate of transmission is hopeful. I just wish EVERYONE in the USA would get the message about the value and necessity of face masks.
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From this distance it seems that it could be in the message that leaders give to a country.
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Absolutely.
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Thank you for this! A little ray of optimism in these confusing times. My dad used to tell me that rubbing the belly of a buddha brought good luck. There are many kinds of Buddhas — dancing buddhas, ascetic buddhas, etc I like dancing Buddhas best!
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Yes, the joy of being alive on a sunny day could do that even to a Buddha.
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Love the idea – fascinating!
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Thanks
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