＃神父的鹽
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侏羅紀世界２真是個令人匪夷所思的爛片，神父給兩顆星．
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不知是否導演換人的關係，就像是在演一齣童話故事，與其說是朱羅紀世界系列的電影，比較像是一個披著恐龍皮的變態狂演出的恐怖電影．
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最大的缺點就在於「失真」，當我看到另一隻被基因混和的恐龍，作為反派在籠子露出奸詐的微笑，這就一點也不是恐龍電影了，完全超脫現實的邏輯，如果是藉由基因中隱藏的天生生存策略，設定一種物種混合基因也會繼承另一個物種，這基本上，是在褻瀆上帝－就算生物先天在基因裡刻畫了什麼本能，主要也是經由後天學習而成，如同母狼訓練幼狼狩獵也需要拋受傷的獵物加以教育，被人類馴養的動物久了反而不知道怎麼哺育自己的孩子，本作的導演似乎把一切想得很簡單，好像去精子銀行挑了運動員的精子，生出來的小ｂａｂｙ一歲就會打籃球一樣，這樣子簡化而且不切實際的思考．
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人的微笑涉及了很複雜的肌肉動作，賦予微笑社會意義，也需要極其複雜的智能，還有後天環境，誠如人類嬰兒一出生又哭又笑一樣，要明白笑＝喜悅的表達方式，不是憑空一隻混合基因恐龍可以辦得到的，應該沒有一隻恐龍會有這樣的需求，比較像這隻「帝王迅猛龍」混了人類的基因．
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本作就像一個大雜燴，無論是承襲經典侏儸紀公園還是第一部侏羅紀世界，各種細微的表現都像是沒經過消化的模仿，例如迅猛龍用爪子敲擊地板的動作，反應在這隻人造恐龍上就像是劣質的抄襲，而「合成恐龍」的這個概念也被無限的放大，甚至濫用了，導致帝王迅猛龍一點也不符合科學，所有的東西都像是菜市場買菜一樣，我也可以在基因裡頭寫入了牠看到紅點就會去攻擊特定目標，然後我按手槍上的紅色按鈕，牠就會像被催眠一樣聽命行事，而這樣的不能自主又和牠過於自主的表現（假裝被麻痺然後引誘警衛上前把他吃掉）過於衝突，這讓這隻恐龍看起來根本就是個笑話．
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而目標人類這麼多，這隻恐龍特別執著於一個小女孩不知道是怎麼回事，當小女孩不斷逃跑最終是跑回床上，這是一個不合理，這恐龍跑到屋頂上嚎叫，然後特別用爪子開窗戶，潛入小女孩的房間，這又是另一個不合理，當恐龍開始脫小女孩的衣服時，完全就讓牠看起來只是一個純粹的變態．
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從當中只看到導演的惡趣味，以及讓人不能理解，說是恐怖片也不像，比較像是搞笑片，ｂ級的灑狗血爛片，我不確定這系列電影是不是毀在一個不成熟的導演手上，不過更讓我驚訝的是日本方面的理解怎麼會認為超越前作，因為劇情上把侏羅紀「公園」毀滅、進入侏羅紀「世界」世界，是一種巨大的突破，合理懷疑，導演只是接受了一種指令，「結局應該要怎樣怎樣」，然後才開始想前面的劇情，只是為了有一個承先啟後的中介變相，把這個世界變成與恐龍並存的世界，好讓第三部開拍．
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這也是為什麼小女孩本身的複製人設定，還有續續按下按鈕，解放恐龍，是如此出戲而且多餘，他們基本上已經完全和該系列的世界脫離了，只是成為一種工具，先有一種想法形成，然後讓後續的東西牽強的去滿足它．
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本片的左膠感十分嚴重，從開頭說要去營救恐龍，結果被詐欺，救來的恐龍被拿去拍賣，變成恐龍拍賣會，這一切只為了強調人類有多麼自私，當反派人類為了合理化自己的錯誤，而推卸給男女主角時，用的理由也十分荒唐，「因為你們第一集核准了合成恐龍的研究，也用主題樂園利用恐龍來營利，還有男主角也用訓練恐龍的方式讓他們明白原來可以這樣提升恐龍的智慧，所以一切都是你們造成的，你們沒資格說我」，而女主角只能薄弱的辯解「我又沒違法」，事實上，這完全是錯誤的歸因，開主題樂園和盜賣盜獵完全是兩碼子事，而合成基因的問題，是在於以生化武器和戰爭為目的進行合成，跟單純噱頭完全不一樣，第一部受雇的中國科學家就是利用了這點，他欺騙了他的雇主，然後研發了做為武器用途的恐龍，才「加料」了一堆有的沒的讓恐龍成為了怪物．
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男女主角為了彌補自己的罪，開始營救恐龍，這挺左膠的，又因為不忍恐龍死於毒氣，而產生放出恐龍到人類世界的想法，這完全就是個左膠，在樂園事件裡，犧牲的不只是恐龍，還有人類，無辜的遊客被恐龍叼到天空上或踩死，而自己不斷逃跑，好不容易在脫離那個世界，現在為了救眼前的恐龍，而完全忽略了從前被恐龍捕食的恐懼，而要把人類世界整個變成恐龍世界，再一次重複慘劇，重溫一次被恐龍追殺的快感，完全是膠到不行．
