Rants and raves about stuff happening in and around my life in Singapore

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Haw Par Villa & The 10 Courts of Hell

7:48 PM By Barry Smyth 5 comments

Today, on the last day of my 3 day leave the sun decided to show itself so I managed to take my Niece and her friend who are visiting me here in Singapore to Haw Par Villa.



Haw Par Villa is home to hundreds of statues and figurines of characters in Chinese mythology and legends, some of which appear below.


This tiger gaurds the entrance to Haw Paw and stands on the tail of a giant snake.


There are so many things happening in this photo you need to study it for a while. If anyone wants to send me a wide angle lens for my camera let me know!


The legend of Wusong killing the tigger (looks more like a dragon though)


And I'm sure everyone knows about the Monkey God of Chinese legend.

Traditionally, Chinese believe that when they die, they go through judgement according to what they have done in their previous lives. Through the 10 Courts of Hell they will be judged and rewarded/punished accordingly.


At the Haw Par Villa, you travel the journey of the 10 Courts of Hell, starting from the entrance guarded by the Horse and the Cow to see what punishments are handed out to all wrong doers.


In the First Court of Hell, King Qinguang conducts preliminary trials and each prisoner is judged according to this deeds in his past life. The good walk across the golden bridge to paradise, the bad get to tour some of the other courts.


The second court, reserved for kidnappers, deposit stealers, incompetent physician and matchmakers. Thier punshiments are beatings and starvation


dropped in a volcano and made to swim in a river of lava


or subjected to extreme cold depending on which crime they have been found guilty of.


The third court of hell is reserved for those who are ungrateful, disrespectful to elders and/or escaped from prison. For them their heart will be dug out. For drug addicts and traffickers, tomb robbers and those who coerce others into crime and social unrest, they will be tied to a red hot copper pillar and grilled.


The fifth court is reserved for those that have plotted someone's death to get his property or money, or if they are a money lender charging exorbitant interest rates. They will be thrown onto a hill of knives.


The sixth court is for those that cheat, curse or abduct others. Their punishment is to be thrown onto a tree of knives. Those that are found guilty of the misuse of books, in possession pornographic material, breaking written rules and regulations or waste food, their body will be sawn into halves, either vertically


or horizontally.


The ninth court of hell is reserved for the worst offenders. Those that commit robbery, murder or rape, will have their head and arms chopped off. While those that neglect the old and the young will be crushed under boulders.


Once they have completed the earlier stages of hell, they will be sent here to begin their next incarnation as appropriate. They drink the broth of forgetfulness, wiping their memory clean to start a new life eventually leaving hell through one of the six gates.

Well worth a visit and highly recommended for everyone to go and see for themselves.


Whatsapp Line

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:12 PM

    Cool place, would like to see this next time. Everyone should be allowed to have a good rant every now and then, clears the system, much like too much chillie ice-cream does. Take care of the girls.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sure, well if you're out this way again let me know. I'm happy to show anyone around this fantastic place!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2:03 PM

    I inclination not agree on it. I regard as warm-hearted post. Particularly the title attracted me to study the intact story.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous10:42 AM

    Nice fill someone in on and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you on your information.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous8:35 PM

    Keep posting stuff like this i really like it

    ReplyDelete