關於 琉璃殿 徒長 ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

《「拴馬索」——念珠之功德與作用之四 》
　
二ＯＯ五年夏天，在一個週末的早晨，手機乍響，看號碼是一位遠在上海的學生打來，接起電話，對方心急火燎般的聲音令我心中不免一怔，直到對方連忙叫了兩聲「老師！老師！」方才甦解過來。這位學生已經年近六旬，平日裡行事也算平穩緩進，從未見過如此地焦急，心想不知有何事發生？
　
在這通電話中，他光是簡單重點描述就花了四十分鐘，大意就是他一手創立的零件工廠，被他的家人完全地占據掏空，他突然間只覺膽顫、驚恐萬分，不知如何是好，一時亂了方寸，所以打了電話給我，請我看看有無任何解其燃眉之困的計策。當這位學生一邊急躁地對我講述他所遭遇的棘手事件時，我腦子靈光一閃，顯現出來的是威赫閃閃的藥師七佛。我想起來這名學生在二十年前，我有傳授過藥師咒給他，以及教導他如何安置藥師壇城，我心裡想他應該可以安然過關，於是就告訴他：「你這個歲數的人了，遇事千萬不能慌亂，先緩緩自己的心緒，找名比較好的律師，再仔細想想整件事情的前因後果。你聽我的建議，先在你佛堂點藥師燈七盞，按照過去我教你的擺法，這幾天要很虔誠地跪念《藥師經》，祈求藥師佛加持及十二藥叉護法聖眾暗中扶助⋯⋯」
　
在這通電話的過程中，我腦中突然顯現了一個景象，很遙遠，時空迢遞至大唐盛世的義淨譯師莊嚴的容貌。義淨大師一直是我心目中極為崇敬的大譯師，甚至於超越了玄奘，連武則天對他都讚嘆萬分，當年他回到洛陽城的時候，武后還在城外等候多時，迎接這位聖僧⋯⋯義淨大師所翻譯的《藥師琉璃光七佛本願功德經》，經文優美練達，特別把藥師佛的大弘誓願描述得淋漓盡致，誦讀之間，直感難以名狀的加持能量，數輟不斷，充滿全身⋯⋯。
　
在中國山東有座義淨寺，便是為了紀念義淨大師所造，其中藥師殿所供奉的藥師七佛更是從未開眼過的莊嚴相。在歷史上，曾經發生過藥師佛救度廬陵王的事蹟，當時他把自己的皇位交給他的母親，他的母親就是武則天，之後他就遷移到當時的房州，那時他極為信崇藥師琉璃光如來，幾乎天天都會持誦祂的佛號，從未間斷，應該也是這樣子的緣故，使得他在武則天在位時無災、無難、無為難他，最後也促使他重新接掌皇位。在這期間由於他和義淨大師往從密切，中宗也從中獲得不少法益，因此唐中宗由於義淨大師座下領導的一批善於譯經的人才，其中最重要的便是《藥師經》。相信武則天在位時，唐中宗無法真正揣測、掌握到母親那種詭祕莫諱的心思，因此心中總是恐懼不安，惴惴憂愁，怛懼度日。每當他有這種心緒產生時，他只要持誦《藥師經》，就如同喝了安心湯飲一般，再加上後來很順當地重新坐上王位，因此他對藥師佛的信解心只能說到了卓絕超勝，無以復加的地步。畢竟他比李賢的遭遇好得太多⋯⋯。
　
當我心中想到了這段歷史上的往事，我心裡便有了底，上海的學生若能根據我給予他的建議，好生地供養《藥師經》、藥師佛、燃燈、持咒，最後也終必會如李顯一般失而復得⋯⋯果然在經歷將近七個月的訴訟期間，最後他如願以償。《藥師經》的功德本來就是對於世間男女一切諸不順之事皆能稱心如意，就如同經中願文上所說的可以求長壽得長壽，求富饒得富饒等，由於李顯在自己本身世俗變幻過程中，多次獲得藥師佛解困、療惑，更加深他對藥師佛的依賴及勝解，也許也因這些因緣，他才會要義淨翻譯一切和藥師佛相關的經文。
　
說到持誦藥師法門相關的法器，最重要的便是念珠，持誦藥師咒如果能有一串菩提子念珠，當然是最將順妙美之事，如果有可能，可以請一串青金石念珠做為修持藥師法門重要的依仗。
這種石頭早期顯教很少聽聞，原因是中國境內並無產區，在阿富汗和巴基斯坦、蒙古等地區才挖掘得到這種天下難尋的寶珠，通常都是回教徒做為祈禱之珠，伊斯蘭教徒便會手持青金石念珠，或其他的寶珠，口中會唸誦著「一切榮耀歸真主」、「感讚真主」及「真主至大」等詞，反覆不斷唸誦。
　
在佛教，佛珠的數字都是以一百Ｏ八顆為主，但在其他的宗教信仰中，也有隨其所需佩以念珠，天主教徒他們的念珠，便只有59顆。大部分天主教徒的念珠都會再配有一條十字架做為美化。而伊斯蘭教的信徒對於念珠的使用通常是使用在祈禱的時候，或者是共同唱誦的時候，念經時或持誦都會用得上它。（未完待續）
　
王薀老師
　
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「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

