famous historical person的八卦，Yahoo名人娛樂都在討論

Whenever I go to Tainan and tell my friends they are jealous, In a good way. If Taiwan is a cake, then Tainan is definitely the cherry on top. And sorry, I won’t mention all the beautiful places to visit here. Also - I will skip the fabulous historical part. I will go straight to the point - FOOD!

Recently, I was invited by the Bureau of Economic Development, Tainan City Government and NCKU Research and Development Foundation to a 3-day trip, and visited 20 shops. You can always count on the kindness and hospitality of the Tainan people. But don't worry, If I was invited, my camera was invited too, and that means I did my best to show off those places, and now I will pay back those nice people, and I am going to invite you on the trip too; are you ready?

PART 01 - When in Tainan, eat as the Tainanese do! - A guide to flavorful, popular (and English speaking) places serving Tainan food!

Taiwanese food is just extraordinary. Everybody loves it. No doubt about it. But now, you need to know that Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan and because of that - the variety of foods is richer here than anywhere else. So I will introduce a few places around Tainan where you can get local food. So take your chopsticks in the hand and let’s commence our mouth-watering journey around Tainan!

子龍點鴨 (Zi long dian ya)
As a person born and raised in Europe, I am not really used to eating ducks the way they are usually served in Taiwan. I don't really like messing with bones. But here was a great surprise! They prepare meals removing bones. They sell duck with dried noodles or rice, and also have plenty of side dishes, too. The most special one is duck feet with cucumber, which is really good. Another thing is - the restaurant is located in a typical Tainan style neighbourhood near the old street, so after the tasty dishes you can stroll around there for a while.

磨磨茶 (Mo mo cha)
It’s a chic tea house waiting for you in one of the narrow streets downtown in Tainan (walking distance from the train station). The owner showed and let me make my own matcha from dry tea leaves. Usually tea shops are supplied by whole suppliers (importing tea in bulk). However, this is not the case here - the owner’s family has run a tea plantation for 3 generations; you can taste and say - the tea flows through his veins! They serve a whole variety of delicious teas from Taiwan, for instance: high mountain green tea, oolong tea, tea with fruit juice, milk tea, and more.

The place has stunning interiors that are simple, but you can feel a Taiwanese coziness inside. Momocha is a great place to sit and relax, read a book. Just enjoy your gourmet teas and let time stop for a while.

Apart from the teas and drink you can also find here food, such as Gua Bao. If you speak a bit of Chinese you will know that Han Bao (漢堡) is a word for hamburger. Basically, it's a burger but instead of bread they use a steamed bun. If you are in Tainan it's a must try. :)

禾記嫩骨飯 (Hé jì nèn gú fàn)
This is one very special Chinese restaurant. This place is particularly famous in Tainan because it’s already become a chain. Actually, the dishes are very simple - such as rice and meat, but…. the devil is in the details, and in this case it’s the special way they prepare their meats. Of course, that's the chef's secret, but they're delicious. The flag dish is braised pork with soft bones. And indeed the bones are so soft that you can easily eat them! Apart from that you can find other dishes, such as Braised Pork Noodles.

三船熱炒100 (三船の鳗丼 Sānchuán de mán jǐng)
100 stir-fried Taiwanese traditional food. You can see a lot of places with number "100" on the street in Taiwan and especially at night there are crowds feasting there. The number 100 in the name is not an accident here - it’s the price of most of the dishes on the menu - around 100$. Apart from Taiwanese delicacies - such a pig heart, intestines and so on, you can also order typical Japanese meals - such as freshly made sashimi, sushi. It’s worth mentioning that the owner is an eel farmer, so if you love this kind of fish, you will find great quality unagi here!

This is one of the five stories that are coming soon. Feel free to ask any questions you have, feel free to share and tag friends that haven’t been to Tainan… never, or not recently, and need to go there with you and… and…. and make sure you stay tuned because there are more stories coming soon!

