Voyages to Hell

translated by

Nguyen Khang & Bui H.Huu

CHAPTER 57

VISIT TO THE 10TH PALACE AND THE LADY MENG’S INN

Buddha Tse Kong who manifested on May 26th, 1978. Year of the Horse 

Visits to the dark regions ten palaces ends
Money to print and distribute books is given
How precious and lively is this masterpiece
So man learns about wisdom and emancipation.

Buddha Tse Kong:    For the past two years, we have visited the gates of hell, and the disciples of the temple have made a great contribution to the writing of the book. They have adopted a standing position all the time, and passersby are astonished, wondering whether the disciples are undergoing some punishment. Their astonishment is improper, as they don’t understand the correct meaning of the standing position, which is by no means extraordinary. Such is the fundamental position for those who know how to behave in life. The regenerated man should be able to stand upright a long, long time without bending or stooping. He keeps his faith unshakable to attain enlightenment. Idleness and laziness bring nothing. Some people are happy to do nothing but lie on a bed and enjoy leisure time. They are lazy and reluctant to straighten their back. How could they become courageous and heroic men, braving dangers and inclement weather? Am I right, Yang Ts’ien? 

Yang Tsien:     You certainly are. If a man is incapable of standing firm on his feet, his platform is unstable and he can’t expect to be successfully regenerated. 

TK:      The one who can’t stand firm, who lacks a strong platform, wouldn’t feel comfortable even in a sitting position. The regenerated man should first concentrate on mastering his character and subduing his spirit, which is subject to being disturbed. If he can’t adopt a firm position he will be at the mercy of circumstance. Yang Ts’ien, to the 10th Gate. 

YT:      I am ready, Master. 

TK:      Let’s get down from the lotus dais, son. 

YT:      The King is there. My humble salutations, Sir. 

The King:   Welcome back! Last time, you were informed about the functions of different Bureaus in the Reincarnation Center. Tonight, you will learn about the system of the six ways of transmigration. Since we don’t have any spare time, we should go there right away. 

YT:      We appreciate very much of your kindness, Sir. Here we are, back to the Reincarnation Center. What a teeming crowd! There are people of all races, coming from all nations of Asia, Europe and other continents. Are they going to be reincarnated? 

The King:    The souls must be purged in the prisons of hell after their death. Hell is similar to an international law-court. Those who are free from sins are anxious to obtain their certificate of discharge before they can be reincarnated. It’s the same way the travelers on earth yearn for an exit visa. 

YT:      We are now at the Bureau Governing Births. The crowd is extremely large, just like at a bus station on earth. The Reincarnation Wheel constantly revolves. The ticket-window is too small to accommodate all the soul-passengers going to reincarnate to every corner of the world. 

The King:    Buddha Tse Kong is right. The souls are judged and forced to atone for their sins before they are allowed to reincarnate. The act of transmigration is unique. Souls take the same bus but the destination of each is different, because their fates are different. They get off the bus, bid farewell to each other, then each one goes his way. Man’s life is agreeable only in the moments he meets with other companions in the same situation. 

YT:      There is a crowd over there. I think people are hustling for a glass of iced tea. It’s so hot today. My throat is dry. May I have a glass of tea to quench my thirst? 

The King:   No! That’s the Inn of the Lady Meng where the to-be reincarnated souls will consume a porridge named “amnesiac porridge”. It has the faculty of erasing from the souls’ memory all that is related to their former life and to the time spent in hell. It is the porridge of oblivion. If you just eat a little of it, you will return to the living world with a deplorable amnesia, which will blot out your total memory. 

YT:      That porridge is so terrific! 

TK:      In fact, the inn on the roadside bears an inscription saying “Inn of the Lady Meng”. Can you be more explicit, Sir? 

