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Touring the Tenth Tribunal
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Visiting the Common People’s Section
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JiGong: On Earth there are many kinds of occupation
and vocation; it is also the same in Hades. Today I’ll bring
Yang Sheng to visit the “Common
People’s Section” of
Hades. Yang Sheng; quickly step on the lotus flower platform.
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- Yang
Sheng: Yes, Sir, I’m safely seated. We can proceed
now.
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JiGong: We’ve arrived, Yang Sheng, get down.
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- Yang
Sheng: Wow! this city is very busy and there are a
lots of people moving about, everyone smiling and in happy mood.
There is absence of soldiers of Hades in this place, freedom of
movement everywhere. On the archway the words
“Common People’s Section” are
written. I don’t know what is going on inside?
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JiGong: A human being whose merits and de-merits
balance, who had no hatred but more love when alive, after
death, his soul will be sent to stay in the Common People’s
Section, no need to be reborn. In this Section, it is like on
Earth, with merchants and farmers – these two occupations being
the most important. During his lifetime, if a good person was
either a merchant or a farmer, after death his soul will be sent
here to be either a merchant or a farmer but conditions are not
that advanced as on Earth and so he has to work very hard. We
will now go inside to have a look.
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- Guard:
How dare you deities intrude into my area?
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JiGong: I’m JiGong and have an Order to bring a human
being to visit your place so that when we return to Earth we can
write a Book to exhort human beings to do good deeds.
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- Guard:
This is a secret place. How can our secret be disclosed to
outsiders?
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JiGong: I have the Order. Go inside and announce our
arrival quickly.
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Guard: I beg JiGong to forgive me. I never realized I
was in the wrong….
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Officer in Charge: We beg the pardon of JiGong and
Yang Sheng; we feel much ashamed for not coming to welcome you
to our place.
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JiGong: I must apologize for not informing you in
advance of our coming.
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Officer in Charge: Please follow me to see what goes
on here.
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- Yang
Sheng: Thank you, Officer, for welcoming us. Are you
exactly like any Officer we have on Earth?
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JiGong: Yang Sheng, don’t talk too much. He is the
Head in charge of this section.
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- Yang
Sheng: I observe that all buildings here are made of
wood, unlike the big mansions we have on Earth.
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Officer in Charge: It is more suitable for the souls
here to stay in these wooden buildings.
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- Yang
Sheng: In this place there are restaurants and sundry
shops. The chaps here are very much like people on Earth but
some keep their hair long, wear old-fashioned dresses, why?
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Officer in Charge: In this Section, the souls are of
different generations; that is why they still keep their old
methods of living. Now I’ll bring you to see the fields.
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JiGong: Although Earth and Hades are separated, yet
the mind is the same. What occupation a good person had on
Earth, he will also follow the same occupation after death.
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- Yang
Sheng: I see that the farmers use manual labour
working the farm here – no animals or machinery to help.
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Officer in Charge: The souls here are not so lucky
like those on Earth, they have to depend on their own hands and
sweat and strength to work the farms.
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- Yang
Sheng: How do they live here?
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Officer in Charge: More or less the same as human
beings. They have three meals (food and drinks). They are happy
and satisfied with the seven passions (joy, anger, grief, fear,
love, hatred and desire) and the six roots of sensation (eye,
ear, nose, tongue, body and mind). Therefore, there is marriage
in this Section. No doubt life here is hard but they are now
used to it.
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- Yang
Sheng: I don’t know if they work here eternally?
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Officer in Charge: No, they also grow old with age
and when the time comes, they are retired and later will be
reborn.
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- Yang
Sheng: Human beings offer joss paper, candles, joss
sticks, etc, when praying to deceased relatives; I don’t know if
these are received by the souls in Hades?
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Officer in Charge: This topic has been argued
ceaselessly by human beings. Now I’ll make things more clear for
the benefit of everyone. It is true that the living are in the
habit of and believe in the practice of burning joss papers,
candles, joss sticks and offering food-stuffs to dead relatives;
but because the vast majority of the dead are not without sins,
their souls in Hades cannot receive the burnt offerings, etc.