More details:
子龍點鴨 Zi Long Dian Ya
Address: No.74, Zhengxing St., West Central Dist, Tainan
Opening hours: Mon - Fri 11:00-20:30 (Wednesday - day off) / Sat, Sun 11:00-21:00

磨磨茶 Momocha beverage
Address: No. 2, Lane 161, Section 1, Beimen Road, West Central District, Tainan City
Opening hours: 11:00-18:00 (Monday, Tuesday - day off)

禾記嫩骨飯 HOCHE Taiwanese Cuisine Flagship Store
Address: No. 60, Nanmen Road, West Central District, Tainan City
Opening hours: 10:30-21:00

三船熱炒100 San Chuan Stir-fried Cuisine 100
Address: No. 136, Kangle Street, West Central District, Tainan City
Opening hours: 11:00-14:00/17:00-23:00 (Monday - day off)

_________________
IG：foreignerintw
Photography：高雄攝影 Amedee Photography
Youtube: https://youtu.be/94mq7OomzdA

【國立臺灣大學 109學年度畢業典禮 貴賓致詞】
Commencement Address, National Taiwan University Commencement 2021

.
巨大集團 羅祥安前執行長
Giant Group Former CEO Anthony Lo

管校長，羅副校長，各位貴賓，畢業生的家長跟朋友們，還有今天最重要的2021年臺大的畢業生，大家早安、大家好！

首先恭喜你們，今天從全世界最優秀大學之一的臺灣大學畢業了！
在過去幾年，在管校長，以「大學教改」和「國際化」的理念，率領全體師生的努力之下，臺大在全世界的能見度，和各項排名，都有顯著的進步，也讓身為校友的我們倍感光榮。

是不是我們大家一起鼓掌，給自己鼓勵一下好不好！

你們今天剛剛畢業，但是你們已經創造了臺大一項新的紀錄：第一次，沒有傳統畢業典禮的畢業生。這將是你們人生一個非常特別的回憶，也預表了你們未來將會有與眾不同的表現，和非凡的成就。

現在的世界，局勢是在東方跟西方的勢力，彼此對抗而動盪不安。而全世界的經濟活動，也因為科技的突破性創新，而受到很大的影響。不盡理想的、不盡公平的全球化，也將逐漸地變成 全球在地化。而COVID-19肆虐全球的結果，使得臺灣跟全世界，大家的生活型態、社會的結構、經濟活動的節奏都被打亂了，而必須要加以全面的整理跟重新的架構。這當然是一個危機，但是更是一個絕好的機會。所以，將你們迎面而來的，是無數的創新的機會，以及冒險卻令人興奮的全新挑戰。

因為臺灣，這是第一次跟全世界各個國家，同步的站在一個嶄新的共同起跑點上面。所以我要恭喜你們，你們躬逢其會，將要進入一個充滿希望、嶄新的時代。

我是1969年從臺大畢業的，所以我想今天就以我畢業之後的50多年，人生的一些學習和體會，來跟諸位分享，給諸位作個參考。

當我大學畢業的時候，我滿懷抱負，迫不及待地想要大展身手，我當時進入臺灣最大的貿易公司工作，但是我發現我所學的很多東西，只有一些國際貿易的實務跟英文有用，至於其他我所學習到的經營管理的很多知識，恐怕都要等到10年、20年之後，如果我有幸當上高級主管才能派上用場。

更諷刺的是，我是商學系畢業的，但是工作兩年後，我發現我真的不喜歡做商人，我也不喜歡做生意，我有興趣的是做事業。

後來，幸好我有聆聽我心裡面的微弱的聲音，決定踏進自行車業，放棄掉台北最好的貿易公司的金飯碗，而去參加在大甲一個只有38個人的小公司，來追求我的夢想。

那時候許多人認為我腦筋有問題，頭殼壞去，但現在回顧回來，我當時是做了人生一個非常好的決定。

創業的過程飽受艱辛，但是我也學到了很多寶貴的經驗：我首先學到的，是在做事之前，必須要先學做人。

人必須要誠信踏實，不能自私自利，而要利他共好。

要隨時心存感恩，尊重、關切別人。要熱愛這個世界，並且要了解到一個人的能力是有限的，而必須要去建立互信、互助的人際關係；要融入群體、要發揮團隊的精神。

在做事方面，一定要以正面積極的態度，認真努力去工作。 而且不要怕失敗，要勇於接受新的挑戰。因為如果有失敗了，那只是代表說你又更靠近成功一步了。要作中學，學中作，要虛心好奇的終身學習，開拓挑戰、追求卓越。