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幸好女主角冷靜下來，放棄了按鈕，但是小女孩按下去了，這讓她是個複製人的伏筆顯得十分刻意而且荒唐，原來，她存在就是為了這一刻，她說「他們也是有血有肉的呀！」似乎把自己跟恐龍聯想在一起，成為命運共同體，事實上，完全就是理盲而且濫情．
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看在自己放出去的恐龍再度肆虐這個世界，翼手龍再把人抓起來摔死，小女孩只是一臉懵懂的抱緊男主角，好像不知道發生什麼事，觀眾也傻了，只令人想罵「死囡仔脯，手有夠賤欸」．
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然而，本片之所以給兩顆星，多給一顆，是因為他反應了一種預言性質，一個中國科學家為了製作生化武器，所以把基因序列嵌入另一段致命的基因，讓產出來的東西可以躲過熱感應器的偵測，甚至變色完全在環境中隱藏，然後洩漏出去成為全世界人類的災難．
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而最諷刺的是，無論從第一步還是第二部，這位中國科學家腦袋裡好像永遠學不到教訓，滿腦子都只想研究生化武器，這使得觀眾好像不斷的再看一次錯誤的重蹈覆轍，而感到極其愚蠢，當令一個帝王迅猛龍又再度被研發而成，成為架上的商品，當一個歪國人被錢沖昏了頭，試圖拍賣時，中國科學家突然制止了他，那瞬間，人們以為他良心發現，結果不是，他說，「不能把原型拿去拍賣，因為對手也會學」，原來，人類都已經要大難臨頭了他還想著如何競爭，不能讓對手得利．
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這種完全的利己主義，以及為達目的，不擇手段，的確很符合中國人的「我執」心態，白話來說，就是一種狼性，死都改不了，滿口謊言還說的頭頭是道，難怪第一部他會這麼為怪物進行辯解，「怪物是相對的．對金絲雀來說，貓就是怪物，我們只是習慣當貓．」
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中國人喜歡當貓，然後做出怪物來，還能解釋成你們才是怪物，想要迫害弱勢，我才是正義，然後全人類火葬場，可真是非常嚴重的公正世界偏誤了．
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正因為缺乏了這種基本的道德觀和實驗倫理，凡事經過中國科學家的手卻產生了質變，無論是第一部還是第二部，都上演了小孩開大車的戲碼，中國本身沒這技術，都是洋人們給他造一個ｐ４實驗室，他們站在巨人的肩膀上研發出來的，用洋人給的資金和技術，研發出完全不相干的東西，原本要用來救援生命，卻拿來販賣牟利為目的，不變的是代價由全體人類承擔．
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也可以這麼說，某些洋鬼子也永遠學不了教訓，例如「中國促成世界進步不可缺少的力量」、「紅色供應鏈對世界有巨大貢獻」、「讓中國繁榮起來他們就會邁向民主」，這些包裝著左派思想實則利益薰心的愚昧洋屌思維模式，俗稱，用小頭思考．
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電影的結局就是放出恐龍後，人類世界成為一個與恐龍並存的世界，翼手龍飛到高樓大廈上，環視著人類世界燈光明媚的夜景，ｔｈｅｎ，巨大的滄龍出現在衝浪客腳下的巨浪之中．
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後來我才知道，為什麼有些柯糞會一邊罵政府害死８００條人命，一邊倡導「與病毒共存」了，完全就是災難片看多的關係．
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當浮現了電影中世界末日的影響，這也無意間隔離了自己與現實當中的關係，在進行災難性幻想的同時，也得到了自己是安全的錯覺，如同電影院的觀眾欣賞了一部恐怖電影，出了電影院後得到一種僥倖的救贖感「我還安全著」，因此人們從不厭其煩地欣賞恐怖電影，反覆刺激，不過，在現實中期待恐怖情節的呈現，以為不會發生在自己身上，可以治療恐懼，那又是另一回事．
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他們可能看到了侏羅紀公園的浪漫，而忘記了被恐龍啃掉上半身的感覺是怎麼樣，他們忘了當中的脈絡，放出恐龍，恐龍咬你，你被啃掉，「恐龍咬你」這個環節失落了，當看到了結局滿布煙硝的失落的世界，而略去的血腥情節，天真的認為提早到結局就能結束痛楚，於是產生了「放出恐龍－＞就不會被啃掉」的思維結果．
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現實往往比電影還離奇．
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只不過放出的恐龍只有幾毫釐的大小，然後牠們的名字叫做武漢肺炎．
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在這絕望的世界裡，至少我們還能期待的事是，第三部女主角的胸部依然豐滿，ｂｒｏｔｈｅｒ．

