Afterpants: Nether Regions Pt8 (Diyu)

Alright everybody, buckle up because today's Nether Regions is gonna be a BIGGY.

Why? Because the next one on the list is DIYU!

First, let's recap; Diyu is the Chinese version of the Indian/Tibetan Buddhist version of the Hindu Naraka. (Followed shortly thereafter by the Japanese version as Jigoku)

But, having lived in China for so long, I can safely say Diyu is uhmmm a bit more complex than other Buddhist hells because it combines Buddhism, Taoism (for the record...it's pronounced DOW-ism...(or, for those interested in Mandarin "Daojiao") stupid laowai!!!

and Chinese folk religion.

We here at Afterpants are interested in all kinds of afterpants and afterlives...from the normal boxers of a place like Purgatory, the bikini thong of Ukhu Pacha or the mysterious tighty whiteys of Yomi and, of course we do not officially endorse afterlives,deities, supernatural occurrences,creatures or other ethereal events which involve torture, sacrifice, punishment for perceived sins or crimes or cruelties, excruciations, afflictions or miseries.

(Though secretly we're hoping all sound cloud rappers go straight to the 16th Hell of Dismemberment by Knives)

Now! To hell! To hell with us all!

Let's note that, according to Chinese Buddhist tradition, there are some 96,816 hells, each of which addresses a separate sin; each of which has a specialized punishment for that specific sin.

That's a LOT of hell.

Again, these are "sins" in Buddhist context prescribed by "karma" (the universal elastic band that holds up the boxer briefs of existence) not by the Buddha. The Buddha was just sort of the guy that gave everybody the list of bad stuff.

Anyway...for the Chinese, who already had a habit of being stern and precise...this turned into some pretty gruesome stuff.

To quote wiki "The eighteen hells vary from narrative to narrative but some commonly mentioned tortures include: being steamed; being fried in oil cauldrons; being sawed into half; being run over by vehicles; being pounded in a mortar and pestle; being ground in a mill; being crushed by boulders; being made to shed blood by climbing trees or mountains of knives; having sharp objects driven into their bodies; having hooks pierced into their bodies and being hung upside down; drowning in a pool of filthy blood; being left naked in the freezing cold; being set aflame or cast into infernos; being tied naked to a bronze cylinder with a fire lit at its base; being forced to consume boiling liquids; tongue ripping; eye gouging; teeth extraction; heart digging; disembowelment; skinning; being trampled, gored, mauled, eaten, stung, bitten, pecked, etc., by animals."

Supposedly, there are 8 Hot Hells and 8 Cold Hells...these have the standard tit-for-tat sorts of punishments...ie...if you ate meat while on earth, you get trampled to death by cows every day; if you stole money from people, you get your hands cut off every day (they grow back of course) but there are some really vicious torments..administered by the Hell Courts and the demons that serve them.

(Side Note: Diyu has a capital city called Youdu, it's probably a lot like Columbus)

As to the underwear of Diyu (pronounced dee-you) it seems that sinners wear something like full length boxers...breas maybe? Though, we DID find one that depicts some interesting sinner-trunks..in yellow, green or black with white piping...

The demons, of course, get the best pick of underwear...not fundoshi...but certainly stylish..

Note too: the Chinese seem to place less emphasis on the "tiger skin loincloth" than other cultures. Some are even in full dress (except shoes...there don't appear to BE shoes in hell...except for the Hell courtiers)

Alas, I was never able to visit Chongching, which is said to be the physical place where the dead enter Diyu. They have this huge head there...like those Eastern Island guys, except

it represents King Yanluo the king of the Hell Kings and also a large gate.

Anyway, that's our overview and commentary on Diyu.

Afterpants gives Diyu a middle-way 3 out of 5 Hellbriefs. While it's certainly quite complex and in keeping with other types of afterlives in this genre...we don't feel ANYONE deserves this sort of semi-eternal punishment.