在這裡，我想要送給大家一個很特別的畢業禮物，就是兩個「成功的錦囊」。
第一個錦囊：不管你做什麼工作，不論你職務的高低，永遠都要站在顧客的立場，來為他們設想，還能做什麼，讓他們能夠得到更多的創新價值。

第二個錦囊：無論作什麼工作，不管你職務的高低，永遠都要站在經營者的角度來為公司設想，要做什麼，才能讓公司更健康，永續經營跟發展。

既使你們把我後面講的很多東西都忘記了，沒關係，但是這個畢業禮物你們一定要記得帶回去，因為這些「同理心」的兩個錦囊，在未來會給你們帶來意想不到的祝福！

其次我體會到，名跟利都是副產品。正產品是你成為什麼樣的人，成就什麼樣的事。當正產品是對的時候，名跟利都自然會來。

所以我鼓勵大家在找工作的時候，不要太計較開始的薪水和待遇。因為事實上，一個新人，在前面三年是很難有大的貢獻的，反過來只是公司發薪水來給你培訓而已。所以選擇一個有意義的行業，找一家你可以學習進步的好公司，這才是重要的。

第三，我學習到 知識不等於智慧。諸位都學有專精，有很多寶貴的知識，但這些知識必須要實際去做才能夠產生經驗，而累積的時候會有不同經驗的反省、學習、跟體會，尤其是從那些失敗的經 驗，才能夠漸漸地凝結成有用的智慧。
我的成長過程分成三段，開始我是一個「I」型的人，我擁有一些經營管理的基本的能力。後來因為工作的需要和我的好奇心，我漸漸地學習到技術開發、製造生產、品牌推廣、全球經營、以及行銷、服務等等寶貴的經驗，這樣漸漸地，我就形成一個「T」型的一個跨界的人才。但是到了我真正找到公司未來的使命跟方向，並且把它跟我的人生目標結合在一起，熱情的、積極去推動的時候，那時候我終於成為一個「十字架」型的一個領導者。

當公司發展得比較穩定之後，我就面臨要如何來替公司規劃願景、使命、定位，跟長期策略。在這個階段，我有一些新的體會：首先，你必須要能夠畫出一個「黃金正三角形」，正三角形是最穩定的，上面是戰略，中間是戰術，下面是戰鬥。先要有正確的戰略，才能衍伸出有效的戰術，再根據這個戰術去貫徹戰鬥的執行。換言之，戰略就是做對的事情，戰術就是對的方法，戰鬥就是用對的方法去把事情做對做好，並且不斷地去持續改善。

想要能夠思考出長期的戰略，就必須要有洞察力。

我很喜歡看地球儀，就是那種在一個架子上面，有一個可以轉動的地球模型。當你把地球轉動的時候，你看到上面每一個地方、每一個國家，它的地理位置、它的自然生態，以及你思考它的歷史的演變跟它的發展，這樣子你就能夠得出一個整體的，跟全方位的一個概念。

在思考長期戰略的時候，很不容易得出一個有突破性的一個創見，它的原因往往是因為「當局者迷」的關係。

所以當我考慮長期戰略的時候，我會把自己設想，好像從一個人造衛星上面，來觀看一個轉動的地球。以宇宙格局的高度，以全球視野的廣度，以歷史演進的長度，這樣子你就能夠以一個「旁觀者清」的姿態和角度，來正面、反面深入思考，這樣子你就可能得到一個突破性的一個解答。「世界的捷安特」跟「全球在地化」的品牌經營—這樣子的策略、願景就是這樣產生的。

另外一種洞察力，是如何推出給人們有創新價值的產品跟服務。這就要時時地站在人文跟科技的十字路口，仔細觀察它們的變化，然後活用科技的進步，為人文潛在的需求，適時地提供最佳的解決方案。捷安特的Cycling世界，就是用這種方法，不斷的推出創新價值的產品。

