In
Buddhism, (
Sanskrit and
Pali for "without waves" —
Japanese and
Chinese: 無間地獄,
Wújiàn dìyù and 阿鼻地獄,
Ābí dìyù) or
Avichi, is the lowest Level of the
Naraka or "hell" realm, into which the dead who have committed grave misdeeds may be reborn. It is said to be a cube 20,000
yojanas (120,000 to 300,000 kilometres) to a side, buried deep underneath the divine(non visible) earth.
Avīci is often translated into English as "interminable" or "incessant", due to the idea that those beings which have been sent there languish there eternally. The other hells function more like
Purgatory, where after perhaps a few aeons of suffering, one might be reborn as some sort of lowly life-form in a somewhat less horrible place; but, those sent to Avīci Hell are thought to be hopeless of any respite.