關於 平安橋咒語 ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

《#綠騎士》(#The_Green_Knight)：躲在虛像背後的「高貴」騎士
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#David_Lowery 導演的《綠騎士》，改編自敘事詩《高文爵士與綠衣騎士》，片中有好些情節，令我感到茫然、影片色調偏灰暗，加上戲院的逃生警示燈過於明亮，使得暗夜場景更顯得霧茫茫，人物的動作與神情都看不清楚...
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《綠騎士》讓我看得有些煩躁（#畫面暗到我想抓狂！），但我喜歡這部作品，它不討喜（導演大部份的作品好像都不怎麼討喜），可是有不少橋段很打動我，場景與服裝造型絕美，演員的群戲整齊精彩。《綠騎士》是一部慢節奏的作品，有人認為這是詩意，有人覺得這樣的節奏會讓人失憶（看到睡著）。片商用「再現《冰與火之歌》奇幻冒險世界」替《綠騎士》宣傳，會給入場觀眾錯誤的期待。如果你喜歡導演的《鬼魅浮生》和《老人與槍》，可以給《綠騎士》一個機會。如果《鬼魅浮生》和《老人與槍》讓你厭煩，那...《綠騎士》或許不是一個太好的選擇。
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【#高文爵士與他的冒險之旅】
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亞瑟王舉辦聖誕晚宴，綠騎士出現在宮中，他向騎士們提出挑戰，有沒有人敢與他對決？獲勝者將能獲得綠騎士的武器和財富。然而，這個挑戰有個但書，獲勝者必須在一年後，親自前往綠教堂，讓綠騎士以相同的方式回敬對手。挑戰者如何擊敗綠騎士，他也將如數奉還。
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「記住，這只是一場遊戲。」亞瑟王
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宮殿裡一片死寂，亞瑟王的姪子高文爵士為了展現勇氣，接受挑戰。然而，綠騎士的「挑戰」是詭詐的：如果沒人站出來接受挑戰，那麼亞瑟王與圓桌武士都是「偽」騎士。如果有人站出來接受挑戰，砍殺的力道太小，無法贏得比賽，還會被嘲笑是膽小鬼，砍殺的力道太大，又得擔心一年後的自己會受到同等嚴重的傷害。高文爵士接受挑戰，一刀斬向綠騎士的頭，頭顱落地。對高文爵士來說，死人不會來找他報復，他贏得財富與名聲。怎知，無頭的綠騎士從地上緩緩爬起，狂笑著離去。
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綠騎士知道自己不會死，所以敢接任何一刀，揮刀的高文爵士僅是血肉之軀，假如一年後沒有遵守他與綠騎士約定，名聲掃地，再也抬不起頭（也是一種人頭落地）、為了維護名聲，鼓起勇氣去找綠騎士，卻可能丟掉小命，該如何抉擇？
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《綠騎士》開場，高文爵士的女友艾瑟兒問他：「你是騎士了嗎？」高文回說：「還不是、我有得是時間、我還沒準備好」高文回到住處，母親問兒子為何一夜未歸？高文謊稱自己是去做彌撒，母親心裡明白兒子所言並非屬實。這場戲有幾個重點：一，高文對於成為騎士一事感到焦慮，出身皇族，卻遲遲沒成為騎士，讓他心有愧疚（羞愧），但他的個性又不想去爭取成為騎士的榮譽，從而產生矛盾。二，高文內心欠缺信仰，意志不夠堅定。三，高文可以輕易對母親說謊，暗示他取巧的個性（電影會不斷應證高文愛說謊的一面）。
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為何高文無意成為騎士卻又接下綠騎士的挑戰？從母親到亞瑟王，人們都在問高文何時會成為真正的騎士？為了符合他人對自己的期待，高文只好硬著頭皮上陣（半強迫性）。同樣的，為了符合人們對他的期待，高文爵士也得在一年後，硬著頭皮赴約，實現他和綠騎士的約定。高文爵士接受綠騎士的挑戰並履行兩人的約定，到底是勇敢？是虛榮心作祟？或是時勢所逼？
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綠騎士從何而來？綠騎士其實是高文爵士的母親所召喚，目的是要讓兒子成為騎士，成為被眾人景仰的對象。既然綠騎士是高文母親所召喚，那麼綠騎士對高文或許並無殺傷力？他的存在只是一種假象，讓人們「相信」高文爵士十分勇敢？或者，綠騎士的存在是母親對兒子的測試，想要考驗高文是否有成為高貴領袖的道德與勇氣？
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隔年冬日，高文爵士依約踏上拜訪綠騎士之行，途中遇見：年輕男子、聖女威尼弗、狐狸、巨人、城堡主人與夫人，每一個相遇，都是考驗，都在拼組出高文爵士的為人，我們從高文與人（還有一隻狐狸）的互動中，看見他性格中矛盾的一面：高文被年輕男子與同夥洗劫時，他急忙否認自己是個騎士（當人們歌頌高文英勇對決綠騎士時，又欣然接受自己的騎士身份）、高文答應聖女幫忙尋找她遺失的頭顱，他詢問聖女這樣的舉動有無報酬（「善心」必須有所價值？）、為了換取城堡夫人身上的綠腰帶（也為了滿足肉體慾望），高文與城堡夫人發生性行為、城堡主人與高文訂下協議，主人說他捕獲的上等獵物都歸高文所有，高文在城堡中獲得的禮物，都歸城堡主人所有，高文答應了主人的要求，卻沒有信守對主人的承諾，沒有交出城堡夫人給予他的腰帶（綠腰帶內藏咒語，可以保命）...
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「#你不是騎士！」城堡夫人
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城堡夫人曾經幫高文爵士畫過一幅肖像畫，她沒有畫眼前的高文爵士，而是畫反光倒影裡的高文爵士。說明在城堡夫人的眼中，眼前的高文爵士並不真實，真正的他躲在虛像背後。有趣的是，高文當上國王後，這幅上下顛倒的畫像竟出現在宮殿中，而且畫像還被擺正，#暗示高文承認城堡夫人的肖像畫才更貼近真實的自己（身處暗處、籠罩陰影、畫中人物的臉上不見任何驕傲神情）。
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高文爵士的旅程，以及他與綠騎士的會面，讓他看清真正的自己：膽小，貪婪，自私。高文最後沒能完成他與綠騎士的約定，沒能接下綠騎士砍下的那一刀，狼狽地落荒而逃。高文返回家園後，眾人不疑有他，將他捧為英雄，亞瑟王臨終前將王位傳給他，成為新王的高文立刻與艾瑟兒分手，強奪他與艾瑟兒生下的兒子，另娶豪門女子為妻。
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這或許是最諷刺的結果吧？識人不清的群眾，以及活在謊言中的掌權者（#現實生活不也常上演小人得志的戲碼？）。