我們在經營上也有發展出一個特別的理念，那就是「不求第一，要作惟一」。全世界的人這麼多，但沒有兩個人的指紋是一樣的， 所以每一個人都是獨一無二、都是惟一的。可見當上帝造每一個人的時候，祂都有衪特別的計劃，而且也把成功所需要的能力跟要素，已經放在你的心中，等待你取用。所以每一個人不應該只是模仿別人，或者是按照別人的期望來生活，而應該要找出並且發揮自己的天賦，真正做自己，成為惟一，才能夠活出精采的生命。

企業也是一樣，不能隨波逐流，必須要找出什麼才是對的，什麼是合適你的，什麼才是有意義、對這個世界有貢獻的，這個才是惟一。當你精益求精，努力的想要成為惟一的時侯，你才能夠找到真正正確的目標，以及永續生存的價值。如果事事都想為第一，那麼你可能去追求很多不切實際的目標，而被你無法承受的巨大壓力所摧毀。或者，因為不擇手段，最後走上一些錯誤的道路。
在長期追求惟一的過程當中，我也得到兩個重要的體會：當你決心做一件對的事情，而且不屈不撓，勇敢堅持奮鬥的時候，全宇宙的力量都會起來幫助你。另外，把一件有意義的事情，用生命的力量把它作好，你就有可能改變這個世界！

我鼓勵你們，聆聽你們內心深處的微小的聲音，讓它引導你們，去尋找到你們的天賦，了解你們的命定。

不求第一，要作惟一。做你真正的自己，成為惟一。活出你精彩的生命，享受你幸福的人生！

很多人說，生長在臺灣的人，一輩子裡面一定要完成三項挑戰：登玉山、泳渡日月潭、還有騎自行車環島。我覺得這非常有道理。所以我建議大家在畢業以後，在去當兵、就業之前，不妨參加一個自行車環島的旅行團，用九天的時間，仔細的去體會、欣賞寶島臺灣的美好，用自行車的輪胎去親吻，這塊生你長你的美麗大地，就當作是送給你自己的一個畢業禮物吧！

那教授們跟家長們，可能會想說，啊！太可惜了，我畢業的時候沒有騎自行車環島，我現在已經五六十歲了。沒關係，你這個年紀正好來從事人生的壯遊。
我們臺大的校長－管校長，在今年的一月份，就勇敢的完成他夢寐以求的自行車環島的壯遊。我們給管爺一個掌聲好不好？

有人認為臺灣很小、沒有前途，真的是這樣嗎？世界經濟論壇每年都要把全世界的國家的實力做一個調查跟排名。讓我們來看一下臺灣的排名。全世界有235個國家，就面積來講，我們排名第137；就人口來講，第57；就經濟體來講，第21；就整體競爭力來講，排名第11；而創新力，臺灣排名第4。沒錯，臺灣的確不大，但是我們很強，我們可以很有前途！

可預見的，未來的世界將會成為美、歐、亞三區鼎力的這個新局面。就像三個圓圈，各自都以自己的利益為優先，並且彼此長期的競爭、對抗和抵制，但是同時又不得不相互的維持一些必要的連結。而在每一個圈裡面，它將持續的有很多劇烈的改變，就像一個暴風圈一樣。而這三個暴風圈連結在一起，就形成一個所謂完全風暴PERFECT STORM。

最近經濟學人雜誌，把臺灣當作封面，稱臺灣為地球上最危險的地方，但同時又是科技業最關鍵的地方。我個人倒認為，未來臺灣可能是處在一個最有利的地位，就在那三個暴風圈中間的那個颱風眼，也就是這三個圈圈彼此連結交會的中心點。這個地方看起來好像危險，其實是最安全、最有利、又是最關鍵的地方。

當三個暴風圈無可避免的，參與在一個長期的競爭、對抗、跟抵制－這樣一個零和的賽局裡面。那臺灣並不屬於任何一個圈圈，也不需要去參與這些競爭、對抗跟抵制。而可以去想說，我可以在這個關鍵的中心點，替這個世界來提供什麼樣子的創新價值的貢獻。

