One should contemplate the nature of the Dharma realm;
Everything is created solely by the mind.’ This is a projection of the mind.
Once a condemned soul stands before the platform of the karma-manifesting mirror, every secret misdeed, great and small, committed throughout its lifetime will be displayed one after another. When all hidden evils perpetrated by the spirit are projected on the mirror, all beings gathered around the platform can witness every wicked act simultaneously. Many condemned souls are overwhelmed with shame, remorse and terror. Yet repentance is of no avail at this stage. Helplessly, they are dragged away by fierce ghost officers to endure prolonged torment in the hells.
If people in the human world practice goodness and accumulate virtues throughout their lives, living upright and open lives without hidden transgressions, they possess the supreme goodness and pure yang energy. When they approach the platform of the karma-manifesting mirror, nothing appears upon its surface. Those who practice goodness all their lives need not stand before this mirror. After death, they ascend directly according to the radiance of their spiritual nature. The brighter one’s spiritual nature, the higher one ascends. Some depart for a certain Buddhaland or pure land with which they have karmic affinities; others are escorted by virtuous divinities to the heavenly realms. Souls of neither good nor evil will undergo judgment by the Yama Kings of the Ten Halls before being reborn in the mortal world. Whether they are reborn as male or female, wealthy or poor, blessed with long life or destined for an early death, all depends on the extent of their blessings. Those who have committed evil karma must come before the mirror, where all their misdeeds are revealed. They are then led away in shame and helplessness by ghost wardens.”
“Ayù, follow me to view the Hall of the Karma Manifesting Mirror.”
“I obey, Magistrate.”
A crowd of figures came into sight ahead. A huge oval mirror stood before us. The Magistrate told me this was the Platform of the Karma-Manifesting Mirror. The inscription “No One Is Good Before the Platform of the Karma-Manifesting Mirror” was written at the top. The Magistrate asked me to take measurements.
The platform stood approximately 3.3 meters high and 1.8 meters wide. The mirror rested upon a rectangular turquoise wooden base carved with embossed patterns. Its face was formed of crystalline treasure, framed by embossed turquoise wooden ornamentation. This crystalline surface acted as a great screen projecting all the sinful deeds of condemned souls. The carved turquoise wood glimmered with faint eerie light. Coupled with the ferocious, grim ghost officers standing nearby, the scene inspired profound dread. As hidden evils unknown to others during the souls’ mortal lives unfolded on the mirror, the evidence stood plain for all to see. The sight chilled the heart to the core, intensifying the horror tenfold.
These condemned souls here had all just passed away, and they could already sense the aura of the underworld. Most wore gloomy, dejected looks. Just then, I heard a man shout, “I never committed murder or arson in my life! Why drag me here? Let me out!” Two ferocious ghost officers seized the man and shoved him violently toward the Platform of the Karma-Manifesting Mirror. The man was forced to his knees in agony.
The grand karmic mirror instantly revealed scenes of his rampant sexual misconduct throughout his life, involving multiple women; the sights were utterly repulsive. This constituted extreme licentiousness, which drove his lawful wife to waste away and die of sorrow in bed. Fortunately, such visions could not affect me; otherwise I would have felt the urge to cleanse my eyes after witnessing them. By this point, the condemned soul’s legs trembled uncontrollably, and the ghost officers dragged him away.