Did Buddha go to Hell?

Question

Please, I want Buddhist and Christian answers to this question.

I didn't mean when he died.

Answer 1

Being a Buddha means he no longer has to be reborn into the six realms of existence (the gods' realm, our humans' realm, the animals' realm, the hell realm, and so on), i.e. Samsara, but is ultimately liberated.

On the other hand, maybe he visited the hell realm out of love and compassion, in order to help the beings there to their own liberation. However, he's not some kind of God that can liberate others himself, just teach them how to do and help them liberate themselves. Usually, however, hell beings are not very receptive to that kind of techings, so they normally first have to be reborn in the human realm.

Before he became a Buddha, he lived countless other lives in all the different realms, including the hell realm. Hell is not an eternal state in Buddhism, and the same goes for life as a God - everything is impermanent, and everyone's life is constantly changing.

And just one comment to some of the above answers about Buddha: the idea that being a Buddha means you "simply cease to exist" is a misunderstanding. A Buddha is eternally wakeful and enlightened, not eternally ... nothing. One enlightening quote from the "Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosopy and Religion":

"In the West nirvana has often been misunderstood as mere annihilation; even in early Buddhism it was not so conceived.
[...]
[I]n the sutras [...] nirvana is characterized merely as a process or state of cessation of suffering. This should not, however, be regarded as proof of a nihilistic attitude; it is rather an indication of the inadequacy of words to represent the nature of nirvana, which is beyond speech and thought, in a positive manner."

Answer 2

Here's the thing. I am not in a position to gove you THE Christian Answer, but I can give you the answer as I understand the situation. So here is what I can put together for you.

According to the Old Testament Scriptures, which whould be Christian AND Jewish, God told the prophet Jeremiah (29:12) that anyone who seeks after God with all of his (or her) heart will find God. Buddah didn't do this. What Buddah did instead was try to construct a belief system that fit with what he thought was the way things ought to be. This, as far as I am concerned, is the height of narcisism.

So did Buddah go to Hell? Probably. I can't think of a reason why he wouldn't. Hell is the second option of two possible outcomes. If you have a relationship with God, you spend eternity in His presence. If you decide not to, then you spend eternity not in His presence", which is what Hell is.

So if Buddah had decided to seek God with all of his heart, how would that have worked given the geographical and historical limitations of the advent of Christ? I don't know. I believe God would have worked out something, but it's rather like asking what you would have been like if you had been born to different parents. It's an interesting theological puzzle, but doesn't do Buddah a lot of good.

Answer 3

Traditionally, the Sutras say a Buddha after his enlightenment can see/experience the past, present and future simultaneously. So he can therefore project his consciousness anywhere...

His mind is said to be able to perceive all the 6 realms of existence from Heaven to Humanity to Hell. And he gave the method to that same attainment to all his disciples and followers that they too could achieve the freedom from suffering.

Although he was omniscient, he was NOT omnipotent and therefore, cannot bestow enlightenment on anyone, it had to be self-achieved.

In one of the Jataka Tales collection, the Buddha told the story of one of his previous lives he killed a bandit who was about to murder 99 sages... which would result in the bandit spending an almost innumerable lifetimes in misery. But Having killed the bandit, even the Buddha had to suffer the karma of killing, which was to enter hell... but because his action was based on pure compassion for both the sages and the bandit, he only experienced 1 day of hell.

Answer 4

According to Christians, yes.

According to Buddhists, the Buddha unlocked the secret to ending the cycle of rebirths. At his death, he simply ceased to exist. He no longer had to be reincarnated.

The Buddha also encouraged his followers not to waste their time speculating on things that couldn't be known -- like what happens when a person dies. So to a large extent, the question would be totally irrelevant to a Buddhist.

EDIT: To address some of the typically hateful and ignorant Christian replies here, the Buddha never claimed to be a god -- just a man. And the "fat Buddha" was not the Buddha on which Buddhism is based. Nice of you to judge, though.

Answer 5

How can you go somewhere where your reality does not even acknowledge its existence? If you don't believe in hell, it therefore does not exist for you. You create your own reality, and hell is a state of mind, not an actual place. If you have seen Eric the Red, you'd get what I mean, lol. The Vikings went to Valhalla, but one of them was a Christian, so he doesn't see what the others see. And the others don't see what he sees. It's an over simplification, of course, but the gist is the same.

Answer 6

Of course not. He stayed where he always was. Hell is a story. Thats a christian and Buddhist answer.

Answer 7

Doubtful as Buddhist do not believe in hell, in the Christian sense of the word. For them hell is a state of mind and any one alive today may very well be living in the hell they have created by their greed, ignorance and attachmet. It is said, he went to nirvana, and many of his followers chose not to go to nirvana but be reborn to help others find the way to enlightenment. And all have attained enlightenment, they will all go to nirvana, or so they say.

Answer 8

Hmmm. I'm not really familiar with Buddhism. But, I don't think Budda went to hell. I was raised a southern Baptist but I have studied other denominations and religions. I've come to my own conclusions regarding the afterlife. I don't think millions of people are going to go to hell (or their gods) for not worshiping Jesus Christ. Some of them may have never heard his name! As long as people live good lives and try to be the best they can I believe we will go on or rest in peace. I simply can't believe good people would be thrown into everlasting hell. I mean there are so many religions and cults . . . . .

Answer 9

I am not "Buddhist", but this question is very offencive, it denotes your very poor of knowledge and respect.
Lord Budha is one of many en carnation of God , Lord Krishna.
As any encarnation (avatar) have a mission, his mission was to deny the Vedas, so , for people of that specific time in India, would stop to use the animals sacrifice for the sake to fill they stomachs with meat. So His mission was AHIMSA, non-violence, not eat other being.

Answer 10

Nobody has gone to Hell.Everyone who has ever lived has to be judged first .

EDIT....Roadrat."There is but one God and people have enforced unnatural separation.A person cannot truly believe,be a Christian,if that person does not respect other religions as well.You do not really believe in God if you make fun of other religions". These are not my words.These were spoken by God's Mother,Mary. who you probably do not believe in anyway. So i tend to disagree about calling yourself an "actual Christian"