CONCEPT OF HELL (again)

[Nazheek]

[Nazheek]

The Catholic Church defines hell as simply "Seperation from God".

This is why sins that seemingly do not effect anyone else are still sins. It is not done to fulfill some arbitrary law, but because the actions drive you further away from God. The virtue ethics of Aristotle offer a somewhat easy to understand explanation of this concept. Eudaimonia (enlightenment) to the Greeks was essentially the virtue espoused by the Catholic Church, however the difference is that the Greeks bothered to explain themselves, and Rome simply demanded you not sin.

To act virtuously is to bring you closer to eudaimonia, and communion with God (heaven) can be found within eudaimonia. Virtue is essentially the middle ground between two vices, of excess and deficiency.

Take for example how one indulges in pleasure. Both completely refusing the pleasure of life draws you away from eudaimonia as you do not experience the world fully (recall that the Buddha did not reach enlightenment until he broke his fast), but licentiousness draws you deep into attachment and, ultimately, perverts your reality and destroys real pleasure, becoming more superficial and less genuinely enjoyable.

[Nazheek]

We do not actually need to believe in reincarnation to understand the bavacakra. It essentially explains a concept native also to Christianity.

"You reap what you sow."

In the Dharmic religions they call this "Karma," but it is misunderstood in the West. It does not mean "If you are nice you will live well." It more effectively means "your own doing." When you perform sins they will negatively effect your life, again, this is why they are sins in the first place.

The Bavacakra shows a wheel with many spokes, and inbetween each one is a different life. The further along the wheel the better they are, and the worst in the opposite direction. It is explained that living virtuously brings you into a better life. But it is not required to reincarnate first at all. Behaving in accordance with virtue and the human telos will allow you to excel and flourish as a human and enlightenment can even be achieved in one lifetime if Vajrayana is to be believed. To a person of supreme virtue, no misfortune or injustice can affect them and all neurosis are overcome.