CHAPTER 54VISIT TO THE ETERNAL PRISON Buddha
Tse Kong who manifested on April 26th, 1978. Year of the Horse
Buddha
Tse Kong: Opposite to the Temple of the Sages, a
tall building has just been built. Those who live in the cozy place high
above the ground are lucky. However, those who possess a peaceful mind,
or a tranquil heart are more fortunate. How precious life will be, if
the mind is at peace. Yang
Ts’ien: What
you said is correct, Master. TK:
Fine. The dais is waiting. Get ready, Yang Ts’ien. YT:
I am ready, Master. TK:
We arrive now. YT:
Where are we, Master? TK:
Tonight, something special. We go to the Eternal Prison. YT:
Human beings are scared to death when hearing about the Eternal
Prison. Can we go somewhere else? TK:
O, come on! What do you have to fear? I’m next to you. Don’t
worry now. If you feel alarmed, I’ll give you one of my pills. Take it
and follow me. YT:
Thank you for your miracle-pill. I now feel stabilized and calm.
Here is the Mandarin coming to greet us. The
Mandarin: Welcome
to Buddha Tse Kong and Mr. Yang Ts’ien. Our prison, being called
“The Eternal Prison”, is placed under the administration of the 9th
Palace. We are honored to have you as our guests. YT:
We thank you for your good will, Excellency. May I ask you why
this prison is so big? The
Mandarin: The Eternal Prison is like the nose of a
man. Man’s nose, is not too big nor small, but through it, the air
penetrates deeply into every cell of man’s body. This Eternal Prison
is thus the resting-place of the souls whose crimes are piled up as high
as heaven. YT:
I certainly dare not visit that cavern. The cell inside is so
dark! The only sounds we can hear are poignant screams and bubbling of
boiling water. Are the sinful souls being drowned in there? The
Mandarin: The lodgers of the cavern are all
sinners. This prison is composed of 18 levels. Its floor is studded with
sharp pointed stakes and flooded with boiling water. Here is how the
torment proceeds: the sinful soul is pierced by a guard’s sword and
flung into the cavern. Meanwhile, the terrestrial attraction draws him
down to the bottom. A rending shriek is then heard. After a short pause,
you hear again endless cries. Inside, you can raise your hand without
seeing the fingers. I should say that the punishment inflicted upon the
sinners in this prison are extremely severe and painful. YT:
I’m told that the human beings have great fear of the Eternal
Prison. Why is it so, Excellency? The
Mandarin: Most of the sinners in the Eternal
Prison are condemned forever. Their condemnation is equivalent to a life
sentence on earth. YT:
Can you allow some of the sinful souls to come, so I can ask them
questions. The
Mandarin: Since
your mission consists of writing a book, with a special order from the
King of Hell, I can grant the sinners some provisional liberty. For
other cases, the detainees of the Eternal Prison are forbidden to come
out, even for a minute. Mr. Yang Ts’ien, look at the way I’ll
perform a miracle! A strong stream of light is pouring down into the
cavern, and the whole mechanism of torment ceases to operate. General,
can you get some of the sinful souls out? The
Generals: At
your orders. I’ve just brought out these souls. YT:
Their bodies are completely decomposed. Their flesh is mashed
like paste with impregnated blood. Their eyeballs are out their
eye-sockets. And their human forms are unrecognizable. How pitiful it
is! TK:
With the power of dharma, I will restore them to a normal state
and soothe their pains, so they can relate their crimes. YT:
Your gracious dharma is really splendid, Master. The sinners’
bodies which were completely disintegrated are now seven tenths
reconstituted, whereas the other three tenths still look demonical. The
Mandarin: (to
the souls) You are here in the presence of two Great Masters of Virtue.
I order you to tell them the crimes you committed in your lifetime so
they can apprise the living men. The
soul: When in
life, I committed the gravest sin which was impiety towards my parents.
I preferred to foul around and refused to work. I asked my parents for
money and if they refused, I would blaspheme them. In the moment of
madness, I even mistreated them with kicks and blows. This lack of
filial piety led me to experience the chastisements of nearly all places
before I was sent to this prison to endure the eternal punishment,
without hope of freedom. O Masters! Have mercy on me! Please intervene
with the King of Hell to obtain some grace for me. I would be very happy
to reincarnate in the form of a buffalo or a dog to pay off my debts. I
am so miserable in this prison. TK:
Among the virtues of mankind, filial piety is considered the most
important. You didn’t serve your parents, as you should; worse still,
you mistreated and beat them. Your crime is colossal and unparalleled.
Impiety is a sin that is unforgivable. I confess my incompetence in
doing anything for you. The
Mandarin: In
the living world too many people are betraying their parents, because of
either their self-serving interests in sinful lust or their individual
interests in monetary gain. If such people don’t try to change in
time, the Eternal Prison will be the place for their souls beyond life.
Now, the second soul, we want to hear from you. The
soul: I
spent all my lifetime in lewdness and in adoration of feminine
beauty. Many times, I raped maids of honor. I was fond of widows and
adopted orphan-girls for vile schemes. I had thought that it was the
infallible ideal of a happy life. But after my death, I had to endure
the most terrible pains in different places, and was at last sent to
this prison where all hope of freedom is reduced to ashes. Save me,
Master, I promise to serve you after I am changed to a dog or a horse. TK:
In this case, dogs and horses aren’t of any concern. I don’t
need them. You were too evil in your life and you didn’t follow the
right path. Carnal sins are considered the gravest sins. Your present
remorse makes no sense at all. The
Mandarin: The
3rd soul’s turn now. Speak out! The
soul: I was
well-versed in preparing imitation kinds of foodstuffs, medicines,
alcoholic beverages such as brandy, alcohol, soya-sauce etc. For
amassing as much money as possible. Being so greedy for foul gains, I
was condemned to the Eternal Prison. I pray you, O Buddha Tse Kong to
help me. In my next life, I promise to behave correctly and earn money
with good conscience. TK:
To prepare fake alcoholic beverages and medicines is a heavy
crime. You didn’t care about other people’ lives. By consuming your
imitation products, they swallowed poison. You had lost your conscience,
and indirectly killed many persons. At present, you are forced to drink
that muddy liquid that will dilute the toxic ingredients of those
products that you had prepared. I admit that I am unable to do anything
for you. The
Mandarin: Now
is the turn of the 4th soul to confess. The
soul: In my
life, I was a smuggler and used to smoke opium and drugs. Later on, for
the need of money, I indulged in the smuggling of narcotics. The King of
Hell was irate when seeing me. He condemned me to the Eternal Prison.
Such painful grief I must endure. I am so remorseful for not having any
way to redeem my errors. TK:
Smuggling is against the laws of the country. Clandestine traffic
of narcotics is twice as bad, because it did harm to other people’s
lives. The law of the terrestrial world is without pardon, the law of
hell is without rescue. Those smugglers, drug users, and narcotic
merchants must realize their sins, and throw away their butcher’s
cutlass, then make a new life. If they persist on their way of living,
they will go to the Eternal Prison and stay there for millennia without
possibility of freedom. The
Mandarin: Here
we are face to face with four sinful souls. I hope that after the
perusal of the “Voyages to Hell”, people will quickly change and
repent. I will forgive them if they discontinue committing those errors.
But they must regenerate themselves toward the right path; otherwise
they will fall into a dead end. These short-lived profits will certainly
lead them to an abyss. TK:
It’s getting late. What about going home? YT:
Goodbye, and once again thank you. The
Mandarin: In
lines for the farewell salute. TK:
The lotus dais is here. YT:
I am ready to go back, Master. |
CONTENTS |
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