CHAPTER 40VISIT TO THE PRISON WITH BARBED NETS, FAMISHED LEECHES AND LOCUSTS Buddha
Tse Kong who manifested on October 9th, 1977. Year of the Snake
Buddha
Tse Kong: The Temple of the Sages is in perfect order, and
bears a more peaceful atmosphere after all these recent arrangements and
renovations. The Immortals prefer tidy and quiet places. If humans wish
to see them, they must purify themselves and achieve serenity. The
agitation of the terrestrial world has prevented man from opening his
third eye of clairvoyance, and from perceiving the spiritual world. Now,
the trip to hell. Yang Ts’ien, we must go. Yang
Ts’ien: I am ready, Sir. You look happy today. May I ask
why, Master? TK:
I feel so relieved to see that the Temple is a quiet place and
its altar is free from worldly agitation. YT:
Master, a saying goes like this, “you don’t get agitated
about it if you don’t see and hear it”. What do you think about
that? TK:
Well, the Immortals and Buddhas don’t need to see things with
their eyes, but their spirit stays lucid and clairvoyant. Mortal beings
cannot do so. Men can’t pretend not to see things then permit
themselves to commit perverse and immoral acts. They cannot act, and
then pretend not to see the danger. Do they think they can live in peace
and tranquility after that? YT:
You are perfectly right, Master. I am ready to go. TK:
We’ve arrived. Come right down. YT:
Tonight, we see only infernal guards escorting the sinful souls.
We don’t hear any crying or moaning as we used to. What is the reason? TK:
We’re going to visit the prison with barbed nets, famished
leeches and locusts. Here, the souls must silently extreme pain and
torment. Later, you’ll know why. We are getting close to the prison
door. His Excellency the Mandarin-Governor and his Generals are waiting
for us. YT:
I present my greetings to His Excellency and to the Generals. My
Master and I pay you a visit and we would appreciate your giving us
precious information. The
Mandarin: Our
prison, named “Barbed Nets, Famished Leeches, and Locusts”, is
placed under the control of the 6th Palace. Your Temple in Tai Chu is
renowned in propagating the Tao. At present, by divine order, it attempts
to unveil the secret of hell and write the book of the
“Voyages to Hell” to awaken mankind. We highly admire your work and
feel greatly honored to have our prison portrayed in the golden book. Do
you mind stepping in? YT:
Thank you for your good will. In the prison, I see many barbed
nets just like the ones we see on earth. A layer of barbed wire is laid
in the flooded cellar. Then another layer is found on the ground. In
order to move from one place to another place, the souls have to creep
flat with their faces down. They cannot raise their heads. Otherwise,
the barbed nets will prick them atrociously and shred their skin and
their ragged clothing. They groan and moan terribly. I can see some
bulging deformities on their heads and bodies. Excellency, may I ask you
why they are in such conditions? The
Mandarin: Those
bumps are starving leeches and locusts sucking the blood and brains of
the convicts. TK:
Let’s come a little nearer to see better. YT:
Whew! Leeches are sucking their blood! What a loathsome sight!
Their heads are thickened with insects. What could they suck from those
bodies? TK:
These famished blood-suckers or the hirudin-leeches live in
marshes. When they succeed in sticking to a man’s body, they draw off
all of the blood in it. These dreadful yellow insects are locusts. They
used to fly together like a mass of clouds, and when seeing a
rice-field, the whole swarm would descend and devour the rice plants to
their stubs. Here, in this prison, they suck the cerebral fluid of the
sinners. The
Mandarin: These yellow insects are fond of
tender rice ears of which they suck the juice. But in hell, they live on
convicts’ brains whose whitish fluid and that of rice ears are alike. YT:
This sight makes my flesh creep. I have vertigo, and my trembling
legs can hardly carry me. I am on the verge of fainting. TK:
Don’t be alarmed, my son. We’ve come to hell by order of God.
What’s more, I am always by your side. Be courageous. The
Mandarin: Honorable visitors, be patient for
a few more minutes. I shall have some of the sinners come to tell you of
their misdeeds. YT:
Thank you, Excellency. But I would be terrified at the sight of
their leech-thick bodies. The
Mandarin: O, I see! Have no fear, Mr. Yang
Ts’ien. They will be cleaned of those parasites before they come. I
order these two souls to discuss the wicked actions that led them to
this prison. These are Venerable Buddha Tse Kong and Mr. Yang Ts’ien
who have come to hell to gather information. You have to confess your
crimes with sincerity. Your accounts will serve as a warning for the
living people. First
soul: I was a magistrate in my life. I took charge of
civil-court. I used to render unfair judgments every time I was bribed
by a defendant. I also handed down exaggerated sentences on the
culprits, and in this way, destroyed justice. I thus amassed a great
deal of money, though I was often warned of the punishment of hell
endured by dishonest judges. I sometimes ask myself, “Now, I possess
honor, riches, authority and a high position in this life. And what will
become of me in my next existence”? But I couldn’t resist bribery.
After my death, I was led to the Memory Hall and made to stand before
the Mirror Revelator of Past Crimes that projected, just like a movie
screen, my past acts of bribery and my unfair verdicts. My misdeeds were
undeniable and I was condemned to the Prison of Mire, Excrements and
Urine. Later on, I was transferred to the 6th Palace. The King
reprimanded me of the violation of laws and justice. Because of my heavy
sins, he condemned me to this prison with barbed nets, locust with
leeches. Everyday, when crawling under the barbed net, my body is
pierced all over, and I am attacked by the parasites that suck my
cerebral fluid. I suffer from indescribable pain all over my body and my
vital energy is exhausted. I am the most miserable, now. The
Mandarin: You
knew the laws only too well, but you violated them. It is true that you
made a game of justice and laughed at God. I advise the holders of
justice in the terrestrial world to follow the example of Pao Kong who
gave impartial judgment with neither exaggeration nor weakness. They
will acquire great merits because they assist God in expanding moral
law. They serve society by suppressing bad elements and eliminating
evil. If they fail to observe the regulations of justice, and think only
of their individual interests through bribery, then they violate the law
and will be severely punished in hell. Their descendants will inherit
the negative consequences of their bad acts. Since time immemorial, a
host of examples have proven that the karmic law is just and inevitable.
Now, it’s time for the second soul to make you declarations. Second
soul: I was a
robust fellow with a big chest and strong limbs. When I was in charge of
protecting the game houses and
pleasure-dens, I occupied unlawfully a large plot of ground. I made a
lot of money and enjoyed a great deal. I hadn’t dreamed that upon my
death, I would be condemned to this prison. Now I am enduring unbearable
torment. TK:
Usually, the people who don’t exercise a legal trade but live
on dishonest profits, are condemned to this prison. I hope that man
awakens himself as soon as possible to avoid committing these sins.
It’s quite late. Yang Ts’ien, we will go home. YT:
I say goodbye to His Excellency and to the Generals. The
Mandarin: Generals,
render honors to our guests. YT:
I am ready to leave, Master. |
CONTENTS |
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