臺灣過去50年的努力累積了很多技術開發、製造管理、金融資本，社會資源，以及民主法治體制，這些稀有而寶貴的實力。而且如果以全世界作為舞台，那麼，能夠精通中文跟英文、能夠深切的了解東方西方的文化；有專業，又能跨界，謙卑而不自卑，自信而不自大的臺灣人，可能是全世界最優秀的人才。

未來無法被預測，但是可以被創造！30年前，有誰能夠預測到說臺灣會產生世界級的台積電跟捷安特？

台積電秉持著作惟一的理念，以全球晶圓代工的戰略，厚植實力，打造了優質高效的供應鏈，把臺灣變成一個科技島。以臺灣為核心，轉動引領全世界的半導體市場。

捷安特也秉持著作惟一的理念，以世界的捷安特，全球在地化的品牌戰略，帶領A-Team把臺灣變成全世界高級車的中心，又積極的推動Cycling的新文化，把臺灣發展成一個自行車島，以臺灣為核心，轉動引領全世界自行車的市場。
在這裡我也期許我們臺大，也能夠以作惟一這樣子的理念，轉動引領世界，變成全世界最優秀人才培養的最佳搖籃。

未來的50年，臺灣將迎來前所未有最大的機運！所以臺灣是不是應該要脫離過去單純競爭的心態，而來積極的謀求長期的未來生存之道，或者更進一步要問自己：臺灣可以為世界貢獻些什麼？臺灣不應該只是消極的「根留臺灣」，而應該更主動積極的「放眼全球、立足亞太、深根臺灣」。

臺灣過去的50年，那是一個非常艱辛跟特別的階段。很慶幸的，臺灣在那個階段裡面，是屬於勝利的這一組。

現在是應該到了必須要了解過去、深入現在、策劃未來，這個重要關鍵的時刻。要如何的以宇宙格局的高度、以全球視野的廣度、以及歷史演進的長度，衡外情，量己力，來為臺灣重新的定位，重新畫一個正確的戰略、戰術、戰鬥的黃金三角形。讓臺灣能夠真正發揮自己的長處，能夠打造創新價值的優勢，成為惟一、做Only One！要能夠創造一個更安全、更廣闊、更興盛－全新的藍海。臺灣必須要成為世界的好公民，繼續的為全世界做更多、更好的貢獻！
2021的畢業生們，在你們當中有未來國家的領導人、有全球企業的創造者、有在社會各行各業、方方面面的核心人才，所以臺灣未來50年的未來，就掌握在你們手中了。

最後，我想用一位著名科學家的名言來作結尾： Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. 人生就像騎自行車，要保持你平衡最好的方法，就是繼續不斷地向前進。

你知道這是誰的名言嗎？ 沒錯，就是愛因斯坦！

2021的畢業生們，請你騎上你人生的自行車，勇敢的向前邁進，去開創你獨一無二、精彩無比的新生命跟未來。再一次，恭喜你們，並且祝福你們每一位，將來都能夠有健康、幸福、精彩跟有意義的人生！
謝謝！

.
==============================

.
President Kuan, Executive Vice President Luo, Distinguished guests, family, friends, and most importantly, the graduating class of 2021, good morning!

First of all, congratulations! Today, you are graduating from one of the best universities in the world – National Taiwan University!

Over the last few years, President Kuan led the university forward with his vision of “educational reform” and internationalization”. Together with all the faculty and students, NTU has made significant progress in both ranking and global visibility, making us, alumni, extremely proud.

I think we deserve to give ourselves a round of applause!

You are the graduating class of 2021 and already, you have set a new record for NTU: For the first time, there will not be a traditional graduation ceremony. Let this be a very special memory of your life and a sign of the difference you will make in your future with extraordinary achievements.

