Preface
The book The Inexorable Nether Laws was written by fellow practitioner Shangguan Yuhua with exhaustive energy and devotion. Throughout its composition, forces from the Three Realms—the upper realm, the middle realm and the lower realm—have lent their support. Heaven, earth, ghosts and spirits all place high hopes upon this book whose purpose is to reverse the declining moral climate and rectify people’s minds. Following the ancient classic Precious Scroll of the Jade Calendar, it stands as another important work of the netherworld. Nowadays, the minds of people in human society have grown depraved and morality has collapsed. Therefore, the genuine truths of hell and the unseen nether world must be made known to all people, so as to save those destined beings whose virtuous roots have not yet been completely severed.
The netherworld grants this special dispensation precisely in accordance with Earth Store Bodhisattva’s wish. All that is seen and heard within the hells shall be disclosed to living beings in the mortal realm. This unprecedented exception allows the initial manuscript of this book to be completed within this year, so as to avert great calamities in the human world.
All who uphold the laws of the netherworld shall ascend to the heavens and be erased from the rolls of the netherworld. If one dedicates the meritorious virtues of saving beings to one’s own rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, one shall be reborn therein and attain the superior lotus grade. All disciples of the Three Jewels must uphold this book and practice accordingly in compliance with the teachings.
Whoever attains the Dharma shall deliver the nine generations of their descendants and seven generations of their ancestors to transcend the lower realms, freeing them from suffering and granting them bliss. For those who aspire to repay the four great kindnesses above and save all sentient beings below, there is no greater deed than promoting, abiding by, and propagating this sacred text!
Written in the Year of Renchen Miaozheng, palms pressed together in reverence
0 / The Author’s Preface
Amitabha! Greetings to all!
May the world abide in peace, and all wars and conflicts cease!
May all sentient beings throughout the Dharma realm dwell in joy, peace and serenity!