Three Letters from Yama, the King of Hell

Three Letters from Yama, the King of Hell Why should we believe in Buddhism? Why do we need to cultivate? The answer is that we need to free ourselves from the cycle of birth and death. This is the ultimate and only goal in practicing Buddhism. Any deviation from this path is not authentic Buddhism. In this world, nobody can avoid suffering, such as the Three Sufferings(1), the Eight Sufferings(2), and infinitely more sufferings. Since life in this world is so difficult, it is necessary to quickly find means to be free from suffering and to achieve happiness. Reciting the Buddha's name gives people a way to get to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and frees them from all the suffering that accompanies the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, if you wish to be free from the cycle of birth and death, you need to cultivate according to the Buddha's teachings; you need to diligently recite the Buddha's name, and pray that you will be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. A lot of Buddhists fully understand how wonderful the Buddha's teachings really are, yet they fail to cultivate according to these teachings. Whenever I urge them to practice Buddhism, they brush me off with various excuses such as, "I need more time!" or, "Sure, maybe later.." and so on. Are they not afraid that it will be too late? Time does not wait for anyone, but flies by day after day! Ley me tell a story that should motivate all of you. People who have just started to practice Buddhism should listen carefully, and those who have been practicing Buddhism for some time should also pay close attention to this tale! Remember, it is not enough to just listen to it; it should alert you to become more conscious and aware. ◎Life Ended before the Three Duties were Done Once upon a time, there were two old friends, J and K, who had not seen each other for over ten years. They unexpectedly ran into each other one day. At that time, J had already been a Buddhist for quite a few years, whereas K had not yet started to learn about Buddhism. Because of their long separation, J and K had a lot to talk about with each other. After talking for a while, J could not help lamenting that K did not yet believe in Buddhism, and with good intentions tried to convince him to do so. "It is right for people at our stage of life to start thinking about Buddhism," he said. "Come on," K replied, "of course I know how wonderful it is to practice Buddhism! But we are only in our fifties, and as the old saying goes, 'A person fifty-five years into life is like a tiger ready to leap!' There are still so many things for us to do! How can we start practicing Buddhism at such a young age?" "But it is already late to start belleving in Buddhism, even at our age!" replied J. "It is a big misconception to wait for old age before starting Buddhist practice. You are a good friend; that's why I only suggest to you what I truly find to be good and beneficial, and that is practicing Buddhism." "I agree that practicing Buddhism would be good," K replied, "but I have to wait a few more years, since my heart will not be at ease until I have completed three duties: first, I have to bury my parents who have just died; second, I have not yet fulfilled my responsibility, as a parent, to arrange the marriages of my children; and third, I have not yet distributed my assets. I am worried that if I don't do it now, my children will fight over their shares once I am gone. So I have to wait until I get these three things settled. It will not be too late to practice Buddhism then." After K finished, J said, "You are not the only one who has to finish these three pieces of business; so do l! My parents have just died, and I have not yet; I have not seen my children marry yet; and I have not yet arranged my assets. Nevertheless, I have already managed to start practicing Buddhism! Why do we have to put Buddhism aside until we fulfill those three obligations? We should start as soon as possible Otherwise, how much longer will we have to wait until all of our business is taken care of?" have But K stubbornly replied, "I think your way of practicing Buddhism is half-hearted and shallow. If I were to practice Buddhism, I would make sure that everything was well arranged so that I would not be disturbed or distracted by them in my Buddhist practice." No matter how hard J tried to persuade him, K remained very stubborn and could not be convinced. Finally, the two said their goodbyes, and each went his own way home. However, less than three days later, K's son came to tell J, in tears, that his father had passed away. Right before his death, K told his son to ask for J's help with his funeral arrangements. J immediately agreed and went to K's house