The world is now in a volatile state where the East and the West are confronting each other. The world’s economic activities are also greatly affected by the breakthrough and innovations in technology. The less-than-ideal and less-than fair globalization will gradually become global localization. And as a result of COVID-19, Taiwan and the rest of the world’s lifestyle, social structure, and economy have been disrupted, and must be comprehensively reorganized and restructured. This is certainly a crisis, but in the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity. So, what lies before you are countless opportunities for innovation, and exciting new challenges.

Because, for the first time, Taiwan is standing with the rest of the world on a new race-track. Therefore, I would like to congratulate you, you are entering a new era full of hope.

I graduated from NTU in 1969. It has been more than 50 years and today, I would like to share some of my life experiences and insights.

When I graduated from college, I was filled with ambition. I couldn’t wait to make my mark. I joined one of the largest trading companies in Taiwan, where I quickly realized the only materials I learned in school that came in handy are a little bit of international trade practices and English. Much of what I had learned about business management would only be relevant 10 or 20 years down the road, if I was lucky enough to become a senior executive.

What’s even more ironic is that I graduated with a degree in business, but after working for 2 years, I realize I really don’t like being a businessman, and I don’t like doing business. What I am actually interested in is building an enterprise.

Fortunately, I chose to listen to the faint voice in my heart and decided to enter the bicycle industry. I left my position at the best trading company in Taipei to join a small company with only 38 employees in Dajia to pursue my dream.

At the time, many people thought I must’ve broken my skull and gone crazy, but looking back, I have made a great decision in my life.

The process of starting my own enterprise has been very difficult, but I have learned many valuable lessons. The first thing I learned is that before you can do anything else, you have to learn to be a person of good character.

We must be honest, down to earth, selfless, self-serving, and altruistic for the common good.

Be grateful, respectful and caring at all times. To love the world and to understand that one person’s ability is limited and that is necessary to build interpersonal relationships of mutual trust and support; to be part of a group and to play as a team.

When it comes to work, you must work hard with a positive attitude. And don’t be afraid to fail, be brave enough to accept new challenges. Because every time you fail, it just means you are one step closer to success. Learning is an active process. We learn by doing. We must stay open-minded and curious, aspiring to lifelong learning; to explore challenges and pursue excellence.

Here I would like to give everyone a special graduation gift, which are my two tips for success:
First, always put yourself in the customer’s shoes, regardless of what you’re doing or what kind of job title you hold. Think for them, think about what else you can do to create more value for the customers.

Second, regardless of what you’re doing or what kind of job title you hold, always think about the company from the proprietor’s point of view; what can we do to build a healthier company that’s sustainable.

Even if you are going to forget everything I say later, that’ ok. Just remember to take your graduation gift at heart, because these two tips on “empathy “are sure to bring you unexpected blessings in the future!

Later on, I realized that fame and money are merely byproducts. The real product is you, what kind of person you have become and what have you achieved. When the real product is identified, fame and money will come naturally.

So I encourage you, when you look for a job, don’t be too concerned about the starting salary and benefits. Because as a matter of fact, as a newcomer, it is very difficult to make a big contribution in the first three years, so really the company is paying to give you training instead. So choose a meaningful industry and find a good company where you can improve and grow, that’s what’s important.

Thirdly, I learned that knowledge is not the same as wisdom. All of you have learned a lot and have a lot of valuable knowledge, but this knowledge must be practiced in order to produce experience, and in the process of accumulation, there will be different experiences of reflection, learning and empathy, especially from failure, slowly and surely all these experiences will be condensed into useful wisdom.

My personal development can be divided into three stages. I began as a I-shaped person with some basic skills in business management. Later on, due to my job and curiosity, I gained respected experience in technology development, manufacturing, branding, global marketing, and service and thus gradually becoming a T-shape multidisciplinary professional.

However, when I combined the future mission and direction of the company with my life goals, promoting it enthusiastically and actively, that is when I finally became a X-shape transdisciplinary leader.

Once the company became more stable, I was faced with the challenge of planning the vision, mission, positioning, and long-term strategy for the company. At this stage, I had some new insights.

First, you must be able to draw a “golden triangle”, an equilateral triangle is the most stable shape with strategy on top, tactics in the middle, and operations at the bottom. In other words, the strategy is to do the right thing, the tactics is the using the right methods, and operations is using the right methods to excel on doing the right things while constantly improving them.

