關於 如何 向 觀世音菩薩 求 子 ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

【心靈小品】生命的轉捩點——懺悔法門

仍在懵懵懂懂的二十二歲，我就隨著聖嚴師父出家了。「生轉熟，熟轉生」的學習過程並非易事，感恩有懺悔法門為依怙，才能一路走到現在。

剛出家還是行者時，年輕氣盛，往往動輒得咎，體力用不盡，修行不得力。那時在寺院廚房大寮領執，憑著一點小聰明，對一切總是有很多意見，尤其與組長之間常常意見不合。聖嚴師父常提醒我不能與人衝突，要多拜佛、多念觀世音菩薩。我心裡真的不想跟任何人對立，很努力聽師父的話，也時時警惕自己要與人和諧相處。但是，愈不想碰面的人，愈容易碰面；愈不想對立的人，愈容易衝突。這就是佛法所說的人生八苦之一的「怨憎會苦」，心所憎惡的人或事，愈想遠離，反而愈易共聚。看到自己只能被強大的業力推著走，完全不能自主，實在很痛苦。
　　
年紀輕輕學佛，如同一張白紙；能接受高明畫師的指導，才有機會畫出好圖。我時常分享自己是有福報的人，這份福報不是因為年輕出家，而是在年輕的時候，就確立了對聖嚴師父的信心。

由於自己身心經常無法調適，與人產生的種種對立和衝突，聲音都傳到師父那裡。有一天早課時，聖嚴師父只好找我談話：「你到底有沒有用師父教你的方法在修行呢？」想不到師父甚至問我：「你到底想不想出家啊？」這才知道事態嚴重，可能無法順利落髮。幸好師父接著問：「師父幫你做個法好不好？」我說：「只要能夠出家，不被趕出去，要我做什麼都可以！」那時只心想原來師父有法力真厲害，還不太了解什麼是懺法。
　　
早齋過後，師父讓所有僧眾在大殿集合，並要我在佛前跪下。師父說：「僧團是一個和合的僧團，不允許吵架。果慨行者常做錯事，還好與人爭辯，今天他要向僧團大眾求懺悔！」於是我跪在佛前向大眾懺悔，看著佛菩薩、看著師父、看著僧團的每一位法師，在那一瞬間，我確實打從心底真心覺得對不起大眾：對不起為我擔心的師父、對不起當家師、對不起組長……，心中充滿對不起的悔意。懺悔結束後，師父說：「大家也要感恩果慨，讓僧團有機會將懺悔羯摩建立起來，師父也有因緣可以親自主持，給未來僧團做了很好的示範。」
　　
求懺之後，原本笨重的身體突然變得輕盈了，整個人彷彿新生一般，好輕盈！好輕鬆！察覺自己的身心反應後，更是感動：感動自己遇到一位有法的師父，不僅對弟子的身心狀況瞭若指掌，在修行的道路上，也清楚如何協助弟子們繼續往前走。從那一刻起，我對我的師父，深信不疑！出家至今，更清楚知道修行能走到什麼程度，取決於對三寶和師父的信心。
　　
這次的懺悔羯摩，對我後續的修行方向，具有關鍵性的影響。由於身心產生如此巨大的轉變，而大感好奇師父到底幫我做了什麼法？我於是開始投入鑽研懺悔法門，所以懺悔法門便成為我的主修功課。
　　
佛法的修持法門，不出「戒、定、慧」三學。凡夫眾生持戒不可能清淨，若要清淨，必須修懺悔法門。因此，「戒」的重點，其實在於「懺」。為什麼要懺呢？舉例來說：身體是修行的道器，就像一個杯子裡若裝滿髒水，就無法倒入法水，必須先將杯內的髒水倒出，才能有空間倒入法水，慢慢稀釋。如何倒出髒水呢？必須要修懺悔法門。
　　
我們在禪堂打坐、在佛堂念佛、在法堂研讀教理，有些時候不得其力、難入其門，這就表示有障礙；或許可以先暫時放下目前的用功方式，轉而修持懺悔法門，即是先清除修行上的障礙，再繼續使用原本的法門，反而事半功倍。我們修行也可選擇以懺悔法門為主修法門，譬如大悲懺、淨土懺、地藏懺、法華三昧懺、梁皇寶懺、慈悲三昧水懺等等，這些懺法事理兼備，但若想真正受用，仍需要請教真正懂得懺悔法門的明師，因為這些懺悔法門帶有禪觀，而禪觀需要正知正見的老師指導。
　　
聖嚴師父曾說：「懺悔業障，是佛教徒們天天要修的功課。」我自己因受益於懺悔法門甚多，確信懺悔法門是一切法門的前方便，也可以此直至究竟成佛。
　　
《拜懺50問》一書能讓我們對於懺法，有一個整體的基本認識，更重要的是可以協助我們建立正確的知見，掌握拜懺的要領，化解心中的迷惑，所以樂於推薦給所有學佛者閱讀。
　　
懺悔，真的是改變生命的轉捩點！只要願意開始試著拜懺，就能體會什麼是懺悔得清淨！懺悔得安樂！

