Hell and Heaven in Eastern Religions

    Contrary to popular opinion, most religions of the east have a version of Hell. They just aren't as widespread in popularity as they are here in the Christian world, where we seem to be neurotic about eternal suffering. In the West we have also grown accustomed to reincarnation meaning that souls get a "free pass" to transmigrate back to earth for rebirth. But in these religions, rather than returning, you can spend billions of years in a torturous environment. Depending on the transgression, your soul can even be incinerated. So don't piss off the wrong gods.
    The Buddhist Hell is called Naraka; in Chinese culture it is called Diyu; in the Hindu paranas, Hell is segmented into various regions, ruled by Yama. Depending on one's karma, they will arrive at one of the regions of Hell to atone for their sins- much like we do in the West, except it isn't eternal, and they haven't been judged by an Almighty figure. Instead, the judgment comes from a processing of deeds and actions in one's life that "computed" their karma, resulting in their afterworld destination.

    Similarly, there are versions of heaven in these religions; but again- they are only temporary and access is constrained by the laws of karma. Unless a soul reaches Enlightenment, it will eventually return. In Buddhism these realms are called Sagga; in China they are called Tian; in Hinduism they are called Svarga. 

    What's interesting is that in the East, you can spend many billions of years in these afterworld realms, which is far beyond the estimated lifespan of earth (9 billion years). While these ancient beliefs were recorded when science had yet to determine how long the earth would exist, a modern interpretation could be that it doesn't matter. One does not need to return to earth; one could return to any place in the cosmos that supports life. You will just have to come to terms that some things do last longer than eternity.