Grateful for the empowerment of the Buddha, I set forth riding upon a white lotus flower.
I pressed my palms together in greeting to the Magistrate.
The Magistrate said, “I will take you to visit the Hell of Electric Light Screens today.”
What is the Hell of Electric‑Light Screens? It punishes mortals who, while alive, produced pornographic publications, pornographic discs, obscene images, pornographic clips, lewd audio and speech, and the like. In short, it is for those who create pornographic products that stir improper fantasies or directly arouse lustful thoughts, then deliberately put them on websites for sentient beings to view, corrupting their minds and causing them to commit the karmic offence of sexual misconduct. Also punished are those who repost such pornographic products online to disturb the minds of sentient beings. Upon the end of their earthly lives, such beings must enter this hell to receive punishment.
All sentient beings confined within this hell to undergo retribution are bound to stay here until every piece of pornographic content they produced is thoroughly erased from every website. As for those who repost such material, they shall not depart until every being they corrupted has mended their ways and will never again engage in sexual misconduct incited by pornographic content.
I asked the Magistrate, “Quite a large number of souls are imprisoned in this hell. Why are there so many creators of such obscene content?”
The Magistrate replied, “Those who repost pornographic material commit the same kind of offense and shall likewise be sent to this hell for punishment, albeit with lesser offenses compared to the original creators. Online platforms are capable of poisoning countless innocent children within a short span of time, inflicting severe damage upon their mental development. The formative years of one’s mind lay the groundwork for one’s conduct in adulthood, yet nowadays many youths develop harmful vices from an early age. As stated in the Earth Store Sutra: ‘If one encounters evil conditions, unwholesome thoughts grow stronger moment by moment.’ Once bad habits solidify into second nature, these individuals will struggle to summon remorse and reform themselves later in life, unless they receive guidance from virtuous spiritual mentors. With computer technology advancing rapidly in the modern world, countless minors lacking education on karma and causality browse pornographic content online daily. Content creators and reposters must bear full responsibility for these karmic consequences. For this reason, the Netherworld constructed this special hell to impose severe penalties on such beings.”
I watched the souls in this hell trudge naked toward rows of computers. To them, the screens displayed nothing but pornographic material, yet what I saw were instruments of torment. These devices blazed bright scarlet with radiance. When the lust-addled condemned souls drew near, fiery crimson hooks shot out from the computers to gouge out their eyes in an instant. Then electric ice needles pierced their bodies, drawing blood everywhere. The needles struck their heads first before working their way down to cover their entire frames; the scene was utterly horrific. They are trapped in these endless torments with no foreseeable release, forced to endure until every trace of pornographic content vanishes from the mortal world. Such suffering is truly boundless. I could bear it no longer and resolved to leave this hell; the sight was too harrowing to behold.
The Magistrate went on to say: “Before The Inexorable Nether Laws is formally published, Ayù, you shall release the contents online in advance. Let those karmically connected beings share and repost these accounts to purify people’s minds. Everyone who helps repost the material has a major meritorious deed recorded in their personal register of good and evil within the Netherworld, a merit equal in weight to that of filial piety toward one’s parents. Licentiousness ranks as chief among all evils; filiality takes precedence among all virtues. Our Nether Sovereign Yama King most admires and praises filial mortals. That concludes today’s visit. You may return now.”
I pressed my palms together and took my leave of the Magistrate, then returned by white lotus flower.