釋果慨　　（法鼓山弘化發展專案總召集人）
◎ 本文摘自：《拜懺50問》導讀
◎轉載自法鼓文化-心靈網路書店​

更多心靈小品 https://pse.is/3b4wkr

#心靈小品

十二星座【一周運勢】吉凶
這周有一個重要星象，就是逆行的木星即將在7/28逆行進入水瓶座，在這期間人際關係、社交活動會受到嚴重的影響，記得說話的藝術很重要，有話要說出口前，一定要再三思考說了這句話後，會不會讓對方或自己受到傷害。如果真的讓對方不舒服，也請鄭重向對方道歉，千萬不要用說話直接來掩蓋自己的錯誤。另外，聰明反被聰明誤，不要想耍小聰明，最後如果被發現，你將會失信於人。
目前月亮在雙魚，為我們帶來柔性的感受，部分的人在工作或是計劃上，會有更多的靈感與創造。而此刻，也是個大利於感情發展的時候，對於想找尋對象的人，當你遇到稍微聊得來的人，不妨就可以考慮試著和他做進一步的發展，記得，也不要把擇偶的條件列的太嚴苛；而有伴侶的人，你能感到另一半加倍的疼惜與愛護，多抽出一些時間陪伴對方吧，讓他也能感受到你的熱情與關懷。那麼現在就跟老師一起來看十二星座一周運勢吉凶，請同時參考太陽丶上升。

白羊座
（07/26~08/01 包含上升星座）。最近你是走戀愛運的時機。當太陽來到獅子座的時候，喚醒了火象星座朋友的戀愛好運氣，你在未來的一個月當中，非常適合花時間在情人身上，多去陪伴你喜歡的人，你會得到很好的戀愛回應。你會想要買東西送給你的愛人，這是談戀愛過程中非常幸福的時刻，因為對方的開心滿足，自己也獲得了戀愛的價值和存在感。特別提醒，7月28日（星期三）觀世音菩薩得道日。老師當天會去祈福。請多念南無觀世音大慈大悲救苦救難廣大靈感觀世音菩薩摩訶薩。

金牛座
（07/26~08/01 包含上升星座）。你最近的感情運勢越來越明朗確定，過去尋尋覓覓的戀愛狀態將告一段落，未來將是非常篤定、非常確定的情人關係。所以想要告白的朋友，可以找機會向對方吐露自己的愛意，和對彼此未來的期待。因為你幸福的人生願景，對方將受到你的吸引而有終成眷屬的可能性。特別提醒，7月28日（星期三）觀世音菩薩得道日。老師當天會去祈福。請多念南無觀世音大慈大悲救苦救難廣大靈感觀世音菩薩摩訶薩。

雙子座
（07/26~08/01 包含上升星座）。最近會花很多時間在居家的室內裝潢和打掃上面，你覺得保持一個乾淨清潔的居家空間是非常重要的事情。這樣住起來不僅自己開心，而且風水對健康運勢的影響，你是非常重視的。最近的心情很不錯，可能跟最近的天氣都是晴朗有關。在盛夏時光就應該去曬曬太陽，去海邊走走，去享受海邊玩水、溪邊垂釣的逍遙。特別提醒，7月28日（星期三）觀世音菩薩得道日。老師當天會去祈福。請多念南無觀世音大慈大悲救苦救難廣大靈感觀世音菩薩摩訶薩。

巨蟹座
（07/26~08/01 包含上升星座）。最近你有一波賺錢的機會，不管是業績、正職收入、兼職的機會都會比過去一段時間來的多。在走財運的時候，你就應該全力以赴，因為旺盛的財運不是天天報到的。最近可以明顯感覺到家有喜事的好心情。家中成員的好事情，例如買車、買房、嫁娶、進人口，或是考上理想的學校，你的心情也同樣的喜悅興奮。特別提醒，7月28日（星期三）觀世音菩薩得道日。老師當天會去祈福。請多念南無觀世音大慈大悲救苦救難廣大靈感觀世音菩薩摩訶薩。

獅子座
（07/26~08/01 包含上升星座）。首先祝福你生日快樂。好好享受難得的生日時刻，因為在過生日的時候，你許願的能量是非常強大的。在好心情來臨的時候，未來一個月，所有事情都是可以順利逢凶化吉。而且你的健康運也進入到休養、康復和復原的階段。關於感情的部分，雙方多溝通、忍讓，彼此尊重是化解衝突的最佳策略。特別提醒，7月28日（星期三）觀世音菩薩得道日。老師當天會去祈福。請多念南無觀世音大慈大悲救苦救難廣大靈感觀世音菩薩摩訶薩。

處女座
（07/26~08/01 包含上升星座）。你最近的戀愛運、旅行運、合作運和展開新計劃的運氣是非常好的。是一種開始新任務，展開新生活的重要時刻。過去在醞釀中的事情，到了八月份會得到不同能量的幫助，一切的因緣都具足了，是積極展開行動的時刻。你會因為這個新計劃的開始而變得做任何事情都非常積極、自信 。特別提醒，7月28日（星期三）觀世音菩薩得道日。老師當天會去祈福。請多念南無觀世音大慈大悲救苦救難廣大靈感觀世音菩薩摩訶薩。

天秤座
（07/26~08/01 包含上升星座）。最近的愛情運，有一點撲朔迷離，因為你正在進行中的戀愛關係可能不只一個對象。在舊感情可能消失，新的戀愛對象又還不能確定彼此關係的時候，愛情確實是最近第一煩惱的事情。不管你選擇新對象，還是選擇舊感情。你都要學習在兩性關係中成長。只有互相進步的感情關係，這樣的戀愛品質才是最佳狀態。特別提醒，7月28日（星期三）觀世音菩薩得道日。老師當天會去祈福。請多念南無觀世音大慈大悲救苦救難廣大靈感觀世音菩薩摩訶薩。