The King:    Of course, I can. This inn is managed by the Lady Meng. By order of the Celestial Emperor, she is in charge of having souls consume this porridge before their reincarnation. Otherwise, the children born in their new existence will grow up and remember all the facts concerning their former lives. They will search for and find their parents and the members of their families, creating a great disorder in social relations and family ties. More than that, they will locate their foes and take revenge. This porridge is a mixture of various flavors (acid, pungent, salted, sweet, bitter) combined in such a way that those consuming it lose all sense of orientation, experience, and fall into one of the six ways of transmigration. 

TK:      This amnesiac porridge is also a bewitching one. Once the soul consumes it, he feels his spirit completely changed. In the world, there exists also a beverage, which has the same effect. 

YT:      I’ve never heard of such a beverage, Master. 

TK:      Why, it’s alcohol, son. Just look at the man who gets drunk. He loses his bearings, goes astray, and fails to find his way home. He is just like these semi-conscious souls who fear to be reincarnated into a new existence of sorrow. The drunkard is without fear. He dares challenge the perils by crossing an ocean, or he can, with full audacity, toss himself under the wheel of a moving carriage, or jump into water or fire. Being thus drowned in his drunkenness, he drops unaware in the wheel of reincarnation. When waking up to sobriety, he finds himself at an entirely different place, far away from hell. The reincarnated souls feel awakened in a totally different world. 

YT:      If the amnesiac porridge were so highly effective, every human would like to take it after his death. 

The King:    One detail is worthy of notice though. After passing by all gates of hell and enduring punishment of all types, the souls are at the height of hunger and thirst when they arrive here. Now the 10th Gate of Hell is located at the frontier, adjacent to the earth, the Inn of the Lady Meng is intensely hot and the outdoor heat is overwhelming. Being intolerably thirsty and hungry, the souls do not hesitate to enter the Inn to enjoy something cool, which means that they are lured into a trap. Particularly on dog-days, after they walk a thousand leagues under a grilling sun, they naturally feel happy at the sight of an inn that offers a free drink to quench their thirst. It is natural that they argue over the chance to be served first. Some of them even find one glass insufficient, and greedily take several. But we should admit that some other souls, as sly as a fox, who know the amnesiac proprieties of the porridge, seek deliberately to avoid it and move aside. But then, from under the ground an iron crotched is shot up which hooks their bodies and retains them firmly. The waitresses of the Lady Meng will forcibly make them drink the porridge. There is a saying: “refuse to drink the offered wine, then drink the imposed one”. 

YT:      With the given amnesiac effect of the porridge, why is it that our babies born now are so prematurely clever? Should we attribute the fact to the mediocrity of the porridge whose properties become weaker? 

The King:    The fact is self-explanatory: from time immemorial, the humans have undergone innumerable incarnations. Their transmigrations have been repeated many times; each of them is preceded by a forcible taking of amnesiac porridge. Because they have taken it several times, the souls become immune to its effect, and the expected amnesia is far from absolute. Thus, the intelligence of some present-day babies is quite advanced. Man often calls his stubborn children “demons’ head or demons’ brains”. The repeated use of this undesirable porridge results in acquiring some immunity. This fact, by itself, provides no joy to mankind. It’s just like the case of those devotees to Bacchus who, because of a long-time habit, don’t feel groggy in spite of strong doses of alcohol. They have lost their normal senses. Prematurely smart babies are more likely to adopt vices, and unless they are carefully educated and guided to the right path, they will do more harm to society than normally clever babies do. This is the reason the living world counts an ever-increasing number of harmful and unreliable people who use their brains for doing evil. The cleverer they are, the more easily they deviate from the right path. An unusual intelligence, therefore, is most undesirable. 

YT:      I have no interest in that kind of intellect. 

TK:      Time is pressing. We have to go home. Next time, we shall know about the six categories of to-be-reincarnated souls. 

YT:      I thank you greatly for having shown me the truth. May I take leave? 

The King:    I can’t retain you. Goodbye. 

TK:      Embark, Yang Ts’ien. 

YT:       I am ready. 

TK:      Destination! Your body, see?

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CONTENTS

Forward
Introduction
Preface
Summary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Celestial Edict
Postface

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