to help arrange affairs for the funeral. At K's bedside, J saw that K had died with his legs straight and parallel to each other, and eyes wide open. J bemoaned K's fate, saying, "He was my good friend, even though he was so stubborn! I urged him to learn Buddhism, but he said he had three tasks to finish first; before he could finish them, however, the King of Hell had already come and taken his soul away!" ◎The Three Registered Letters from the King of Hell K had died unwillingly and chose to argue with Yama, the King of Hell. K said, "Yama, why have you summoned me so soon? I still have three duties to perform. You should have informed me earlier that you would call, so I could have hurried up and finished them. It is so unfair that you have dragged me here without any warning!" On hearing this, the King of Hell replied, "Nonsense! How can you say you were given no notice? I have personally sent you three letters!" "What three letters?I did not even get one!" K replied. "Nonsense!" yelled Yama. "All three were registered letters, and you received them a long time ago!" K was confus and asked Yama, "What three letters? Really, I didn't get any of them!" "You are ignorant," sighed Yama, "so pitifully ignorant." And then he began to tell K about the three letters. First, Yama patiently asked him, " When did you get your dentures?" " I had cavities at the age of 38," replied K, "and they hurt so much that I had to get dentures by the time I was 40." "Right! And that was your first letter!" said the King of Hell. "Oh! So that was a letter! Well, what was the second letter then?" K asked, still a little puzzled. "When did you start wearing reading glasses?" "I started wearing reading glasses when I was 45, because I could no longer read the newspapers clearly." "Well, that was your second letter," said Yama. " I see," said K, "what about the third one then?" "I can see that your hair is already grey," said the King of Hell. "How old are you?" " I am now 52," K whispered. " And that grey hair is your third letter! So! You have received all three of your notices ! " said Yama. Then the King of Hell continued, "Are you convinced now? Favors don't help in Hell, Mr. K; only your karma will help you here. Whether you receive the reward of happiness or the retribution of pain is all determined by the good and bad deeds that you did during your life." K finally understood, but still could not reconcile himself to his fate. " I still had three tasks to finish in life," he moaned, "but because you have sent me those three letters, I have no choice but to come here now to receive your judgment! I have made a huge mistake! I should not have ignored my old friend's advice about studying Buddhism right away, and now it is too late!" Now, every person here, ask yourself: How many of the three letters sent out by the King of Hell have you received? ◎Becoming a Hungry Ghost as Retribution for being Rich Yet Stingy and Greedy Later, the King of Hell asked the judge to find out what good and bad deeds K had done in his life. The judge replied, "This person only cared about money-making In his life. He thought only of his own children, and did no charity work. When there were disasters, he had no compassion to relieve others from suffering. Although he did not make his money by stealing or robbing, he did not intend to give anything back to the society from which he had made his riches. Instead, he was stingy and greedy. He avoided paying taxes any way he could. He was a real miser." After hearing this, the King of Hell was very angry, and he ordered, "Hurry! Send this selfish and immoral man to the Realm of Hungry Ghosts!" In this world, there are a lot of rich but greedy misers who will be punished just like K, and become hungry ghosts after death. Wealth is achieved by giving. People are rewarded with wealth in this life because they learned how to give in their previous lives. They should enjoy their rewards, and share their wealth to help the poor. How could they backslide in that way, becoming greedy and stingy with their wealth and eventually earning only the punishment of becoming a hungry ghost? It is because everyone has different causes and conditions in each of their lives. For example, if one was poor in one's previous life but had conditions and was able to do charitable work with others, or perhaps make some offerings to the Three Treasures, one would receive the reward of being wealthy in the next life. However, because the person had not learned about Buddhadharma, and had not transferred the merits he had gained from charitable giving or making offerings to achieve Buddhahood, that person would only attain mere worldly riches. It is important to realize that people who obtain worldly riches can easily fall under the spell of the Five Desires: