Escape from Blood Pond Hell: The Tales of Mulian and Woman Huang

Woman Huang Recites the Diamond Sutra

147 Woman Huang Recites the Diamond Sutra When Woman Huang recites the Diamond Sutra, The sound of her wooden fish rattles the hells. An admiring Lord of Darkness invites Woman Huang To the hells, where she laments the fate of the multitudes. Reciting the Diamond Sutra, the buddhas offer protection; She is transformed into a man, reborn to become an official. She submits a memorial, quits her office, and seeks refuge in the Three Jewels; Then, escaping from their mortal bodies, her entire family achieves Transcendence. 149 | Woman Huang Recites the Diamond Sutra WOMAN HUANG TOURS THE UNDERWORLD AND RECITES THE DIAMOND SUTRA From the time that Pangu split heaven and earth into two,1 And the Three Emperors and Five Thearchs formed the world,2 The generations have endlessly risen and then receded again: One morning the Son of Heaven—the next morning a slave! How many born behind vermilion gates have gone hungry? How many born in huts of thatch have become men of rank? The Roads of Good and Evil are both laid down by humans, And what is recorded in the ledgers of merit is unmistaken:3 Those in the world who always do good will surely prosper, While those who do evil will be forced to suffer great pain. The sutras were transmitted to China from India in the west4 — Designed to bring salvation to all the good people of the world. Even the eighteen arhats5 were once thieves and robbers, But by repenting of their sins and cultivating spiritual discipline, Later they too were able to travel the road leading to heaven And leave their golden images in the temples of earth below. Once there was a market town that had the name of Hanyang, Which had a reputation for being a place of many good deeds. Those who lived there took pleasure in the true and the good— When have those who do evil ever enjoyed a happy life? But rather than speak to you any of those many tales, Listen, and I’ll speak of a certain Huang from Caozhou. In this Caozhou there was a certain Woman Huang Who was truly one of the woman sages of the world. Her family lived in the Nanhua district of Caozhou; Their home was located in the village of Qingping. Her father was generous, always doing good works, And her mother read the sutras each and every day. Woman Huang was her mother’s own daughter, And of her sisters, she was the fifth one. She would not drink the water from the fish-raising pond, And she would not eat the five forbidden or pungent foods.6 At the age of nineteen she was married off to the Zhaos, 150 | Woman Huang Recites the Diamond Sutra And for thirteen years she served as a hardworking wife. She gave birth to a son and two daughters: Her son was given the name of Changshou; Already by the time he was just three years of age, He was bright, and he was clever beyond compare. Woman Huang and her children were always good, But she feared that her husband was doing evil By running a slaughterhouse and butcher shop— His name was Lianfang, the master of the house. Every day he would slaughter two or three pigs, And he would order Woman Huang to boil the water.7 Woman Huang boiled the water, her tears rolling down, And she cried out: “Listen, husband, and I will explain: Today you slaughter the pigs and I boil the water: The retribution of this lifetime will be hard to bear! A white blade goes in, and a red one comes out— It is a frightening thing, no matter what you say. The water bubbles, and it boils with a hissing sound; Then the bristles are removed, the skin white as frost. These pigs are then sold to other people to eat, But the retribution must be endured by you and me. There are seventy-two good occupations,8 Why must you insist on being a butcher? In the nineteen years that I lived at home, I did not touch any of the forbidden foods, And every day I did nothing but read the sutras. I am afraid that we will have to pay for our sins! I urge you not to engage in this manner of work; Close this butcher’s shop and do something else...