Who will go to hell according to Buddhism?

In theravada buddhism or at least the one i am accustomed to, there are different planes of exisistence besides the one we are currently in and we can be reborn in this planes depending on the good or bad karma we have accumulated in our life. Among this planes, i believe there are 4 of which are considered hell and anything above human plane is well heaven ish in the sense that you are often granted powers, live longer and generally get everything you want whereas hell in the sense that its meant as punishment (hungry ghost, insect, animal). You can read further from wikipedia in the following link

Saṃsāra (Buddhism) - Wikipedia

So to answer your question EVERYONE including Buddhist will be reborn in heaven or hell depending on your deeds in this world. If your generally a good person and do alot of good things then you ascend to heaven to enjoy your good karma whereas if you do alot of shitty things you would go to hell regardless of what your belief is. Karma is in-discriminant to your own belief similar to how gravity works regardless if you believe it exist.

Im guessing since your asking this you dont know much about buddhism and are probably confused with what i said so allow me to brief you on it. While its true anybody and everybody can ascend and descend to heaven or hell, your stay there is not permanent. Think of it this way, while we live here, we have the opportunity to accumulate good karma and bad karma and this can be envisioned as a scale where good karma is on one end and bad karma on the other and each time you do a good deed, a weight is put in your good karma scale where as the similar is done vice versa. Now, when you die, the way the scale tips will determine where you would be reborn in as mentioned above.

Heres where buddhism comes in, in theravada buddhist its a common saying that heaven is a trap (or at least from where im from) because when you are in heaven seeing how you get everything and anything you want you dont really get the opportunity to do good deeds thus whats happening is your spending your good karma while your bad karma is static and eventually you would reach a point where your bad karma far exceeds your good karma and thus when you pass on (yes you still die in heaven however i believe i read that the lifespan spans from the start of the universe to the start of the next universe so its a reallly long time), you would fall to hell and from there you burn off the bad karma and slowly work your way up again and hence why its called the cycle of reincarnation.

Buddhism goal or at least its teachings goal is to release a person from this circle of reincarnation as its believe that as long as we are born into this world, it is inevitable that we will suffer, and the way to do this varies based on teachings. in THERAVADA buddhism, the only way to escape is by becoming a monk and following the teachings through and through. theravada buddhism is clearn when it comes to this in the sense that you wont be able to free yourself UNLESS you become a monk and as a layman the best possible aim is to accumulate good karma in hopes that your better positioned in your next life to become a monk~

Mahayanese (chinese buddhism) as well as vajarada(tibeten buddhism) has different understanding on how its possible to attain release. While im no expert in it, i believe mahayanese believes that by accumulating good karma you can ascend to a plane where there is no hell thus allowing you to slowly reach your goal of reincarnation in that plane whereas vajarada believes through meditation one can achive buddhahood which also comes with the release of the cycle or something of that sort. (Yes i know this is an overly simplified explanation of the other denominations but as i said im no expert so correct me if i’m wrong please)

So if your question is can other people of other religions free themself from the cycle of rebirth than the answer is no, infact according to theravada buddhism, just because your buddhist but since your not a monk you are probably stuck in the cycle too just like everyone else whos not a monk.

ps: in case you were wondering what happens when you free yourself from the cycle, its my belief that your soul just cease to exist and this is because of the understanding that as long as you are born, you will suffer thus the way to stop the continuation of suffering you need to not be born..period. I wont be in some cloud somewhere singing kumbaya with my guitar, i will simply just cease to exist~

And this is why people dont worship the buddha (or at least not supose to), you pay respect to him like how you would pay respect to your science teacher because the buddha trail blazed the path to achive released but the buddha himself no longer exist so even if he wanted to help you, he no longer can and even when he could, it was you who has to put in the work the same way how if you want to ace your exam, you can find a great teacher which will give you his all in teaching and guiding you but its you in the end who has to study and put the teachings to work to ace the exam.

Contrary to what many of these answers say hell is a central concept in early Buddhism, so central that it seems that the concept of hell actually originated in Buddhism.

Most religions don’t really have any hell concept or mention hell very rarely not in much detail but in hell is mentioned more in Buddhism than in any other religion (thousands of times in the earliest Pali canons)…so based on the historical evidence the concept of hell either originated in Buddhism or was popularized by Buddhism.

Since early Judaism has no hell, the OT does not mention hell, and only the NT (written in Greek) mentions hell (only 22 times or so) it is also possible that the NT concept of hell came from Buddhism since the first Buddhist disciples were Hellenistic Greeks (and also from the India/Nepal region), Buddhism was popular in the area prior to Christianity and the NT hell-concept only resembles the Buddhist hell (rather than hell in any other religion).

