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.