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感應道交瑜珈焰口當日之法會首先恭請五方諸佛——東方世界阿閦佛、南方世界寶生佛、中央世界毘盧佛、西方世界彌陀佛、北方世界成就佛，見諸佛菩薩到。地藏王菩薩坐中間，又見鬼王（陰間司鬼的執行官）帶著眾多鬼來，其中有許多戴有手鐐腳銬（如人間犯法而被判入獄者，正在受刑般，這些鬼乃是在人間時犯法行惡，死後被判入地獄受刑者）。除見此類鬼外，另見意外死者：多現扁臉、半邊頭、斷腿、斷手，或身體被壓成扁狀，或被火燒成焦狀，因不同的意外事件，故死狀不同。
冤死者：雙眼帶有仇恨，因是冤死，故怨氣未消，含恨流落在鬼道中。（因心仍有怨恨，多會尋找殺害他之人，使之生不如死，痛苦不堪。）
溺死者：因是水溺而死，故現相多是全身浮腫，從其面部可見其浮脹不堪。
老死或病死者：老死者，現其臨終死時之狀。病死者，亦現不同病死之狀，心臟病死者呼吸困難，肺病死者呼吸喘促，或是因某部器官病死，必現其不同痛苦死狀。
戰爭死者：因戰爭而死，故死時若刀傷，即斷失某部器官，如頭或手等，或頭顱破裂、眼睛帶血、模糊不堪，或滿面皆是血等。
小孩死者：亦現其死時之狀，無論早年夭折、或及長死，皆現死時之狀。許多小孩都不見穿衣或鞋子，仍在鬼道中遊蕩，如街頭上行乞的小孩，痛苦不堪。另有最爲可憐的是母親墮胎下的小孩，亦是一般俗稱的「嬰靈」。因母親狠心墮下它，故依成胎時間長短而現不同相，如缺眼、缺腿，或身體不完全等等。
（此嬰靈實在可憐，因爲意志力薄弱，不知何去何從，大多如鈴聲般在虛空中飄盪，流離失所，就如同我們深夜聞遠處的鈴聲般，哀哀怨怨，令人爲之心酸）。
待續
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During the Yoga Flaming Mouth Ceremony, first we invited the Buddhas of the five directions: Aksobhya Buddha of the Eastern Realm, Precious Birth Buddha of the Southern Realm, Vairochana Buddha of the Central Realm, Amitabha Buddha of the Western Realm, and Accomplishment Buddha of the Northern Realm. All the Buddhas arrived, and Earth Treasury King Bodhisattva was seated in the middle. The Ghost Kings (the wardens of the ghosts in the realm of darkness) led numerous ghosts here, many with hands and feet fettered (Just like human criminals serving prison sentences; these ghosts had committed crimes when they were people, and after death they were sentenced to the hells to be punished.) Aside from these ghosts, there were also those who died in accidents, with disfigured faces, half a head, broken arms or legs, and crushed or burned bodies. Their appearances after death differed according to the nature of their accident.
With grievances: Their eyes harbored vengeance; because they died unjustly, their resentment caused them to fall into the ghostly realm. (Full of hate, they seek out the ones who killed them, and make their lives more miserable than death itself.)
Drowning: Having drowned, many had intact but bloated bodies, especially their faces.
From old age and sickness: Those who died in old age assumed their appearance before death. Those who died of illness manifested the symptoms of their various illnesses. The victims of heart disease had difficulty breathing; the victims of tuberculosis breathed in short gasps. Those with injured organs each manifested their particular state of agony at the time of death.
In battle: Those who died in battle bore knife wounds, or severed limbs, such as a hand or head, crushed heads, or eyes blurred by blood, or faces covered with blood, and so on.
As children: They also assumed their appearance at the time of death - whether toddlers or adolescents. Many children were seen wandering the ghostly realm without clothes and shoes, just like street beggars, in extreme misery. The most pitiful were the "infant souls" aborted by their mothers, who appeared as if in the womb, with bodies not yet fully developed, perhaps missing the eyes, or the feet, etc.
(These infant souls were truly pitiful, for they lacked the self-will to determine where they were going; they drifted through space, as insubstantial as the plaintive echo of a bell, which were sometimes heard at night).
to be continued
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