Why all Captains go to Hell?
(Bleach lore & Buddhism):
It makes a perfect sense that Captains in Bleach are sent to Hell after death, let me explain why (through the Buddhism lens):
In Buddhism, there are 6 realms of existence and 6 classes of beings (this is a leader of existence that a soul climbs on their way to enlightenment, or fells from due to karma).
Hell beings - in Bleach we only saw Szayelapporo in the Hell state but with the Hell arc, I guess we are going to learn more. This is an existence of the most suffering, caused by the very bad karma accumulated in previous lives. This state of being is a consequence of doing 'wrong' things and collating karmic sins.
Hungry Spirits - in Bleach they are Hollows living in Hueco Mundo, always hungry, always eating Souls and their own comrades. This is a state of being full of suffering due to bad karma, and never-ending craving of what the lack.
Animals - well, these are actual cats and dogs, the existence better than a Hollow but still filled with suffering due to the fear for survival and lack on knowledge/meant to receive the teachings to improve your karma.
Human beings - again, this one is obvious, this state is actually preferable because the paths to receive the teaching, burn off the bad karma and collect the good karma through good deeds is the easiest. This state of being contains suffering due to attachment.
Demi-gods (Asuras) - they might be equivalent of Shinigami in Bleach (Gods of Death), they are characterized by jealousy of actual gods (I'm looking at you, Aizen). These beings are powerful but still not free from suffering and still collecting karma (good or bad).
Gods (Deva/Devi) - the highest state of being that beings can reach and be reborn as when they collect especially good karma in their previous lives, beings very powerful, pure, living an existence free from suffering and filled with joy. Perhaps Squad Zero might represent these kind of existence? Or perhaps the Noble Houses?
So the trick is, the longer a Soul lives a joyful, suffering free life, the more karma they burn. Which leads to all their karma being wasted (in no new good karma is collected, that is) and since Gods are still not enlightened, they are very likely to be reborn in Hell. Because no good karma is left for them.
This is what I think is happening to a very strong Shinigami in Bleach like Yamamoto, Ukitake, etc. They symbolize the very top of existence and so their karma symbolically is used up as they live their existence in fighting, and not practice to better understand themselves. And so they end up in Hell.
This not necessary means that these characters did something sinful to collect negative karma (although through war they might) but more like the privilege of being powerful in the world of Bleach comes with the cost of burning out good karma and being reborn in Hell.
At least that's how I see it, looking of the 6 realms of existence.
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