wealth, lust, fame, food and sleep. Desires are like brine; they can never quench thirst. No matter how rich those slaves of desire are, they can never feel satisfied. They will think that more is always better, and will only want to gain but not to give anything back. At that moment, they are lost; they have become greedy and miserly. All riches are meant to be living treasures; they become dead and meaningless if they are only hoarded, and are not allowed to flow in society. Others suffer when a rich person practices avarice; consequently, that greedy rich person will also suffer, being punished by becoming a hungry ghost. This is the Law of Cause and Effect. ◎Youngsters Also Receive Letters from the King of Hell Not long after that, the King of Hell, Yama, judged the ghost of a young man who seemed a little relieved. "That man received three letters," said the young man to himself, "but I have received none! Hasn't Yama been rather unfair to summon me here? I shall challenge him!" So the young man courageously spoke out, saying, "Oh Yama! That person you just judged deserved to die, since he had received the three letters. But that is not my case! My teeth are fine, my eye sight is perfect and my hair is still dark. I have not received even a single letter, so why have I been summoned here? You are very unkind, and do not cherish youth! I must dispute this!" The King of Hell glanced at him scornfully, and then hit his gavel hard on his desk, "What a fool you are! I have sent three letters to you as well, and you have received all of them already!" The young man said, "But I have received none!" The King of Hell was irritated, and impatiently said, "You think that all my letters are the same? They are different for each person!" So, the young man timidly asked, "Well, what were the three letters for me, then?" Yama asked him, "When did your sister die?" The young man replied, "She died at the age of five, and I was ten at that time. Poor girl! She was only five years old!" The King of Hell then asked, "How did she die?" "Smallpox," replied the young man. "At the end of her life, all the ulcers on her skin were filled with pus, and her body was scarlet red. Even the best doctor failed to cure her! She was lying on her stomach, crawling painfully in bed when she died. It was such a horrible death !" The King of Hell explained, "Well, that was your first letter. As for the second one, when you were in high school, there was once a soccer game between your school team and a visiting team. Neither team could overpower the other. Finally, an honor roll student from your school scored a goal by using all his strength to kick the ball into the net. Yet the huge impact of the force dislocated his ankle and made him lose his balance. He fell backwards onto the ground, cracked his skull open, and died on the spot. Do you remember that?" The young man sadly replied, "Yes, that schoolmate of mine died tragically. All of us cried for him, and all of the teachers grieved too. Since he was an honor roll student, everybody admired him. His parents were the saddest; they cried their eyes out. All parents hope that their children will outlive them, but for his parents, the situation was reversed; it was such a tragedy!" The young man then asked, "What was the final letter then?" The King of Hell replied, "How did your cousin die?" The young man recalled, with a trembling voice, "Oh! My cousin died very horribly. Two years ago, when I was eighteen years old, he was getting married. On his wedding night, all of our relatives and family friends gathered to congratulate him, but just when everyone was having a great time, my cousin suddenly died of appendicitis. Before the bride had a chance to take off her wedding gown, she had to don the widow's veil. She was crying endlessly and said, ' My dear, didn't you promise to be with me into our old age? So why are you leaving me now?' The more she cried, the more deeply she grieved. 'If I knew you were going to die on our wedding night, I would never have agreed to marry you!' Everyone was moved by that scene. It was truly heartbreaking." The King of Hell then said, "And that was your third letter." After hearing this, the young man understood that he, too, had received all three of Yama's letters, and had nothing else to say. Now think about it for a while: have you received Yama's three letters? Maybe there are even more than three! Have you invested enough effort in chanting the Buddha's name to help you avoid the clutches of the powerful King of Hell? ◎Both Praise and Slander Plant Seeds of Buddhahood The King of Hell later asked the judge about the good and bad deeds that the young man had done on earth. After checking, the judge replied, "This youngster was not so bad, but he lacked respect for his parents. He lived with