The very first Buddhist statues were made by the Greeks in an obvious Hellenistic style. Menander was a famous Greco-Buddhist King, there is an entire scripture about him debating a Buddhist arahant. A Buddhist scripture the Mahavamsa records that 30,000 Buddhist monks from the “Greek city of Alexandria” migrated into Sri Lanka. So it is really possible that hell in NT Christianity originated in Buddhism.

Also only post-Buddhist Hinduism and Jainism seem to have hell (obviously came from Buddhism).

So it seems that The Buddha is the ultimate originator of the hell concept…based on the historical evidence as Buddhism is the only religion which mentions hell thousands of times and only post-Buddhist religions seem to have hell.

The Dhammapada has a whole chapter on hell (Nirayavagga) here are some exerpts:

“One who tells lies about others goes to hell; one who has done evil and says "I did not do it", also goes to hell.” (Dhammapada, 306)

“A thoughtless person, who goes to another man’s wife, will suffer four evil results. Firstly, he will acquire demerit - what is not meritorious. Secondly, he will not get enough comfortable sleep. Thirdly, he will be disgraced. Fourthly, he will be born in hell.” (Dhammapada, 309)

“Those who are ashamed of what they should not be ashamed of, and those who are unashamed of what they should be ashamed of, all those who embrace false views go to hell.” (Dhammapada, 316)

Hell is mentioned so many times in the earliest Pali canons:

“Sariputta, when I know and see thus, should anyone say of me: 'The recluse Gotama does not have any superhuman states, any distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones. The recluse Gotama teaches a Dhamma (merely) hammered out by reasoning, following his own line of inquiry as it occurs to him' — unless he abandons that assertion and that state of mind and relinquishes that view, then as (surely as if he had been) carried off and put there he will wind up in hell.” (Maha-sihanada Sutta)

“In the same manner monks, the unpleasantness and displeasure experienced on account of six thousand whips three times a day cannot be reckoned as a comparison, not even as a quarter, nor even as a sign for the unpleasantness and displeasure experienced in hell. The warders of hell give him the fivefold binding.” (Balapandita Sutta)

According to The Buddha the majority of unbelievers will go to hell or the animal realm:

“Now, for one of wrong view, Lohicca, I tell you, there is one of two destinations: either hell or the animal realm.” (Lohicca Sutta)

“And how is one made impure in three ways by mental action? There is the case where a certain person is covetous. He covets the belongings of others, thinking, 'O, that what belongs to others would be mine!'

He bears ill will, corrupt in the resolves of his heart: 'May these beings be killed or cut apart or crushed or destroyed, or may they not exist at all!'

He has wrong view, is warped in the way he sees things: 'There is nothing given, nothing offered, nothing sacrificed. There is no fruit or result of good or bad actions. There is no this world, no next world, no mother, no father, no spontaneously reborn beings; no brahmans or contemplatives who, faring rightly & practicing rightly, proclaim this world & the next after having directly known & realized it for themselves.' This is how one is made impure in three ways by mental action.” (Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta)

The Buddha claims that he mentions hell because he has independently observed it (providing more evidence that The Buddha originated hell):

“Monks, I have seen beings who practise misconduct by body, speech, and mind, who vilify the noble ones, who hold wrong view and perform various deeds because of their wrong view. When the body perishes, those beings are reborn after death in a state of misery, a bad bourn, a state of ruin, in hell.

I say this, monks, without having learnt it from another recluse or brahmin. It is just because I myself have known it, seen it, and observed it that I say: ‘Monks, I have seen beings who practise misconduct by body, speech, and mind … reborn after death in a state of misery … in hell.’” (Itivuttaka, 70)

The Buddha claims that are five destinations after death (excluding nibbana which doesn’t count as a destination):

“Sariputta, there are these five destinations. What are the five? Hell, the animal realm, the realm of ghosts, human beings and devas.” (Maha-sihanada Sutta)

The Buddha didn’t believe in reincarnation as in rebirth only as a human but instead claims that most humans in general after death go towards the three lower destinations (hell, the animal realm, realm of ghosts) with human birth being rare:

“Then the Blessed One, picking up a little bit of dust with the tip of his fingernail, said to the monks, "What do you think, monks? Which is greater: the little bit of dust I have picked up with the tip of my fingernail, or the great earth?

