The Phnom Penh Post reports from the serene surroundings of Wat Mondul Seyma, a temple near the Thai/Cambodian border. Serene at first glance, anyway: A nearby path to the sea may as well be a descent into Dante’s Inferno. Macabre scultpures along the way depict narratives from Buddhist hell realms and, according to the article, perform a function similar to depictions of Hell in other faiths:
Most visual representations of hell in Cambodia are painted on the walls of temples across the country, but it seems that the artisans who created these images over 30 years ago wanted to be sure that viewers would walk away with a much more realistic representation of the dangers of sinning.
So for those of us who have left our religions of birth, it may be out of the frying pan and into the fire!
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