Excerpt from Master Lu’s Q&A (269), 30 November 2018
Question:
On 24 November 2018, I dreamt that I was whisked off to heaven by a golden light. After I went past many layers of white clouds, I met with Zhou Tsang Bodhisattva. Dharma-protecting Bodhisattvas then escorted me as we flew towards the Hall of Guan Di Bodhisattva. When I arrived, I paid respect to each of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who were also present at the Hall, before I stood to the side. Master’s Dharma-body was also there today. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, in turn, gave Dharma talks as follows.
The Buddha said, “All evil stems from the mind, a single evil thought could give rise to countless kinds of evil. The dark clouds within the mind obstruct the inherent Buddha nature, causing sentient beings to be lost in the cycle of rebirth and the sea of suffering. They descend into the evil paths, unable to see the light.”
Guan Yin Bodhisattva said, “I wish that all Buddhists could wholeheartedly preserve and sustain the compassionate vows of the Buddha, constantly show compassion and reach out to sentient beings and help them be free from suffering. Spread Buddhism far and wide and help more people become spiritually awakened. The Buddha has sympathy for the plight of sentient beings and couldn’t bear to see sentient beings end up descending to the evil paths due to ignorance and delusion. Thus, you were permitted to watch the trials in the Underworld. All disciples should keep their Master’s teachings in mind at all times. Those who are abiding by the Buddhist precepts are true Buddhists.”
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva said, “As long as Buddhists of Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door resolve to be compassionate, practise the giving of Dharma to benefit sentient beings, and spread Buddhism far and wide and help predestined people become spiritually awakened, then the Buddha and Dharma protectors will constantly bless them, keeping them safe and well.”
Zhou Tsang Bodhisattva said, “Dharma protectors are joyful in protecting those who are diligent in observing the Buddhist precepts at Guan Yin Citta Centre. I dislike those who are boastful, rude and arrogant. I hope that all Buddhists must sincerely cultivate themselves and respect their Master. Don’t act like a hypocrite.”
Guan Di Bodhisattva said, “If anybody who speaks maliciously or defames the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and ruins the Buddhist precepts sincerely repent and reform, the Buddha will reduce their punishment based on the severity of their offences. For those who are ungrateful, disloyal and shows disrespect for their Master, I advise they repent to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas sooner rather than later, their punishment in hell can then be spared, and they can still be reborn as humans in their next life. Remember: Never take the Buddhist precepts lightly.”
Nanjing Bodhisattva, “For those Buddhists who sincerely repent their slander and deeds of verbal misconduct, they must recite the Eighty-eight Buddhas Great Repentance for108 times as a batch and do it twice.”
Afterwards, Master Lu’s Dharma-body also said to me, “When you serve as a volunteer with fellow practitioners at the local practice centre, you must not show off or brag about yourself in front of others. Using the language of the Human Realm, you are nothing but a messenger or a typist, who helps to deliver messages to the Underworld and share the facts about the Underworld there. That’s all. You better get your act together and spend more time deepening your understanding of Buddhism in Plain Terms. Buck up, make me proud!” (I was ashamed and it’s true that I am far from being a good practitioner). The Master continued, “Zhou Tsang Bodhisattva will now escort you to the Underworld. You should go now and come back soon, and properly write up your observations and send to the Secretariat of Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door.”
Zhou Tsang Bodhisattva then took me to the Hall of the King of Hell in the Underworld. A female offender knelt in front of the Hall. Her body was charred black as if she had been burnt badly. She was wailing and crying. The King of Hell glared at her and said, “Do you want to explain yourself or should I?”
The female offender spoke, “I died in a car crash. The car exploded, and I was burnt to death inside while conscious. I didn’t come from Country X. I am an overseas disciple of Master Lu from country Y (not disclosed due to the confidentiality of the Underworld’s information). After I encountered Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door, I didn’t do much except reciting Buddhist scriptures. I only superficially followed the Buddhist practice, but didn’t abide by the Buddhist precepts. I had very heavy negative karma; my family had committed deeds of killing.”
The offender confessed that her ancestors raised pigs and sold fish for a living. She also lied to her fellow practitioners. After she died, the King of Hell showed it on the display.
She continued, “After my husband passed away, I didn’t follow what the Master taught on his radio program. I didn’t realise that my family’s hardship was due to the force of my negative karma. I didn’t understand how my ancestor’s deeds of killing would pass down to three generations, how it would affect the descendants, and how I couldn’t avoid the impending calamities.