天蠍座
（07/26~08/01 包含上升星座）。你最近的工作運、職場運、求職運勢非常好，人生更上一層樓的機會是可以期待的。如果在找工作、換工作的朋友，你一定要積極的去面試，因為最近你會得到貴人相助，你有的優秀表現和才華讓人刮目相看，只要你願意爭取的機會，就一定會有希望，如果最近在等待成績放榜，你有機會金榜題名。特別提醒，7月28日（星期三）觀世音菩薩得道日。老師當天會去祈福。請多念南無觀世音大慈大悲救苦救難廣大靈感觀世音菩薩摩訶薩。

射手座
（07/26~08/01 包含上升星座）。你最近很適合閱讀、很適合學習、適合開發自己的才華與潛能，例如廚藝、做西式蛋糕、或是做中式的糕點，只要你感興趣的料理方式，你就去嘗試，一定會有所收穫，而且最後做成的食物也會大受好評。在嘗試中學習和成長，並且增進了親子關係互動，這才是最難得的體驗和收穫。特別提醒，7月28日（星期三）觀世音菩薩得道日。老師當天會去祈福。請多念南無觀世音大慈大悲救苦救難廣大靈感觀世音菩薩摩訶薩。

魔羯座
（07/26~08/01 包含上升星座）。你最近和家人父母的關係有一些緊張。如果和父母同住的朋友，一定會明顯感覺到父母所帶給你的各種壓力和碎念，讓你覺得還是早一點搬出去住好了。如果是沒有跟父母同住的，父母一樣可以透過電話的遠端遙控你，這也讓你感覺到非常沒有自由的感覺。總之，如何跟父母關係維持好，這是人生當中最大的課題。要兼顧到自己的脾氣個性，又要兼顧對父母的孝道和順從，真的是不容易的事情。特別提醒，7月28日（星期三）觀世音菩薩得道日。老師當天會去祈福。請多念南無觀世音大慈大悲救苦救難廣大靈感觀世音菩薩摩訶薩。

水瓶座
（07/26~08/01 包含上升星座）。最近主要的生活麻煩，就是去適應這個逆境的生活狀態。你發現人生在順境還是逆境中，所遭遇到的人生課題真的是天差地遠。在順境中，做任何事情都有貴人幫助，而且機會非常多，無憂無慮，做一得十。但是在逆境中卻是處處碰壁，還有小人為你設下破財陷阱。最近的水瓶座朋友，需要與人生的逆境相處。用智慧和平靜的心去面對動蕩的環境與時代。特別提醒，7月28日（星期三）觀世音菩薩得道日。老師當天會去祈福。請多念南無觀世音大慈大悲救苦救難廣大靈感觀世音菩薩摩訶薩。

雙魚座
（07/26~08/01 包含上升星座）。最近你的運勢是躍升狀態，做任何事情都非常的順利，你的愛情也是順利的、婚姻也是心想事成的，想要懷孕的朋友，也有機會順利的懷孕生產。在一切都是美好平順的時候，可以安排全家的旅行，把這一份幸福的感覺分享給你的家人朋友。因為好運氣是可以傳遞的，當你把快樂的心情，順利的人生狀態分享給你身邊的朋友，你也將收穫更幸福、更美好的人生狀態。特別提醒，7月28日（星期三）觀世音菩薩得道日。老師當天會去祈福。請多念南無觀世音大慈大悲救苦救難廣大靈感觀世音菩薩摩訶薩。

「地獄空」攝影集即將在八月中元節前出版，由知名設計師與攝影家黃子欽設計，內附在下二位高徒精美繪製符咒、心經版畫書籤、愣嚴咒牌、尊勝咒語...等，感恩十方大德助印，希望疫情退散，平安喜樂，後記如下：

野放台灣五十餘年，貪狼獨坐，三方四正殺破狼格局，少年多舛，白手起家，隨展覽雲遊四海，如閒雲野鶴常持各類底片機流連廢墟、山川、宮廟忘返，遂設幻影堂自詡堂主，一日三省「凡所有相皆是虛妄」，常宅於暗房沖片放大通宵、鍾情黑白世界之單純，彩色照片俗世繽紛花俏做作甜美甚至比現實更現實故少拍也。知天命之年有餘，了悟人生一瞬、眨眼即逝，雖非仙人，亦無道骨，初聞離垢地生清淨心，但離華嚴「不動地」尚遠，待修持也。
2017年盛暑拍畢《巨神連線》，心律不整差點心肌梗塞向閻羅王報到，意識死神隨伺在側，人生苦短，如何了生脫死、盡斷煩惱、無所罣礙、遠離顛倒……總不得解，蒙釋迦摩尼佛開示飆淚三晝夜，聞佛法數載始知自我渺如塵埃，甚感慚愧。閒暇乃參訪名寺古剎，禮敬焚香佛陀菩薩羅漢諸神天仙王爺媽娘，台灣宮廟千奇百怪、宗派錯綜複雜（佛教、道教、一貫道、天主教、基督教、齋教、回教＆大同教、儒教鑾堂、天帝教＆天德教、慈惠堂＆勝安宮、軒轅教、道院、理教、萬國道德會、會靈山……）、神棍橫行（依人不依法、偶像崇拜、斂財、邪淫），因歷史變遷、社會動盪、政治鬥爭、意識形態等因素導致佛道混雜，但地獄造景稀少，後專注拍攝各殿閻王、判官、陰司、獄卒、七爺、八爺乃至一切罪人，各寺造景巧妙、耐人尋味，意境乖張溢於言表，造型扭曲非常人所能塑也，然匠心獨運、自成一格，專研西方藝術數十載方知真誠樸拙最美，絲毫不輸喬托（Giotto di Bondone，1267～1337）乃至米開朗基羅（Michelangelo Di lodovico Buonarroti Simoni 1475 ~ 1564）矣。

