What is the true purpose of human life? Those in suffering endure hardship helplessly; those enjoying blessings create karmic deeds amid their comfort and will also undergo suffering in turn. All things are impermanent and fluctuating. If one fails to comprehend the karmic law of cause and effect, would not this precious human form be wasted in vain?
At the Dharma Assembly for Safeguarding the Nation and Alleviating Calamities, Master Yin Guang expounded that safeguarding the nation and cherishing the people hinges upon firmly believing in karma, adopting vegetarianism, releasing living beings, observing the precepts and reciting the Buddha’s name. Master Yin Guang stated: “The catastrophes befalling the world today, together with all manner of afflictions we endure, are brought forth by unwholesome karmic deeds committed in the past, resulting in the bitter retributions we experience at present. If we wish to avoid bitter retributions, we must eradicate the causes of suffering. What are the causes of suffering? They are precisely the three poisons: greed, anger and ignorance. What constitute wholesome causes? They are aiding creatures and benefiting others. If every person thoroughly understands the principle of cause and effect, everyone will refrain from all evil and practise all good. Then all kinds of disasters will naturally cease to arise. Yet people nowadays are ignorant of karmic principles, their hearts filled with selfish desires. They stop at no evil, caring only for themselves and disregarding others. The law of cause and effect is the fundamental principle with which sage rulers govern the world and with which the Tathagata delivers all sentient beings. The Buddha taught: “To know the causes of your past lives, look at what you undergo in this life. To know the fruits of your future lives, look at what you do in this life.” Yi Jing states: “A family that accumulates goodness shall enjoy lingering blessings; a family that accumulates evil shall incur lingering misfortune.” Shang Shu records: “For those who practise good, hundreds of blessings descend; for those who practise evil, hundreds of misfortunes befall.” These principles perfectly align with the doctrine of cause and effect taught by our Buddha.” Master Yin Guang’s sincere aspiration to safeguard the nation and cherish the people shines forth from his writing. Every utterance reveals ultimate truth, and every character embodies compassion.
The book The Inexorable Nether Laws lays bare the sufferings of retribution for evil karmic deeds to all people. Some claim that since many karmic retributions for evil do not manifest within this lifetime, the law of karma cannot be trusted. Thus they indulge their desires and act unscrupulously, ultimately harming others as well as themselves. They fail to understand that the karmic net stretches wide; nothing escapes its mesh. Karmic retribution spanning the three lifetimes runs through all ages. It is not that retribution will never come, but merely that the time has not yet arrived. This book opens such a skillful gateway, enabling people to recognize bitter karmic fruits and thereby eradicate their causes, and its authors hope that all will cease evil and practice virtue.
Regarding sexual misconduct, one of the causes of suffering, Master Yin Guang stated: “This conduct defies heavenly principles and disrupts human ethics. Those who engage in sexual misconduct are beasts clothed in human form while alive. After death, they fall into the three evil realms and evil paths and cannot escape for billions upon billions of kalpas.” A nation’s future rests upon its talents. What matters most for talents is their quality, and the core of quality lies in morality and ability. If multitudes indulge in sexual misconduct, corrupting virtue and impairing their faculties, endless calamities will ensue. In this life, they suffer from feeble constitutions, premature aging and frequent illnesses. Women are prone to intractable gynecological ailments, even infertility. Widespread sexual misconduct gives rise to fractured and discordant families, separation of spouses and children, and endless resentment. People encounter setbacks in their careers, ruin their reputations, lose blessings and wealth, and face shortened lifespans. Youngsters who view obscene content and engage in masturbation and sexual misconduct waste their precious youth, ruining their morality and bodies. Young people represent a nation’s future — how lamentable this is! Sexual misconduct is truly a hidden weapon that brings ruin to individuals and the nation alike. It destroys and harms people imperceptibly.
Question: What you state holds merit. Yet people may be persuaded and guided simply through rational reasoning. Why must so many descriptions of hellish punishments and gory scenes be presented, leaving people feeling frightened, oppressed and distressed? Furthermore, most people do not believe hell exists. Would this not obstruct the path of propagation itself?
Answer: A good medicine is one suited to the illness it treats. Most people in the present age no longer believe in the law of karma, let alone the law of karma spanning three lifetimes which they say is hard to see. This special skillful means is provided to help people understand that committing evil karma inevitably brings bitter karmic retribution. Thereby they may rectify their past misdeeds and amend their future conduct, avoiding falling into the evil realms. This book also contains abundant explanations on the law of karma. It places equal emphasis on principle and phenomena, with the two complementing and illuminating one another. It enables people to refrain from evil out of reverent fear, and once they cease wrongdoing, they can reform themselves. When this comes to pass, the gates of hell shall break open, and the path of Bodhi shall unfold.
Question: Is the book The Inexorable Nether Laws authentic? “It exists if you believe in it; it does not if you do not.” If I do not read it, I will feel more at ease.
Answer: The saying “It exists if you believe in it; it does not if you do not” does not hold true; the principle applies equally to everyone. To judge whether the accounts in The Inexorable Nether Laws are true, we should take the law of cause and effect expounded by the Buddha as the criterion. The book elaborates only a small portion of karmic retributions in the hells in modern times, aiming to guide people toward goodness. Truth should not be judged merely by whether we have witnessed it personally or not, just as celestial bodies in outer space exist regardless of whether limited scientific knowledge in a certain era has discovered them. Does something remain non-existent simply because it cannot be observed temporarily? Strictly speaking, the fact that people have not perceived certain things for the time being does not prove they do not exist.
If everyone abides by their proper duties as human beings, there will inevitably be peace of body and mind, harmonious families and a tranquil society. A nation is built upon its people, and the foundation of people lies in virtue. As an ancient maxim states: A nation cannot flourish without virtue; a person cannot stand firm without moral integrity!
Daolan (respectfully with palms together)