To develop long-term strategies, it is necessary to have insight.

I enjoy looking at the globe, yes, the spherical model of Earth that sits on a stand and can be rotated. When you rotate the globe, you can see every place and country on it, its geographical location, its natural ecology, and you can think about its historical evolution and development, so that you can come up with an overall comprehensive concept.

When thinking about long-term strategy, it is not easy to come up with a groundbreaking idea, because “men are often blind in their own cause”

Therefore, when I think about long-term strategy, I imagine myself as if I were looking at a rotating Earth from a man-made satellite. With the height of the universe, the breadth of global vision and the length of historical evolution, you will be able think about it from the perspective of an observer, and then you may have a breakthrough. This is how the strategy and vision of “GIANT for the World” and “glocalization” brand management came about.

Another kind of insight is how to introduce the products and services to create additional value to people. This requires standing at the crossroads of humanity and technology, observing their changes carefully, and then using technological advances to provide the best solutions for the potential needs of humanity in a timely manner. This is how GIANT’s Cycling World continues to introduce innovative values to its products.

We have also developed a special philosophy in our business, which is “don’t be the first one, be the only one”. There are so many people in the world, but no two people share the same fingerprints, making each person unique and one of a kind. God created each person with purpose and has gifted us with the abilities and elements needed for success. All of which is in your heart, waiting for you to take them. Therefore, we should not just follow each other’s footstep or live under the expectations of someone else. Instead, we should find and give reigns to our talents, to truly be ourselves, to become the only one and live a brilliant life.

The same applies to businesses, you can’t just go with the flow, we must find what is right and suitable and what is meaningful and contributive to the world, this is what it means to be the only one. When you strive for excellence and strive to be the only one, you will find the right goals and the value of sustainability. If you try to be first in everything, you may pursue many unrealistic goals and either be destroyed by unbearable pressure or resort to doing whatever it takes, and end up on the wrong path.

I have learned two important lessons in my long quest to be the “only one”. When you are determined to do the right thing and you are unyielding and persistent in your struggle, the power of the universe will rise up and help you. In addition, if you do something meaningful and do it well with the power of life, you may change the world.

I urge you to listen to the small voice deep within you and let it guide you to find your talents and understand your destiny.

Do not seek to be the first but to be the only. Be true to yourself and be the only one. Live your life to the fullest and enjoy your life to the fullest!

Many people say that growing up in Taiwan, you must complete three challenges in your lifetime: climb to the top of Jade Mountain, swim across Sun Moon Lake, and ride a bike around the island. I think this is very true. Therefore, I suggest that after graduation, before you go to the military or get a job, you might as well join a bicycle tour around the island and spend nine days to carefully experience and appreciate the beauty of Taiwan. As a graduation gift to yourself, let the tires kiss the beautiful land where you were born and raised.

All the professors and parents must be thinking in regret, “Ah! Too bad! I didn’t ride my bike around the island when I graduated and now I’m already in my 50s and 60s…” But that’s okay! You are actually at the perfect age to start your adventurous life.

Our President of NTU, President Kuan bravely completed his dream bike tour around the island in January this year. Let’s give President Kuan a round of applause!

Some people think that Taiwan is small and has no future. Every year, the World Economic Forum conducts a survey and ranking of the strength of countries around the world. Let’s take a look at Taiwan’s ranking. There are 235 countries in the world and we rank 137th in terms of landmass, 57th in terms of population, 21st in terms of economy, 11th in terms of overall competitiveness, and 4th in terms of innovation. It’s true that Taiwan is not big, but we are strong and we have a promising future.

In the foreseeable future there will become a new situation in which the United States, Europe and Asia will be the three focal regions. Just like three circles, each of which prioritizes its own interests and is in long-term competition, confrontation and resistance, but at the same time has to maintain some necessary links with each other. And in each circle, drastic changes will be endless, just like a storm circle. These three storm circles are linked together to form a so-called PERFECT STORM.