創立於1986年的石門金剛宮風景優美可眺望北濱，雖主祀四面佛，儒釋道眾神尊也不含糊，可過七星橋解厄、繞行五百黝黑羅漢敲鑼印心、跪拜亞洲最大臥佛涅槃像，安太歲自不在話下，甲子太歲爺雙眼長出手掌印象甚深，1994年經閻羅王指示廟公建造一條肚內設極樂世界及陰曹地府之神龍，行走暗黑通道觸動感應機關，只見面容猙獰受刑者呼天搶地喊冤、身邊盡是血肉糢糊殘肢敗屍腦漿塗地，十殿閻羅各司其職、威儀攝人。新北市林口區青嶺湖北文紫祥宮包公廟則以壁面彩塑地獄浮雕獨步全台，粉嫩色彩搭配卡漫風格，尤為造型簡直恐怖到可愛透頂，該廟主祀森羅殿閻羅天子包拯（包青天），陽世冤屈者可至此參拜祭解，求破懸案者眾，逢中元普渡皆以紙紮船渡亡魂至彼岸，全台唯一閻羅天子巨像籌備中，四周環繞墓地，適合修不淨觀也。台灣首尊彰化八卦山大佛旁南天宮（1971）地府則是首座電動地府，規模精小但驚嚇度破表，略顯破敗但五光十色仍蠻凶悍，出自已故台南大道長金登富之作，而電動神明起始可追溯至1960年代北港朝天宮。倒是嘉義水上鄉白人牙膏觀光工廠「戴相府」、「將軍府」設置十殿地府出乎意料之外，乾淨亮麗、ㄧ殿ㄧ間、簡單樸實。由高雄蓮潭龍虎塔龍口入內可見全臺唯一交趾陶地獄牆面，尊尊栩栩如生，續入龍身乃進聞聲救苦白衣觀音大士三十三化身浮雕隧道，造型設色甚為古錐。高雄大岡山超峰寺入口處「西方三聖蓮池海會」（阿彌陀佛、觀世音菩薩、大勢至菩薩巨像）旁設靜態十殿閻羅（1970年代初），雖略為陳舊然韻味猶存，續往上行可抵「證菩提道－釋迦如來應化事迹」雕塑園區，一攬世尊畢生精華。如來年邁時，琉璃國王為報長期被釋迦族輕蔑之傲慢心，世尊雖三次單獨伽跌坐 阻擋大軍進攻之路，但因緣果報無法逆轉，昔日婢女所生王子瞋恨無以復加，還是滅了祖國。自持神通第一目犍連不忍無辜百姓慘遭屠殺，遂以缽盛救度五百族人，最終卻化為血水，佛言神通廣大仍不敵千百劫業力，因緣果報屢試不爽。其母死後墜入餓鬼道飢餓難耐，目犍連遂展神通救渡，但所食尚未入口皆化為赤火，佛陀囑咐農曆七月十五日僧眾解安居自恣日，於盆中設甘露美食供養十方僧眾，因此超度亡母。後世「盂蘭盆法會」乃至「水懺法會」、「瑜珈焰口法會 」皆為消業障、斷塵垢之超渡儀軌，既渡亡魂也自懺悔。

台南麻豆代天府規模宏大、造型豔麗，不但可遊十八層地獄尚可逛天堂（1979年興建，1983年開放)，燈光絢爛、聲響駭人，獨自漫步宛如觀落陰、地獄走一回。先過「心頭山」、入「清心池」、進「陰陽界」、抵「交簿廳」、達「鬼門關」、遊「補經所」、探「枉死城」、行「奈何橋」，至ㄧ殿泰廣王照「孽鏡台」現造惡原形，睹抱柱、火床等小地獄。二殿楚江王開「陰查簿 」判案定奪，觀糞尿泥、餓鬼、舞池、寒冰、膿血、鞭韃、舌犁、劍葉、戟腹拋接、砧截……等小地獄。三殿宋帝王刑罰為倒吊、銅鐵刮臉、挖眼、搗樁、倒烤、吸血、穿肋、抽筋、蛆蛀等小地獄……兼遊「四生（胎、卵、濕、化）回魂府」。四殿五官王掌管腰斬、拔舌、沸湯、刺嘴、剝皮、箭樹、車崩、射眼……等十六小地獄。隨五殿森羅王豋「望鄉臺」回眸親人最終眼後觀擊膝、誅心、刀山、飛刀火石……小地獄。六殿卞城王別稱「大叫喚大地獄」，轄火牛、虎啖、噬腎、鉗嘴含鍼、釘喉、磨摧、砍頭……等小地獄。七殿泰山王為「熱惱大地獄」，窺烙手指、抽腸、頂石蹲身、油釜滾烹、割舌穿腮……等十六小地獄。八殿都市王掌管「大熱惱大地獄」兼火狗、鐵汁、鐵蛇、鋸劈斷肢、釘板、灸脊、鐵丸、磅秤……等小地獄。九殿平等王直轄十八層「阿鼻大地獄」，直透地心、內中陰森、不見五指、滿溢地漿，皆為極犯，另轄紫赤毒蛇鑽孔、夾頂、鐵鴉、針雨、蜂蠍……等小地獄。至十殿輪轉王上「觀生臺」、「轉劫所八司」（查驗司 、稽善司 、考過司 、恩怨司 、壽命司 、支配司、掌劫司 、授生司）後至「孟婆亭」飲「醧忘湯」忘盡前塵往事，依前世功德過金、銀、玉、石、木、竹六種橋樑至「轉輪臺（紫河車）」入六道輪迴轉生投胎。據《十八泥犁經》記載，人過世後七七四十九天為「中陰生」，經閻羅王審判善惡業力判定去留或懲罰百千萬劫，犯五逆重罪則墮入「無間地獄（阿鼻地獄）」永劫不復。地藏王乃幽冥教主，統轄十殿閻羅，逢三曹普渡便在各殿設「講道所」超度尚存善根之鬼魂。

