May all sentient beings transcend birth and death, escape the Three Realms, be freed from suffering, and attain bliss!
May all sentient beings hear the true Dharma, and uphold pure precepts to perfection! Let the precepts shine like flawless pearls, untainted by defilement!
May Mother Earth restore her magnetic field to the balance and harmony that prevailed at the beginning of the kalpa! May every karmically connected sentient being who comes across this writing share its message with their relatives and friends far and wide! May they cherish this precious human body obtained through observing the Five Precepts in past lifetimes, cultivate the Dharma earnestly, and make the most of this leisure-endowed human body to persist in upholding pure precepts, elevate the innate radiance of our self-nature, and reach the other shore of liberation without delay!
May our spiritual nature advance toward brightness! If every sentient being possesses spiritual brightness, the entire universe and nature will naturally attain equilibrium, and we will not face so many natural disasters arising from collective karma. Thus, for the sake of the entire cosmos, we must first cultivate ourselves well. Each of us is a small universe which is linked to the great universe. One contains all; all resides within one. There is no separation between self and others, and all existences are inextricably interconnected. Never delude yourself into thinking that private deeds remain unseen. Even a single idea of good or evil is instantly recorded in the ledgers of merits and demerits maintained by the netherworld authorities.
Full of compassion, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas constantly seek ways to liberate living beings. In today’s human society, morality (Dao and virtue) has declined. Though advanced technology has brought abundant material comforts to people, human minds have grown deeply corrupted. Most modern people do not believe in karmic retribution, dismissing it as an outdated idea out of step with the times. Even children are no longer as pure and good-natured as humans were at the kalpa’s beginning, let alone adults. Little do they know that the root cause lies in the loss of the noble ancient traditions of Confucius and Mencius and education based on the Four Books and Five Classics.
Modern people live with liberal spiritual outlooks and dress revealingly. Garments sold in major shopping malls such as camisoles and tank tops are widely regarded as acceptable nowadays. Such attire would have been utterly unthinkable for women in ancient times. Stores selling adult intimate products can be seen everywhere in modern society. Newspapers at newsstands and magazine covers are almost plastered with images of women in skimpy bikinis and low‑cut outfits. Children are inevitably exposed to these images every day, making it extremely difficult to keep them from going astray. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas perceive that today’s human society grievously lacks education rooted in the teachings of ancient sages and worthies. They lament that once sentient beings’ spiritual nature fades away, disasters will strike one after another without cease. Though there remain virtuous people who continuously share writings and messages intended to redeem the declining morality of the mortal (human) world, if sentient beings refuse to abandon evil and embrace goodness, they will inevitably fall into the hell realms upon the end of their mortal lives. There they shall endure endless varieties of torment, with no chance of liberation.
The Heavenly Emperor, out of compassion, saw that the numerous great hells were already completely overcrowded, so he had no choice but to order the continuous construction and expansion of more new hells, especially the hells for those guilty of sexual misconduct. Many young children suffered torments in these hells of sexual misconduct, all because they were severely deprived of sound moral values and teachings on karmic retribution during their mortal lives. This was truly a profound sorrow for all human beings in the mortal world! For this reason, the Heavenly Emperor made a special supplication to the Buddha, asking him to select a suitable disciple living in the mortal world who strictly observed pure precepts. This disciple was to tour the hells in full waking awareness, then return to the mortal world to compose a book that recorded all scenes of the hells in detail to inform all living people on earth. The book is titled The Inexorable Nether Laws. After each trip to witness the hells, this disciple of the mortal world needed to write down accounts in simple, easy‑to‑understand language. Every draft needed to undergo revisions and cross‑checking for factual accuracy before publication. Sometimes, to perfect a single report, Ayù (the pet name of Shangguan Yuhua) had to travel back and forth between the mortal world and the netherworld many times to confirm the authenticity of the contents. Thus, the accounts recorded in this book are entirely different from the virtuous tracts once widespread among humans: those written via planchette divination, by mediums possessed by ghosts or souls, or supernatural accounts recounted from people’s dreams.
Out of compassion, the Heavenly Emperor has ordained this unprecedented mission: to entrust me, Shangguan Yuhua, to lay bare the true conditions of the hells to all mortal beings. He hopes this book will serve as a solemn warning for the world, guiding people to cultivate their minds and nurture their nature, so they will henceforth abstain from breaking precepts and committing misdeeds. This will drastically reduce the likelihood of them falling into the hell realms to endure torment once their human lives end. If people relay these genuine truths about the hells to others, awakening more worldly folk to turn away from evil and walk the upright path, and diligently do good deeds to accumulate merits and blessings, they may be spared the retribution for the evil causes of hell they previously created. They may then be reborn in blessed lands, or change from a female to a male body. Naturally, all specific outcomes shall be definitively judged by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and the workings of karmic cause and effect.
Within every single living being lies a path leading toward radiance, a ladder reserved for living beings who truly repent to climb step by step. May all living beings understand that sowing good karma brings good fruits, while planting evil karmas invites bitter retributions. Karmic consequences follow one’s every move like a shadow. It is not that there will be no reckoning—only that the time has not yet come!
Not long ago, the Buddha instructed Ayù to tour the hells and return to record written accounts, so that all people might comprehend karma and uphold the pure precepts with sincerity. I earnestly hope those who have not yet kept the precepts will diligently abide by them, and those who already observe them will strive for further progress, continuously elevating their spiritual level and realm to engage in more deeds that benefit all living beings.