Hell was Heaven
March 2, 2008
As I planned this trip, there was one attraction I knew I couldn’t leave without seeing. Out of all the scenic wonderment of this foreign land, it was the Wat Saen Suk, a temple depicting Buddhist hell through gruesome, colorful concrete sculpture, that I anticipated highly. To make it to hell, I traveled east to Bang Saen, a grimy beach town with not a lot of tourist draw. Finding it was a bit confusing but it proved to be well worth it.
The sign at the entrance read:
A Command of the King of the Devil: Human beings at the present, you are all in the heedleness committing the bad action, not afraid of sin, not to have the conscience and the mindfulness and stay away from religion. not to be aware of the hell or the heaven. You all should believe that the hell and heaven really exist. they are not worthless. these drawings of the departed spirits are only one part of the hell. punishing the hell beings in the hell has been felt for many for many forms. Human beings: you all do not live without uncarelessness, do not commit the bad action be not being of “the hell punishment”. In the future you should be as such. Do not complain whenever you face.
So what sins are these that provoke such a bloody eternal damnation? Here is a breakdown on some of the more interesting crimes and punishments:
Ones who steal the others properties are punished in the hell. They are named as the spirits of the monkers.
Ones who destroy the reserved wilderness are punished to the hell. They named as the spirits of the elephants.
Ones who get involved with the habit-performing drugs and the intoxicants are punished in the hell. They are named as the spirits of the curstaceans (sic/no pun intended).
Ones who destroy the plants and the bearbs being useful to the human beings are punished in the hell. They are named as the spirits of the goats.
The penalty for injection, aborticide, birth control.
The penalty for killing husband whoas good as father.
The penalty for sexual misconduct, to commit the crime of raping.
The penalty for cheating and overreach.
The penalty for killing baby in ovum.
Ones who violate the fourth one of the Five Precepts “Telling a lie, deceiving the others” receive the results of the bad action as shown in this picture.
Ones who commit the bad action snatching and stealing whatever small they are will be the departed spirits as shown in this picture.
Although this more contemporary depiction did not have a English translation, I am assume it tells the horrid results of talking smack behind people in Thai-inspired power suit’s backs.