30 / The Magistrate Reveals the Truth of The Jade Record — Wholeheartedly Uphold The Jade Record and The Inexorable Nether Laws
Grateful for the empowerment of the Buddha! I departed riding a white lotus flower.
“Amitabha!” I, Ayù, pressed my palms together in greeting to the Magistrate.
I asked the Magistrate, “What of the authenticity of The Jade Record, which has circulated for a long time in the mortal world?” The Magistrate replied: “The Jade Record is genuine. It is a precious classic specially transmitted to the human realm out of the profound compassion of Great Emperor Fengdu, the Nether Sovereign Yama King. The Jade Record was written by a Dao cultivator named Danchi. During meditation, Danchi traveled through the netherworld and recorded his journey in manuscript. Later, he passed the manuscript to his disciple Daoist Wumi, and it was from Wumi that The Jade Record began to spread throughout the mortal world. After touring the hells in those days, Daoist Danchi did not immediately publish and circulate the work to humanity. Instead, he entrusted his disciple Daoist Wumi to propagate it only shortly before his passing and transcendence.
“The hells were far smaller in ancient times. There was only one Great Emperor Fengdu, the Nether Sovereign Yama King, who was the supreme ruler of the nether realm. Under him were the Ten Yama Kings, the second tier of authority who received orders from Great Emperor Fengdu. Each of the Ten Yama Kings governed the greater and lesser hells within their respective halls. Up to the present day, there remains one supreme ruler over the netherworld: the Nether Sovereign Yama King. However, two additional kings have been appointed beneath him, raising the total number from the original Ten Kings of Hell to the Twelve Kings of Hell. The appointment of these two new Yama kings has not lessened the workload for the hell kings. Instead, ever more condemned souls fall into the hells, and every hell is overcrowded. Consequently, the workload of all hell kings has surged dramatically. The king in charge of the Hells of Sexual Misconduct, in particular, bears a severely overburdened workload.
“Even the original Ten Halls have now expanded greatly in area. Ayù, you visited the Hells of Sexual Misconduct not long ago. They stretch to the west and north of the infernal realm. Overseeing all the various hells within that region is King Qingping. At present, the Hells of Sexual Misconduct occupy the largest land area among all hells. To accommodate newly constructed hells, the netherworld authorities have adjusted the internal layout of certain infernal regions. There is another ruler in the netherworld named King Haishan, who governs the Spiritual Nature Hells of the south. Eight hells fall under his jurisdiction. Among them stands the massive Hell of Wailing City of the Wrongfully Dead, which you have witnessed before. There are also large hells such as the Hell of Abundant Harvest for those who waste food, the Hell of Wrong Views and Slander, and the Vajrayana Hell. Multitudes of modern beings are sent to these hells to undergo karmic retribution. King Haishan oversees these newly built southern hells, which Daoist Danchi never got to visit. In ancient times, human minds were comparatively pure, and there was no need for such an extensive array of Hells of Sexual Misconduct to mete out punishment. Of course, people committed evil deeds back then, yet never as recklessly and brazenly as they do today. In ages past, the Ten Halls of Hell were sufficient to discipline the living beings who sank down from the mortal world after committing the Ten Evils. Nowadays, countless beings in the human world practice evil, while very few cultivate goodness. Not even one out of five hundred people practices goodness and observes the precepts, and those who transgress moral laws and break the precepts can be found everywhere.
“Both The Jade Record and The Inexorable Nether Laws are important books emanating from the netherworld to exhort and transform the hearts of people in the human realm. The accounts in The Inexorable Nether Laws are set forth with greater clarity and thoroughness, presenting the current true conditions within the netherworld.
“Furthermore, the burden of your responsibility is immense. The Heavenly Emperor and the Nether Sovereign Yama King eagerly anticipate that The Inexorable Nether Laws may circulate in the human world as soon as possible. They hope it can soon help restore people’s hearts, purify the human world and reduce the vast number of living beings who continue to fall into the hells day after day. Our discussion shall conclude here for today. Return again should you have further questions.”
“Amitabha! Gratitude to the Magistrate!” After pressing my palms together and bowing to the Magistrate, I returned by white lotus flower.
31 / The Horrific Torments of the Great Avīchi Hell; Divine Beast Diting Teaches the Practice of Altruism