Once upon a time, King Yama thought: ‘Those who do such bad deeds in the world receive these many different punishments. Oh, I hope I may be reborn as a human being! And that a Realized One—a perfected one, a fully awakened Buddha—arises in the world! And that I may pay homage to the Buddha! Let that Buddha teach me Dhamma, so that I may understand his teaching!’

Now, I don’t say this because I’ve heard it from some other ascetic or brahmin. I only say it because I’ve known, seen, and realized it for myself.”

That is what the Buddha said. Then the Holy One, the Teacher, went on to say: “When warned by the gods’ messengers, those sons of Manu who are negligent sorrow for a long time when they go to that wretched place. When warned by the gods’ messengers, the good and true persons here never neglect the teaching of the Noble One. Seeing the danger in grasping, the origin of birth and death, the unattached are freed with the ending of birth and death. Happy, they’ve come to a safe place, quenched in this very life. They’ve gone beyond all enmities and fears, and risen above all suffering.”