There are an old saying that, “mud can
turn into gold”. Now in this world, in the big cities, a
square inch of land can sometimes be worth an inch of gold –
this is very true. Talking about joss papers, etc, after burning
they will turn into ashes which will become earth and will
eventually turn into gold, fulfilling the requirements of the
five elements, i.e. reciprocal producing and destroying each
other as the case may be. When joss paper is burnt, the burnt
gold/silver foil will become ashes and when absorbed by the
earth the effect of dampness will turn into vapour of the five
elements. In Hades, the souls will enjoy the benefits of the
joss paper burnt through their five vitals absorbing the vapour
as mentioned above. This is exactly like human beings absorbing
nourishment for the promotion of body growth.
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- Yang
Sheng: I’ve heard people say that they dreamt of
their dead relatives asking for money, etc, to use in Hades. How
would you explain this?
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Officer in Charge: In Hades, the souls “eat” the
vapour or fume of food offerings. The souls here must do work if
not, they will be punished thereby their energy is lost.
Therefore, to make up for this loss of energy as a result of the
punishment they appear in dreams to their relatives still living
on Earth, asking for food, etc; to replenish the lost energy. It
is not necessary to burn a lot of joss paper, etc, for the dead
– just a token burning will meet the case as a mark of respect
and regard. The reason why the living make offerings in any form
to the dead is to show their gratitude and respect for the dead;
this is quite alright considering that the living are left with
money by the dead, the benefits of which the dead cannot enjoy.
But it is not necessary to overdo things by burning too much
joss papers etc. It is sheer waste of good money. The souls in
Hades suck the vapour or fume of the burnt joss papers, etc.
they do not actually receive the joss paper to use in Hades
because there is totally a different form of money for their use
here.
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JiGong: However there is another class of souls in
Hades who can make use of the joss papers which are burnt by
human beings on Earth. Remember, the souls of dead human beings
who have acquired or cultivated morality or acquired ascetic
attainments, do not require any offerings by the living. I hope
people on Earth will understand this.
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- Yang
Sheng: There is much truth in what you have said.
There are many joss paper manufacturers who produce loss papers
of different qualities; the sole aim is to make easy money. When
these after burning, arrive in the banks in Hades, how are they
put into use?
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JiGong: Ha! ha! When the joss papers of different
qualities are burnt and arrived in Hades, there are bound to be
many “returned cheques” which means that the manufacturers who
want to make easy money will have to answer for their misdeeds,
after they died.
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- Yang
Sheng: Is there any difference between the souls in
the “Common People’s Section” and other sinful souls in Hades?
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Officer in Charge: More freedom is allowed to souls
in the “Common People’s Section” but they must obtain permission
whenever they want to visit Earth, e.g during the 7th
Moon they can take turns to visit. It is not the same in the
case of sinful souls. They will have to be punished daily and
except on special occasions then only will they be allowed to
visit Earth. During the 7th Moon those sinful souls
who have lesser sins are allowed to go out and enjoy.
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- Yang
Sheng: Is that so?
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JiGong: I would urge people on Earth to take up
ascetic practices, to be aware of gospel truth, to live and let
live – life is uncertain, not to be too practical, so that after
death they need not have to come to the “Common People’s
Section” to work some more. You must, therefore, understand
perfectly well the meaning of birth and death so that it will
not be necessary to undergo the many Transmigrations of Souls.
Then only will you reach the ultimate. Our time is up and so we
have to return.
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Officer in Charge: Order all the staff to line up and
say goodbye.
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- Yang
Sheng: Thank you, Officer, for your kindness and for
explaining matters to us. We have to return…
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JiGong: We’ve arrived at Sheng Xian Tang. Yang Sheng,
get down. Soul, return to your body.
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End of Journey No 59
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