Before I departed, the Magistrate instructed me: “You have come here relying on the Buddha’s power, and this visit has also received approval from the sovereign above and the Yama Kings. I have been ordered to reveal the true conditions of the hells — an unprecedented disclosure of profound heavenly secrets. I hope you return to the human world and pass on this warning to all people. Do not commit sexual misconduct that ruins ethics and morality, for you forge your own hells. Such transgressions also vastly increase our workload in the hells and fuel natural disasters and man-made calamities in the human world. Look at my terrifying appearance. I hope people never have to meet me after death; they would be very fortunate.”
“Lust stands foremost among all evils.” I took my leave of the Magistrate and thanked him for his teachings. Until we meet again.
6 / The Karmic Retribution of One Hundred Thousand Years in the Great Hell for Clients of Prostitutes
Grateful to the Buddha for granting me passage to ride upon a white lotus flower. Something felt different about the hell realms today. Had I taken a wrong turn? Usually these realms are wrapped in a somber, oppressive aura, yet a powerful golden radiance filled the air — the soothing light of the Buddha. I lifted my gaze and saw that it was the Great Vow Earth Store Bodhisattva. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I immediately prostrated fully before him.
Earth Store Bodhisattva instructed me to cherish my precious human body and fulfill this meaningful mission. I must earnestly spread righteous teachings, reveal the suffering within the hells, and upon returning, exhort all living beings in the human world to turn away from evil and return to righteousness, and to abandon vice and embrace goodness. I replied joyfully to the Bodhisattva that I would do everything in my power to follow these instructions.
I first pressed my palms together and bowed to the Magistrate. “Magistrate, today I wish to inquire about the karmic retribution for clients of prostitutes, prostitutes, and procurers.”
The Magistrate explained that clients of prostitutes fall into two categories.
The first category: Those unable to restrain physical desire, whose spouses cannot satisfy them. They regularly visit the same prostitute for sexual relations. Each such act committed while alive diminishes one month of blessings and lifespan. After death, they are sent to the corresponding hells for sexual misconduct to receive punishment. Sentences vary case by case, with most lasting eight hundred years.
The second category: Those consumed by intense desire, who regularly engage with prostitutes for sexual misconduct. They waste and do not treasure their human life, living in indulgence and intoxication. They also use aids to pursue physical sensory stimulation. Each transgression committed in life reduces blessings and lifespan by one and a half months. After death, they endure one hundred thousand years of torment in the hells for sexual misconduct. Once this sentence concludes, they will be reborn as lowly animals for one thousand years. Even if they regain a human form afterward, they will suffer the retribution of muddled mental clarity.
As for prostitutes, their karmic retribution falls into three categories.