CHAPTER 33SECOND VISIT TO THE PRISON OF HEART-WRENCHING Buddha
Tse Kong who manifested on May 29th, 1977. Year of the Snake
Buddha
Tse Kong: In the terrestrial world, there is a category
of people who are good-for-nothing. They are jealous of talented men,
conspire in wicked subterfuges, create villainous tricks, and search out
the others’ defects to slander them. If they chance to discover
somebody alien to their vicious thinking, they set to libel and scorn
him. Because of their crimes, they are thrown into the Heart-Wrenching
Prison. Their misdeeds are the result of their jealousy of honest
people. Tonight, we’re going to pay a visit to hell. Yang Ts’ien, be
seated on the dais. Yang
Ts’ien: I’m
seated, Master. Let’s set off. TK:
We’re arrived. Come down. YT:
In fact, the Heart-Wrenching Prison is there, ahead of us. TK:
We won’t disturb the King tonight, and to save time, we’ll go
straight to the 16 cells of the prison. The mandarin-governor has opened
the prison door to welcome us. YT:
Let’s come in. The
Mandarin: Welcome
to Buddha Tse Kong and Mr. Yang Ts’ien. Just step in for observation. YT:
The torment inflicted upon the sinful souls by the laws of hell
are really dreadful. From the First Palace, where we paid our first
visit, to the successive palaces we visited during these last days, the
torments we have seen and heard is simply appalling. But it is all seems
weightless as compared with the horrible pain endured by the sinful
souls in this Heart-Wrenching Prison. The
Mandarin: You
said it. The heart is the principal organ of man’s body. To have
one’s heart wrenched out is to suffer the most terrible pain. Once the
heart is tortured, the six roots of sensation are all shaken and the
suffering is indescribable. TK:
Let’s come farther in to interview some souls and collect more
information. The
Mandarin: Please,
wait outside. I shall have some sinners come. I order the geniuses of
hell to stop the torment and use the “resuscitative fan” to revive
the unconscious souls so we can see their real faces. The
Genius: At
your request. The
Mandarin:
Have three sinners come for
Buddha Tse Kong and Mr. Yang Ts’ien to interrogate them on their
offences, so they can write a book of moral guidance for men. The
Genius: Three
souls are momentarily released. Quick, follow the Governor to the prison
door. The
Mandarin: These
are Buddha Tse Kong and Mr. Yang Ts’ien of the Temple of the Sages in
the living world. They come here, by order of God, to gather necessary
information for writing a book. So, you must give an account of the
crimes you committed in your lifetime. The
soul: When in
life, I worked in a government office. As I was incapable of doing
anything meritorious, I was
jealous of my colleagues who were successively promoted to higher
positions. I bore a grudge against the office-chief and looked for
opportunities to take my revenge. I secretly reported to my superiors,
slandering some for laziness, the others for stealing, with the purpose
of degrading my office-mates. Four years ago, I died of a liver disease.
The impermanent black-and-white demons led me here for imprisonment. I
was later led to stand before the Mirror Revelator of Past Crimes, which
reflected all the images of my crimes. I was handed over to the King of
the 5th Palace. The King was furious at the sight of me. He reprimanded
me, saying I was talentless but discontent with my incapacity. I was
envious of talented people and had the wicked heart to harm my
colleagues, and the torment that corresponded to my misdeeds was heart
wrenching. Day and night the demons wrench out my heart, which causes me
extreme suffering. During my lifetime, I never believed in the karmic
law. Now, after my death, I feel its reactions. TK:
While nurturing envy against the persons better than you, you
lost your conscience. You destroyed the union-spirit of your
collectivity just as a horse does harm to its own herd. In general,
people show great regard for men of character, of virtue, and of talent,
for they can learn from them, and follow their examples to progress.
Now, if they behave with a jealous heart, they will have to suffer the
torment of heart-wrenching as does this sinful soul. The
Mandarin: Now, your turn, second soul, you
give an account of your past sins. The
soul: When in
the living world, I was converted as a devout Buddhist. I led a life of
spiritual perfection at home, and read a lot of canonical books. I
scorned the disciples of the other religions, particularly those of
Taoism who, I was convinced, were of low level, pertaining to heterodox
doctrine with their worship of genii and demons. These people, I
believed, could not accede to a higher plane of evolution. I was also
offered many books edited by the Temple of the Sages which I did not
deign to read, pretending they were written at random by mediums
obsessed by spirits and demons, and such was a demonical religion.
During my lifetime, I disparaged the other religions, considering myself
happy for having acquired full knowledge of Buddhism, which was
absolutely sublime. Never had I thought that it was not the Nirvana I
acceded to, but hell was the place to provide me hospitality. In place
of the genii-protectors who should come to welcome the religious men
like me, infernal guards arrested and led me to the 5th Palace before
locking me up in a dark cell. Seeing me so low-spirited, the King of
Palace reprimanded me in these terms: You are a traitor, you betray the
Buddha Amitabha. You don’t have a merciful heart. You are a Buddhist
but you don’t behave as a genuine Buddhist should. You are spiteful
and disrespectful against the other religions. All in all, you do not
understand the Buddhist sense of equality. Every religion has its own
way and reason. Authentic religions, one and all, teach their believers
to do good and shun evil. Aware as you were that Buddhism was immense,
conciliatory and forgiving, you did belittle the other religions, and
prided yourself for having a superior spirit. In your life, you had
nothing but preconceived thoughts, you showed yourself vain and proud of
your “self”. Thus you unconsciously swerved from the right path of
the Tao. Your Buddhist conscience was darkened, and here you are, in
hell”. I advise my Buddhist brethren not to commit the same errors as
mine, for they will create bad karmas and endure moral suffering. TK:
With so darkened a Buddhist conscience, how could you hope to
preach Buddhism convincingly? How regrettable it is for you! You have to
suffer not only the heart wrenching torment now, but also the
tongue-cutting torment in days to come. The
Mandarin: To
the 3rd soul now. Relate the faulty acts of your life. The
soul: In my
lifetime, I served in a temple for invocation of spirits. At first, I
performed the role of a medium and I must admit that the revelations of
the deities were marvelously effective for educating people. Afterwards,
as I remarked that the sexton of the temple had little regard for me,
and felt the séances of invocation were pretty long and wearing, while
they failed to afford me substantial gains, I lost faith in my role as a
medium. I gradually told the believers that mediumistic revelations
were falsified and only superstitious people believe in them. The pious
folks, men and women, who believed in my sayings, lost their confidence
and stopped coming to the Temple to hear religious teachings. As for me,
I quit my job as a medium and left the temple. Seven years later, I died
of sickness. My soul was arrested by the infernal guards and let to the
King of the 5th Palace. Upon seeing me, the King reprimanded, “you
were the main medium of your temple. Even if the temple sexton had
little consideration for you, you were not supposed to vilify the
deities. In doing so, you committed a heavy sin. I condemn you to 15
years of detention in the Heart-Wrenching Prison”. It is too late for
me to repent of my past misdeeds. I implore you, Buddha Tse Kong, to
solicit from the King some grace for me. TK: The genii of spiritism represent the deities. Profane humans should not blaspheme them, or their blasphemy will be unforgivable. Mediumnistic scriptures have the purpose of teaching morality to men, and bringing them salvation in accordance with their destinies. It is for this reason God ordered the foundation of these temples |
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