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然而，高文爵士就算逃過綠騎士的制裁，死亡仍會步步進逼，面對冷血背叛、無情戰火、數不清的生離死別，年邁的高文再次走到生命的岔路，再次面對死亡，再次自我詢問：這樣的我（犧牲他人而苟活的自己），就是我想成為的人嗎？我沒有遺憾、沒有愧疚嗎？如果能夠再來一次，我會不會更勇敢地面對綠騎士？會不會更真誠地實現對他人的承諾與接受自我的命運？
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面對綠騎士即將揮下的斧頭，你（銀幕外的我們）願意成為一個高貴（但未必能享有掌聲）的人？或是無時不刻畏懼死亡的到來，甘願活得畏縮的人？
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【#艾瑟兒與城堡夫人】
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艾瑟兒與城堡夫人的外貌一模一樣，但階級、地位、權力截然不同，她們像是人的兩種面向，艾瑟兒善良純樸，城堡夫人聰明算計。艾瑟兒代表的是良心，她對高文說：「為何要當個偉大的人？為何當一個好人還不足夠？」對艾瑟兒而言，當一個默默無名的正直好人（發自內心的善），並不遜於當一個名聲顯赫之人（過度追求名利）。城堡夫人代表是權力與慾望，高文問夫人是否讀過城堡裡的所有書籍？夫人說她全部讀過，還說：「我有時會寫書，有時會抄寫我聽過的傳說或是頌歌，我把它們寫下來，有時候當我覺得有改進的空間，我會修飾一下。」權力者掌握話語權，只要稍加修飾，就能改變一件事與一個人的評價，夫人的這番話，不正似高文逃離綠教堂後的人生經歷嗎？稍加改造，一個膽小的人，就能被奉為國家英雄。
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【#高文之母與矇眼婦人】
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城堡中有一名眼睛矇著白布的老婦人，高文爵士的母親在施法召喚綠騎士時，眼睛也矇上白布。城堡婦人有天走入高文下榻的房內，她撫摸高文臉龐的方式跟高文母親撫摸兒子臉龐的方式如出一徹。如果老婦人即是母親的化身，那麼高文的所作所為（包括與城堡夫人的情事以及索求綠腰帶），母親全都看在眼底，但是為了要讓兒子成為國王，母親選擇「睜隻眼閉隻眼（矇眼-忽視真相）」的態度，說明親情也可能是盲目的，也是讓人邁向腐敗的力量之一。
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【#高文爵士與城堡主人】
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城堡主人與高文爵士有一場戲非常地有意思。主人問高文想從他與綠騎士的約定中獲得什麼？高文回答：「榮譽？」他的語氣上揚，口氣有所疑慮。主人回說：「你這是在問我嗎？」暗示主人覺得高文連自己要什麼都不確定。高文連忙改用正向且肯定的語氣再說一次：「榮耀，高貴的騎士都在追求榮譽。」（高文的回答會依據他人的反應修正，而不是自己內心真正的想法）。城堡主人接著問：「這是你畢生追求的事嗎？」高文說：「成為一名騎士？」主人說：「不，我是說榮譽。」高文的回應，說明他並不真正在乎榮譽，#成為騎士不是為了追求榮譽而是追求隨之而來的名聲。
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【#高文爵士與年輕男子】
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高文爵士前往綠教堂途中，曾向一名年輕男子問路，男子告知方向後，高文隨即離去，男子為此感到不悅，在背後高喊：「我的指路難道沒有任何的價值嗎？」高文愣了一下，給了對方一枚錢幣。隨後，這名男子與同夥洗劫高文，搶走他的家當以及綠騎士贈與他的斧頭。
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身無分文的高文來到一間荒廢房舍，決定在屋中休息。半夜，小屋主人：聖女威尼弗向高文現身，聖女的鬼魂請求高文爵士找回她沉沒水中的頭顱，高文爵士問聖女：「如果我幫妳找回頭顱，妳要給我什麼回報？」聖女斥責高文：「你怎麼能問我這個問題？」
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高文遇見的年輕男子卑劣又自私，但高文就更高貴嗎？當他走投無路時，不也向聖女要求報酬（一如年輕男子跟高文要求小費）？再者，高文找回並歸還頭顱給聖女後，陽光灑入小屋，牆柱邊出現高文遺失的斧頭。原本被年輕男子搶走的斧頭，為何會出現在聖女屋內？聖女為了報答高文所以幫他帶回斧頭？或者，聖女之死其實與高文有關（聖女說自己的頭顱是被一名貴族砍下，她甚至問高文：「你不會就是那名貴族吧？」）？他人眼中形象正面的高文，是否藏著不可告人的秘密？
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【#高文爵士與狐狸】
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高文前往綠教堂的途中，總有一隻狐狸相伴。狐狸不求回報，忠實陪在高文身邊，除了幫他解圍（巨人族對高文的敵意），也在關鍵時刻，叮嚀高文誠實地面對自我的怯懦（要求高文解下綠腰帶）。然而，高文無法忍受狐狸的指控，趕跑了狐狸。狐狸是高文見到綠騎士前的最後一道阻礙（#良善之光），沒了狐狸，高文的心全部被暴力（年輕男子）、貪婪（聖女）、慾望（城堡夫人）、謊言（城堡主人）所佔據。
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【#重生之路】
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《綠騎士》尾聲，高文倉皇逃離綠教堂，David Lowery 導演用了一組蒙太奇鏡頭，帶領觀眾看見高文的後續發展：平安返鄉、功成名就、背叛情人另娶豪門女子、面臨連年戰火、民眾的不滿日增、兒子命喪戰場、城堡眼看就要被敵人攻入......高文漫長的一生，被濃縮在短短十幾分鐘內，其實，David Lowery 導演在《鬼魅浮生》有用過類似的敘事手法，兩部影片的主角（高文爵士、流連陽間的鬼魂）在走過數十年甚至數百年後，發現自己又回歸到最初的原點，念念不忘，牢牢抓在手中的一切（恐懼失去、恐懼死亡、恐懼自己的缺陷、恐懼他人的眼光），不過是種虛像、是內心的執迷在作祟。主角們在經歷時間的淬煉後，終於明白：唯有直視死亡，才能求生，唯有捨得，才能得道。
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面對綠騎士即將揮下的斧頭，#高文爵士將不再懼怕。

