Surrounding King Shosgyal were the ox-head man with his mirror, the monkey-head man with his yardstick, and the deer-head man with his book.

Judgment of the Dead

When my children had assembled, this is what I told them.  “I have committed many sins, and I have done little good.  Therefore, give a third of my property to charity.  Of my jewelry my daughter will receive half; the other half must be given to charity.  One of my sons must become a priest.  Be good, virtuous, and generous.”  Suddenly I felt as if I were being tossed on the waves of an immense ocean while thunder rumbled.  I heard voices and saw flames, then I felt as if my limbs had been torn from my body.  Finally I sank down and lost consciousness.  Suddenly I heard someone call my name.  It was my father, who has been dead for years.

My father took me by the hand and told me to follow him.  We walked through an immense desert until at last we arrived on the bank of a broad river, where we entered a city full of people who looked very unhappy.  Across the river lay a long, high bridge; on the other bank, in the dim distance, I saw soft hills, a sunny country, green but far away.  My father had to leave me behind.  I met a man and asked him, “How can I arrive on the other side?” He answered, “You will have to stay here in Betweenland suffering pain until your sins are lighter than your virtues.  Some stay here a few weeks, some many years.”

A voice called me, so I went through a gate into a vast hall.  I saw the king of the underworld, wearing a crown and purple robes and seated like the Buddha in meditation; he was the judge.  On his right hand there stood a man with an ox head.  He held a mirror, in which whatever the king wished to see from the past appeared.  On the king’s left stood a man with a monkey’s head, holding a yardstick in his hand.  A third man was seated in front holding a book; he had the head of a musk deer.  There were many servants and executioners with axes and swords, saws, hammers, and hooks.  Hundreds of people were standing in the hall, patiently awaiting their judgment.  Some were dressed in rags, others in expensive garments.  Some held prayer wheels, which they turned diligently.