人類居於五趣（阿修羅、人、傍生、餓鬼、地獄）雜居地五濁惡世之堪忍世界，犯十惡業（殺生、偷盜、邪淫、妄語、兩舌、惡口、綺語、貪慾、嗔恚、愚痴）者必墮三趣惡道。如何出「三界」（欲界、色界、無色界）二十八天？凡人無此意識，別說能破「十二因緣」（無明、行、識、名色、六入、觸、受、愛、取、有、生、老死）還滅門，更別想斷除「四聖諦」（苦、集、滅、道）集地八十一品見惑與八十八使思惑（五利使-身見、邊見、邪見、見取見、戒禁取見、五鈍使-貪、瞋、癡、慢、疑），了悟「五蘊」（色、受、想、行、識）本空、「十二入」（眼、耳、鼻、舌、意、色、聲、香、味、觸、法）空、「十八界」空，破俱生我執與分別我執、法執甚至空執，生十一處「善心所」（信、精進、慚、愧、無貪、無瞋、無痴、輕安、不放逸、行捨、不害），降二十六處「惡心所」（貪、瞋、癡、慢、疑、惡見、忿、恨、覆、惱、嫉、慳、誑、諂、害、憍、無慚、無愧、掉舉、惛沉、不信、懈怠、放逸、失念、散亂、不正知），須知善根斷盡則陷永劫輪迴、無垠轉世之苦。

地獄可能空滅嗎？若地獄空乏人間多鬼怪，地獄淨空世間何嘗非淨土？若能證空性何處現地獄？

地獄曠古來便廣泛流傳各部族間，老死生滅為自然運行之基礎、宇宙意識之核心，然今文明昌盛如咱城邦並非慾望消弭之所，惡性所及實無可根除，礙於憲法國家法律社會軍隊企業公司學校家庭團體之層層束縛不亞於十八層，乃遁於壓抑、束己情懷，暗埋心底、日久貪嗔痴慢疑怨噌會疊穢。而六塵未熄，心多妄念，妖魔鬼怪魑魅魍魎孤魂閃靈出沒於荒郊乃至人間，會靈於曠野密林以增性靈乃出世高人修煉之舉，我等凡人擅闖宛如迪士尼般之人造地獄，三魂七魄尚不足以出竅，驚邪恐怖淒厲猙獰倒滿足了自以為是的慚愧，豈不謬哉？

病毒肆虐年半有餘，全球確診者逼近一億八千萬，枉死者近四百萬，堪比戰爭規模，望眾生發慈悲心、令往生者安息、善待其他物種、平等有情眾生。地獄本空，唯妄念生起一切羨慕嫉妒恨而地獄現前。盡以此書作為世界新冷戰獨裁者、超限戰者、暗網駭客、陰險狡猾冷嘲熱諷落井下石者之良知備忘錄矣。

姚瑞中寫於2021年端午節

Postscript

I have been living recklessly in Taiwan for more than fifty years. According to Zi Wei Dou Shu (Purple Star Astrology), Tan Lang is the sole star in my house of Self. This star, which represents xxx, forms an equilateral triangle with that star Qi Sha and Po Jun on the square chart and constitutes a Sha Po Lang pattern. The pattern indicates a kind of turbulence and change, a life of wandering with ups and downs and it tells a lot about my life. After my ill-fated youth, I started from scratch and traveled around the world with exhibitions that I participated. Like a flaneur, I wandered around ruins, nature, and temples with every type of film camera obliviously. Thus, I founded the Hall of Illusion and claimed to be the master of the hall. Several times a day, I pondered a quote from the Diamond Sutra, “Everything with form is unreal.” In addition, I usually stayed in the darkroom developing film and enlarging those negatives overnight. However, I treasured the simplicity of the black and white world. The earthly, gaudy, garish, phony and pleasing qualities within colored photos make the images even more realistic than the real world. It is not my cup of tea, so I seldom took colored photos. In Confucian thought, the age of fifty marks the stage knowing the mandate of Heaven. I am now at my fifties and realize how ephemeral human life is. However, I am not an immortal, nor having sagelike characteristics. I just learned that the stage of stainless (the second bhūmi) and develop a pure mind that is free from doubt and defilement. However, I’m still far from the immovable state and need to practice.

