What is the meaning of the vow “Let God punish me

with thunders”?

The vow “Let God punish me with thunders” means to be hit by the

five thunders.  Thunder is pure yang, the most righteous of all yang. 

Its strength is like diamond.  The five thunders are the thunder of

Heaven, the thunder of Earth, the thunder of yang, the thunder of yin

and the thunder of Dharma.  When the thunder of Heaven strikes,

overcast sky becomes clear immediately.  When the thunder of Earth

strikes, all lives and matters sprout.  When the thunder of yang strikes,

all evil spirits vanish.  When the thunder of yin strikes, all demons and

monsters hide.  When the thunder of Dharma strikes, Tien-Tao is spread

rapidly.  “Thunder” is not necessarily restricted to that of the weather.

The five thunders also exist in one’s body.  The thunder of Heaven strikes

when one feels shameful and angry as his face and ears turn red.  The

thunder of earth strikes when one hesitates to do unrighteous acts.  The

thunder of yang strikes when one feels anxious as he encroaches propriety. 

The thunder of yin strikes when one becomes nervous as he conspires. 

The thunder of Dharma strikes when one becomes troubled, even in his

dreams, as his mind becomes astray.  Whenever the desire and the

conscience confront each other, it is the time the five thunders strike. 

If one repents at this moment, respects the thunder of Heaven to open

his door to Heaven, becomes alert to the thunder of Earth to close the

door to the Underworld, holds the thunder of yang to retain his true

spirit, refrains the thunder of yin to intensify his true vitality, and

follows the thunder of Dharma to calm the soul, his three treasures

of the body (soul, spirit and vitality) gather and his Qi of the five

fundamental elements (wood, water, fire, metal and earth) coagulate. 

Then it’s not difficult for him to restore his original True Self and

enjoy the everlasting purity and tranquility.  Three thousand years

ago, Saints like Duke Zhou had felt the power of wind and thunder,

and Confucius had written down the mystic changes of wind and

thunder.

If one does not repent when his five thunders strike, his vitality

would be expended, his Qi of the five fundamental elements dispersed,

his soul worn down, his Po¹⁶ lost, and his Hun¹⁶ shaken.  He would

look exhausted, become sick and wouldn’t know the cause of his death. 

The punishment of thunder need not come from thunders that can be

seen and heard.