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【來一個，聖筊】
遭逢疫情之下，我們需要的可能不僅僅是疫苗。低落無助或盼望時，我們也需要一個安慰、一個指引。
虹安日前走訪新竹市，早上落大雨，到達 普天宮時雨勢驟然停歇，在巨大的關公威像下，我體會到的是：
我們不該忘了「信仰」對於民間的支持力量。
信眾跟神明的溝通是擲筊，我們需要一個「聖筊」。
【有一種人，永遠找方法】
前一陣子，好不容易宗教場所盼到「微解封」，指揮中心防疫指引說：「寺廟不放籤桶也不可擲筊，其餘接觸性物品落實清消。」
對此，#新竹市普天宮 的主理人 #鄭逸榛董事長，爽朗地自嘲說：她公文寫不好，沒法把擲筊的防疫手冊寫到讓公部門通過審核開放；但，宮廟開放了，信眾湧入了，能不讓人問神嗎？
有行銷專長的她不放棄，想出一個方法，#普天宮個人紀念筊，於焉誕生！來問神的信眾，添香油錢即可獲得屬於自己的筊杯，除了可在防疫要求下仍請神明指點迷津，也能帶走做紀念。
兼顧防疫和信仰，成功的人找方法 👍🏻
#關聖帝君也比讚
#漫漫抗疫生活
#虹安發掘新竹人物故事
「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
吳旭：特朗普將連任的十大指標
觀察者網
10/26 10:00
【文/觀察者網專欄作者 吳旭】
吳旭 美國亞利桑那州立大學教授，政治傳播學博士
吵吵嚷嚷的美國大選，還差一周就要揭盅開示，全世界的眼睛都關注著這兩位年近八旬的老人，誰能率先沖過“270張選舉人票”的終點線。
受美國主流媒體——特別是像CNN、《紐約時報》、《華盛頓郵報》等幾家“逢特朗普必反“的大牌媒體的影響，中國國內眾多關於美國大選以及大選結果的預測，堅定地認為拜登穩操勝券，必將把特朗普趕出白宮，還美國政壇以清靜與平穩。
這種看法，是對美國國內民情民意的誤讀，更是沒有深刻理解特朗普之所以能夠在四年前橫空出世、給美國政壇帶來一場完美風暴的深層原因。
簡而言之，雖然因為郵寄選票暴增和新冠疫情的干擾，今年美國大選的最終結果會出現一定時間的延遲，甚至局部地區會因為選票結果引發爭議，但筆者認為特朗普最終仍能以壓倒性優勢擊敗民主黨對手拜登，順利獲得連任。
很多人馬上會問，“哎，不對呀，美國民調結果一直在說拜登大幅領先，特朗普根本沒戲，只能做垂死掙扎啊？”是的，別忘了：2016年大選前一天的全國民調結果，也是希拉蕊大幅領先特朗普，而且其領先幅度甚至超過現在的拜登。
打开凤凰新闻，查看更多高清图片
看看2016年大選前夜的預測結果（圖/美媒）
在2016年大選的當天晚上，《紐約時報》給出的希拉蕊勝選概率是92%。但是，結果如何呢？特朗普最終以選舉人票306-232的壓倒性優勢入主白宮，同時把“民調專家們”和所謂的“美國大選專家們”的眼鏡震碎了一地。
美國大選的民調，特別是關乎評價特朗普等一系列政治敏感議題的民意調查，因為其抽樣方法和問題設計的結構性缺陷，無法準確、客觀、公正地還原和呈現美國真正的民情民意。
一方面，特朗普的支持者在所有的抽樣樣本中，都是被嚴重低估誤算的；另一方面，因為嫌棄、鄙視那些偏自由派媒體及民調機構對於特朗普的“詆毀和中傷”，很多特朗普的“沉默支持者們”故意用說謊來隱瞞其真實態度，從而誤導民調結果，使其不僅不可信，而且往往與真實結果背道而馳。
既然關於大選結果的直接問卷不可信，那麼，還有什麼指標能夠預測美國選民們的真實投票意向呢？
事實上，除了那個被美國媒體不厭其煩、津津樂道的單一問題：“你將投票支持特朗普還是拜登”以外，幾乎所有的其他相關民意指標、大選歷史慣例和週邊事實數位，都毫無例外地指向現任總統將獲得連任，而且將以壓倒性的優勢擊敗對手。
篇幅所限，以下僅列出十大相關指標，來作為以上論斷的佐證。
一、新增註冊選民人數
