(Clearwisdom.net) Monk Xuan Zang lived during the time of the Tang Dynasty, and he was written about in "Great Tang Records of the Western Regions".
He journeyed to India to obtain the Buddha scriptures and on the way, he found that three large, deep holes outside the monastery at Jetavanna Grove. The holes were so deep that no one could see the bottom. In the pouring rain, all the other ditches and ponds were filled with water, but no water could be seen in these deep holes at all. He asked the local people about the holes and learned of the legend of three evil people who fell alive into the Avici (the lowest level of hell spoken about in Buddhism) because they slandered the Buddha.
A Brahman woman named Cinca was one of these evil people. While Shakyamuni was introducing people to the Fa principle of "precept, samadhi, wisdom" that he enlightened to, more and more people came to listen to his lectures because they recognized that what he was teaching is good. On the other hand, although Brahmanism still had a very large influence in India at the moment, fewer and fewer people wanted to believe in it because it had already completely deteriorated. When the Brahman woman saw that masses of people were listening to Shakyamuni's Fa lectures sincerely and respectfully, instead of being kind and respectful to the Buddha, she became jealous and acted on it. She said to herself, "I want to insult Shakyamuni today and ruin his good reputation in order for Brahmanism to be the only one that is respected!"
She strapped a large wooden bowl under her clothing and went to monastery at Jetavanna Grove. She claimed loudly among the masses of people there, "The person who is lecturing had an affair with me! The baby in my belly is Shakyamuni's child!" Puzzled by the desperate slander, people there who lacked righteous belief had their minds moved: some of them whispered to each other; some of them shook their heads and sighed; some of them talked in the Brahman woman's way, and some got up and left. However, the people with firm righteous belief knew that she was slandering Shakyamuni; they kept listening to Shakyamuni's lectures.
To clear the doubts that people were getting toward this righteous Fa, a heavenly divine being changed its shape into a white mouse. The mouse chewed on the rope that held the wooden bowl to the Brahman woman's body. The rope suddenly broke with a loud snap, astounding those around her. The bowl fell away from her body, and the truth manifested in front of the people. All the people suddenly realized what had happened. A person picked up the bowl, showed it to the Brahman woman, and asked her in laughter, "Is this your child?"
Suddenly the ground cracked open, and the Brahman woman fell into the opening. She fell down into the lowest levels of hell, into the Avici. It is said that in the Avici, the suffering of repaying Karmic debts never ends, and the evil person is being destroyed with no chance of every being born again.
In general, people of many cultures around the world believe that one who commits crimes is cast into hell after death. However, for an evil person who defames and slanders Buddha, because so much Karma created, as he opens his mouth to slander or raises his arm to hit the Buddha, his spirit is immediately cast down to hell, the Avici hell.
Although it may not show in this world at the moment, some with supernatural powers can see the dreadful end that such a person receives. In this period of history when morality has so greatly deteriorated, Gods and Buddhas come to this world to save people. In a period when Gods and Buddhas introduce a righteous way to the world, the deteriorated forces also come to interfere and slander. However, heavenly law is that such evil cannot defeat the righteous. Good will always overcome evil in the end. For attempting to damage a righteous way or persecuting good people, one can only end up bearing the consequences of his evil acts.
Category: Traditional Culture