今天做的山西過油肉，除了突出的蔥香、蒜香，靈魂的蔥薑花椒大料水外，點兩次的山西老陳醋的醋香讓這道菜特別下飯，勾的是琉璃芡，盤底不留汁。我相信這道菜是從魯菜木樨肉演化而來，但目前還找不到任何文獻就是了。

〔過油肉〕
太原十大名吃之一的過油肉，看起來像是一般的蒜薹木耳炒肉片，但融入了山西菜特有的用醋方式，加上汁芡適量透明，不薄不厚，稍有明油這樣的成菜要求，而使得這道菜在1950年代末在山西出現後，很快地就在不斷地改良和擴散下，成了現在山西菜的首席代表。

以太原為首的晉中菜，是由包括了以曹家大院與孔祥熙宅院為代表的晉中市太谷縣；1997年聯合國教科文組織評定為世界文化遺產的平遙古城，亦為晉商發源地的平遙縣；以及以電影《大紅燈籠高高掛中》的喬家大院聞名的祁縣等地的大字號錢莊與票號等舊式金融組織的私家菜，在吸納了其它菜系的烹調方法後所逐步形成的。

過油肉是以前流傳到民間的官府菜，但是要到1957年2月，太原市的市飲食公司組織專家評審，將名廚吳萬庫所做的過油肉被評為太原十大名吃之後，這道源自山西省東部平定陽泉市平定縣的菜，才逐漸出現在太原與其它山西城市的各大餐館。而在隨之而來的60與70年代，動亂之後的改革開放的80年代時，由於張殿華、白寶山、方明鎖等山西名廚積極地參加全市、全省及全國的烹飪大賽，並獲得了金獎後，才讓過油肉這道菜的名字走出了山西。自此之後，只要是打著山西菜招牌的餐館，也都非得有過油這道菜不可。

一般而言，過油肉所選用的部位是豬的里脊肉，不過其實最好是特別選「元寶肉」這個位於豬的後腿的內側，在腱子肉更上面的豬臀部的內部，肉質細膩而軟嫩的純瘦肉部位，一隻豬只能取得長約20公分，重約0.6公斤的2小塊。而這個部位由於為半球型，形似餃子，所以取名為元寶肉，而台灣則因為這個部位的外形類似老鼠而稱之為「老鼠肉」。

過油肉衍生到現在有著許多不同的版本，雖然說配菜的選擇繁多，，有加白菜的、有加洋蔥和黃豆芽和辣椒的，但最正宗地道的還是以冬筍和新鮮野生黑木耳為基本配料，不過現在大多以蒜薹取代了冬筍片。

我們都知道山西菜善用醋，而做山西菜在用醋時又可分為「暗醋」、「響醋」和「點醋」。所謂的暗醋，指的是在烹調前或是烹調初期烹入醋，目的是取其酸味，並且增加食材的酥爛度。而所謂的響醋之所以響，是因為是在烹調過程中加入熱鍋時所發生的響聲，而其目的是取其香，並消除食材的腥味。而如果是在起鍋前烹入醋的話，則稱之為點醋，這時烹入醋則是增加了菜品的風味。

