CHAPTER 17VISIT TO THE PRISON OF FACE-SKINNINGG WITH STEEL AND COPPER KNIVES Buddha Tse Kong who manifested on October 29th, 1976. Leap year of the Dragon (1976)
Buddha
Tse Kong: The religious path is eventful and hard for
the adepts. They are constantly tested. No one can reach Nirvana without
test and trials. On his way to Buddha sphere, man must keep firm his
faith, even if he dies for it. By dying as a martyr for his faith, he
acquires the most important religious merits. Should difficult events
arise, he has to bear them stoically. As the Sages put it: “If you
think that something is strange then it is strange; if you don’t then
it isn’t”. The adepts who encounter obstacles and difficulties
should overcome them with courage and lucidity. They have to bear the
bitter cold of winter before they can pick the fragrant plum-flowers in
springtime. Trials are necessary for them to progress on the spiritual
way. Yang Ts’ien, we’re to take a trip to hell. Be ready. Raise your
morale, try your best to go through hardships and to show that you are
worthy of being called a disciple of God. YT:
I thank you for your teachings, Venerable Master. I know
perfectly that I have a heavy karma, and it would be hard for me to
avoid unending calamities if I didn’t know how to perfect myself
spiritually. Please be reassured that I will try, Master. I’m ready to
go with you. TK:
Come down from the lotus dais. We have arrived. Tonight, we visit
the Face-Skinning Prison. YT:
Here are the Mandarin-Governor and the General. I am Yang
Ts’ien, disciple of the Temple of the Sages, and this is Buddha Tse
Kong, who leads me to visit your prison. We need documentation on
torment inflicted upon sinners in order to write a book. I count greatly
on your assistance. The
Mandarin:
Do not be formal, Mr. Yang Ts’ien. You are most welcome. Please
come into the prison. The
General:
Our prison takes charge of punishing those brazen faced, impudent
people who fail to honor the skin of their faces. YT:
The guards are escorting a large group of sinners, girls, boys,
young and old. One and all, they bend their heads and look terrified.
They are first led to the prosecutor’s office for
declaration-formalities, then locked up in jail. TK:
Don’t waste your time watching them. Let’s follow the
Mandarin and the General into the prison. YT:
Heart-rending sobs and cries are heard from within the prison.
The sinners are tied securely to iron stakes. Buffalo-headed and
horse-faced demons are tormenting them by peeling off the skin on their
faces with a cutlass, exactly as butchers do in a slaughter-house. The
victims howl with pain, their faces covered with blood. People hear
their cries, but they are virtually unrecognizable. With the skin peeled
off, their skulls are laid bare. What an atrocity! Excellency, can you
tell me what crimes they have committed to undergo such torment? The
Mandarin:
It’s a long story. I will have some of the sinners come so that
they can tell you. YT:
It would be better, indeed. I will have concrete testimonials. The
General: You, there! Come
here, and tell your crimes to Mr. Yang Ts’ien who comes from the
living world. YT:
Tell me why you are condemned to this prison. The
soul: I
was an orphan and didn’t receive any kind of education. I felt
miserable while working under orders of other people. It occured to me
to quit my job and become a beggar. Supposing that each household gave
me a dollar, I would earn a hundred dollar a day, if I begged from one
hundred households. In doing so, I could live easily and have money for
my expenses without having to work as hard. Afraid that people
wouldn’t give alms to a young, robust man like me, I abstained from
food for two months, eating only a little porridge each day and drinking
some water. I became thin and feedle. Moreover, I smeared my face with
mud, wore torn rags and feigned poverty. With a like disguise, I went
everywhere begging for alms, invoking pity from the people. I told them
how unhappy I was, a homeless, crippled fellow, and I managed to arouse
their compassion. Some months I obtained as much as four to five
thousand dollars. Daily, I came home, happy about my easy gains, and at
nightfall, putting on brand new clothes, I went to a restaurant for a
feast, or to pleasure-dens. I often went to nightclubs where I got drunk
and enjoyed lewd music. Later on, I grew more and more greedy. Wishing
to get rich much quicker, I only accepted gratuities higher than ten
dollars while refusing smaller ones of two or three dollars. The donors
were vexed; the more stingy ones insulted me and turned away when they
saw me. After death, the Pontiff of Hell condemned me to this prison to
have my face skinned as a punishment. I have repented but it is too
late. The
Mandarin:
In your former life you had not regenerated. You were
reincarnated this time in a poor family, and led the life of a
fatherless and motherless child. When people are young and strong, they
must work to earn their daily bread. Shameless as you were, you did the
reverse by disguising yourself as an disabled beggar. A brave man should
face life fearlessly and accept hardships by toiling. He never humbles
himself to the extent of stretching his hands for alms. You did
something worse. You wasted the donations of charitable people in drinks
and amusements. What you did was really immoral. Since you didn’t know
how to love the skin of your face, hell now helps you peel it off. I
hope men will avoid committing the same sin. Now, back in prison. (To
Yang Ts’ien) I’ll have another soul called for your questioning. YT:
Thank you, Excellency. (To the sinful newcomer) You must be 30
years old. Why did you die so young? What have you done to be sentenced
here? The
soul:
I am ashamed to tell you my story, and I say I have disgraced my
ancestors. At the age of 17 or 18, I attended high school. I often led
my friends to the parks to court and tease young girls. They called us
names, referred to us as hooligans, ill-educated, brazen faced boys, and
all that sort of thing. Without feeling any shame, I was even proud of
their insults. I took advantage of the moments when nobody was seen at
deserted places to run after the women and girls, molested them, held
them in my arms, or touched their hidden bodies while riding past them
on my motorbike. I even raped a woman one time but I was never caught by
the police. One day, while riding my motorbike, I tried to pet the
breast of a girl. In her instinctive reaction, she shouted so loud that
I was startled, lost control of my vehicle, darted forward into an abyss
and died. The Pontiff of Hell was furious when he saw me. He scolded me
and informed me that he had cut short my life by ten years, because I
was cruel, and did not try to change. He condemned me to this prison
where I have been for five years. I still have over 13 years to make
payment. After that, I will be transferred to other prisons for other
crimes. I am too unhappy. I pray you, Mr. Yang Ts’ien, have pity on
me. Intervene with the King for a lessening of my sentence. The
Mandarin:
That’s enough! It’s your fault if you attract this
punishment, because you led a life of debauchery, and idleness. You
committed the sin of lust that is one of the cardinal sins. Since you
did not know how to honor your face when in life, you have to bear the
wicked karma of your act of rape. After your sojourn in this prison, I
will send you to another prison for other condemnation. General, lock
him up. The
General:
At your request. TK:
It’s quite late, Yang Ts’ien. Let’s leave the prison and
return to the Temple. The
Mandarin:
Please forgive us if we made any mistakes. YT:
The apology is ours for disturbing you. I say farewell to you. TK:
The lotus dais is waiting, Yang Ts’ien. YT:
I am on it. Shall we go, Master? |
CONTENTS
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