his elderly mother, who was a faithful Buddhist, cultivating earnestly. She hoped to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and wished that her son would join her. But every time his mother chanted the Buddha's name, the son would interfere, saying, 'Reciting the Buddha's name is just a superstition, Mom, and besides, your endless chanting of Amitābha's name will make the Buddha feel annoyed! Why would the Buddha bless you then?' Those comments upset his mother greatly." There are always some "clever" people who claim, " If you people keep chanting the Buddha's name all day, wouldn't Amitabha Buddha be annoyed? I would feel very annoyed if you kept calling my name like that." But that is not the same as chanting the Buddha's name. Continuously calling a person's name is an attempt to cause a disturbance, but the sincere chanting of Amitabha Buddha's name is an invocation to the Buddha to rescue us from our sufferings. The intent is completely different, and the two situations should not be compared with each other. People with karmic obstructions always find it difficult to learn good things, yet they quickly pick up bad habits! They can always find reasons to think that chanting the Buddha's name is bad behavior, and they make up seemingly reasonable comparisons. Some people chant the Buddha's name casually and without respect. Even though Amitabha Buddha is very magnanimous and would not mind that, it is stil a mistake to slight the Buddha. In Buddhism, reciting the Buddha's name insincerely is an act of contempt that accumulates negative karma; retribution will be assigned accordingly. But once the sound of Amitabha's name enters your ears, it will take root in your mind and never disappear, just like the Vajra seed. So, after receiving the punishment, one can still receive the benefits from benefits from reciting the Buddha's name. The holy name of Amitabha Buddha is the result of myriads of magnificent virtues cultivated over infinite kalpas. Whether the recitation is done with utmost respect or indifference, with a lack of concentration or with sincerity, the merits you gain are all incredible. According to the old saying, "Both praise and slander contain the seeds for Buddhahood." Of course, praising the Buddha's teachings can earn you merits; however, slandering them can also lead to Buddhahood. How is that so? Slandering the Buddhist doctrine is certainly a misdeed, but because of the presence of the everlasting Vajra seed, after enduring the retribution for slander, one can still perform good deeds, repent one's past bad deeds and finally achieve Buddhahood. Once one hears the holy name of Amitabha Buddha, one can be freed from all worries and karmic obstructions, and be liberated from the cycle of birth and death. There are not enough praises for the Buddha's boundless merits. Most important of all, do not have any doubt, and do not slander the merits of the Buddha! ◎The Holy Name of Amitabha Buddha Saves Sentient Beings You now understand that both praise and slander constitute the seed of Buddhahood. Therefore, you must continue to recite the Buddha's name when you return home. Do not mind the objections and teasing from your family members. If they complain that your chanting is too noisy, you can reply, "The high volume of your television and radio annoys me as well!" If they find it difficult to accept your commitment to Buddhism and think that you are out of your mind, you just need to continue reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha. If they complain about your chanting and say, "Please stop chanting; I am annoyed," you just ignore them and continue to focus on chanting Amitabha Buddha's name. Anyone who tries to hinder us from Buddhist practice is our enemy. You should chant the name of Amitabha Buddha like you would fire a machine gun; it is the best kind of weapon. We should give our enemies a chance to hear the Buddha's name. The Buddha's merits will then dissolve their karmic obstructions. This is the best way to truly rescue your family. If they hit you, you should continue reciting Amitabha Buddha's name, one recitation after each strike! Just imagine that they are the clubs of the wooden fish [a drum-like Buddhist instrument]! Recall what Maitreya Bodhisattva said: "If someone insults me, I applaud their insult. If someone hits me, I simply lie down and sleep. He saves his energy, and I save myself from worries." See how wonderful that is! Do not argue with anyone; just endlessly recite the name of Amitabha Buddha. There was once a sincere Buddhist who was the only Buddhist in his family. He learned about the benefits of Buddhism, and wanted to persuade his family to join his religion. However, his family could not be persuaded, and their discussions nearly turned into religious battles.