The Economist magazine recently featured Taiwan on its cover, calling it the most dangerous place on earth, but at the same time the most critical place for the technology industry. Personally, I think that Taiwan may be in the most favorable position in the future, right in the middle of the three storm circles, the eye of the typhoon, which is the center point where these three circles are connected. This place seems dangerous, but in fact it is the safest, most favorable, and most critical place.

When the three storm circles are inevitably involved in a long-term competition, confrontation, and boycott - a zero-sum game. Taiwan does not belong to any of these circles, nor does it need to participate in these competitions, confrontations, and boycotts. Instead, situated in this critical position, I should begin to think about what kind of innovative value I can provide to the world.

Taiwan's efforts over the past 50 years have accumulated many rare and valuable strengths in technology development, manufacturing management, financial capital, social resources, and the democratic rule of law system. If the world is our stage, Taiwanese people who are proficient in Chinese and English, who have a deep understanding of Eastern and Western cultures, who are professional, who can cross borders, who are humble but not inferior, and who are confident but not arrogant, may be the best talents in the world.

The future cannot be predicted, but it can be created! 30 years ago, who could have predicted that Taiwan would produce globally renowned TSMC and GIANT?
TSMC is committed to the concept of being the only one, and has built up its strengths with its global foundry strategy, creating a high-quality and efficient supply chain and turning Taiwan into a technology island. With Taiwan as the core, TSMC is leading the worldwide semiconductor market.

GIANT also upholds the concept of "Be the only one" and leads the A-Team to turn Taiwan into the center of the world's premium bikes with the brand strategy of globalization and localization, and actively promotes the new culture of cycling, developing Taiwan into a cycling island and leading the world's cycling market with Taiwan as the core.

Here I also hope that we, NTU, can also lead the world with the concept of being the only one, and become the best cradle for the cultivation of the best talents in the world.

In the next 50 years, Taiwan will have the greatest opportunity ever! Therefore, Taiwan should get rid of the simple competitive mentality of the past and actively seek the long-term survival of the future, or go even further and ask itself: What can Taiwan contribute to the world? Taiwan should not just "secure Taiwan" in a conservative way, but should be more proactive with global outlook and establish a foothold in the Asia Pacific.

The last 50 years, for Taiwan, has been very difficult and significant. Fortunately, Taiwan pulled through and came out as one of the winners.

Now is the crucial moment to understand the past, delve into the present, and plan for the future. We must take the height of the universe, the breadth of our global vision, and the length of historical evolution, weigh the external situation, and measure our own strengths to reposition Taiwan and draw the golden triangle of strategy, tactics, and operations. Taiwan should be able to give full play to its strengths, create innovative value, and become the only one! Taiwan must become a good citizen of the world and continue to make more and better contributions to the world!

Graduates of 2021, among you are the future leaders of the country, the creators of global enterprises, and the core talents in all walks of life, the future is in your hands.
Finally, I would like to conclude with a quote from a famous scientist: Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.

Do you know who this quote belongs to? That's right, Einstein!

Graduates of 2021, please get ready for your life adventure, get on your bikes and peddle courageously forward to create your own unique and exciting future. Again, congratulations and best wishes to each and every one of you for a healthy, happy, and meaningful life!

Thank you!

詳見：
https://www.facebook.com/NTUCommencement/posts/2718162161807541

.
#臺灣大學 #畢業典禮 #NTUCommencement2021 #貴賓致詞 #羅祥安

「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：

野放台灣五十餘年，貪狼獨坐，三方四正殺破狼格局，少年多舛，白手起家，隨展覽雲遊四海，如閒雲野鶴常持各類底片機流連廢墟、山川、宮廟忘返，遂設幻影堂自詡堂主，一日三省「凡所有相皆是虛妄」，常宅於暗房沖片放大通宵、鍾情黑白世界之單純，彩色照片俗世繽紛花俏做作甜美甚至比現實更現實故少拍也。知天命之年有餘，了悟人生一瞬、眨眼即逝，雖非仙人，亦無道骨，初聞離垢地生清淨心，但離華嚴「不動地」尚遠，待修持也。
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