Summary
A man suddenly died and went to the afterlife just like that. The next day, he miraculously came back to life. "This is what I experienced in the afterlife," he said.
"After I took my last breath, two unknown individuals appeared. One was an old man, and the other was a child. When I followed them, I arrived at a large river with a golden bridge over it. When I asked, 'Where is this place?', the old man replied, 'This is the southern gate of hell.'"
The man was surrounded by demons and brought before King Enma. "King Enma, why have you brought me here?" he asked fearfully. King Enma said, "Because your wife cried and petitioned me directly."
His wife was brought forth, her body pierced with countless nails, and her hands and feet were bound with wire. "Do you know this woman?" Enma asked. "Yes, she was my wife in the previous life," the man replied.
His wife, filled with anger, said, "My husband kicked me out of the house for no reason. I asked King Enma to send him to hell." King Enma examined the record and determined that the man was not guilty. "You may return. However, you must never speak of hell."
The man headed towards the northern hell and reunited with his father. His father was pierced with thirty-seven nails and was being struck with an iron whip every day. "Son, do you understand why you are suffering this pain?" the father asked. "I deceived people, stole, and did not take care of my parents."
Seeing his father's condition, the man cried and asked, "Is there anything I can do?" His father replied, "If you carve statues of the Buddha, copy scriptures, and refrain from killing, you will be able to go to heaven."
On his way back, the man was stopped by a gatekeeper who said, "You cannot exit through this gate," leaving him at a loss. However, the child appeared again and showed him a small door, saying, "Hurry! I am the Heart Sutra. Do you remember copying it when you were little?" and opened the door for him.
The man returned to this world. Remembering his father's suffering, he carved a statue of the Buddha and began to copy scriptures. "I sincerely wish that this will lessen my father's suffering," he hoped.