Eventually, he started playing audio tapes of Guan Yin Bodhisattva's and Amitabha Buddha's holy names in the house. At first, his family did not like it. His mother, father and siblings would turn off the tape player whenever they heard it. He ignored them and restarted the tapes as soon as they walked away. Willingly or not, his family heard the names of the Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva and Amitabha Buddha every day because of his persistence. The merits of the infinitely virtuous holy names are really inconceivable! After almost six months, his entire family no longer objected to his religion. In less than two years, the whole family became Buddhists and paid respect to the Three Treasures. This is the subtle transformative effect of the powerful holy names! Since there are such magnificent benefits from listening to the holy names, you should no longer listen to songs is always about romance and so on. Listening to them gradually reduces your wisdom. It is better to listen to the Buddha's name as much as you can, because it can wash off ignorance and reveal wisdom. When the holidays come and you have to give out presents to family, friends and neighbors, the greatest and noblest gifts are audio tapes of the holy names. Moreover, giving these gifts is economical and helps save sentient beings throughout the world. You should all realize this, and put it into action. ◎Praying to Avoid the King of Hell and to be Reborn in the Western Pure Land Continuing with the earlier story, the young man saw that other than his lack of respect for his mother and his disturbance to her Buddhist practice, his records in the book were decent. So he started pleading with the King of Hell, Yama, saying, "Please release me back to life! My mother cannot live without me. If I am dead, her heart will be dead as well. How can she be reborn in the Western Pure Land if she cannot focus on her Buddhist practice? Please let me go back. I promise that I will respect and obey her, and join her Buddhist practice!" The young man persistently kept begging and pleading. Yama looks fierce but is actually very compassionate. After hearing the pleas of the young man, he thought for a while and said, "Your deeds are really unforgivable, but it would be a shame if your mother failed to be reborn in the Western Pure Land just because of her grief over you! It would be a pity to see her fail and come to me. Fine! I will let you return to your life." When he heard this, the young man became very happy and tried to leave right away, but Yama suddenly yelled, "Wait! Listen carefully! When you return to the human world, you must respect and obey your mother; you must sincerely recite the Buddha's name and join your mother to be reborn in the Western Pure Land, Do not come back here to see me. Remember, 'Do not wait until old age to start practicing Buddhism; there are also young people's bodies in lonely graves!' Do not be lazy and do not fool around, squandering your time. If you do not treasure your time again and do not chant the Buddha's name piously, I will immediately drag you back here!" The young man gratefully bowed to Yama and promised to follow his orders. He soon returned to life happily. All of you here: do you wish to avoid meeting the King of Hell? The only way is to recite the Buddha's name and pray for rebirth in the Western Pure Land! Yama has a lot of respect for those who recite the Buddha's name, and his greatest fear is that they will not be able to attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land. If you are truly afraid of meeting the King of Hell, you should diligently recite the name of the Buddha! ◎When is a Better Time to Save Yourself Than Now? After hearing this story, don't you all feel a greater sense of urgency? There are a lot of young people who think that, because they are still young, they should enjoy all the pleasures of the secular world. But after hearing this story, it is time to think again! Those of you who are layman with successful careers should also pay attention. If you think that you should wait until all your affairs are settled, you may be like that man in the story who was dragged to Hell by Yama before hís duties were accomplished. If you say you have not yet found anyone to carry on your work, or have not yet distributed your assets, would the King of Hell be merciful and wait for you? If you are wise, you will hurry up and do charitable work. Only those merits can be carried along with you into the afterlife; the money you have saved up in the bank is not truly yours to keep! All of you have to understand that you have found the Buddhadharma, something that is rare and difficult to encounter. So when will there be a better time to save yourselves than right now, in this lifetime? Everyone here, you have had the rare opportunity to listen to the Buddha's teachings and have been able to start cultivation. Be wholehearted in your cultivation; do not be attached to worldly affairs and waste precious time. If you do not achieve liberation in this life, it will be very difficult for you to discover the Buddhadharma again in your next life. And do not assume that you still have a long time to live! If the king of Hell wants your life right at this moment, who can keep you alive for even another minute? Therefore, all those who wish to learn about Buddhism and those who wish to become monks or nuns should do so right now, this very minute! Do not wait until you have arranged everything and achieved all your worldly goals, because after you complete those tasks, there will always be something else coming along to detain you. The affairs of this world are endless, and you can never be completely finished. Do not think that you are so smart that all your plans will work out for you! How many affairs in this world ever turn out the way we want them to? Please use your wisdom to be more mindful and self-disciplined; do not be like the characters in the story l've told you today. They let their time pass by aimlessly. Finally, I wish all of you to be reborn in the Western Pure Land! Note 1. Three Sufferings: (1) Suffering of Pain (2) Suffering of Change (3) Pervasive Suffering 2. Eight Sufferings: (1) Suffering of Birth (2) Suffering of Aging (3) Suffering of Sickness (4) Suffering of Death (5) Suffering of being apart from loved ones (6) Suffering of being together with despised ones (7) Suffering of not getting what one wants (8) Suffering of the flourishing of the Five Skandhas