In the same way, monks, few are the beings who, on passing away from the human realm, are reborn among human beings. Far more are the beings who, on passing away from the human realm, are reborn in hell….in the animal realm.. in the domain of the hungry ghosts.

In the same way, monks, few are the beings who, on passing away from the human realm, are reborn among devas. Far more are the beings who, on passing away from the human realm, are reborn in hell... in the animal womb... in the domain of the hungry ghosts.” (Pansu Suttas)

So to answer your question although those who do things against the Eightfold Path are more likely to go towards the three lower destinations the majority of humans in general (Muslims, Christians, atheists, Buddhists, etc…) go towards the three lower destinations (hell, the animal realm, the realm of ghosts) after death with very few being reborn as human or in a heavenly world (deva) according to The Buddha (and obviously nearly zero attaining nibbana which is super rare).

The Buddha mentions certain Buddhist monks going to hell as well so Buddhists and Buddhist monks aren’t exempt from the possibility of going to hell.

The Buddha explains certain qualities that lead towards hell:

Monks, possessing ten qualities, one is deposited in hell as if brought there. What ten?

(1) “Here, someone destroys life; he is murderous, bloody-handed, given to blows and violence, merciless to living beings.

(2) “He takes what is not given; he steals the wealth and property of others in the village or forest.

(3)“He engages in sexual misconduct; he has sexual relations with women who are protected by their mother, father, mother and father, brother, sister, or relatives; who are protected by their Dhamma; who have a husband; whose violation entails a penalty; or even with one already engaged.

(4) “He speaks falsehood. If he is summoned to a council, to an assembly, to his relatives’ presence, to his guild, or to the court, and questioned as a witness thus: ‘So, good man, tell what you know,’ then, not knowing, he says, ‘I know,’ or knowing, he says, ‘I do not know’; not seeing, he says, ‘I see,’ or seeing, he says, ‘I do not see.’ Thus he consciously speaks falsehood for his own ends, or for another’s ends, or for some trifling worldly end.

(5) “He speaks divisively. Having heard something here, he repeats it elsewhere in order to divide those people from these; or having heard something elsewhere, he repeats it to these people in order to divide them from those. Thus he is one who divides those who are united, a creator of divisions, one who enjoys factions, rejoices in factions, delights in factions, a speaker of words that create factions.

(6) “He speaks harshly. He utters such words as are rough, hard, hurtful to others, offensive to others, bordering on anger, unconducive to concentration.

(7) “He indulges in idle chatter. He speaks at an improper time, speaks falsely, speaks what is unbeneficial, speaks contrary to the Dhamma and the discipline; at an improper time he speaks such words as are worthless, unreasonable, rambling, and unbeneficial.

(8)“He is full of longing. He longs for the wealth and property of others thus: ‘Oh, may what belongs to another be mine!’

(9) “He has a mind of ill will and intentions of hate thus: ‘May these beings be slain, slaughtered, cut off, destroyed, or annihilated!’

(10) “He holds wrong view and has an incorrect perspective thus: ‘There is nothing given, nothing sacrificed, nothing offered; there is no fruit or result of good and bad actions; there is no this world, no other world; there is no mother, no father; there are no beings spontaneously reborn; there are in the world no ascetics and brahmins of right conduct and right practice who, having realized this world and the other world for themselves by direct knowledge, make them known to others.’

“One possessing these ten qualities is deposited in hell as if brought there

First of all, we should not understand Buddhist “hell” as the same hell we’re maybe used to think of if we were raised in a Catholic culture. There might be some similarities in certain descriptions, but in Buddhism, the different hells are the realm on which beings suffer the most: We know this human realm, we interact with the animal realm and so on. Well, the hells are the realm where one is reborn as a result for having created really negative karma. And karma is not some weird mystical word: Karma means action (and reaction), cause and consequence… If you have a slope and drop a ball from the upper side, you know what’s gonna happen, don’t you? Well, that’s karma. It has nothing to do with beliefs, religions and so on: If you are harsh to other people, there will be a natural inclination to experience the consequences sooner or later. If you are generous with your friends, you will be more likely to receive generosity from them whenever you need it. If you get angry at somebody, there are many chances you’ll get an angry response, and so on. So it’s not a matter of being religious or believing in karma or not; karma is an universal law that applies to everybody, just like the laws of physics apply to everybody the same way. Almost every time you think, say and do something, you’re creating a cause, a seed for a result to ripen as soon as that potential meets certain circumstances, just as a flower blooms after a seed has met sunlight, a proper soil, a certain level of humidity and so on. A rose seed will mature as a rose; a thistle seed will mature as a thistle flower, etc. There is nothing to “believe” about that.

