Quote:
i'm pretty sure hell is a western idea. *while there are many different forms of buddhism nowadays, i think most will agree that the concept of hell doesn't factor in at all. *the idea in buddhism is that you keep being reincarnated until you are able to die with totally neutral karma, and finally stop, transcending into buddha consciousness. *if anything, regular existence is hell in the buddhist view.[/b]
The idea of hell, although it takes on different forms, is not particular to the West. Christianity probably picked it up from pagan religions and Mazdaism. Tibetan Buddhism makes mention of heaven and hell as places to be reincarnated. You spend the appropriate amount of time there depending on your karma, and then you are reincarnated into the next life. There is no special emphasis on heaven and hell, but they do exist as possible places to be reincarnated.
Quote:
Originally posted by mongreloctopus@
also that link to the chinese hell does not come from buddhism or from taoism, but rather the idea is perceived differently based on their individual taoist/buddhist beliefs. *it doesn't actually prove anything. *also, there is no historical data for it, so it's especially meaningless. *
Thats the point! Hell does not belong to one religion. It is interpreted differently according to the religion in question. This is true for Christianity just as much as Buddhism. Before these, it came from pagan religions and shamanism. Now it might play a more prominent role in the form of Christianity most people know today, but I'd be surprised if there wasn't some form of hell in a religion just for the simple fact that humans are in a mediant position to question both worlds above and below our current situation.