Does HBS believe in a Heaven or Hell?

This is one of the first questions a Christian or Muslim might have. The short answer to this question is yes and no.

Although this sounds evasive, the answer is yes HBS does believe in Heaven (Nirvana) and Hell (Naraka). But no, they are not places a soul reaches upon death. Rather than being a destination, HBS along with most other traditions, view heaven, and hell as a place we can be in right now. They are "states of being" that we experience in our lives right now rather than a permanent location. 

HBS believes there are ten possible states of being and heaven and hell are just two of them. Hell is on a spectrum from a sense of anger or frustration at the mild end to complete misery at the other end. Just as heaven could be temporary pleasure in a doing something you enjoy to the more long-lasting love you feel with a happy family. Our life floats up and down, in and out of each of these realms. 

But what about upon death?

Similar to what a Christian might believe, yes, a person can descend into hell upon death if they have lived a life attaining negative merits or karma. What we do in this life has an impact on the next, so an individual who has built up a lot of sins can expect to be reborn into a new life of suffering.

If somebody has built good karmic credits and lived a good life, then they can be reborn into a higher state but still within the cycle of birth and death (samsara). To attain enlightenment is not the same as reaching heaven. Attaining enlightenment is something to be strived for in a living state.

An interesting article related to this topic is a previous article I wrote about 'Araya Shiki'. Please read this article and think about how it relates to heaven and hell. You might have a slightly different understanding than me - let me know.

What do HBS faithful do in this current lifetime with regards to heaven and hell?

Chanting the Odaimoku helps us in our daily lives to move from states of hell to heaven. We do not chant in the hope of where we may end up in our final days. We chant for building daily good karmic credit but also to pray for others that might be suffering a form of hell, such as sick family members. This is one of the reasons why we chant every day and it is not an idle system, just believing is not enough - we must constantly practice. 

What are the other 8 realms?

These are important to know as well, as they are all interconnected. Heaven and Hell are no more important than these other realms.

The lower realms - 6 paths

1/ Hunger - this could be greed for power, an obsession, fame. Something that is never satisfied.

2/ Animality - a lack of moral judgement, acting without thinking, behaving on instinct rather than compassion

3/ Anger - our ego getting in the way of ourselves.

4/ Humanity - making calm rational choices, acting on reason not emotion.

 

The higher realms (the four noble words)

1/ Learning - seeking the truth through teachings.

2/ Realisation - discovery truth through your own discovery - observation, intuition, practice.

3/ Bodhisattva - compassion - helping others. Understanding personal happiness is tied to the happiness of those around you.

4/ Buddhahood - perfect wisdom (wisdom not knowledge)

*Each of the states are working in the background while you may be more currently and temporarily in one particular state.