Haw Par Villa - The Ten Courts Of Hell

 

I hope you have not been kept waiting for too long for the second and final installment of my Haw Par Villa trip. You can read the first part here if you have not already done so.

The focus in today's post is also the main highlight of the park which is the Ten Courts Of Hell.

I actually made a second trip back to hell as the photos did not turn out well (I didn't realize my hands were shaking too much) during the first visit.

I vividly remember visiting it as a child and the graphic nature of the exhibits gave me endless nightmares but precisely because of this, it further ingrain the notion in me not to do bad deeds.

I guess that is the purpose of this exhibit; to remind us to be a better person and not to commit crimes. I recommended all parents to bring their kids (especially naughty ones) here at least once so they will learn to behave themselves.

Be forewarned that the photos you are about to see are pretty gruesome and morbid therefore you are advised to exercise caution if you want to proceed reading further.

*Reader's Discretion Is Advised*

"The sea of bitterness has no boundaries, turn back and you will find shore"

I believe the phrase means not to sink any deeper (with your mistakes) and to stop while you still can. In short, it means "turn back before it's too late" which I think applies in this situation. 

Stop reading while you still can before it's too late.

If not, your journey to hell begins now...

The entrance is guarded by Horse Head and Cow Face

The Ten Courts of Hell are housed in this dark cave-like tunnel.To enter it, you have to walk past Horse Head and Cow Face.

First Court Of Hell
Yama: King Qinguang

In the first court of hell, King Qinguang conducts preliminary trials and each prisoner is judged according to his deeds in his past life. The 'good' are distinguished from the 'evil' and the King recommends appropriate rewards or punishment.

Punishment is then carried out in the various Courts.

Those with virtuous conduct in their past life will be led over the 'Golden Bridge' to reach paradise. Those whose past good deeds outweigh crimes committed will be sent to the 'Silver Bridge to reach paradise.

Those who were evil doers in their past life will be sent to repent before the 'Mirror of Retribution' and then taken to a subsequent Court of Hell to be punished.

Second Court Of Hell

Yama: King Chujiang

Crime: Inflicting physical injury, Conman, Robbers

Punishment: Thrown into volcanic pit

Crime: Corruption, Stealing and Gambling

Punishment: Frozen into blocks of ice

Crime: Prostitutes

Punishment: Thrown into a pool of blood and drown

Third Court Of Hell

Yama: King Songdi

Crime: Ungratefulness, Disrespect to elders, Escape from prison

Punishment: Heart dug out

Crime: Drug addicts and Traffickers, Tomb robbers,

Urging people into crimes and Social unrest

Punishment: Tied to red hot copper pillar and grilled

Fourth Court Of Hell

Yama: King Wuguan

Crime: Tax dodger, Refusal to pay rent, Business fraud

Punishment: Pounded by stone mallet

Crime: Disobedience to one's siblings, Lack of filial piety

Punishment: Grounded by large stone

'Wang Si' Town (Town of Wrongful Deaths)

This accommodates those who were wronged and driven to their death. They would be asked to view how their enemies receive retribution. They would then be judged on their past deeds and given appropriate punishment.

Fifth Court Of Hell

Yama: King Yanluo

Crime: Plotted another's death for his property or money,
Money lenders with exorbitant interest rates

Punishment: Thrown onto a hill of knives

'Viewing Home Tower'
The 'Viewing Home Tower' is for the evil doers to see how their relatives and families are suffering as a result of their wrong-doings.

Sixth Court Of Hell

Yama: King Piencheng

Crime: Cheating, Cursing, Abducting others

Punishment: Thrown onto a tree of knives

Crime: Misuse of books, Possession of pornographic materials, Breaking written rules and regulations, Wasting food.

Punishment: Body sawn into two

Seventh Court Of Hell

Yama: King Taishan

Crime: Rumor mongers, Sowing discord among family members,

Punishment: Tongue pulled out

Eighth Court Of Hell

Yama: King Dushi

Crime: Lack of filial obedience, Causing trouble for parents
or family members, Cheating during examinations

Punishment: Intestines and organs pulled out

Crime: Harming others to benefit oneself

Punishment: Body dismembered

Ninth Court Of Hell

Yama: King Pingdeng

Crime: Robbery, Murder, Rape, Any other unlawful conduct

Punishment: Head and arms chopped off

Crime: Neglect of the old and the young

Punishment: Crushed under boulders

Tenth Court Of Hell

Yama: King Zhuanlun

In the Tenth Court, there is the 'Wheel of Reincarnation' and the 'Pavilion of forgetfulness'.

After serving their sentences, prisoners arrive at the Tenth Court where King Zhuanlun passes his final judgement.

The prisoners are then brought to the 'Pavilion of Forgetfulness' where an old lady 'Meng Po' hands them a cup of magic tea which upon drinking, makes them forget their past life.

They will then go through the 'Wheel of Reincarnation'. Depending on the prisoner's past life, he would be reborn either as a human or an animal.

Some would be reborn into a life of ease and comfort while others into sorrow and sufferings.

Samsara

I have never felt so relieved to embrace the hot sun

Haw Par Villa is not your usual walk-in-the-park park. Some of the sculptures may be outright weird or frightening but there is a lesson to be learned behind every one of them. I hope this park will get to be preserved and educate future generations on morality and ethics.

Bring life to the park by visiting it with your friends or bring the kids here during the school holidays. It's free! Hopefully, we can see Haw Par Villa regain its former glory.

Due to the lack of business, the canteen here is not in operation so you might want to have your meal first before coming over or bring some light snacks along. *FYI, the only washroom in the entire park is located here at the canteen (pictured below).

Do bring along some water too. There are some vending machines at the entrance, near the Ten Courts of Hell and here at the canteen outside the washrooms.

Take note that the vending machines near the Ten Courts of Hell only accept $2 notes while the ones at the entrance do accept coins. I am not too sure about the ones outside the washrooms though.

A 500ml bottled drink costs $1.50 at the vending machines here while a 1.5l Coke costs $2.20 at the supermarket (just for your reference if you are on a budget and trying to save cost).

Another warning: Be careful of the stairs here as I nearly tumbled down the narrow steps. I admit that I did not watch where I was going but the steps were indeed narrower than the length of my foot.

For more photos, click here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lil4lErwTHE&list=UUW6JP6UmShBlXNrcu5HfJSA

Admission to Haw Par Villa is free. Take the Circle Line train and alight at Haw Par Villa Station (CC25) which brings you directly to the foot of the park (just turn right when you exit the station).

Find out more about the man behind the Tiger Balm business and his contributions to Singapore (especially towards the Chinese community) in this two part documentary:
- Part 1
- Part 2

HAW PAR VILLA (虎豹别墅)

262 Pasir Panjang Road

Singapore 118628

Opening Hours: 9am - 7pm daily

Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/6iQNC

GPS Coordination: 1.285506, 103.7831439

Follow/Like

twitter: dead_cockroach

instagram: thedeadcockroach

fb page: the dead cockroach