CHAPTER 37VISIT TO THE PRISON OF KIDNEY-LOPPING AND CASTING TO RATS Buddha
Tse Kong who manifested on August 19th, 1977. Year of the Snake
Buddha
Tse Kong: An entire year has gone by since your honorable
temple, obeying the divine order, began to write the book “Voyages to
Hell”, and I have had the honor to guide the holy-scribe Yang Ts’ien
to hell for observation and encounter with the sinful souls who relate
to him their misdeeds. This is a hard mission, and as the paths of hell,
in bad repair, render the travel painful and tiring, it is all the more
precarious. The book “Voyages to Hell” will be a rare masterpiece
dedicated to humans, written by the order of God. The devout men and
women of the Temple of the Sages are also ordered by the Celestial Edict
to propagate the Tao. With the participation of the holy-scriber Yang
Ts’ien whose spirit is extremely lucid, I am completely confident that
this sacred mission will certainly be accomplished. Until now, the book
is only half-finished, and I expect that the disciples of the temple
will make a great effort to finish it without delay. Once the book is
completed, Yang Ts’ien will have acquired great merits for the benefit
of his descendants for the next three generations. Time for departure,
Yang Ts’ien. Get seated on the dais. Yang
Ts’ien:
At your request, Sir. I am deeply grateful with all my heart for
the things you taught me. But I am really sorry, because as a novice, I
haven’t been able to assimilate all of your valuable instructions.
Venerable Master, will you give me one of your miracle-pills to back up
my morale. I just came quickly back from the Southern Temple and feel
very tired. TK:
Regardless of your painful work, you have known to keep your
faith intact. Once more, I am willing to give you my miracle-pills. Have
you by chance noticed that your health has been improving greatly since
we began writing this book on hell? Well, it’s because the immortals
and Buddha have blessed you with more fluid of vital energy. Tonight, I
give you three additional miracle-pills. Swallow them quickly and ready
yourself for the trip. YT:
I am greatly touched by your kind gesture, Master. I had had
stomach pains for many years, but from the day I received the divine
order, my distress decreased gradually and has disappeared completely
without any recourse to medicine. At present, with the effect of your
pills, I feel physically and morally revived. Thank you infinitely,
Master. TK:
The time is growing late. Come on! YT:
I’m settled. Start now, Master. TK:
We’ve come to our destination. Get down. YT:
Please, Master, what’s that prison we see over there? I hear
dismal crying and squeaking of rats, too. TK:
It is the 6th Palace governing 16 small prisons with the torture
of kidney-lopping and casting to rats. The mandarin-governor and his
officers are coming. Let’s go salute them. YT:
Yes, Sir. I present my greetings to His Excellency and to the
Generals. My name is Yang Ts’ien, I am a disciple of the Temple of the
Sages in Tai Chu. Tonight, I follow my master to visit your honorable
palace, and am greatly obliged for any assistance you will lend me. The
Mandarin: Take
it easy, please. This prison has received the order of the King of the
6th Palace and I was instructed of
the arrival of Buddha Tse Kong and Mr. Yang Ts’ien. Please, come in
after me. YT:
Thank you for your warm welcome, Excellency. At the bottom of the
cells, I see gigantic rats attacking the sinful souls, who writhe on the
ground, their arms desperately protecting their bodies against the
famished rodents. Distressing screams and maddening cries are prevalent.