In the summer of 2017, after filming the work Incarnation, I experienced a severe heart rhythm problem which almost triggered myocardial infarction and could have killed me. Consequently, I realized that death was waiting for me and the life is too short to figure out how I can liberate myself from the cycle of Birth and Death. I couldn’t comprehend how to be free from all afflictions and worries and how to avoid delusive ideas. I wept for three days and nights after being enlightened by Shakyamuni Buddha. Up to the moment, I felt ashamed that I failed to realize that the self is as insignificant as dust after these years learning and practicing Buddhism. Since then, I have visited famous temples and monasteries in my spare time, worshiping Buddha, Bodhisattvas, arhats, and all the deities and immortals. Taiwan’s temples are myriad with a enormous number of sects, including Buddhism, Taoism, Yiguandao, Catholicism, Christianity, Chinese religions of fasting, Islam& Baháʼí Faith, Confucianism, Tiandiism& Tian-De Teachings, Xiwangmu cult, Yellow Emperor Sect, Precosmic Salvationism, Liism, World Wide Ethical Society, séance cult, etc. Some people even claim that they can mediate communication between the deities or spirits of the dead with human beings, having their believer rely on themselves instead of the orthodox dharma or dogma and pay excessive respect and admiration for the mediums or objects, accumulating wealth through such an unfair means or even harassing their believer sexually. Due to Taiwan’s historical changes, social turbulence, political struggles, and ideological issues, Buddhism and Taoism are somehow mixed. However, there are few emphases on the concept of the hell. As I took photographs of Yama of each court, judges, wardens of the underworld, jailers, General Fan and Hsieh (the ghost escorts) and all sinners, I found few temples cleverly created hellish scenes that are intriguing, exaggerating, and extraordinary. However, the creations are unparalleled unique. I have been studying Western arts for decades and then I came to realize that simplicity makes the most beautiful works of art. These hellish scenes can even compete with works of Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337) and Michelangelo Di lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564).

Jingang Temple Shimen District, founded in 1986, overlooks the beautiful North shore. Although the temple is mainly dedicated to Phra Phrom (the Thai representation of Mahabrahma), spirits of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism can also be founded in the temple. The worshipper can go cross the Seven Star bridge to relieve bad luck, walk along the five hundred arhat statues and knock on the gong to affirm one’s Buddha nature. Furthermore, the worshipper can also prostrate themself before Asia’s largest statue of Buddha in Nirvana (the Reclining Buddha statue) and pacify the Taoist Tai Sui deity of the year. I was impressed by the Jia-Zi Tai Sui General that a pair of palms grow out of his eyes. In 1994, the biō-kong (the person taking charge of the temporal affairs of a temple) received a divine inspiration from Yama (the King of Hell) that he had to build a sacred hall in the shape of a divine dragon, with the interior designed according to the World of Ultimate Bliss and the Underworld. When the visitor walks in the dark hallway, they will see the tortured people (dioramas, of course) scrunching their faces and crying bitterly and loudly in excessive grief as the visitor triggers the mechanism. One will even find them in the midst of flesh, body liquid and blood, mutilated limbs, and rotten corpses. While each of the ten Yamas are focusing on their own duties, showing their sacred dignity that collect visitors’ attention. The Baogong Temple in Linkou District, New Taipei City exclusively features colorful depiction of hellish scenes in relief in Taiwan. With its pastel shades and cartoon-like style, the relief is both grotesque and adorable at the same time. This temple is dedicated to Bao Zhen (also known as Justice Bao) representing the incarnation of Yama. Living people who have been treated unjustly can come worshipping Bao Gong and receive exorcism. Therefore, many people come here for seeking to solve unsolved cases. In Zhongyuan Festival (the ghost festival), the temple will burn the Zhizha (paper craft) boat to ferry the ghosts to the other shore, which is the shore of enlightenment. The only giant statue of Yama in Taiwan is still in the making. The temple is surrounded by a cemetery, suitable for meditating on the loathsomeness and impurity. Nantian Temple (1971), located next to the Eight Trigram Mountains Buddha in Changhua, features the first animatronic underworld. Despite the small size, the animatronic underworld is intensely shocking. Though it’s slightly worn, the colorful dioramas are still brutally ferocious. The creator was the late venerable Dao Zhang (Taoist priest) Jing Deng-fu while the origin of animatronic deities can be traced back to the 1960s Beigang Chaotian Temple. On the contrary, the Whiteman Toothpaste Tourism Factory in Shuishang Township, Chiayi, features ten Yamas with individual booth. The place is unexpectedly clean and polished yet keeps a simple and modest tone. Then, the Dragon Pagoda of the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas at Lotus Lake in Zuoying, Kaohsiung, holds the only relief of hellish scenes made of Kochin ceramic. All the figures are vivid and life-like. If one goes further into the pagoda, they will see a relief tunnel of the thirty-three incarnations of the white-robed form of Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara) on a white lotus, with a lovely and interesting design. Another Hall of Yama is built in the 1970s next to the entrance of Dagangshan Chaofeng Temple, located in the Alian District of Kaohsiung. Visitors will also see three statues of the Three Holy Ones of the Western Pureland (Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta) which assemble at a lotus pond. Although the hellish scene looks somewhat antiquated, you may still find its previous charm. If one goes further, they will reach the sculptural garden of “Attaining the Bodhi Way: the Incarnation of Sakyamuni Buddha,” where the visitor can see the essence of Bhagavato’s (meaning the Blessed one, one of the common epithets for Buddha) life. When Tathāgata (another epithet for Buddha) was old, the king of Kosala wanted to avenge the arrogance of the tribe of Shakyas who had long despised him, regarding him as a son of a maiden. Although Buddha has sat in lotus position alone three times to stop the army from attacking his tribe. However, one can never reverse the cause and following karma. The prince born of a maiden was so furious that he eventually destroyed his homeland. Maudgalyāyana (one of the Buddha’s closest disciples), who is said to have had supernatural abilities that surpassed the other disciples, could not bear to see the slaughter of innocent people. Thus, he saved five hundred people of his tribe with a pātra (an eating utensil of Buddhist monks). Unfortunately, everything he did was in vain, those who were saved eventually turned into a puddle of blood. The Buddha said that the supernatural abilities cannot surpass the power of karma. The cause and effect work all the time. When Maudgalyāyana’s mother fell into the path of hungry ghost, he used his supernatural abilities to save his mother from hunger. However, all the food turned into fire before being fed to his mother. Later, the Buddha commanded the monks to put nectar and dishes in a basin on the 15th day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar for the monks from all directions to free his mother from reincarnation. In later times, the Ullambana Dharma Service, the Compassionate Samadhi Water Repentance, and the Yoga Collection for Feeding the Searing Mouths Dharma Service are rituals to eliminate karmic hindrance and to cease to worldly delusions. Through such practices, one can free the dead as well as confess their repentance.

