Journeys To The Underworld - Journey No. 60
6th Moon 16th Day (20th July 1978)
Touring the Tenth Tribunal
Visiting Morality Centre
Bureau of Reward for Good Souls
Bureau of Punishing the Evil
Jigong: Today we will tour the Tenth Tribunal, visiting:
1) Morality Centre (Ju Shan Suo)
2) Bureau of Reward for Good Souls (Shang Shan Si)
3) Bureau of Punishing the Evil (Fa E Si)
We are about to wind up the Book, Diyu Youji. I am very happy to see so many people contributing towards the publication of this Book, which goes to show their gratitude towards fellowmen and spirits for sacrificing their time in visiting Hades to gather material for this Book. I sincerely hope that people on Earth will, henceforth, endeavour to do more good deeds than evil. The teachings contained in this Book are endorsed by all the principal religions of the world. Yang Sheng, prepare to step on the lotus flower platform.
Yang Sheng: I'm safely seated, dear Master. We can start......
Jigong: We've arrived, Yang Sheng. Get down.
Yang Sheng: We are now at the 'Morality Centre'. It is very much like a school, the outside looks very tidy with trees and flowers and plants everywhere.
Jigong: This 'Morality Centre' is the school of Hades for the teaching and training of future deities and saints to be sent to Earth.
Yang Sheng: The gate has just opened and a big crowd has gathered to welcome us.
Jigong: Yang Sheng, go and offer your respects.
Yang Sheng: My humble respects to Principal and all Officers.
Principal: Yang Sheng, please don't stand on ceremony. Arise. We've waited quite a long time for you to arrive. We extend to you a warm welcome. Will both of you please follow me inside?
Jigong: Thank you very much. Will Principal kindly explain the workings in this School to Yang Sheng?
Principal: This Centre is called 'Ju Shan Suo' and caters for the training of souls who, when alive on Earth, had merits but not enough merits to justify their souls to ascent direct to Paradise after death. After such souls have gone through the required training, two avenues are open to them:
1) Proceed straight to Paradise, or
2) Sent to Earth as deities and saints to save human beings.
Yang Sheng: I observe that in front there, is a soul who when alive, was a leading planchette handler of Sheng Xian Tang, named Zhuang Jian An. Am I right?
Jigong: Yes, the fact that both of you can meet here today shows that you have mutual affinity.
Yang Sheng: Mr Zhuang, on seeing me has started crying......
Principal: Good soul Zhuang, do not feel so sad. By special arrangement, you and Yang Sheng, both planchette handlers, meet here. You can now explain to Yang Sheng what you had gone through since you departed from Earth.
Good Soul: Today is my good luck to be able to meet Mr Yang. I am so very happy that I cannot express my feelings but inside, I feel sad...... When I was attached to Sheng Xian Tang, Master Guan and Master Qiu and fellow associate officers patronised me very well, so much so that I took great pride in my work and went to Sheng Xian Tang everyday to copy, pack and despatch the books and literature. I worked very hard hoping that one day I would be able to ascend to Heaven. But I was not intelligent enough. After my death, although a lucky spirit came to escort me, and a beneficent spirit was at hand to protect me, because my demerits were more than my merits, my soul did not have the required qualifications to go to Heaven! When I was alive, our Master had high hopes for me and gave me the necessary instructions everyday but on account of my poor intelligence, I could not understand the teachings of the Sages. Before I could attain any measure of success, my body failed and I died...... Fortunately, when I was alive, I had done some good deeds which made the Benefactor of Hades escort my soul to visit all the Prisons in Hades and ultimately, I was sent to this 'Ju Shan Suo' for further training. I wish to thank all the associates and colleagues of Sheng Xian Tang for attending my funeral. Will Yang Sheng please convey my thanks to them all? Everyday, I study moral lessons here, the most important being moral nature. We have to be examined periodically to test the effects and influence of wealth, of beautiful women on the inclinations of the heart; and also after attaining wealth is there any desire to help others, etc., etc. Only if the heart can remain steady, can the tests be passed. All these various tests are spontaneously arranged by fairies e.g. suddenly while walking, a lot of wealth appears; or along the road, some beautiful women suddenly appear to entice you; and other similar tests. If the heart is wavering, you fail the test and will have to undergo further training. Generally, deities come here to preach the doctrines. Although there is no pattern of punishment, the routine of learning and eventual testing is rather severe!
