Will Smokers Go to Hell?

Xuefeng

December 2, 2007

Smoking harms health and pollutes the environment. Therefore, anyone who endeavors to prevent smoking is doing the right thing—a compassionate act worthy of recognition. Lifechanyuan advocates for a smoke-free lifestyle.

I, Xuefeng, am a smoker with a significant habit, averaging a pack of cigarettes daily.

The harmful effects of smoking are extensive, as all cigarettes contain toxins. It’s widely acknowledged that the best tobacco comes from Zimbabwe, home to the world’s largest tobacco auction house. Even the best Chinese cigarettes must include Zimbabwean tobacco leaves to qualify as premium brands.

Zimbabwe is known for producing five main cigarette brands: Newbury, Kingsgate, Beverley, Madson, and Everrest. I have tried all of them, with distinct effects: after smoking a pack of Newbury, I developed itchy red bumps all over my body; a pack of Kingsgate left me with severe lower back pain; Beverley caused my vision to decline rapidly; Madson gave me headaches; and Everrest invariably led to nosebleeds. This is not an exaggeration—many have personally witnessed my reactions to tobacco. These experiences demonstrate that tobacco significantly damages physical health.

Moreover, regular smoking drastically reduces sexual performance and can even lead to a complete loss of libido. Smokers’ lungs are undeniably blackened, and lung capacity is severely impaired.

Smoking also hinders meditative practices. For Qigong practitioners, smoking makes entering the Qi state challenging. From personal experience, I found that abstaining from smoking for three days enabled me to enter the Qi state within a minute, whereas smoking prolonged this process to over ten minutes. Therefore, practitioners of self-improvement and cultivation are better off avoiding smoking.

Additionally, smokers emit an unpleasant odor, which can be off-putting to others. The smell also permeates their vehicles and living spaces. Smoking in the bedroom is unlikely to foster pleasant dreams.

In summary, the disadvantages of smoking are numerous. Those who don’t smoke should avoid starting, and those who do should quit if possible—it brings numerous benefits.

Currently, I still smoke, but I choose a special type of cigarette with over 50% lower nicotine and tar content than regular brands. Smoking is primarily a habit, not a physiological necessity.

That said, every rule has exceptions. For certain individuals, smoking may have specific effects or benefits. This is akin to drinking water—only the person drinking knows whether it is warm or cold.

Will Smokers Go to Hell? Now, let’s delve into the main question. Refer to the Bible, Mark 7:15–23, where Jesus teaches: “Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”

Cigarettes are external substances entering the body and do not defile the soul. A person’s inner goodness or beauty is unrelated to smoking unless their smoking harms others.

Substances, especially food, affect physical health, not the spiritual body—unless fear is generated in one’s consciousness.

Inhaling or ingesting toxins may damage physical health but does not taint the soul. Thus, smokers will not go to hell. Neither will meat-eaters or drinkers. One’s destination—heaven or hell—is determined by their nonmaterial structure of LIFE, not by smoking, meat, or alcohol.

“All medicines have toxicity." If smoking condemns one to hell due to its toxicity, then anyone who has taken medicine, breathed polluted air, or eaten pesticide-treated vegetables would also be destined for hell. Now, since fertilizers and pesticides are toxic, these toxins have entered vegetables and fruits. Therefore, everyone who has eaten vegetables and fruits would go to hell. Thus, the idea that smoking leads to hell, though well-intentioned, is baseless and unfounded.

Buddha Sakyamuni taught in the Diamond Sutra, Chapter 14: “One should develop the mind without dwelling on form. Do not let the mind dwell on sound, smell, taste, touch, or Dharma. The mind should dwell nowhere.”

What is a cigarette? It is merely form. Dwelling on smoking demonstrates a lack of enlightenment and understanding of Dharma. Such individuals, instead of promoting Dharma, defile and undermine it.

Do not assume someone is sinful or unworthy of enlightenment because they smoke, eat meat, or drink alcohol. Judging others based on outward appearances reflects attachment to form. As the Buddha said: “If you see me in form, if you seek me in sound, you are on the wrong path and will not see the Tathagata.”

Heaven or hell has nothing to do with form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or Dharma. LIFE is a spiritual, nonmaterial structure. Whether one ascends to heaven or descends to hell depends on the perfection of one’s LIFE’s nonmaterial structure. . A perfect structure leads to heaven; an ugly structure leads to hell.

What is LIFE’s Nonmaterial Structure? How can it be perfected? For answers, refer to the Lifechanyuan Corpus and Xuefeng Corpus.

I, Xuefeng, smoke, eat meat, drink alcohol, play mahjong, and engage in romantic relationships. My life exemplifies that the perfection of LIFE’s nonmaterial structure is not directly tied to form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or Dharma. I demonstrate the essence of the highest level of Dharma.

Lifechanyuan represents humanity’s ultimate course. Everything should adhere to this final course.