“After I died, the King of Hell showed all the karmic causes and consequences from my previous life on the display. Everything happens in this world has its karma in previous lifetimes. However, I was ignorant when I was alive. I became sceptical about the religious practice; I started thinking that Guan Yin Bodhisattva wasn’t efficacious. I grew doubtful about Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door and the Master, and then I quit practising it. Moreover, I went around committing verbal misdeeds, talking people out of practising Guan Yin Citta. I went even further and tried to influence the law enforcement of the city where I resided. I fabricated evidence and covered up my real situation, making the law enforcement department believe what I said, so they could take action. Here, I want to repent to the law enforcement department and to the King of Hell. I hope that the Bodhisattvas will show mercy and forgive me and the law enforcement department. I misled them.
“Originally, some fellow Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door’s practitioners knew about my situation and had been very kindly supporting me. But after I kept slandering Guan Yin Citta, everybody cut off their communication with me. After my husband died, one of his best friends saw that I was in a pitiful state and our financial situation was very poor, so he regularly visited me and helped me. As a widow who had lost the support of my husband, it was hard to sustain a family and raise my daughter. He saw that I was pitiful, and after seeing each other for a long time, I grew some affection towards him. But he was already married and had his own family. It was a moment of foolishness, I wasn’t aware that men were lustful, and also forgot about the Master’s teachings, my feelings overwhelmed me and I committed deeds of sexual misconduct. I then became his mistress. I was foolish. I had already vowed to be a permanent vegetarian, practise Buddhism and recite scriptures for the rest of my life, and properly help my husband to ascend to a higher spiritual realm. But after I quit practising Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door, I broke all my vows. I only cared about indulging myself in the sea of desires and enjoy the company of the man I was with.
“To please him, I pretended that I was being unfairly treated. He was an influential person in the city I resided in, and he knew people in the law enforcement department. I then badmouthed Guan Yin Citta in front of him while hiding the truth. He took everything I said for real and told his buddy in the law enforcement department. His buddy believed what he said and filed the statement for record and took action, while I served as the witness. I’m sorry, my fellow practitioners, it was me who had harmed you, and I have harmed the Master! I’m sorry, Guan Yin Bodhisattva!”
“I had done too many evil things and the day of my retribution had come. I gave all my love for this man and I had abortions twice for him. At first, I thought that he would divorce his wife, so I wanted to have a child with him, but he didn’t want this child (I’m sorry to my unborn children; please forgive your mother!) Not long after, our relationship changed. He gradually became irritated with me, and his tone towards me became disdainful. I hated it and wondered why fate treated my this way. One day, he invited me to go out and discuss our relationship. I was crying in his car while he was driving, and his tone was impatient. I became mad and started shouting at him, and suddenly, I took over his steering wheel and went on a rampage. The car lost control and it rammed into the safety fence, and it ignited and blew up. Both of us were burnt to death inside the car. After I died, the King of Hell told me that my deceased husband and aborted children were very angry with me, so they possessed my body, wanting to claim my life. That’s why we started to argue.”
“Then the King of Hell sentenced me to be punished in the Unintermittent Hell. I wailed and cried day and night, but it was too late. Fortunately, I saw the heavenly child visiting the Underworld. Guan Yin Bodhisattva was merciful and transferred me to country X’s Underworld so that I could share my story to the public.” The offender was crying incessantly.
After the King of Hell heard the offender’s confession, he stamped a seal on an official document. He ordered the enforcement officers to escort the offender back to the Hell Realm to continue her punishment. I heard the offender cry and howl even louder. She knelt and begged the King of Hell not to let the enforcement officer took her away, but she was forcefully dragged her out.
The King of Hell sighed and said, “Guan Yin Bodhisattva is greatly merciful and greatly compassionate to send a document of to the Underworld. When this article has been shared with the human world, the merit and virtue accumulated from the deed will be used to reduce her sentence in the Unintermittent Hell. But she must still be punished and bear the suffering in the Hell of Excrement for the deed of sexual misconduct, and the other hells. Although the Bodhisattva shows mercy to the sentient beings who committed negative karma due to ignorance, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas don’t interfere with karma. One must be responsible for the unwholesome deeds they do.”
After the King finished speaking, I returned to the human world.
Master Jun Hong Lu’s reply:
I think I remember a person who was burned to death in a car crash. It’s been verified. Don’t treat your wisdom-life as a joking matter, spread rumours and speak irresponsibly. You must diligently practise Buddhism, kids.