Collection of strange powers and chaotic gods

This story was told by a monk in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. It is true or false. Let the judges decide for themselves.

The story goes like this:

Once upon a time, there was an old monk in Shangtianzhu (also called Shangtianzhu Faxijiao Temple, Faxi Temple, located in Xihu District, Hangzhou). One day when he was sleeping, he had a dream. He dreamed that he was in the underworld. Hell.

When the old monk arrived there, he saw many ferocious-looking ghost soldiers driving thousands of ghost prisoners outside a large official office.

The ghost prisoners had their clothes stripped off by the ghost soldiers, and their hands were tied behind their backs.

There was an official sitting there, facing south. One of the official's subordinates was taking a roll call, and the ghost prisoners whose names he called were escorted to the front for inspection.

During the inspection, the main purpose is to see whether the ghost prisoners have fair and delicate skin and whether their bodies are fat or thin, just like pigs and sheep are bought and sold in a slaughterhouse.

The old monk felt very strange and didn't know what it meant.

At this time, he saw a little official who looked familiar, standing a little far away from the chief officer. Taking a closer look, it turned out to be a donor whom I had met in the past.

So, the old monk walked over and bowed to the young official, then quietly asked, "Who are these?"

The clerk glanced at the old monk and said contemptuously: "These are grains!"

The old monk became even more curious: "Why do all ghost prisoners in the underworld serve as food?"

The clerk smiled and said: "The ghosts in the underworld usually rely on the food sacrificed by humans to fill their stomachs, and they will not eat ghost prisoners."

The old monk asked again: "Then you said these ghost prisoners are food. Who are they prepared for?"

The clerk patiently explained to him: "These ghost prisoners are all sent to the devils in the heavens, and they all use humans to make food.

Tathagata Buddha hated them for eating people, so he used his huge divine power to frighten and subdue the demon kings, and made them convert to the Five Precepts.

However, there were many tribes under the Demon King, and not all of them were conquered. Demons often gathered to rebel.

They also had their own reasons, and they all argued: "Since the beginning of the world, we devils have eaten people, just like people eat whole grains, all to fill our bellies." If Tathagata Buddha can make people stop eating whole grains, then we demons will no longer eat people! ’

In this way, they often make noises and noisy things, and the devil can't control them.

Tathagata Buddha believes that the sea of ​​evil is overwhelming, and there are more and more ghost prisoners sinking in the sea of ​​evil and unable to be reincarnated, and the endless hell can no longer accommodate it.

So he sent a message to Yama, asking him to transfer the ghost prisoners here to the demon world to serve as food for the demons. When they are full, they will no longer poison other living beings.

The ten kings of Yama discussed together what kind of ghost prisoners they should send there. Everyone agreed that not all ghost prisoners were guilty of serious crimes, and those who had committed many evil deeds and harmed the people the most were sent to prison.

And those who have the closest relationship with the life and death of the people are none other than the officials who serve as prefects and county magistrates. It is easy for these people to benefit the people, but the harm they cause to the people is both deep and heavy.

However, most of their sins were not directly caused by them. If you look into the karma mirror of Hades, whoever is responsible will bear the blame.

There are four types of people who are most harmful to the people: first, subordinate officials, second, servants in the government office, third, relatives of officials, and fourth, followers of officials.

These four types of people do not need to bear the responsibilities of officials, but they have the same power as officials. Officials sometimes have scruples in order to verify their performance for their superiors, but these four types of people only know how to seek personal gain, follow the crowd, and rely on the power of officials to dominate.

Their actions are only for their own selfish interests. They don't care about the life and death of the people. They have no scruples in beating the people's bones and sucking out their marrow and boiling them for oil and blood. The people could only swallow their anger and did not dare to make a sound of resistance even though they cried blood and tears.

Within the four continents, only these four types of people have the most bad karma. So now that the Yama Palace is cleaning up hell, it just takes the opportunity to clear them out and send them to the demon world as food. "

The old monk continued to ask: "Since these ghost prisoners are all going to be eaten by the devil, why do they need to check and pick and choose?"

The clerk said: "The thing is like this, those that are white, tender, soft and crisp, and fat are for the devil to eat; and those that are rough and thin are for the demons to eat. Therefore, before sending them there Before that, you have to make a selection, distinguish them, and then dispatch them.

In addition, they must be distinguished according to the severity of their sins and used as different foods.

Among these ghost prisoners, those with slightly lighter sins were cut into pieces, cooked, roasted, eaten by the devil, and then disappeared into thin air. They were only punished once.

As for those who have serious sins, after being eaten by the devil, the remaining bones will be thrown down. When the wind of karma blows, they will return to their original shape, and then they will be slaughtered, cooked, and eaten again, and they will be punished many times.

In this way, depending on the degree of their sins, they were punished ranging from two or three times to thousands of times. Those with the heaviest sins will undergo countless incarnations a day, and will be slaughtered, grilled and cooked over and over again, never ending. "

After hearing this, the old monk raised his hand, stroked his forehead, and said happily: "In that case, it's better to become a monk like me, so you don't have to worry about that!"

The clerk retorted: "What you said is wrong! Since they have the power to harm others, they also have the power to help others!

At the Lingshan Conference, there were people who had done great things as officials during their lifetime, and they could all benefit one party. Even the four types of people mentioned above are not without doing good deeds and accumulating virtue, so they can enjoy the freedom of Buddhism! "

Hearing what he said, the old monk was startled and woke up immediately.

The old monk suddenly remembered that he had a nephew who was working as an errand in the county government. He immediately wrote a letter and sent it to him, telling his nephew to go home immediately and persuading him to change his career instead of being an errand.

The above incident was what Master Mingxin heard in the temple when the old monk told it to his nephew.

Although the words of the clerk in the dream sounded absurd on the first day of the new year, they seemed to be a made-up fable. But if you think about it carefully, the teachings set by Shinto are to make people know to be afraid. This is also a painstaking effort to warn the world to abandon evil and do good!

Therefore, we cannot criticize and say that this story is a lie!