在東接河北，南鄰河南的山西省東南部城市晉城市則以充滿湯水的「大米過油肉」獨樹一幟。這道充滿地方風味的大米過油肉與一般的過油肉不同之處，除了多湯水外，還另外添加了蕃茄。此外，分兩次下蒜末，分別取其焦香味與其蒜香味也是一大特色。在烹飪的工序上，前面都與一般的過油肉的方法一樣，只是在烹入過油過的肉片後，要加入水煮開勾芡過，再下二次蒜末後再點醋。

〔過油肉、抓炒里脊、軟炸里脊、焦熘里脊、糖醋里脊、熘肉段、鍋包肉的異與同〕
過油肉、抓炒里脊、軟炸里脊、焦熘里脊、糖醋里脊、熘肉段、鍋包肉的異與同這幾道基本上都是以豬里脊肉為主食材的料理，成菜後外型類似，但是卻不管在口感或是味道上，都各有各的特色、各具各的滋味。

這幾種里脊料理又分為里脊肉片料理和里脊肉段料理，而且有的要先滑油，有的則是要先複炸過，而有的肉要上漿，有的則是掛糊。
「掛糊」(糊的音要唸「戶」而不唸「胡」)和「上漿」所用的原料基本上是一樣的，其功用也同樣是給食材「著衣」，如果是從糊與漿的稀稠程度、調製方法、用途及特點來說的話，掛糊可說是給食材穿上一件厚外套，而上漿則是為食材披上了件薄衣裳。這是因為掛糊所用的麵粉或澱粉較多，所以糊稠而厚；而上漿所用的澱粉較少，因此漿較之相對稀而薄。而在調製的方式上，掛糊是先將麵粉、澱粉、水、蛋液等各種制糊的原料，加入一個容器內攪拌均勻成糊狀，然後再將主食材放入糊中掛勻；上漿則是把食材與各種製漿的原料直接加在一起拌勻。而調製的方法之所以不同，怎是因為掛糊主要適於用炸、熘、烹、煎、貼、拔絲、掛霜等烹調方法製作的菜餚，成菜具有鬆軟、酥脆的特點；上漿所製作的菜餚則是適那些適合以滑炒、滑熘、爆炒等方法烹調，而成菜具有滑嫩、柔軟的特點的。

這裡所述的幾種里脊菜品中，又以抓炒里脊、抓炒魚片、抓炒大蝦、抓炒腰花這幾道被慈禧太后稱為「抓炒王」的清宮御廚王玉山所做的這清宮四大抓炒之一的抓炒里脊最為大名鼎鼎。之所以被稱做抓炒，有一說是因為需要急火速炒，因此最後抓幾下就出來，另外也有一說有是因為食材要在澱粉裡反覆地抓而得名，是類似於焦熘的技法，咬下去焦脆，而內部軟嫩。此外，為了使得里脊肉嫩中求嫩，在掛糊之前，還必須要在蔥薑水裡反覆地抓，不斷地往肉中入水份，這也是抓炒之名的由來。(關於蔥薑水，中國魯菜烹飪大師紀曉峰強調，要抓50下才是蔥薑水：「將帶皮薑(刮皮會去掉大半薑辣味)拍碎，大蔥拍破，放入盆中，加入清水，用手不停抓至少50下，把水抓成淡黃色、濃稠的液體，才能夠起到提鮮去腥的作用」(《味道春秋》，80))。

先將切好的里脊肉片加鹽、酒、蔥薑水、醬油後不斷地抓。抓炒里脊抓好之後要掛糊而非上漿，而且使用綠豆粉為佳，可使其成菜後的口感更為酥脆，水分多次少量地加，加到用手抓起流瀉下來的程度後，要加一點點油進這個糊中，更增加其成菜後的酥脆。在肉片掛糊後，燒寬油至六成油溫時，將掛好糊的肉片一片一片地下鍋，並同時把火改為小火，慢慢先將肉炸熟，待肉炸挺住浮起，顏色變得微黃即可撈出，等油溫再升高到七成肉的時候，再下鍋複炸到脆爽後撈出。烹汁切好的蔥薑米、料酒、蔥薑水、一勺半的醋、一勺醬油和約兩勺的糖，最後再加入太白粉水調勻後即成抓炒汁。正式操作時，直接將調好的抓炒汁烹入鍋中，直接炒製，等汁炒到色澤變亮的時候，便可將炸好的里脊下鍋，淋上少許明油後，翻裹均勻，即可出勺。

