The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-19
MODELS OF THEIR HE'LL.
Startling Buddhistic Ideas of Future
PunishmentS.
Picking Letter in Philadelphia Times.

Peking Letter in Philadelphia Times.
At the temple of Yunnan-Sen you can be-
hold some striking models of the Buddhist
hells that are well worth attention. In other
cities are other hells. l took a grim delight
visiting them whenever l had the chance.
one had the same sort of clammy satisfac-
ton as one feels when, depressed and out Of
sorts, you go off to the Chamber of HOr-
rors at Nine Taussaud's to get cheered up
a bit. 1t all depends what you've been up 10
on this earth whether your punishment un-
der the earth is to be sawn in two or to be
squashed in clothes press.
In each of the hells sit one or two, or
some, fab-faced anA.slit eyes generally of
furnished gold and twice the size of an or
binary man. They're all relatives; you can
tell that by the same stern, callous, cast
iron sort Of cOuntenancu they POSSESS by
the uniform shape of the chin, mouth and
nose; but, above all, by the irradiating
dtabolical glee that suffuses every stuCcO
face They sit on q throne and look fxedly
a the work of the eXecutioners and the
SqulrmS of the executed. The figures in the
pit are little under life size. But there's
plenty Of realism and piled-up horror The
tmps engaged in naying, boring holes
through chests, hanging them up by the
toes and generally making things lively.
have often but one gltttering eye stuck in
the center of q coal black head. the lower
part of which is literally half mouth,
stretched from ear to ear Their laugh is
something to remember in your dreams, 80
that you wake up in a fit Of cold perspira-
ton, yelling for 1t to be taken away
1neEe Was a Victim DelnR cTuCtneQ, ana
the imps were slowly shortening him at the
knees with red-stained saw Standing in
front of the wooden bars that prevent the
live public coming In direct contact with
this particular hell were two young men,
Tapping their long Chinese sleeves in agony
OF despair, swinging their plgtails in dis
may, While tears trickled Obhquey out Of
their almond-shaped eyes because the monk
a the entrance to the temple had tod
them that was the exact fate of their Cd
father at that particular moment. They
groaned and sobbed; then they got gong
and relieved their sorrow by thwacking il;
they pushed cup Of rice and some hard
boiled eggs through the bars as sustenance
to their relative IN his trials; then they
paid cash down for q big check that would
be dispatched that night TO the neither re-
gions, conciliate the elders and cease the
saving at the knees.
Before another he'll stood an old woman
rather complacently watching folks being
thrown backward into a cauldrOn and then
probed with pitchforks She evidently had
relatives in the real place, for she was car
rylng an armful Of propitiatory tapers pa
per- gold and large checks. Then there was
q place with a long stove like a Tedh0t
Kitchen range. Defunct, and yet tOlerably
lively, mortals We're sitting on The top tying
themselves into knots, while a number or
brutes with heads like bulls glOated leer-
lngly. The elders in the adjoining place
owned a perennial laugh, for the imps had
men by the heels and We're dashlng their
heads on stones One man was being pressed
on a row Of daggers.
Next door several wicked Cinnamon had
fallen on spiked mountains and there they
were impaled and writing. There was a
lake with men struggling among shiny
double-headed snakes, there were several
creatures hung UP in the air with a nook
through their vertebrae, and quite common
were the cases of evildoers swung by the
pigtails and being disembowled. Certainly
they're pretty ingenious where the naughty
Chinese go. If Celestial has a reprobate
Of sire he does not talk TO him for his
good, but takes him an afternoon stroll in
the kingdom of below, lets him see for him
self what's likely TO happen in the unCom-
Portable by and by. and then hints he
doesn't think he'll be able to afford the ex-
pense of buying the imps OF If that doesn't
make u Chinaman turn from his wrOngdo-
ing and make him promise to be a better
father henceforth nothing will.