美國大選的一項歷史資料顯示，在大選前錄得更多新增註冊選民人數的黨派和候選人，幾乎毫無例外地會獲得選舉的勝利。
道理很簡單——新增選民數量這一指標，客觀顯示了黨派支持者的參與熱情，顯示了基層競選機構挨家挨戶鼓動徵召支持者的效率和成果，更顯示了候選人政策立場的帶動力。
很顯然，在過去幾個月中，特別是在關鍵的幾個搖擺州，包括亞利桑那、佛羅里達、北卡羅萊納、賓夕法尼亞等州（以上幾州，特朗普在2016年都是以微弱優勢獲勝），特朗普在這一指標上都是遙遙領先。
以佛羅里達州為例，從三月份黨派初選至今，民主黨新增了10萬個新註冊選民，而共和黨增加了超過20萬個，是民主黨的一倍；再看賓州，截至九月底，民主黨新增選民六萬人，而同期共和黨新增14萬人。這一整體趨勢，可以推展至美國其他州。
二、競選集會的聲勢與規模
新冠疫情的蔓延肆虐，無疑衝擊打亂了美國大選前密集造勢集會、總統候選人穿梭各州、月臺登場合影演講的歷史傳統。
以拜登為例，過去半年中，除去非常特殊的公開場合造勢外，他基本上都是以靜制動，呆在德拉瓦州自己家裡（用特朗普團隊的挖苦說法是，“躲在地下室裡面視頻競選”）。
而特朗普則不然，從八月初開始，他就不顧大型公共集會可能加重新冠疫情大幅傳播的風險，馬不停蹄地到各大關鍵州和城市，有時候甚至一天三個城市，舉行有上萬人參加的公眾造勢集會。
美國各大媒體、民主黨大佬們和很多傳染病專家，都紛紛指摘特朗普不負責任，為個人政治前途而置選民的健康與安危於不顧。這些抨擊、指責暫且放在一邊，有一點連特朗普的反對者都不得不承認：特朗普的帶動力和號召力是驚人的——
天上下著大雨，在機場搭設的臨時競選集會現場，兩三萬特朗普的支持者們冒著感染病毒的風險，在大雨中群情激昂地聆聽特朗普嬉笑怒駡，抨擊虛假新聞媒體與“睡眼惺忪”的拜登。這一場景不斷在愛荷華、俄亥俄、佛羅里達、亞利桑那、賓州等地重複上演。
特朗普在佛羅里達州的競選集會現場（圖/Facebook）
這是特朗普一周前在賓夕法尼亞州（圖/Facebook）
這與拜登在亞利桑那、俄亥俄等州舉辦的幾場造勢集會前稀稀落落的參與者、跟隨記者人數甚至超過參會人數的寥落場景，形成了鮮明對比。
同一時間，拜登在俄亥俄州的兩場競選集會現場（圖片分別出自《紐約時報》、Twitter）
三、美國股市連創新高
美國總統大選、特別是現任總統尋求連任時，有這樣一個兩百年來形成的規律：在大選當天，如果美國主要指數（道鐘斯指數或是標普指數）超過四年前現任總統當選時的20%，則現任總統有高達87%的概率獲得連任；而且，股市上漲的幅度越高，獲選連任的機會越大。從喬治·華盛頓第一任開始，共有16位總統謀求連任時其相關的股票指數升幅超過20%；其中，14位成功連任。
這個道理其實很好理解——股市的繁榮意味著選民財富的增加，意味著經濟基礎的強勁，意味著投資者信心的充盈。
2016年11月3日特朗普勝選當日，美國標普指數的收盤價是2100點左右。截至2020年10月23日收盤，標普指數的收盤價是3465點；美國股市在特朗普任期的四年間，雖然受到世紀級疫情的衝擊，仍舊上漲了高達65%。雖然特朗普仍有13%的可能打破這一連任規律，但是，他的贏面顯然更大。
圖片來源：穀歌截圖
四、黨派凝聚力和向心團結性
雖然在共和黨黨內初選時，特朗普沒有面臨任何強大的挑戰者，但是在最終的黨內初選投票時，特朗普還是創造了多個記錄：其吸引的黨內投票人數，不僅遠超布希兩任任期的人數，而且更是超過了奧巴馬兩任任期的人數（一般來說，在民主黨總統任內，共和黨初選因為會有多名競爭者參選，往往經過多輪廝殺，所以本黨內參與熱情會更高）。
舉例來說，布希2004年競選連任時，威斯康辛州共和黨初選投票的人數是158933人；在奧巴馬2012年連任時，共和黨初選投票人數是293914人；而今年特朗普的投票人數是創紀錄的616705。同樣，在佐治亞州，布希（2004年）是161374人，奧巴馬（2012年）是139273人；而特朗普（2020）是925212人，是前兩任的五倍以上！
