“When a mortal accumulates excessive black karma, the female attendant deity will warn and admonish them in displeasure. Only a tiny number of people can pick up faint prompts, while the vast majority remain unaware. Every month, the two deities submit their detailed records of good and evil deeds to the netherworld.
“For those who commit grave evils and bring harm to the world, the netherworld will arrange sudden disasters to cut their lives short even before their destined lifespan expires, sending their souls straight into hell to undergo punishments. Apart from fixed karmic destinies, every word and action in this life creates fresh karma. One’s blessing rewards and karmic balance rise and fall daily, computed by adding and subtracting the good and evil acts one commits.”
Ayù: “I am truly grateful for your thorough explanation, Magistrate. I wish to ask further: Must anglers lose their blessing rewards in this way even when they merely fish for casual amusement? If someone with sparse blessing rewards goes angling frequently, would their life turn utterly miserable?”
The Magistrate: “That is correct. A single fish is a sentient life. By ending its life in a brief moment, the karmic force of this transgression and killing rebounds swiftly upon the angler to be endured. Some people may claim: ‘I follow no religion and need not observe any precepts; I enjoy full freedom. Besides, angling is nothing like murder or arson, merely a pastime in spare time.’ Such thinking is erroneous. The Nether Laws and Regulations bind every sentient being without exception. Whether religious or not, all wrongdoers will inevitably face judgment under the Nether Laws. Practitioners who break precepts incur heavier penalties; deliberate transgression brings aggravated punishment. There is only one way to escape punishments in hell: observe the Five Precepts and the Ten Good Deeds. Those who uphold the Five Precepts can retain rebirth as a human; those who practice the Ten Good Deeds safeguard their blessing rewards and do not fall into lower realms. Yet people in the human world easily commit the Ten Evils through careless daily words and deeds. The most reliable method to preserve one’s blessing rewards is observing precepts and reciting the Buddha’s name. By persistently reciting the Buddha’s name without ceasing, one will surely reach the state of exhausted karma and emptied desires, and recover the innate pre‑heaven radiance.
“Every person is surrounded by souls of one’s karmic enemies, beloved ones and creditors waiting for a chance to retaliate. Any act violating the Nether Laws gives these souls an opening to seek vengeance. Even true Dharma‑protecting deities do not interfere with the karmic order of the netherworld, nor do they condone precept violations. These true Dharma‑protecting deities enforce the Nether Laws with a compassionate mind, dispensing fair rewards and punishments to all sentient beings.
“Everyone is born carrying good and evil karmas accumulated from past lives. If one strictly upholds the Five Precepts and Ten Good Deeds, surrounding karmic foes, beloved ones and creditors can only follow them, with no opportunity to inflict harm. You may wonder why some indulge in false speech, sexual misconduct and debauchery, living lives that flout the Nether Laws while still enjoying wealth and status. This is because they possess great good karma from former lives, and their allotted blessing rewards in this lifetime have not yet been exhausted.
“When one’s good karma prevails, one attracts favorable fortunes, smooth undertakings and happiness. Those who keep breaking precepts without cultivating fresh goodness and blessings deplete their stored goodness and blessing rewards little by little, joy fading and suffering following. If an angler lacks other virtuous deeds, repeated killing builds up heavy black karma. Combined with past evil deeds, non‑human karmic foes, beloved ones and creditors may possess their bodies to wreak havoc, triggering unforeseen disasters and even taking their lives.
We must pause here due to limited time. Follow me, Ayù.”
Ayù: “Very well, Magistrate.”
The Magistrate: “This hell was built as an addition in mortal year 1995. Most condemned souls here are people from the East.”