“Very well! Amitabha! Thank you, Honourable Magistrate!”
I pressed my palms together respectfully to the Magistrate, then departed by white lotus flower!
3 / At Last Beholding the Fabled Karma-Manifesting Mirror — No One Is Good Before the Platform of the Karma-Manifesting Mirror!
Grateful for the empowerment of the Buddha! I departed riding a white lotus flower.
“Amitabha!” Ayù pressed her palms together in greeting to the Magistrate. “Magistrate, I have a question today. What is the legendary platform of the karma-manifesting mirror like? When I was young, I often heard my elders say that after people pass away, they must stand before this mirror in the netherworld. I wonder if this tale holds true. I long to witness it.”
The Magistrate explained, “The platform of the karma-manifesting mirror is crafted specifically for those who commit evil karmas. Within every being’s mind resides something like a karma-manifesting recorder. All virtuous and evil deeds performed by mortals each day are recorded and captured. The attendant deities also keep track of every action in secret. The platform of the karma-manifesting mirror is made of sacred wood and crystalline treasure from the human realm, condensed by the yin-yang miraculous qi of heaven and earth. The yang qi represents brightness and good karma, while the yin qi stands for darkness and evil karma. If people in the human world practice good deeds throughout life, their souls radiate light. When they stand before the karma-manifesting mirror, only radiance appears with no images shown. Hence virtuous people need not face this mirror. Yet if people commit any evil deeds in life, no matter how secret, they know them clearly in their hearts. All such deeds are stored within the ālaya-vijñāna, the inner mind mirror, casting shadows within.
The platform of the karma-manifesting mirror is formed from the fusion of yin and yang energies. When it encounters the evil karma of a condemned soul, the yin qi resonates instantly, projecting all the evil acts the spirit committed in its lifetime. Every misdeed is laid bare without omission, leaving nowhere to hide.
As stated in the Avatamsaka Sutra:
‘If one wishes to understand
All Buddhas of past, present and future,