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Yama is a really interesting deity. He can be found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Dragon Ball Z.

That one eyebrow really getting a workout

Perturbing, but interesting, especially the idea that punished souls eventually are reborn in a nicer realm, redeemed.

In Tibetan Buddhism hell is an extremely important topic which is expounded in a lot of stories. A lot of Westerners don't understand why Buddhism has hell realms at all since it is a religion based on the mind, but one of my teachers put it this way: You experience various forms of hell here on earth because of your mind, and it's the same way if you cling to desire when you die. Think of all the terrible thoughts that you can possibly have--These are the basis for all the possible hell realms you can experience after you die if you don't discover virtuous conduct.

I guess naraka/diyu/jigoku could be more accurately translated as purgatory, as their ultimate role is purification, not punishment. Growing up Buddhist I never dreaded the concept like some of my Christian friends do, it always felt like a "hey, don't be a bad person or your soul is going to go to this really sucky prison", not "your soul will burn for all eternity".

In Buddhism you should focus on the 3 studies: precepts, meditation and cultivating wisdom. A lot of people in North America sees only meditation, which is not what Buddhism is all about. I now realize that orientalism is a big contributor to that...

Dante walks into the room: I have written the greatest description of hell!
Sees Hell realms
Dante: I'll come back later.

So there is a hell where you get transported into a Fruit Ninja game but you are the fruit being sliced...

That Yama stuff makes sense on a level. I remember getting in trouble at school and being given the choice between a couple of days of boring in school suspension, or a couple of whacks with the paddle. The paddle was my choice most of the time.

There's a reason why Yama is called the dharmaraya, the king of justice.
I am happy that the part about hell was never a shock for me, since I grew up in a Christian country with parents who taught me about hinduism and buddhism. Learning about hindu hell and buddhist hell as a child was surprisingly not that shocking. It was always explained to me that hell is temporary and also the consequence of our actions. I remember some of the punishments, but they all give a clear message: the pain you cause to others, and your vile thoughts ultimately hurts yourself, so it is better avoid hell in this life by doing your best to be a good person.

I've been a Buddhist since I was a kid, and anytime I was handed a Buddhism book about almost anything, I always try and find something that relates to the afterlife. And when I'm really lucky, I find a couple of pages filled with art of Neraka. It was pretty cool actually.

I was surprised that Buddhism has hells, not because I thought they was all peaceful and meditationy, but because I know rebirth is such a giant part of it and I guess I just only ever heard about the bare bones "you die and come back until you reach a state of enlightenment and move on from our current existence" and that your karma affects how, I guess a good word would be "pleasant" your next life is, as opposed to having that "balance" come from an outside force.

Great segment on positive Orientalism. Its a common problem I see when trying to find english resources on eastern religions. The book Orientalism is a little dated, but still a great introduction to the topic I'd highly recommend people read.

The fruit ninja bit really got me. Segments like that are what really make these lectures memorable

The mother of all Isekai.

"...their work portrays American culture as strict and uptight, and Asian culture as focused on freewheeling journeys of self-discovery."

That seems so contrary to everything I've ever learned about Asian culture that it baffles me as to where they got these notions. When I think of strict and uptight cultures, the first things that come to mind are the cram schools, tiger moms and karoshi (death by overwork) of East Asia.

If you are an East Asian kid, this is your childhood.🥶🥵😍

3:56 really needs a content warning or some blurring out, it's extremely graphic

This  was really interesting. Given the temporary nature of these hells, they almost seem like a more extreme version of purgatory in Catholicism.