CHAPTER 36                                                                         VISIT TO THE 6TH PALACE OF HELL INTERVIEW WITH THE KING OF PALACE                  Buddha Tse Kong who manifested on August 6th, 1977. Year of the Snake.                                       POEM                                                                                                                                                                 Here comes again the mid-autumn                                                                                                               At midnight, he wakes up, desolate                                                                                                               To see old age creeping on apace                                                                                                                 Let’s awaken, regenerate, and not be late.                                                                                                  Buddha Tse Kong: A whole year has passed quickly, and here we are again in the mid-autumn season. Time is as fleeting as the current of a river. This time last year, the honorable Temple of the Sages, obeying the order of the Celestial Emperor, began to write the book on hell. Before we realized it, one year has passed. A painful year, indeed, but a fully meritorious year for me as well as for my disciples who worked day and night to edit the book. A man’s life is so brief, just as the ancient sages stated, “since time immemorial until the present, septuagenarians are scare”. Recently, the sciences have progressed greatly and every attempt is made to prolong man’s longevity. However, the ancient sages had a proverb that said, “man’s ...                                              TK: The King-Judge comes to welcome us in person. Yang Ts’ien, follow me. We’re going to pay him our respects.                                                                                                                                              YT: I follow you, Master. My respects to His Majesty the King and to their Excellencies the Mandarins. I am Yang Ts’ien, a disciple of the Temple of the Sages in Tai Chu. My master and I received the order of God to write a book on hell. We are coming here tonight to collect information. We wish to be granted your assistance.                                                                                The King: Be on your feet. Not too much courtesy, please. I have long heard of the Temple of the Sages which actively participated in the dissemination of religious doctrines and acquired great merits. Last mid-autumn we received the order of God and we are aware of your sacred mission and of the reason for your visits to hell. Honorable Buddha Tse Kong, and Mr. Yang Ts’ien, I invite you to come inside for some refreshments.                                                                     TK : We are grateful for your warm welcome, Sir. Yang Ts’ien, let’s follow His Majesty into the Palace. The King Orderly officer, bring us some tea of the Immortals and Fairies, will you?          The Orderly Officer : At your request. Tea is served, Sir.                                                                         The King : Be without reserve. Make yourselves at home, please.                                                         YT: Thank you, Sir. This tea doesn’t exist in the terrestrial world. Its taste is excellent, it is cooling and medicinal, as far as I know.                                                                                                     The King: This is only a kind of crude tea, but it is precious, because every rare thing is valuable. Well, I am really happy about your visit, gentlemen. Human morality is declining so that God Himself is deeply disturbed. He ordered your Temple to write a book on hell. A large number of humans don’t believe in the punishment they will have to suffer in hell after their death. A special order is therefore given to Buddha Tse Kong to guide Yang Ts’ien’s soul to hell to record the situation of humans after their death, and the pains they have to endure. During the mediumnistic seances organized by the Temple of the Sages, the Celestial Cherub Yu Hiu uses his psychical divine powers to relay to earth what Yang Ts’ien sees and hears in hell, and directs the hand of Yang Ts’ien’s body to write accurate accounts. I am convinced that the book, once edited and popularized, will bring forth salvation to many humans. Nowadays, most of the people are interested in materialistic sciences and neglect the deities. They don’t believe in the karmic law and allow themselves to commit many acts of murder, sensuality and piracy. Men are absorbed in pursueing material things and think of nothing but their individual interests. They venture to infringe on the human law, knowing it contains many weaknesses. And thence, in every country, the morality of the people is deplorably decadent. Their greed for material things induces them to behave dishonestly. I am profoundly affected and disappointed because of the moral decline in the terrestrial world. It is the habit of skeptical people to disregard the deities and the law of causality, so they are the ones who commit sins more readily. None of them will be spared hell’s punishment. A proverb goes like this, “the Celestial Net is enormously large and vast; in spite of its wide meshes no one can escape.” I reign over the 6th Palace which is surnamed “The Great Infernal Prison”. All the souls that come here have previously passed by the 5th Palace where they went through torment. The surname of “Great Infernal Prison” also means that this place is reserved for the souls who violate the divine law and fail to observe the rules of morality and virtue will have to undergo severe, and terrible punishment. Mr. Yang Ts’ien, upon your return to the terrestrial world, do advise humans to regenerate and change from doing evil. Tonight, I highly regard your visit. The sinful souls suffer different types of punishment in this place. Humans must be conscious of their culpability and proceed with a thorough examination of their conscience.                                                                                                  TK: It’s quite late for tonight. With your permission we would like to come back another time for an inspection of the jails.                                                                                                                          The King : That’s agreable. I will be delighted to see you again, gentlemen. Troop-mustering for the salute...                                                                                                                                                        YT : My deep gratitude for the tea and your precious instructions, Sir. We ask to take leave.         TK : The dais, now.                                                                                                                                           YT : Ready for departure, Master.                                                                                                                 TK : Here is the Temple. Your body is waiting for you.