Principal: 'Ju Shan Suo' is to train the divine spirits of these souls who will eventually become deities and spirits. The reason is to ensure that their divine spirits are satisfactorily trained and tested so that they can be fitted to be deities after ensuring that their divine personalities can be graduated. After graduation, those who have affinities with other deities are sponsored by them and brought to Heaven for further advanced training, while the rest are sent to Earth to be deities and spirits.
Good Soul: Can I request Mr Yang to inform my children especially my daughter, Wen Xian, that they should pay more attention to and strive harder in ascetic practice? She is simple-minded and cannot undertake important matters. What a great pity! I hope the office bearers of Sheng Xian Tang will perform their duties sincerely and earnestly. At the beginning, when you undertook this journey to Hades, I thought how nice it would be if I could accompany you, and now my secret wish has turned into reality after my death and so I'm in this place! During my lifetime, I had wished to do more virtuous deeds, but now, with this decayed flesh my wish could not be fulfilled.
Jigong: Now that we are aware of the purpose of 'Ju Shan Suo' we will have to go to 'Shang Shan Si' and 'Fa E Si' and see what happens there. Therefore we will say goodbye to Principal.
Yang Sheng: Good Soul, please take good care of yourself. We are leaving. Regarding the affairs of Sheng Xian Tang, set your mind at rest.
Good Soul: Thank you, thank you.
Principal: Officer and Generals, line up and say goodbye.
Jigong: Yang Sheng, step on the lotus flower platform and we'll go to another place to have a look.
Yang Sheng: I'm safely seated, dear Master, we can start......
Jigong: We've now arrived at 'Shang Shan Si'.
Yang Sheng: Very true, we are now at 'Shang Shan Si' as written at the entrance.
Officer-in-Charge: Welcome Jigong and Yang Sheng to our place.
Jigong: Today we would request you to conduct us round your place.
Yang Sheng: All the souls here seem to be attended by Good Spirits and appear to be moving freely here and there without being chained or handcuffed.
Officer-in-Charge: When a human being who has more merits than demerits dies, his soul will first of all be sent here to join others of the same group to await assessment of their past actions. Souls who are here are very free; they have unrestricted movement, can eat and drink, can have discussions among themselves, can play chess. This place can be used by them as a temporary resting place before being sent to 'Ju Shan Suo' for training or to the various Tribunals for investigation.
Yang Sheng: Oh I see!
Jigong: As our time is limited, we'll have to go to 'Fa E Si' to find out what goes on there. We'll have to say goodbye to Officer.
Officer-in-Charge: Order all Generals to line up and say goodbye.
Jigong: Yang Sheng, step on the lotus flower platform. It is a short distance from here to 'Fa E Si'. We have arrived.
Yang Sheng: This place is totally different from 'Shang Shan Si'. At the entrance are the words 'Fa E Si'. All the souls here are handcuffed and escorted by the soldiers of Hades. They appear to be new arrivals.
Officer-in-Charge: Welcome to both of you to our place. We feel highly honoured with your visit. Writing the Book to tell people to do good deeds is a very meritorious act and the honour is very great.
Jigong: You have praised us too highly. As our time here is rather limited, may I request that you conduct us around quickly?
Officer-in-Charge: This place is known as 'Fa E Si'. The souls here belong to those human beings who, during their lifetime, committed sins which were against the relationship of human beings. San Shi Shen (Three Corpse Deity), the inner spirit inside a person, or the roving day and night spirits, will make records of any misdeeds or sins a person commits daily and will report to Hades. If the sins are very serious, this office will absorb the personal spirit of the evil-doer to Hades for punishment. The body of the person will feel sick, headache, giddiness, uncomfortable, not realising that his soul (personal spirit) is being punished in Hades. After punishment, the soul (personal spirit) is released and then re-enters his human body, and all sickness etc. disappears. In some cases, the handcuffed souls you see here are those of human beings who are still living on Earth. The punishment inflicted is one of the duties of this Office. The second type of duties of this Office is, after a human being who committed great sins on Earth dies, his soul is first sent here for punishment while awaiting the results of the investigations of all the Tribunals of Hades, after which the sinful soul will be sent to the various Tribunals for further punishment. This Office can be called a 'temporary lock-up place'.
Yang Sheng: Oh, is that so? Thank you, Officer, for explaining in such great detail.
Jigong: Our time is up and so we have to return to Sheng Xian Tang.
Officer-in-Charge: I will order all Generals to line up and say goodbye.
Jigong: Yang Sheng, step on the lotus flower platform.
Yang Sheng: I'm safely seated, dear Master, we can return......
Jigong: We've arrived at Sheng Xian Tang. Yang Sheng, get down. Soul, return to your body.