Deities and Faith
Is hell a description of human suffering or a physical place we can find?
English translation draft · Based on the Chinese article. This is not a word-for-word translation approved by Master Shengyuan.
When discussing hell, I sometimes mean human suffering and sometimes another world within religion. These meanings need distinction rather than being treated as one location.
Someone living continually under fear and oppression, without freedom or control over daily life, may be described as living in hell on earth. This describes circumstances and feelings, not a claim that the suffering exists only in imagination. Conversely, a happy and free life may be described as heaven.
Religious hell belongs to another level of faith understanding. In my view of the unseen world, it is not a place we can locate on a map and then visit to see every aspect of hell. Traditions concerning Fengdu and Dongyue need understanding within their cultures and beliefs, rather than treating names as confirmed geographical locations.
I also use qualities of the six realms to explain human states. Certain lives or mental conditions may recall one of those situations. These are comparisons for understanding, not grounds to determine someone’s current realm or inevitable destination after death merely because they are suffering or angry today.