Madou Daitian Temple is a magnificent and colorful temple in Tainan. Not only can the worshippers visit the eighteen levels of Hell but also the Heaven (it was built in 1979 and inaugurated in 1983) here. The lighting and sound effects are stunning and frightening. When walking alone in the space, one may feel like taking a Guan Luo Yin trip (a Taoist necromancy which leads people’s spirits to hell and communicate with the dead ones) to visit the underworld prison. Before arriving the first court of the underworld, the visitor will walk through the Mountain of Heart Summit, the Pure Heart Pond, the Frontier between the Living and the Dead Realms, the Soul Registry Hall, the Portico of Demons, the Center for Complementary Teaching of Canonical Books, the Citadel of Premature Death, and the Bridge of Vanity. When one arrives at the first court, they will see King Chin-guang, who is in charge of the court, using the Mirror of Retribution to show the earthly form of evil creatures and also witness the sub-hell of Pillar-Holding and Fire Bed, etc. At the second court, King Chu-jiang collates the register of sins the souls of the dead have committed to impose the punishments. Here, you will see the sub-hell of Excrement and Urine, Hungry Ghost, Burning Dance Floor, Ice, Pus and Blood, Whipping, Tongue-Raking, Sword Blade, Stomach-Piercing, Chopping, etc. Next, the dead at the third court, ruled by King Song-di, will receive the punishments including inversion tortures, face-skinning with steel and copper knife, eye-wrenching, pounding, blood-sucking, rib-piercing, roasting, tendon-taking, being eaten by maggots. The visitor can pay a visit to the Palace of Soul-Resuscitation for the Four Forms of Creatures (birth from an egg, birth from a womb, birth from moisture, and birth by transformation). King Wu-guan is in charge of the fourth court. There are sixteen sub-hells at the fourth court including Waist Chop, Tongue Removal, Boiling Pond, Mouth-stabbing, Skin-peeling, Sword Tree, Burning Wheels and Cart, Eye-shooting, etc. Next, at the fifth court, sinful souls are allowed to ascend the Tower of Hometown-Viewing to take a final look of their family. The visitor will witness sub-hells of Knee-striking, Heart-slicing, Blade Mountain, Flying Swords and Burning Stones, etc. The King of Bian City takes charge of the sixth court, which is also known as the “Great Hell of Screaming,” with sub-hells including Fire Cattle, Tiger-Biting, Kidney-Eating, Mouth-Poking, Throat-Nailing, Iron Mill, Decapitation, etc. The King of Tai-shan is in charge of the seventh court, the “Great Hell of Heat and Fire.” The sixteen sub-hells at this court include Finger-Searing, Bowel-Hauling, Stone-Bearing, Boiling Oil, Tongue-Removal and Cheek-Piercing, etc. Next, the King Du-shi is in charge of the eighth court, the “Great Hell of Intense Fire and Heat,” and the sub-hells including Fire Dogs, Molten Iron, Iron Snakes, Dismemberment, Steel Spikes, Burning-Marrow, Iron Ball, Scale, etc. The ninth court is ruled by the King Ping-deng. It is known as the biggest court, Avici Hell (the Hell of Incessant Suffering), which if the lowest level of the hell realm and the interior is gloomily and terrifyingly dark. Those who committed the most serious evil deed will be sent to the Avici Hell. Sub-hells such as Poisonous Snake, Brain-Removal, Crow-Gnawing, Raining Needles, Wasps and Scorpions are included at this court. After arriving the tenth court, ruled by the Great King of the Reincarnation Palace, one can visit the “Observatory of Life on earth” and the “eight bureaus of the Reincarnation Palace” (including the Bureau of Judicial Control, the Bureau of Good-Actions, the Bureau of Bad-Actions, the Bureau of Debts, Gratitude, and Vengeance, the Bureau of Longevity and Destiny, the Bureau of Familial Ties, the Bureau of the Reincarnated, and the Bureau of Birth). The sinful one will be sent to the Pavilion of Mengpo and made to drink the Soup of Forgetfulness to forget all past affairs. According to the sinful one’s merits of previous life, they will go across one of the six bridges (gold, silver, jade, stone, wood, bamboo) to the “Reincarnation-Wheel (Wheel on the Crimson River).” Finally, one is able to reborn in the six realms. According to the Aṣṭadaśa nāraka sutra ( the Eighteen Hells Sutra), after one passes away, they will enter an intermediate and transitional state between death and rebirth, known as antarābhava in Sanskrit, for forty-nine days. The being will be evaluated by Yama, who will decide if one should get reborn or get punished at the hell. Those who committed the Five Grave Offenses (killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing an Arhat, shedding the blood of a Buddha, and creating a schism within the community of Buddhist monks and nun who practice for attaining enlightenment.) will be sent to the Avici Hell and stay there eternally. Kṣitigarbha is the Lord of the Nether World, ruling the ten court of Hell. The lord will set up the “Hall of Teaching” at each court to salvage those sinful ones who still obtain few merits at the offering rituals.