而與糖醋里脊相比，抓炒里脊的口味屬於小甜酸口，要以鹹為主味，其次才是酸甜，酸甜口不能蓋過鹹鮮味，而糖醋里脊則是大甜酸口。另外從芡汁上來說，糖醋里脊是汁大芡大，而抓炒里脊講究的是緊汁包芡(「抱汁兒」)，芡汁裹住里脊即可，在吃完之後盤子中也不會留下太多的汁。

而熘肉段和鍋包肉則是東北菜，在《東北菜之兵法》一文有討論過。其中的熘肉段是山東人闖關東所演變成的東北菜，自於魯菜的焦熘肉段。熘這種烹飪方式類似於炒，是將切好的食材原料用醃入味後以過油等方式先初步熟成後，再調好的汁澆淋在其上翻拌成菜的烹調技法。而焦熘這種技法又稱為炸熘和脆熘，是將醃好的肉先掛糊拍粉後要先油炸至酥脆，然後再將調好的芡汁入鍋，加入炸好的主料翻拌均匀或直接將芡汁澆淋在原料上熘製成菜。

熘肉段與糖醋里脊不同之處，在於它為鹹甜而非酸甜口味，而與與焦熘里脊不同之處則在於焦熘里脊是掛糊，熘肉段則是上漿炸製，穿的衣服厚薄不同，肉片也是厚薄有別。焦熘里脊肉片較薄而掛糊也薄，熘肉段是稍厚的肉段，上漿也上得更厚，因此在炸完之後保持水份的情況下，吃起來的口感更嫩。不單如此，熘肉段上的漿還得是硬糊，也就是調得濃稠而不稀，抓起來特別得乾，從而形成較硬的麵衣。

鍋包肉則由熘肉段衍生而出，原來叫作鍋爆肉，出自清光緒年間哈爾濱道台府府尹杜學瀛的廚師鄭興文之手。鄭興文是旗人，父親是茶商，在他六歲時隨著父親來到北京之後，隨著父親吃了許多的美味佳餚，遂生習廚之心。14歲時已對美食和烹調極為偏愛。鄭興文曾在北京一官員家學做官府菜餚，經過幾年的刻苦學習後，出師的鄭興文於清光緒七年(1881)在北京的一條街面上開了一家名為「真味居」的酒家。1907年，受朋友舉薦，鄭興文帶了十四位技藝高超的的廚子進入了當時的道台府做主廚，專門給首任道台杜學瀛料理膳食。

當時正是中東鐵路興建後的商業繁榮期，道台府官員經常要與外國人打交道，為了招待好來訪的外國使節，鄭興文必須經常變換迎賓菜的口味。為此，他專門到東清鐵路賓館學習俄式西餐的烹飪之法，把原來中國北方鹹鮮口味的焦熘里脊改成了外國人所喜愛的酸甜口味的菜餚，而食客則是大加讚賞，這一改使哈爾濱成為鍋包肉的起源地，鄭興文稱它為「鍋爆肉」，但是因為外國人發音不標準而講成了「鍋包肉」。而創作出鍋包肉的鄭興文，憑藉這道菜名譽世界，成為大名鼎鼎的「濱江膳祖」，就連他的徒弟也被請進皇宮，成為御廚。而濱江，指的就是哈爾濱。

鍋包肉的另外一個特點是，一般的菜講究的是色、香、味、型。而鍋包肉還要加個「聲」，也就是在咀嚼時，會發出類似吃爆米花時的那種聲音，此乃鍋包肉這是酥脆的證明。
寫到這不禁想到宜蘭三星的特色小吃，原名爆肉，而因為覺得爆這個字筆劃太多而改稱為台語同音字卜的卜肉。雖然官方說法是第一代參考日本天麩羅的方法所創製，但是以切條的豬里脊肉加醬油、糖、香料粉和雞蛋後，再裹上太白粉和麵粉油炸的方式卻反而更像是沒有加芡汁的鍋包肉，畢竟日本的天麩羅不會像中式炸肉一樣先醃肉再上糊。

#山西過油肉

《晉菜之兵法》：https://naihaolee.pixnet.net/blog/post/349714262-

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