(Not doing the bad things, doing the good things, keeping one’s mind purely- these are the Buddha’s teaching.) -

-According to philosophy of Theravada Buddhism, as long as a person does not liberate from cycles of life (reach nirvana), he/she will go from one life to another (human lifeforms, or other higher lifeforms or lower lifeforms) continuously.

-According to the philosophy of Theravada Buddhism, those who do the bad things physically, mentally and verbally will go to lower life regardless of their beliefs.

-According to the philosophy of Theravada Buddhism, those who do the good things physically, mentally and verbally will go to higher life regardless of their beliefs too.

References

…….. "Suppose a man were to throw a large boulder into a deep lake of water, and a great crowd of people, gathering & congregating, would pray, praise, & circumambulate with their hands palm-to-palm over the heart (saying,) 'Rise up, O boulder! Come floating up, O boulder! Come float to the shore, O boulder!' What do you think: would that boulder — because of the prayers, praise, & circumambulation of that great crowd of people — rise up, come floating up, or come float to the shore?"

"No, lord."

"So it is with any man who takes life, steals, indulges in illicit sex; is a liar, one who speaks divisive speech, harsh speech, & idle chatter; is greedy, bears thoughts of ill-will, & holds to wrong views. Even though a great crowd of people, gathering & congregating, would pray, praise, & circumambulate with their hands palm-to-palm over the heart — (saying,) 'May this man, at the break-up of the body, after death, reappear in a good destination, the heavenly world!' — still, at the break-up of the body, after death, he would reappear in destitution, a bad destination, the lower realms, hell. …… "Suppose a man were to throw a jar of ghee or a jar of oil into a deep lake of water, where it would break. There the shards & jar-fragments would go down, while the ghee or oil would come up. Then a great crowd of people, gathering & congregating, would pray, praise, & circumambulate with their hands palm-to-palm over the heart (saying,) 'Sink, O ghee/oil! Submerge, O ghee/oil! Go down, O ghee/oil!' What do you think: would that ghee/oil, because of the prayers, praise, & circumambulation of that great crowd of people sink, submerge, or go down?" "No, lord."

"So it is with any man who refrains from taking life, from stealing, & from indulging in illicit sex; refrains from lying, from speaking divisive speech, from harsh speech, & from idle chatter; is not greedy, bears no thoughts of ill-will, & holds to right view. Even though a great crowd of people, gathering & congregating, would pray, praise, & circumambulate with their hands palm-to-palm over the heart — (saying,) 'May this man, at the break-up of the body, after death, reappear in a destitution, a bad destination, the lower realms, hell!' — still, at the break-up of the body, after death, he would reappear in a good destination, the heavenly world."

From SN 42.6 Paccha-bhumika Sutta

Don’t ask the race, social class, just ask the moral character. Just like a fire which can start from any kind of wood, the one from lower race, lower social class can become a wise man, guiltless man, a monk.

If one speaks or acts with evil mind, bad consequence follows him just as the wheel follows the hoof prints of the ox that draws the cart.

Anyone who kills, steals, has wrong character, lies, has anger, greed, has wrong belief will go to lower life whatever nationality he is.

The evil done by oneself, arising in oneself and caused by oneself, destroys the foolish one, just as a diamond grinds the rock from which it is formed.

By oneself indeed is evil done and by oneself is one defiled. By oneself is evil not done and by oneself is one purified. Purity and impurity depend entirely on oneself. No one can purify another.

For his own sake or for the sake of others, he does no evil, nor does he wish for sons and daughters or for wealth or for a kingdom by doing evil; nor does he wish for success by unfair means: Such a one is indeed virtous, wise and just.

The only thing one can take to the future is his meritorious and demeritorious deeds.

All the living things cannot take their belongings, wealth, servants with them when they are dead. The only thing that they can take is the good or bad deeds done by themselves physically, mentally or verbally.

There are 31 planes of existence and 4 of them are hell.

But Buddhism's teaching doesn't depend on who will go to hell. Its path is called who noble-eightfold path. Its intention is that everyone in this world gets liberated from all sorts of suffering. All suffering is unfortunate so whoever can follow this path can become free of suffering.

Muslims, Christians doesn't matter. Anybody can follow this path his religion won't change. His suffering will be destroyed that's for sure.

May there be no suffering for any human. This is the wish of Buddha. May everyone minds feel purity and peace. This is the goal.

Source

https://www.quora.com/Who-will-go-to-hell-according-to-Buddhism