The wise man makes his own heaven and the foolish man creates his own hell here and now.
The Buddhist concept of heavens and hells is entirely different from other religions in that Buddhists do not accept the idea that these places are eternal. It is unreasonable to condemn a man to eternal hell for his human weakness and it is quite reasonable to give him every chance. Therefore, those who go to hell have the chance of struggling upwards and acquiring merits later on or have the chance of reaping the good merits that they had acquired previously. There are no locks on the gates of hell. Hell is a temporary place and there is no reason for those beings to suffer there forever.
The Buddha's teaching shows us that there are heavens and hells not only beyond this world, but in this very world itself. Thus the Buddhist conception of heaven and hell is very reasonable. For instance, the Buddha once said, "When the average ignorant person makes an assertion to the effect that there is a Hell (patala) under the ocean he is making a statement which is false and without basis. The word 'Hell' is a term for painful bodily sensations."
The fire of hell in this world is hotter than that of the hell of the beyond-worlds. There is no fire equal to anger, lust or greed and ignorance. People can burn the entire world with any of these fires of passions. From a Buddhist point of view, the easiest way to define hells and heavens is that wherever there is more suffering, either in this world or any other plane, that place is a rea hell to those who suffer. And where there is more pleasure, either in this world or any other plane, that place is a real heaven to those who enjoy life there. However, as the human realm is a mixture of both pain and happiness, men will experience both pain and happiness and will be able to realise the nature of life.
The wise man makes his heaven here and now, while the foolish man creates his own hell here and now.
Taken from "What Buddhists Believe"
Written by Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda
Published by Buddhist Missionary Society