Do heaven and hell really exist?
Yes, of course. One could hardly believe otherwise if one just reads a dozen or so discourses of the Buddha. However, believing is one thing; knowing and seeing by means of psychic powers is far more difficult. The Buddha and his leading disciples had psychic powers so they could converse with celestial beings or see the evil-doers suffering in hell or as hungry ghosts due to their evil deeds. “Seeing is believing” as they say. If you cannot see, then you must believe. You don’t have to believe if you don’t wish to, as it is prudent not to accept anything on hearsay, but if you dismiss heaven and hell as mere allegories for pleasure and pain, then you would find this hard to justify from the Buddhist texts.
