CHAPTER 57VISIT TO THE 10TH PALACE AND THE LADY MENG’S INN Buddha
Tse Kong who manifested on May 26th, 1978. Year of the Horse
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. |
CONTENTS |
|