What sins did these souls commit? The
Mandarin: In
this prison, there are only male detainees. In their lifetime, they
either indulged in lustful behavior or transgressed the rules and
commandments of their religion by behaving immorally. As a result, they
are having their kidneys and sexual organs chopped off for the giant
rats to gnaw, in order to exterminate the roots of their vice. TK:
This torture is extremely painful. There is a saying that: “In
order to destroy an herb, its roots must be unearthed, or else it will
grow anew when the wind starts blowing”. This group of men so greedy
for “spring wind” have to endure corresponding torture. The
Mandarin: I
shall have some souls come to relate their evil doings engendered the
punishment of this prison. YT:
Very fine. Here are the sinful souls. Their arms are bound
together while they are attacked by the giants rats. Some shriek and
cry, the others roll on the ground, twisting with pain. The rats seem
extremely ferocious and hostile. They bite the victims the way a cat
devours a mouse. TK:
This sight is similar to the one of an old-rat nibbling at a
jute-sack and eating the grains of cereal in it. The sight of streaming
blood arouses my pity for those men addicted to carnal pleasures who are
bearing such dreadful punishment. The
Mandarin: Two
sinful souls are coming. (to the souls) These gentlemen are Buddha Tse
Kong and Mr. Yang Ts’ien who have, by order of God, come to visit
hell. You are ordered to tell them your crimes and furnish them
necessary information for writing a book on hell that serves as a moral
guide for humans. The
soul: When alive, I
was converted to a religious order, decided to obey the religious
commandments and not to marry a wife and have children. Some time later,
being unable to resist the lust of the flesh, I maintained illicit
relations with a religious woman. After my death, far from rising to
paradise, my soul was arrested by the black-and-white demons and led to
the Memory Hall where I witnessed in the Mirror Revelator of Past Crimes
the detailed misdeeds of my life. I found it useless to deny my crimes
before such a miraculous mirror. After that, I was sent to the 6th
Palace where the irate King reprimanded me in these terms: “As a
religious, you were well taught on the religious law, but you violated
it. Your sin is all the more grave”, and I was condemned to the prison
of kidney-lopping. First, I was castrated by the demons. Then, I was
tied up and thrown to the attacks of the rats. Every day, the sharp
pains of torture render me mad. I regret having made a false step that
led me to eternal suffering. I advise all those who are converted to the
religious way to seriously observe the divine rules. Otherwise, they
will obtain no merits after their death, but instead will have to pay
for their crimes in hell. TK:
A commandment specifies, “once engaged in observing the
religious rules, one must be on guard against the temptation of the
flesh”. If people don’t try to regenerate but infringe upon the
commandments by committing the sin of lust, the demons and rats will
help them make payment in hell. Karma demands that the sinners be forced
to pay. The
Mandarin: The
second soul will declare the evils you did in your life. The
soul: When I
was a student of lower high school, I was led by bad school companions
to patronize the brothels. Every time I had some money I went to those
dens. Finally, I encouraged other comrades to join in the adventure with
prostitutes. A few of us caught venereal diseases. After my death, I was
arrested and sent to this prison. The pains I suffer now are too severe
to be described. During my lifetime, I engaged in immoral pleasures, and
now I am spending long months and years of suffering. I am too late for
repentance. The
Mandarin: While
you were young, you didn’t apply yourself assiduously to studies, but
indulged in sensual pleasures. Your body was soiled prior to your formal
wedding, and this is a grave sin. Again, you sowed a bad karma by
leading your friends into immoral paths. So it is obvious why you are
now condemned to hell. YT:
It’s pitiful to see them in this situation. Detainees are
crowded in this prison. What crimes did they commit? The
Mandarin: Everyday,
our prison provides hospitality for over a thousand newcomers. Our
domain is rather varied. As a rule, most of them have committed the sin
of lust, maintained sexual relation with dancing girls, lost their male
virginity in public brothels, or indulged in illicit sexual relations or
adultery. Religious people (Buddhists, Confucians, Christians or others)
who committed lustful sin, incest, gang rape and the like are condemned
here. TK: I advise humans not to commit the sin of sex which is very grave, particularly for the religious. Once this sin is committed, it can’t be forgiven. They will be condemned not only to the Heart Wrenching Prison of the 5th Palace, but also to other prisons for further punishment. Nevertheless, God is merciful, as ever. He always reserves for them a salvation-outlet. To the one firmly determined to repent and change, He grants a reasonable reprieve. After reading this book on hell, if he has copies of it printed and distributed free to his fellow-beings as a warning, he can obtain partial reduction or total pardon for his sins. It’s growing late, Yang Ts’ien. Let’s return to the temple. |
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