不僅參與熱情爆棚，而且特朗普在黨內的支持度也是一直超過90%（這不是民意調查，而是實際選票結果），這一結果超過了小布希、老布希、雷根、尼克森等所有近五十年內共和黨的前總統候選人在同時期的表現。
五、大選最關鍵、選民最關注的議題
美國大選既是選人，更是選事——也就是競選人在關鍵議題上的政策立場。
很多人一定會自然而然地認為：當今美國最重大的議題肯定是如何控制新冠疫情啦！當然，如果真是這樣，被疫情搞得焦頭爛額、自己也在幾周前中招住院的特朗普，肯定是棋輸一招了。但事實不是這樣。
美國多個調查機構的最新結果顯示，排在美國人最關注議題第一位、遙遙領先於其他議題的選項是：法律與秩序（占比超過40%）；排在第二位的是重振經濟（占比超過30%）；而疫情控制僅排在第三位，占比剛剛15%。而僅就“維護法律秩序”與“重振經濟”這兩點而言，這都是特朗普的強項。
可能有人會指出：你不是說民調不可信嗎？這個議題排序也是基於民調啊？是的，民調失真，是一個帶有系統性、結構性的問題，它反映出整個民調行業在社交媒體氾濫、民意碎片化、瞬息萬變的輿情環境下的落伍與失位；但其失真程度是因人、因事而異的。
有一點可以肯定：凡是事涉特朗普本人的任何問卷和問題，都會因為“政治正確”、“沉默螺旋”、“錯進錯出”等美國輿情的特有壓力環境，而大幅失真——這是因為特朗普本人所帶有的“種族主義”、“白人至上主義”、“性別歧視”、“性醜聞”等特定政治符號和道德撕裂因素，所帶來的附生效果。
換句話說，只要是跟特朗普無關的民意調查，一般來講，其失真度還是在可以接受的誤差範圍內的。
六、黑人與少數族裔的支持度打破歷史框架
與美國偏自由派的主流媒體所描述的情形不同，特朗普執政以來所採取的大規模減稅、放鬆聯邦政府管控（比如，在其任內，特朗普政府刪減了超過2000多項限制中小企業經營發展的法律法規）、制止非法移民對於美國社保體系和社會治安的衝擊等政策，都從根本上改善了少數族裔中那些從事商業、服務業、企業管理等具有穩定工作人群的收入與福利。即便是疫情的衝擊打破了過去三年來持續上升的勢頭，以黑人和西班牙裔為首的少數族裔仍是獲得了實實在在的利益的。
當然，特朗普在有關員警暴力執法、種族衝突等議題上，時時說出一些種族主義意味很濃的話；但是，絕大多數美國的少數族裔更關注的是法律與秩序，以及經濟繁榮所帶來的個人和家庭生活改變。所以，這就不難解釋為什麼特朗普在黑人中獲得了超過15%以上、在西班牙裔中獲得將近40%的支持率。
要知道，在美國現代歷史上，共和黨領導人從沒有在黑人群體中獲得超過10%的支持率。特朗普打破了這個種族的藩籬。要想打敗特朗普，拜登必須獲得90%以上的黑人選票，以及60%以上的西班牙裔選票；而從目前的資料和趨勢來看，拜登遠遠達不到這一最低標準。
七、實踐競選承諾比率
特朗普是以“政治素人”的身段和人設，橫空出世，在2016年打敗共和黨內16位強勁的候選人，並最終在與“政治豪門”希拉蕊的對決中，順利勝出的。他在競選中最擲地有聲的一句競選宣言就是，“我不是政客；我不會說一套、做一套；我承諾的，一定會做到。”
上任以來，四年時間不到，特朗普大鬧天宮一般，攪擾得國內、國際秩序天翻地覆；但不得不承認，他確實實踐了大部分當初的競選承諾——不管這些承諾當初聽起來是多麼的荒誕不經：
（1）成功大幅減稅；（2）退出《巴黎氣候協定》、伊朗核協議、跨太平洋戰略經濟夥伴關係協定（TPP）；（3）從伊拉克、阿富汗撤軍；（4）在美墨邊境修牆；（5）向中國徵收懲罰性關稅、並將中國定義為匯率操縱國；（6）推動以色列與中東國家建交，並將美國駐以大使館移到耶路撒冷；（7）壓迫北約盟國提升國防費用；（8）與金正恩兩次見面，至今使得朝鮮沒有再次試射導彈與核子試驗；（9）精確制導刺殺美國在伊朗的宿敵蘇拉曼尼將軍，等等等等。