Human beings live the Sahā world (sahāloka in Sanskrit, meaning “endurance of suffering,” a concept of mundane world in Mahāyāna Buddhism) where they share with other reincarnations (including beings of the hells, of the preta, and of malevolent nature spirits) with five turbidities (the Kalpa turbidity, the view turbidity, the affliction turbidity, the living beings turbidity, and the life turbidity). Those who commit the ten evil deeds (killing, stealing, adultery, lying, using immoral language, slandering, equivocating, coveting, anger, and false views) must fall into the three evil paths (animals, preta, and hell). However, how can one escape from the three realms/ twenty-eight heavens (including the six heavens of the desire realm, the eighteen heavens of the form realm, and the four heavens of the formless realm)? Worldly people who don’t have such an awareness cannot leave the cycle of the twelve nidanas (meaning causes or motivations), let alone eliminate the eighty-one afflictions (that have been produced due to misunderstanding regarding reality) and the eighty-eight illusions (including five afflictions of advanced practitioners, also known as five views: view of self, extreme view, evil view, view of attachment to views, and view of morality; and five unintelligent temptations: desire, anger, stupidity, arrogance, and doubt) of thought within the three realms and four Arya satyas (noble truths, including suffering, arising, ending, and path). They cannot realize that the essence of the five skandhas (referring to aggregates of clinging, including the matter of form, sensation, recognition, mental formation, and consciousness) , the twelve ayatana (meaning sense base, including six internal bases: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind and six external bases: visible objects, sound, odor, taste, touch, and mental objects), and the eighteen dhātavah (meaning compositional elements of human existence, including six consciousness, six faculties, and their objects) are the emptiness and the void. Furthermore, they cannot dispel the two reasons for clinging to the idea of the self and the attachment to elemental constructs and even believe in the two (false) tenets that that karma and nirvana are not real and that the ego and phenomena are real. As a consequence, they fail to develop the eleven wholesome mental factors (faith, energy, conscience, being ashamed, non-attachment, non-aggression, non-delusion, calmness, equanimity, conscientiousness, and non-injuriousness) and cease the sixteen unwholesome mental factors (desire, greed, anger, delusion, arrogance, doubt, wrong view, wrath, enmity, hypocrisy, vexation, jealousy, parsimony, deceit, flattery, harming, ambitiousness, stupidity, lacking of faith, idleness, being unrestrained, forgetting, distraction, non-discernment, ). One must bear in mind that once all our virtuous roots are discontinued, they will be trapped in the never-ending reincarnation and the suffering of infinite continuity.
Is it possible that the hell will be empty one day? If the beings in hell will become extinct while evil spirits inhabit the mundane world, the world could be considered as a pure land. If we could witness the nature of the void, then hell will exist no more.
Since ancient times, the concept of hell has been widely spread among all tribes. Aging, death, beginning, and end are the basis of nature and the core of cosmic consciousness. However, the prosperous civilization as our island is not a place where desire can be eliminated. It’s impossible to eradicate evil nature. Since fetters brought by the constitution, the state, the law, society, the military, corporations, schools, families, and groups are not less than the eighteen levels of hell, the mortals repress themselves, bury their feelings. Day after day, greed, anger, stupidity, arrogance, doubt, and resentment are stacking. However, since the six dust (visible objects, sound, odor, taste, touch, and mental objects) has not yet been extinguished, people in the mundane world are still full of delusions. The demons, devils, evil spirits, and the wondering dead exist in the wilderness, while only advanced practitioners with transcendent would attempt to make contact with the dead in the wasteland and forest. Worldly people like us trespass in Disneyland-like man-made hell. It is absurd and ridiculous that the hellish scenes cannot stop us from perpetrating evil deeds, but the horrific and cruel scenes yet satisfy our self-righteous shame.

The pandemic has been boiling over for more than a year and a half. The number of infected patients worldwide is nearly a hundred and eighty million, and the death toll has risen to four million, which is equivalent to a war crisis. I hope that we can all be compassionate, give peace to the dead, treat all sentient beings well and equally. The hell is innately empty; however, deluded and misleading thoughts would give rise to all jealousy and hatred and then manifest the hell before us. This book merely serves as a memorandum of conscience for dictators of the world’s new cold war, supporters of unrestrained warfare, dark web hackers, and those who are cunning and contemptuous and maltreat others when knowing they have problems.

June 2021,

Yao Jui-chung