Avici
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Avici (sometimes Avichi) Hell is considered to be among the lowest realms of Hell within Buddhism. People reborn into this Hell have generally committed one or more of the Five Grave Offenses:
- Intentionally murdering one's father
- Intentionally murdering one's mother
- Killing an arhant, or Enlightened being
- Shedding the blood of a Buddha
- Creating discord within the Sangha, the community of Buddhist monks and nuns.
Buddhism teaches that rebirth into Hell is temporary, while the offending being works off the karma they performed. Similarly, rebirth into Avici hell is not eternal. However, suffering in Avici is far longer than all other levels of hell. The sutras stated that rebirth in Avici will be for innumerable kalpa (time unit). When the offending being passes away after 1 kalpa, he again gets reborn in the same place, undergoing suffering for another kalpa, and on and on until he has exhausted his bad karma. For this reason, Avici hell is also known as the "non-stop way".