這上面的任何一件事，都是美國以往的政客和總統候選人，多次承諾但從沒有做到的。然而在短短的四年內，特朗普都做到了。先不管這些政策實施的最終效果和戰略意義如何，所有人都不得不承認一點，特朗普不同于傳統的美國政客，確實說到做到。
八、“隱形”特朗普支持者
如前所述，特朗普鮮明突出的“白人至上主義”和“種族主義”標籤，以及其個人在私德、品質、人性等方面的明顯瑕疵，使得很大一部分信教守禮、道德意識感強烈的美國人，無法在公眾和私下場合透露自己對特朗普的支持——雖然從很多政策立場上，他們強烈相信特朗普是唯一能解決美國華盛頓官僚腐敗機制的“毒藥”，正所謂“以毒攻毒”。
這部分“隱形沉默”的特朗普支持者，無法從直接的民調問題中檢測出來；但是，稍微動動腦筋，改變一下問題的角度和切入點，這部分潛在特朗普支援群體就立刻昭然若揭了。
比如，成功預判了特朗普2016年當選的“民主研究院周日快報” （Democracy Institute Sunday Express）就換了一個提問角度：“你覺得你身邊的朋友、親戚、同事會投票給特朗普嗎？”高達77%的受訪者回答“是的”，而只有23%的受訪者說“不是”。一個更令人震驚、但也順理成章的問題結果是：78%要投票給特朗普的美國人不願意自己的同事、朋友和親戚知道自己的投票意向；而只有13%要投票給拜登的美國人會在意這一點。
九、特朗普的對手太弱了
從1972年當選美國參議員至今，拜登已經在美國政壇上活躍了將近半個世紀。雖然一直覬覦總統大位，但是拜登多次參選，都沒能闖過民主黨初選的門檻——2008年敗給了初出茅廬的奧巴馬；2016年自忖不是希拉蕊的對手，拜登根本沒有出場。
這一次民主黨的初選過程，拜登也是步履蹣跚，在民眾的調動力和個人魅力上，遠遠落在本党對手桑德斯和沃倫的下風。其最終能夠勝出，與其說是拜登擊敗對手，不如說是民主黨捉襟見肘，新人黯淡，最後只能矬子裡挑將軍，把老廉頗請了出來。
試想，12年前，還算精力旺盛的拜登都無法調動民主黨內的熱情；12年後，年近八十、精力頭腦都每況愈下的老政客，如何來挑戰一個精力無限、新冠確診住院三天就滿血復活的特朗普呢？難怪特朗普在總統辯論場上的一句話，讓拜登無言以對——“我47個月裡做到的事，超過你47年在華盛頓做成的事。”
資料圖：視頻截圖
十、美國人認為疫情應對的錯漏，不能全怪在特朗普的頭上
單從今年新冠疫情的應對來看，特朗普政府的成績單，確實是讓人難堪沮喪、顏面無光的。從二月份開始，美國國內的疫情不僅沒有控制住，而且愈演愈烈，目前可以說已經大面積失控。最新的單日感染人數逾8萬，超過6、7月份的高點。死亡人數超過20萬，新冠疫苗遙遙無期，經濟復蘇緩慢無望，這肯定需要特朗普來承擔主要責任。
是的，民主黨支持者及美國自由派媒體，一直也是這樣來抨擊特朗普的；但是，美國的民意主體似乎並沒有把責任全怪罪在特朗普頭上。為什麼？
一來，這次世紀級的大瘟疫，恰恰擊中了美國政治體系架構以及個人自由主義傳統的軟肋。不僅美國如此，其他西方歐洲國家在疫情應對上，也基本上是不及格的。如何改進美國三權兩黨制度在應對突發危機事件上的效率，如何說服那些崇尚個人自由、天性抗拒政府管控的美國人來重新調整個人與集體的關係，不可能一蹴而就，也不可能是換一個黨派執政、或者換一個領導人就能馬上改頭換面那麼簡單。
二來，特朗普及其支持者，非常成功地將疫情的肇始及原罪，算在了中國的頭上。他更在多個場合重申，這個賬，將來一定要跟中國算的。很顯然，大多數美國人雖然嘴上不說，但是心裡是認可這個立場的。由此也可以預見，一旦特朗普成功連任當選，中美關係會走上新一輪更危險、更緊張的衝撞週期。
綜上所述，雖然美國民調機構還是每天不厭其煩地重複著“拜登遙遙領先特朗普”的老調子——就像四年前一樣，但從我觀測和掌握的指標資料來看，即將到來的美國大選，不是誰輸誰贏的問題，而是特朗普贏多贏少的問題。雖然一周後的大選會有拖延和爭議，但特朗普勝選連任，幾無懸念。
