I am layman Buddhist/pagan.
The summary is based on what I perceive is 'important' in the book.
Conversation in between Deity JiGong, Yang Sheng and Prison Guard
If there is contradiction of meaning convey, the book prevails.
There are times I might questioning parts of the points inside the book doesn't mean I don't believe it. I need enlightenment on the doubts that I raise.
TOURING CITY TEMPLE OF UNDERWORLD - How Souls and Dead are Brought There
Narrated by JiGong: Human life-span is short. Human beings are prone to discuss in detail, however small it may be; so why bother about life? When the beating of heart stops, everthing is brought to an end. Then where would the money and children and worldly property be after one is dead and gone?
Temple also been called Temple of Tutelary Genius.
The function of Tutelary Genius
- akin to Police on Earth
- the Guards of Underworld will bring warrant for the soul upon demise of the soul in Earth
- The guard together with representative from Temple will going to the deceased residence to lead the soul to the Underworld
The emissaries of Underworld, such as buffalo-headed, horse-faced, or black-and-white demons merely give a slight tap on the corpse of virtuous men to render them unconscious before leading their souls away. As for the wicked souls, they torture them, deal heavy blows on them, and shackle them like people treat criminals on earth. Then, they lead their souls to the temple of the Tutelary Genius for registration to be entered in the registry-book of the dead.
For ascetic practitioner and any other good person, God of Happiness is sent down to Earth and bring his/her soul, for pious practitioner, his patron saint is sent to bring his soul. In case of pious practitioner who do not have patron saints, some have to go undergo the standard reporting procedure of Underworld for good souls, while others are invited to be presented to the Service of Merit Registry for examination. On the other side, the enlightened persons rise directly to heaven.
Religions may differ from each other, but the religious cause is unique. In order to evolve to a higher astral plane, people must regenerate in the Right Way, and be devoid of partiality and stubbornness. Otherwise, their ascension to heaven will meet with problems of delay.
Those ascetic practitioners who:-
- hold fast to their own personal beliefs
- tend towards rivalry among themselves
- indulge in gossip
- self praise
THis These practitioners tend to lose their temper and when they die, their souls will be sent to Underworld to suffer and then undergo further training,
When a person is due to die, there is always an omen which generally comes in the form of sickness. Why sickness? It is because of age, which is like an old tree about to fall down. Firstly, the roots and leaves decay and then a strong gust of wind blows, the tree topples down.
The sequence - after baby is born, a Record Book is made out and also a tree, an Individual Personality Tree, is planted in Underworld. What a person does or how he conducts himself during his lifetime on Earth, every item of his behaviour is recorded in his Record Book. If there is any sign of change in his tree's growth, it is an indication that the life of the person is coming to an end. Then Underworld's guard quickly refers to his Birth and Death Record Book. If his time to die has come, buffalo-headed, horse-faced, or black-and-white demons is instructed to go down to Earth with an Order to bring the person's soul to Underworld. When his soul arrives, his Individual Personality Tree falls down. This is called Death.
It is akin to grafting a tree, the person grows older and the tree grows bigger. When the soul is about to leave body, it is like the branch of a tree snapping but the bark of the tree still remaining attached to the tree, akin to skin of tortoise shell peeling off and very painful. Some dead person will gnash his teeth in anger, his face will look fierce, he was fearful, angry and so gnashed his teeth, indication of retribution in this life for the sins or unnatural death. If the dead person's face looks peaceful and cheerful, like sleeping, this shows his soul is tranquil and fearless, his journey to Underworld is uneventful.
Narrated by JiGong: When a man ceases breathing, it doesn’t mean that his soul is completely gone. Take the example of an electrical battery. If the contact is switched on but the bulb doesn’t light, the battery is not necessarily “dead”. Its voltage is only too low to ignite the bulb. So it is for man. During these moments, his breath is very weak. Apparently, he looks dead, but in reality he is still conscious of what happens around him, just the mouth cannot express it. At this point, the children and close relatives of the deceased should go to ears and console him by speaking in low tones "Set your mind at rest, we have arranged everything, there is no need to worry". This assurance will tend to make the deceased soul have a care free journey to the Underworld. If he is Buddhist faith, the children can chant "Amitabha". If he is Taoist faith, the chant will be "Tai Yi Jiu Ku Tian Zun". Such prayers or chantings will have effect of making the Fairies in heaven to help the dead person's soul have no fear on his journey to Underworld. Because at this time the soul is like one groping in the dark and the soul's heart is in a haze. When a person dies, his family should take vegetarian dishes, wear plain and simple clothes, must not drink liquor, entertain, enjoy or make merry, because unbecoming actions will influence the Tutelary Genius that report to the King of Hell about their filial piety towards the defunct and the latter will certainly feel moments of consolation. This piece of advise must not be neglected, because it is the duty of the defunct’s children to prove their filial piety toward their parents.
For further details, please refer to Journey #41
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