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Chapter 38
VISIT TO THE PRISON OF DRIVER-TEACHING Buddha Tse Kong who manifested on September 6th, 1977. Year of the Snake. POEM Beyond space and time, morality is expounded Under the moonlight, brilliant intellects are found Gathering happily, eternal in their state Splendid, those exalted lights grow purer as they rise.
Buddha Tse Kong: Summer goes and autumn comes with its chilly breeze bringing colder
weather. Humans have their warm clothes made, and the birds’ feathers grow. The four seasons follow each other in rotation. Man recalls the time from his childhood to the present old age with warm memories of
children and grand-children. His eyes are now dimmed with his hands trembling and his legs tottering. He regrets his time of youth that has gone for good, and now realizes that his life is but a dream. Humans
therefore should not waste their time, because “a bygone second is equivalent to a reduced decimeter of one’s longevity”. They should be converted as quickly as possible to religion, and engage in spiritual
perfection to become honest citizens and good spiritual followers. Then, after their death, they will be free from hell. If they happen to pass by hell, they will be as visitors rather than miserable prisoners. Time
for departure, Yang Ts’ien. Up to the dais.
Yang Ts’ien
: Venerable Master, which prison we will visit tonight?
TK
: I won’t say anything ... You’ll know later.
YT
: I am ready, Master.
TK
: The trip is done. Come down.
YT: Dear Master, why did you land on the slope of this mountain? From this place, I hear
ear-splitting screams as if somebody is being slaughtered or tortured. On the path before us, I see infernal guards escorting some sinful souls. Shall we follow them?
TK: The purpose of our visit tonight is to inspect a prison on the slope of this mountain. Yes, let’s go.
YT: We are behind them
now. They turn back to greet us. I wonder what crime these souls have committed?
TK: Most of these souls were automobile-drivers or motorcycle riders. They were surnamed the “knights of the road” as they
caused deadly accidents in their lifetime. They are condemned here now.
YT: If I am not mistaken, all of these reckless drivers were already sentenced when alive. Aren’t they exempt from the
punishment of hell?
TK: The laws of hell punish every destroyer of human life. We’re coming to the door of the prison. Just wait a moment for inquiring after the mandarin-governor.
YT: The prison-door is right ahead with two guards on duty. Above the door, is a sign reading “Prison of Driver Teaching”.
His Excellency and the generals are coming to welcome us. TK
: Yang Ts’ien, let’s go greet them.
YT: My reverences to His Excellency and to the Generals. Tonight, my Master and I pay you
this visit in the hope of gathering information for writing a book. We hope to be granted your assistance.
The Mandarin: Don’t be ceremonious, Mr. Yang Ts’ien. Would you mind coming
inside for observation?
YT
: Excellency, which gate provide entry to your prison?
The Mandarin: The 6th. In principle, every driver, regardless of automobile or motorcycle,
who causes accidental death or injury to the victims is condemned in this prison after death. Please, come farther in.
TK
: Thank you, Excellency.
YT: The sinful souls are grouped in large numbers on the slope of the mountain, at a rugged
and muddy path. They are restraining with all their might the heavily-loaded antique carts that speed down the slope. The alley is very narrow, providing passage for just two crosswise carts. The slightest lack of
care causes the carts to overturn and drag the souls down to the ravines on either side of the alley. Very slowly, the souls try to brake the swift descent of the carts with their heavily torn feet from where blood
is flowing on the ground. Some of the souls, for lack of caution, overturn their carts and tumble down to the abyss. Some others are moaning atrociously, lying under the pressure of their loaded carts, because they
tripped. Others again are run over by their unmanageble carts and blood is flowing profusely. This is quite an ingenious punishment, but its effect is appaling.
TK: When living, people often were imprudent and caused
accidents that killed many victims. They will have the role of victims of accidents in hell. The laws of karma is quite explicit. The Mandarin: I gave the order to bring some sinful souls to narrate to Mr. Yang Ts’ien the accidents they caused on
earth.
YT
: Thank you very much, Excellency.
The Mandarin: Here they come. (to the souls) Tell Buddha Tse Kong and Mr. Yang Ts’ien about
the accidents you caused in your life. This will serve as a warning for the living people. The soul: I was a bus-conductor for a transport company. One day, I ran over a small girl at the turning of the road. Because of my recklessness, my company had to pay for the
damages, and I was dismissed. After my death, I was sentenced to one year in this prison. Everyday, I have to learn how to drive a cart, from the top to the bottom of the mountain, using my two feet as brakes. I
must exert great effort to steer the cart to its destination. With some hundred trips up-and-down I feel exhausted in body and spirit. I suffer enormously from my swollen, wounded, stinking feet.
The Mandarin
: (to the 2nd soul) How about you?
What did you do? The soul: I was a taxicab-driver. One night, when I was drunk, I drove at high speed and ran over a pedestrian while trying
to overtake another car. After my death, I was led before the King of Hell who reprimanded, “you had to abstain from alcoholic beverages when you drove a car. You considered a man’s life as a toy, and this is the
reason you are condemned a man’s life as a toy, and this is the reason you are condemned to this prison where you will learn how to drive”. Daily, I suffer from atrocious pains. Alternately, I am pressed, and bumped
by my cart. My feet are miserable and the pains
render me as scrawny as the stem of a reed. I hope that the drivers on earth will be cautious at their wheels and when getting drunk, they must never drive a car to minimize the accidents. If not, they will go to hell and have to suffer painfully.
The Mandarin: (to the 3rd) Your turn now.
The soul: I was a merchant in my life. Everyday, I made deliveries of goods with my motorcycle. I had the habit of driving at high speed and paid
little attention to traffic regulations. One day, I hit a pedestrian, causing him wounds on the head, and I was injuried, too. We were both carried to hospital, I had a fracture of the leg, and he had a broken
cerebral nerve. I was hospitalized for six months, while he suffered from permanent nerve-disorder. I had to pay him a large amount for indemnification. After my death, I was led to the 6th Palace. The King-Judge
condemned me to 3 years of imprisonment. The torment is almost unbearable.
The Mandarin: Now,
these three souls have acted as witnesses. The automobile drivers must take these cases as examples. They should drive prudently for their own safety as well as for other people’s, then they will be spared from the
punishment in hell after their death. For cases of unpremeditated accidents of death or injury, the sins are less grave. As for the accidents caused by those drunkards who drive at top speed, who disregard the
traffic rules and underestimate the value of man’s life, their sins are intolerable and they must be purged in hell. Drivers are also advised to never run away after causing an accident. They must have the courage
to accept their responsibility, to preserve the precepts of morality, in order to obtain some mitigation of their pain in hell.
TK: Just like a driving-school on earth, this prison was recently constructed to teach the
detainees the foundamental of driving properly. Here they have to strictly observe the rules of the road, and dare not exceed the speed limit, lest a single false step should create an accident of which they are the
victims. We advise the terrestrial drivers to be alert, to respect human life as a possession of God, and to avoid drinking and driving at fast speeds. If they transgress the regulations, they will be condemned here
after their death. Time is growing short, Yang Ts’ien. Let’s go home.
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