「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

【幸運】這一路發生很多幸運的事, 如有神助💜
12天的好天氣, 到底怎麼辦到的...出發前其實氣象預報非常不穩定, 友團一度取消, 然候在半路又忽然蹦出來🤣
🌈上能高主峰時眼前山頭一片白牆但一登頂就散開了, 害我每次登頂前都忍不住要唸我的晴天咒語...因為這樣的狀況其實發生好多次🥰
🌈在台灣池撿到一包乾燥白飯😋丟在營地跟垃圾沒兩樣, 整地的時候還很怒的把他踢到旁邊去, 這才發現裡面有東西😳
然候說服隊友我們吃了他吧 😈
原本理想預計9天的行程我們有備11天的糧, 但最後還是12天下山, 剛剛好撿到的飯讓我們多了一晚主食, 不至於餓到。
🌈其實天氣太好後來心中默默祈禱白牆大神可以幫忙, 大概有2、3天是有點霧雨又陰涼的天氣, 這一趟唯二的白牆是安東軍山和七彩湖, 七彩湖的白牆雖然有微微散開但還是太矇矓小小遺憾, 但六順山也是登頂前白牆然候在山頂開藍天給我🥰
🌈一路身體健康真的很重要, 有一晚迫降, 很冷, 半夜忽然肚子抽痛, 痛到無法動的程度, 自己評估一是保暖問題二是有多日未拉💩, 立馬幫自己開藥, 緩解症狀讓我撐到天亮再拉💩, 雖然有點虛弱擔心重裝會不會走沒幾步又開始痛了, 默默把重物塞到隊友包包😅還好平安無事

🌈天上掉下來的罐罐, 差點沒流淚, 這一天我們踢了44k, 已經斷糧了, 像隻喜孜孜的老鼠🐭
🌈孫海橋這麼巧的在我出來的這一天搭好了, 我們出來時已摸黑, 水又很急, 多麼慶幸自己擁有的好運氣💜

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