<p>Such does not exist, at least not as a Jataka delivered by the Buddha's own disciple Sangha, good householder. And furthermore, Jataka-stories are stories about the Buddha's life before his last birth where he gained awakening. So they are merely fairy tales of the &quot;Dhamma-trader&quot; (<a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.6.02.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ud 6.2</a>). There are many 'fake' tales around and it's good to seek within the tradition, not outwardly and on common market and entertainment places, good householder.</p>
<p>As for falling to hell or heaven, here related: <a href="https://zugangzureinsicht.org/html/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.083.bodh_en.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Avannaraha Sutta: Dispraise</a>. So one should take care, especially in relation with the Gems. Ignorance of wrong actions do not prevent consequences from arising.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-28T14:54:37.313Z
Thank you for your answer!
iyin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-26T23:36:35.217Z
2021-08-27T13:05:32.600Z
2021-08-27T13:05:32.600Z
user21740
<p>According to this entry from the The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism by Buswell &amp; Lopez, that monk is probably Sundarananda, often referred to as Nanda (not to be confused with Ananda):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>After going to heaven, the Buddha takes Nanda on a journey to hell,
where he shows him the empty cauldron that awaits him after his
lifetime in heaven. After his enlightenment, Nanda came to the Buddha
to inform him of his achievement and to release the Buddha from his
promise of celestial maidens. It was because of his great will to
control his passions that Nanda was deemed foremost in self-control.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Unfortunately, the entry doesn't cite any source, only contains a brief mention of the poem Saundarananda by Aśvaghoṣa, where Sundarananda is the protagonist. I've skimmed through the poem - it dedicates one lengthy chapter to describe Nanda's journey to heaven, but nowhere does it depict him going to hell with the Buddha.</p>
<p>I found other mentions of him in chapter 5 of the Śūraṅgama Sutra, but only in the version with commentary by Master Hsuan Hua (宣化). Here is that piece:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>After they finished touring the place the Buddha took his cousin down to the
hells. There they saw two ghosts heating a cauldron of oil. One of the
ghosts was sound asleep and although the other one was awake, he
didn’t have his eyes open. Nanda sized up the situation and thought to
himself, “These ghosts are suppose to be tending the fire under that
cauldron, but they’re not doing their job at all. Boy, are ghosts
lazy!” Then he meddled a bit and nudged one, saying, “What are you
doing this for?”</p>
<p>The little one’s droopy eyes popped open and glared at him. “What’s it
to you?” he snapped.</p>
<p>”I just wondered,” said Sundarananda.</p>
<p>”You gotta know, huh? Okay, I’ll tell you. The Buddha’s got a cousin
who’s cultivating the blessings of people and gods. He’s going to get
born in the heavens and enjoy 500 years of heavenly blessings before
he falls. Once he topples, however, he’ll come all the way down to
hell and when he gets here, we’re supposed to have this pot hot. He’s
to be deep-fried alive.”</p>
<p>Sundarananda was horrified and his hair stood on end. He suddenly
understood the whole picture and thought, “Those heavenly maidens are
ravishing, but 500 years of bliss with them isn’t worth it if I’m
eventually going to end up in a pot of boiling oil. I’d better follow
the Buddha, leave home, and be a monk.” So he forgot about Sundari and
left home.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>One thing's for sure: this story is not a Jataka.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-28T14:54:28.763Z
Thank you for your answer!
iyin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-27T04:39:10.247Z
2021-08-27T05:22:58.113Z
2021-08-27T05:22:58.113Z
viptrongproz98
<p>I'm searching for this Jataka where a monk is brought by The Buddha to heaven, and then to hell, where the monk sees a vacant place(?) in hell and asks a hell officer about it. The hell officer answered that he was waiting for a heaven inhabitants who will reborn in hell. Hearing that, he monk was shocked and trained harder to be free from the samsara.</p>
<p>Maybe anyone here knows about that Jataka? Thank you</p>

<reference-request>
Searching for this Jataka where a monk is brought to the heaven and hell by The Buddha
# Searching for this Jataka where a monk is brought to the heaven and hell by The Buddha

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-08-25)

I'm searching for this Jataka where a monk is brought by The Buddha to heaven, and then to hell, where the monk sees a vacant place(?) in hell and asks a hell officer about it. The hell officer answered that he was waiting for a heaven inhabitants who will reborn in hell. Hearing that, he monk was shocked and trained harder to be free from the samsara.

Maybe anyone here knows about that Jataka? Thank you

**Tags:** reference-request


---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-08-27. Score: 4

According to this entry from the The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism by Buswell & Lopez, that monk is probably Sundarananda, often referred to as Nanda (not to be confused with Ananda):

> After going to heaven, the Buddha takes Nanda on a journey to hell,
> where he shows him the empty cauldron that awaits him after his
> lifetime in heaven. After his enlightenment, Nanda came to the Buddha
> to inform him of his achievement and to release the Buddha from his
> promise of celestial maidens. It was because of his great will to
> control his passions that Nanda was deemed foremost in self-control.

Unfortunately, the entry doesn't cite any source, only contains a brief mention of the poem Saundarananda by Aśvaghoṣa, where Sundarananda is the protagonist. I've skimmed through the poem - it dedicates one lengthy chapter to describe Nanda's journey to heaven, but nowhere does it depict him going to hell with the Buddha.

I found other mentions of him in chapter 5 of the Śūraṅgama Sutra, but only in the version with commentary by Master Hsuan Hua (宣化). Here is that piece:

> After they finished touring the place the Buddha took his cousin down to the
> hells. There they saw two ghosts heating a cauldron of oil. One of the
> ghosts was sound asleep and although the other one was awake, he
> didn’t have his eyes open. Nanda sized up the situation and thought to
> himself, “These ghosts are suppose to be tending the fire under that
> cauldron, but they’re not doing their job at all. Boy, are ghosts
> lazy!” Then he meddled a bit and nudged one, saying, “What are you
> doing this for?”
>
> The little one’s droopy eyes popped open and glared at him. “What’s it
> to you?” he snapped.
>
> ”I just wondered,” said Sundarananda.
>
> ”You gotta know, huh? Okay, I’ll tell you. The Buddha’s got a cousin
> who’s cultivating the blessings of people and gods. He’s going to get
> born in the heavens and enjoy 500 years of heavenly blessings before
> he falls. Once he topples, however, he’ll come all the way down to
> hell and when he gets here, we’re supposed to have this pot hot. He’s
> to be deep-fried alive.”
>
> Sundarananda was horrified and his hair stood on end. He suddenly
> understood the whole picture and thought, “Those heavenly maidens are
> ravishing, but 500 years of bliss with them isn’t worth it if I’m
> eventually going to end up in a pot of boiling oil. I’d better follow
> the Buddha, leave home, and be a monk.” So he forgot about Sundari and
> left home.

One thing's for sure: this story is not a Jataka.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for your answer!  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-08-26. Score: 1

Such does not exist, at least not as a Jataka delivered by the Buddha's own disciple Sangha, good householder. And furthermore, Jataka-stories are stories about the Buddha's life before his last birth where he gained awakening. So they are merely fairy tales of the "Dhamma-trader" ([Ud 6.2](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.6.02.than.html)). There are many 'fake' tales around and it's good to seek within the tradition, not outwardly and on common market and entertainment places, good householder.

As for falling to hell or heaven, here related: [Avannaraha Sutta: Dispraise](https://zugangzureinsicht.org/html/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.083.bodh_en.html). So one should take care, especially in relation with the Gems. Ignorance of wrong actions do not prevent consequences from arising.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for your answer!  

---