「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：

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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

***生命科學閱讀之 3***

物理，化學，生物學，三者的發現碰撞在一起時，會如何改變製藥的方式，以及生命科學研究的推進呢？

“Physicists tell us what’s conceivable, chemists tell us what’s possible, and biologists tell us what actually happened.” Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek
（“物理學家告訴我們如何理解世界，化學家告訴我們其中的可能性，而生物學家告訴我們當中到底發生了什麼事”） -- 諾貝爾物理學家 Frank Wilczek

這本書是我追蹤的矽谷新創公司 a16z ，提到生技業蓬勃的創新能量時，建議閱讀的書籍之一。故事的時代背景是在90年初期，一個在知名製藥公司默克工作的科學家，看見人們對於疾病的分析越來越精準，同時又有龐大數據處理的電腦，大膽的預言藥物的製作方式必須被更新。在眾人一片驚訝和不看好中，他離開了製藥界巨頭的老東家，找到一些認同這個理念的科學家們一同創立了 Vertex (福泰製藥）。

他所倡導的製藥方式是所謂 「結構分子設計」。在這之前最好的方式是從大自然裡面去找尋各種微生物然後逐一比對淘汰，一直找到適合治療某種藥物的成分，然後用化學的方式去人工合成這樣的成份，再大規模量產。而結構分子設計的藥物設計理念，是針對病症或是病毒的分子結構清楚分析，然後再把原子當成單位一點一滴，量身訂做的製造出相對應的解方，有點像是為一個鎖頭量身訂製出鑰匙一般，這樣的好處是可以啟動該啟動的，但減少可能帶來的副作用。聽起來很棒，但要投資時間精力卻是巨大的風險。裡面延伸提到一個抑制免疫的重要應用領域 -- 器官移植， 和這個領域的先鋒 Thomas Starzl 史塔哲醫師的故事。看到器官移植初期各種難以想像的實驗，平常人很好但在手術室裡像個暴君的史塔哲醫師，如何抵擋各種的道德爭議性，各式謠言攻擊，甚至自己的許多錯誤，就是想要讓器官移植可以成真。也因為這樣他不斷找尋可以抑制免疫系統避免身體在移植初期，排斥新器官的藥物，也奠定了本書這個新創公司的研究啟蒙基礎。

雖然我不是相關領域的，但從當中一窺他們如何定義什麼是值得解決的問題，然後如何定義挑選首要目標的想法，同時組織適合這個理念的團隊，真的還蠻有收穫的，畢竟不管任何行業任何組織這樣的能力，都是關鍵的。他們最開始挑選抑制免疫系統的藥物，就是因為這個話題並不是大公司競相追逐的，但卻有廣泛的應用 （當時大公司追逐的都是愛滋病藥物，但後來抑制免疫藥物的設計，不免還是跟愛滋病藥物研究領域有所碰撞）。除了募資找錢諸多的挑戰，和創始團隊超級強大的心臟之外，也可以看見因著找來一票明星科學家極有專業度和自信，所以管理起來，需要領袖能夠讓人服氣的氣場。他們在沒有產品的時候看準最後一波生物科技投資風潮，硬是要上市籌募夠多的資金，造成實驗室裡面因著壓力的各種瘋狂故事。壓力極大又疲憊不堪的科學家們，把自己推到極限，也開始讓辦公室內火藥味十足，有人有精神崩潰自殺的傾向，有人用暴力威脅，還有一位科學家在餐廳裡把椅子砸爛了。這樣的狀態下還能夠持續研究工作，只能說他們想要事情成功的信念，真的很強大。

這本書雖然不是很容易讀，但我覺得最棒的一點是，作者忠實地描述了一個新興產業中創業的戲劇性和壓力，不是把它形塑成一個成功範例或是勵志故事。很佩服這位作者不是相關專業出身，與福泰製藥的員工們朝夕相處3年左右，透過無數的對談，採訪，和觀察，寫出了這個深刻的故事。最後會看到，這位新創公司的創始人，最終想要贏得的冠冕就是他的觀點被證明是對的，讓他願意承受所有的壓力，每一次的危機，在一片阻力當中堅持到最後的決心。雖然說意志力和決心很重要，但成功從來就不是保證。我不禁在想，有什麼樣的價值值得如此追求，不管最後結果如何，仍然能夠覺得心滿意足呢？

延伸閱讀：
"Inflamed Mind"
身體的免疫系統-- 以及它對精神狀態的影響

"Billion Dollar Burger"
人造肉-- 分子科學的另外應用

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