Question: “You mentioned a hell for those who take their lives. It worries me, just the concept of hell. What is it said people can do, to avoid going to hell.”
Don’t think of hell as a physical place or destination or bad people. Instead, think of hell and all the other realms of existence as states of mind. We will all go through each state of these existences sometime in our lives. I’m pretty sure we can all recall moments in our lives that we considered to be “hell” or “hellish” where things were just absolute chaos and disaster from our own perspectives. Even for me, right now, I feel like I’m suffering in hell (I’d explain more, but it’s much too personal), but it’ll pass as soon as my karmic debt is paid.
There are many reasons why we go through each state of existence. For the three unfortunate states, we suffer in “hell” because of our anger, ignorance, hate, delusion, etc. We suffer in the “animal” realm, because like animals we are reactive, especially in hostile, angry or non-mindful situations – we react without thinking of the consequences. We suffer as a “hungry ghost” because of our greed, selfishness, self-interest, etc.
So to avoid these unfortunate states, we need to do the opposite of what will get us in there, by practicing generosity, cultivating compassion and wisdom, appreciative joy and equanimity.
Smile and be well!