Excerpt from Master Lu’s Q&A (265), 17 November 2018
Question:
It’s 24 October 2018, and to date I had frequently visited the Hell Realm. Today, I was invited to meet a high ranking officer in the Underworld – Dharma Door. In a haze, I arrived at a very modern-looking building. I entered and I saw the king sitting at his desk. I was completely caught off guard by the interior design because all of the equipment was very modern, and it looked quite similar to the offices we have in the modern-day era.
The king of hell looked stern and solemn. I put my palms together and paid my respects to him. The king said, “I’m responsible for the life and death of the mortals in country X (the country where I live). Regardless of what faith and religion they have, they will be sent here to be tried and sentenced by law after their deaths. Those who should descend to hell will go to hell; those who should be reborn into the Human Realm will be reborn as humans. For those who practise different religions, upon their death, if their benevolent rewards have reached fruition, they won’t need to come here. They will be taken into the care of the Bodhisattvas and Dharma protectors of their faith and go straight to the Heavenly Realm or to the Buddha’s Pure Land.”
“If a person is neither good nor evil while they are alive, and they don’t want to be reborn into the Human Realm, then they can choose to live in the Underworld. There are many properties in the Underworld, and the environment looks exactly like the environment in the human world. The only difference is the space and dimension. The Underworld is very complex, and it’s not something that you humans can comprehend. Here, let me hand you a communication device first. You can give it to the Dharma protectors of Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door so that in the future, the Underworld can be informed when you are to tour the hells, I will arrange for my officers to escort you.
“Some dharma doors (religious practices) have been passed down for many generations. Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door is considered a new Dharma Door in Buddhism. Guan Yin Bodhisattva is very well known in both heavens and the Underworld. Beings in the Underworld also know of this Bodhisattva (Because in the country I live, there are many different religions and faiths. This officer before me looks like someone from the Middle East). In reality, regardless of what spiritual practice or faith you follow, everything acts in accordance with the law of karma, which is “virtue has its reward, evil its retribution”. Having a kind and benevolent heart is the Right Dharma. That is the aim of every religion or faith. The laws of the Underworld are also designed in a way that follows the law of karma and the punishment is meted out accordingly.
“You mortals in the human world are foolish. You’re ignorant of karma and ignorant of the laws of the Underworld. You must understand that if you speak irresponsibly about Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door, the officers in the Underworld will record it. If your verbal misconduct is minor, then it’s a small unwholesome deed. If your verbal misconduct is severe, then we will record it as a great unwholesome deed. You reap what you sow; it will be too late to plead after you have died. I hand down sentences according to the consequences that you have created. The Underworld is only concerned about the consequences, not the cause. If someone has accumulated merits and virtues while they were alive, then I would use their merit-virtues to reduce the length of their punishment before determining where they will go to according to their karmic conditions. Regardless of which Dharma Door (religious practices) a person follows, each practice has their unique method of accumulating merits and virtues, and they have their own Dharma protectors in charge of it. From this perspective, the Book of Life and Death is not completely under the control of the Underworld.It is rather determined by your own benevolent or evil deeds.
“You mortals in the human world are truly foolish. If you’re ignorant about something, it’s better not to talk about it. Some people think that they know it all after a few year’s spiritual practice. How could you possibly comprehend the worlds beyond? How could you possibly know about all the religious practices that exist across time and space? There are also some practitioners who act promiscuously, kill, and lie. Can they be considered as practitioners? The practitioners I mentioned here encompass followers of all religious practices, which naturally includes Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door.
“Guan Yin Bodhisattva is very compassionate and merciful. She’s constantly stopping the Heavens from delivering their judgement to punish you sentient beings. She explains that the sentient beings deserve pity as their unwholesome deeds are done out of ignorance. She constantly asks the Dharma protectors to have mercy on you all. Are your minds so truly blind as to being unable to differentiate benevolence and evil? Wholesome and unwholesome consequences are created by oneself. If you’re ignorant, ignorant about karma and create negative karma, and your fate is bad, don’t you think it’s shameless to blame Heaven or Earth? The Bodhisattvas are merciful, but it doesn’t mean they can tolerate you continuing to commit unwholesome deeds.
“Your Master understands the laws of the worlds. He is strict towards you disciples because he understands the consequences. When karmic retribution occurs, you’re the ones who suffers, you understand? The officer was speaking to me in Arabic, but I could understand what he said. I spoke to him in Chinese, and he also understood.
The clerks here are always very busy; they have to constantly keep track of and record all the wholesome and unwholesome deeds that a person has done in the human world. And people of different faiths are still arguing and bickering about their differences and what’s right and wrong, in my eyes, it is all a deed of verbal misconduct. Such foolishness!”
Then I asked curiously, “If a foreigner died in this country, how would the Underworld deal with the case?”
The king briefly glared at me and said, “There’s no harm in telling you anyway. If a foreigner died in this country, patrolling officers (the Underworld officers also wore uniforms) would take them here and check their nationality. There are many portals in the Underworld, and they will be sent to the Underworld in their home country. If the foreigner had lived in this country and had created unwholesome deeds here, then I would write a formal document based upon the degree of the misdeeds committed, after which I would have officers escort and repatriate them to their home country’s Underworld.
“Several great hells would accommodate all offenders regardless of nationality. Every country’s Underworld has portals connected directly to those great hells. If they’re a permanent resident here, then I will be in charge and treat them as one of our national citizens.
“Alright, you may return. Practise diligently. The Dharma-protecting Bodhisattvas of your religious practice are great; they are constantly protecting and blessing you practitioners secretly. You mustn’t commit unwholesome deeds. Return and sincerely express gratitude to Guan Yin Bodhisattva, who has constantly been showing mercy and saving you sentient beings, it’s just that you don’t know about it. There are still people badmouthing the Dharma Door. Where is their conscience?!”
Not long after, my consciousness returned.
Master Jun Hong Lu’s reply:
She has revealed many things about the Underworld, that’s why you mustn’t act recklessly. Practising Buddhism is no joking matter. Why do so many young people die? On the surface, you could see that there must be some reasons, such as having diseases like cancer, but in reality, it’s because they have karmic obstacles. Many people in the past are too vocal, they have a way with words, and they like to criticise others using irony or humour. It is all considered a deed of verbal misconduct. If they’re not careful, then they will create negative karma. When the karmic retribution manifests, then they might die young.