CHAPTER 2VISIT TO “PURE HEART” POND AND THE FRONTIER BETWEEN LIVING AND DEAD WORLDS Buddha
Tse Kong who manifested on August 19th, 1976. Leap year of the Dragon
(1976).
Buddha
Tse Kong: Young man, get
yourself ready for another trip to hell. Yang Ts’ien: I’m just back from my trip to Tchang Houa. I feel terribly
weary, Master. All I need is a good nap. Can’t we postpone that trip
to another day? TK: You, lazy boy! As a man of religious faith, you can’t shrink
from duty after enduring some hardship. How can you acquire great
courage that way? YT:
I’m really wrong. I ask your forgiveness Master. I’m ready
for the trip. TK:
Ascend the lotus dais. Shut your eyes...Open them and alight. YT: Master, why do you lead me to this place? I see before me a big
limpid pond that is like a mirror reflecting the sky of an emerald blue.
From the bottom of the pond, I see the sudden appearance of three words,
“Pure-Heart Pond”. TK: On our last visits to hell you couldn’t see everything due to
your profane eyes and body. Today, I brought you here for the
opportunity to bathe in this pond to eliminate all the dirty earthly
desires. After this bath, your “carnal” eyes will become clairvoyant
and you will be able to behold the scenery of hell. YT: But, Master, I dare not plunge into it because it is now autumn
and the water of the pond is extremely cold. It’s too dangerous. I
might catch a bad cold. TK: What a strange idea! You want to visit hell but you are afraid of
getting cold! Well, I’m going to push you in, and you’re going to
make a splendid dive! YT:
Help! Help! I can’t swim. Have you the heart to drown me? Ah!
Ah! Ah! TK:
I immerse you for a few minutes to make you more awake. UP
CAME THE GENERAL GENIUS-PROTECTOR OF THE POND. The General: May I extend to you my respectful greetings, Venerable Buddha Tse Kong. I have failed to be polite by not having welcomed you decently. I humbly apologize, sir. May I ask why you pushed that young man into the pond? TK: You don’t know, General? At this time, the people on earth are
living in the harbor of illusions and wrapping themselves in the
obscurity of ignorance. They have buried their lucid souls of
pre-reincarnation times. Today, I’ve just pushed this profane youth
into the pond in order to wash away the impurities that obstruct his
clairvoyance. His precious pearl will shine better again, so he will be
able to see more clearly. The
General: That’s
very good! But... Please allow me to rescue him or he may drown. TK:
Yes, make it quick! Otherwise, he’ll sink to the bottom of the
pond. The General: Here he is, up on the
bank. He is breathless, though. How will you revive him, Venerable
Buddha? TK: Don’t worry. Now that he’s cleansed of all mud stains, he’s
to be resuscitated. A simple blow of this rush fan of mine will revive
him. Look and see what I’m going to do. The
General: He’s
back to consciousness and opens his eyes. YT:
Master! Why did you push me into the pond? TK: Earthly man is used to being passive and full of ornamental
phrases. Well, your pearl is still a big mass which was not refined and
polished. I cannot help bringing it out and cleansing it. YT: I’m deeply grateful to you for the teachings you’ve just
given me. At present, I feel fit and well and my mind is pretty lucid.
By the way, who is that gentleman in the uniform of a general? TK: He’s the general in charge of guarding this pond. Strangers who
do not have special authorization are not permitted to bathe in this
pond. This expanse of water is also called “Pool for Fairies and
Gods”. Only three categories of immortals are permitted to bath in it.
Profane folks are forbidden to come here. You should consider yourself
to be very lucky today. The
General: Venerable
Buddha, what noble intention induces you to bring this young man here? TK: As the Temple of the Sages follows the celestial order to prepare
a book entitled “Voyages to Hell”, I have the mission to guide Yang
Ts’ien to the Kingdom of Darkness. If this young mortal still had his
profane spirit, it would be difficult for him to see things clearly.
That’s why I took him to this pond to wash his eyes so that he can
make a more effective visit to hell. The
General: That’s
what it’s all about! Wonderful, indeed. TK: I say good- bye to you, General! Our time for this visit is
short. Yang Ts’ien, come to the lotus dais. YT:
Where are we going now, Master? TK: No need to ask questions. You’ll know when we arrive. Quickly
shut your eyes...Now, open them. We have arrived. Get off the lotus. YT:
Why isn’t this road paved? The winds blow up clouds of dust
that darken the sky. They have blind me, and I trip every other pace. TK:
Here is the gate that separates the world of demons from that of
men. YT:
Oh! From the far side, I see many people coming, crying and
lamenting. TK:
They’re the souls of dead men just arriving in hell. YT: Venerable Master, ahead of us, I see a signboard with these words
“Frontier Between The Living and The Dead”. What is this place? TK:
Well, it is the frontier between the two worlds. YT:
I also see two large palaces. May we go and visit them, Master? TK:
Sure, sure. Let’s hurry. YT: Above the doors of the two palaces, I read these inscriptions
“Soul Reception Hall, Section 1, Section 2”. There are over ten
rooms all together. TK:
Let’s go inside. The Mandarin in charge of soul reception:
Welcome to our palace, Venerable Buddha Tse Kong and Mr. Yang
Ts’ien, the leading-scrible of the mediumnistic altar oracles of the
Temple of the Sages in Tai Chu. We are highly honored with your visit of
which the Celestial Edict informed us on August 15th. We knew that the
honorable emissaries would come to hell to collect information in order
to write the book “Voyages to Hell”. TK: We are rather late for our return to the Temple. With your
permission, we shall come back for another visit. The
Mandarin: As
you wish, gentlemen. Our respectful salutations. TK: Yang Ts’ien, get ready for the return trip.
Let’s leave this
place and mount the lotus dais. Keep your eyes closed. YT:
Order executed, sir. TK: Back we are. Yang Ts’ien, come down and let your soul be reinstated in your body. |
CONTENTS
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