(Minghui.org) (Continued from Part 1) Nie Congzhi was a highly skilled doctor living in Huating, Yizhou, during the Song Dynasty. A man called Yi Cheng lived in the same town with Dr. Nie. When Yi's wife, Li, was gravely ill and near death, Dr. Nie's medical treatment saved her life.
Li recovered well, but she was a beautiful woman with low moral character. She became infatuated with Dr. Nie because of his good looks and personality. While Li's husband was out of town, she sent someone to tell Dr. Nie that she was suffering a relapse. When Dr. Nie arrived, Li whispered to him seductively, “I almost died before, but you saved my life. There is nothing in the world I can do to thank you properly. I would like to offer my body for your pleasure. Please, grant me my wish.”
Dr. Nie was shocked by her words, and politely declined. Li cried, begging him to agree. Dr. Nie ran from her house and went straight home. When Li sent someone to invite Dr. Nie again, he refused to go. So, Li visited Nie one night. She entered Nie's bedroom, grabbed his hand and said, “Doctor, please grant me my wish!” Nie pulled away and left the room in a hurry.
A year later, Huang Jingguo, an official in Yizhou, fainted due to an illness. His spirit entered the Underworld, where he saw a woman cut open her abdomen with a knife on a riverbank and begin to cleanse her intestines.
A monk appeared next to Huang and told him, “This woman is your colleague Yi Cheng's wife, Li. She was sentenced to cleanse her own intestines as punishment for her lust. Because she tempted Dr. Nie with adultery, her life span has been shortened by 12 years. Dr. Nie has remained unaffected by the temptations of lust, and he is truly a good person. Therefore, twelve years have been added to his life, and his family is blessed with one government official position for each subsequent generation.”
Huang was a good friend of Dr. Nie. After he regained consciousness and recovered from his illness, he made a special trip to visit Dr. Nie and told him he knew about the anecdote with Yi Cheng's wife, Li.
Nie was very surprised, “Nobody heard what Li told me; I was by myself when she came to my room that night. Li and I were the only two people who ever knew it even happened. How could you know about it?” Huang then told Nie about his experience in the Underworld. He found out later that what he heard from the monk turned out to be true: one of Dr. Nie's sons and one of his grandsons eventually became government officials.
Heaven's Laws Don't Change
Ancient Chinese believe that as soon as a thought comes to one's mind, it is visible in heaven. Heaven's laws don't change even though the moral standards regarding men and women may change in the human world. Lustful thoughts and behaviors will bring inevitable punishment, which could even be passed on to later generations or manifest in subsequent lives.
However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has promoted atheism and systematically destroyed people's beliefs in the divine. In today's China, people no longer believe that good will be rewarded and evil punished. Movies, TV shows, literature, drama, and other forms of culture are filled with immoral sex and relationships. People unknowingly accept it and easily fall prey to the demon of lust. The CCP has destroyed many of our blessings.
Breaking away from lust is a critical juncture in one's destiny. Follow what Confucius said, “Do not look at what is not in accordance to rites. Do not listen to what is not in accordance to rites. Do not speak in a manner not in accordance to rites. Do not act in a way that is not in accordance to rites.”
(The end)
Reference:
1. “Morality Education Ancient Reflections” by Shi Yuhan in Qing Dynasty2. “Record from the Northeast Garden” by Liang Gongchen in Qing Dynasty3. “Yi Jian Zhi” by Hong Mai in Song Dynasty
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Category: Traditional Culture
