(continued from previous issue)

The netherworld king responded, "Man has learned how frightening war can be and so the number of great butchers has been on the decline since World War II and fewer and fewer people are reincarnating as killer whales. Presently, there are only a few leaders of nations who can be considered to be butchers of men and who will qualify to reincarnate as killer whales."

I asked, "What about a certain deceased leader of the east?"

"A killer whale!" the netherworld king said.

"How about a certain leader of the west who is still alive?" I asked.

"A killer whale!"

"African chief?"

"A small killer whale!"

"A certain national leader who is a butcher of man?"

"Killer whale!"

I asked, "What about gang leaders or small-time hooligans?"

The netherworld king replied, "Gang leaders reincarnate as lions; small-time hooligans reincarnate as wolves. They don’t qualify to reincarnate as killer whales."

"What about loan sharks?" I asked.

The netherworld king responded, "They will reincarnate as banded kraits, a type of snake."

*　*　*

The netherworld king told me this verse:

All sentient beings

Bound and controlled by karmas

In delusion seeking refuge in karmas

Transmigrate according to their individual karmas.

I said, "I teach people to cultivate tantric practices to transform the three karmas into the three secrets. This is precisely the purification of the body, speech, and mind. This is the secret of the purity of the Tathagata’s innate nature. I teach them to seek refuge in the purity of their innate Buddha nature, then they will not be susceptible to karmic entanglements!"

The netherworld king responded, "Precisely! Precisely!"

*　*　*

I have a question that I would like to ask everyone: If you were the netherworld king and you saw an eminent monk who was lacking in wisdom, who had amassed a great fortune and managed to form a large organization, and who had misled a great many Buddhists because of his lack of wisdom, how would you decide on this monk’s future reincarnation? Please try to answer this question.

(The end)

(From Book #187 "Manifestations of the Netherworld")

(本文選自蓮生活佛第187冊著作「地獄變現記」文章「大威勢的殺人鯨」)