Asi Hell

Capítulo 26

"What is 'a certain matter'?"

"The biggest reason they are criticized, and also the biggest reason they are confused, is 'miracles.' To avoid misunderstanding, let me first define 'miracles' here as 'phenomena that are generally considered impossible.' Under this definition, no matter how many different interpretations there are, we can still regard them all as 'people whose activities include performing miracles.' To make our argument clearer, let's limit our focus to this part for now. Of course, they each have many attributes beyond this, and discussing only this point is somewhat of an oversimplification. But since the criticism is mostly concentrated on this point, and it is also the part most prone to confusion, clarifying the differences between these four types on this point is not in vain in avoiding incorrect criticism of other parts and conducting effective criticism. In addition, it is not limited to criticism; it also helps in how to affirm these four types of people."

Kyogoku-do looked us over, as if to see how much we understood.

"Next, there are actually many kinds of miracles. Let me give you the simplest example that all four can perform. It's the trick I just played: knowing and speaking about things that are impossible to know under normal circumstances, such as future events, facts that one doesn't know, or things that a third party doesn't know. This is what is called 'knowing secrets.' All four are very good at knowing secrets. Whether it's mind reading, clairvoyance, or divination, these methods seem different, but in terms of results, they are all the same. In short, this kind of miracle is specifically about knowing things that are impossible to know under normal circumstances. But to the person who comes to me for help, all four seem the same. If you ask what the difference is, these four actually differ in their respective purposes and in the system of explanation for the miracles they perform."

Kyogoku-do sometimes transforms into a charlatan. Such uninteresting topics manage to capture most of Toriguchi's interest. While I'm used to it, I'm not as extreme as Toriguchi—but my mind is quickly being occupied by monks, fortune tellers, and mediums.

Kyogoku-do continued to urge people to debate.

"Let's start with religious people. Their true purpose is faith, and the mission of spreading that faith. Miracles happen for this purpose. That is, miracles happen to increase the number of believers as much as possible. So they should be distinguished from miracles for profit."

"Isn't increasing the number of believers for profit?"

As someone who has no religious beliefs, I have a prejudice against religion.

"You probably can't understand this, since you have no faith. Of course not."

"Is that so? Increasing the number of believers naturally leads to earning more money, and isn't that why we preach because we can make money?"

Kyogoku-do squinted at me, looking at me with disdain.

"Your question complicates the argument, which I'll explain later. Next is the religious explanation of miracles. We must consider the object of their faith—the Absolute, God, or something similar. There are two ways to explain miracles here—the first is to use the object of their faith, such as God, to directly cause the miracle. This is most effective when major events like natural disasters occur. I don't think I need to elaborate on this, do I? The other explanation is that their special power comes from sincere faith or devout practice. When questioned about how they can perceive 'secrets,' religious people can simply answer that it's divine revelation. If asked why they can hear divine revelation, they can simply answer that it's all the result of their practice, that is, from devout faith."

"I see. So, there's no point in asking any further questions?"

"That's right, so if you don't directly criticize the object of their faith or their doctrines, it's just a mud fight."

Indeed, most of these theories are just misunderstandings.

"So—let's talk about mediums next."

Bird Mouth sat up straight again.

"Is there a difference between spiritual mediums and religious figures? I often hear about people gaining spiritual powers after practicing spirituality."

I had expected to be refuted, but Kyogoku-do readily agreed. It seems that my questioning this time, though not entirely accurate, was not far off.

"—As Sekiguchi said, if we remove the religious doctrines of the practitioner, there is almost no difference between them and a medium. However, I still believe there is a distinction: a medium does not aim for faith or proselytizing. For example, if a religious person gains spiritual power through spiritual practice and exerts that power in areas unrelated to faith or proselytizing—since this is not a religious activity, he should be called a medium. Conversely, sometimes a medium can acquire a systematized doctrine and become an object of pseudo-religion. But in this case, the medium's own faith and the faith of pseudo-religious believers centered around the medium cannot be equated."

"It's really hard to understand."

Will it?

Kyogoku-do frowned.

"The object of faith in pseudo-religions centered around mediums is mostly the medium themselves. Regardless of whether the medium worships Fudo Myoo or the White Serpent, the believers venerate the medium himself. That is, the medium himself has nothing to do with the grand righteousness of faith, proselytizing, etc. Therefore, a medium without any faith can also exist."

"What is the purpose of the medium?"

Bird Mouth asked.

"—Has it nothing to do with faith or missionary work?"

"That's right, most of it is for relief."

"Isn't that the same as religion? Doesn't faith also advocate for relief?"

As soon as I finished speaking, Kyogoku-do immediately said, "You really love to refute everything." He continued, "Salvation in religions is different. In religions, believers rely on their faith to receive salvation. Therefore, the purpose of religious figures is to preach salvation, and salvation is merely a result. In contrast, spiritual mediums use their special abilities to save believers, so salvation itself becomes the goal. Those who are saved pay money to thank the spiritual medium for their help, just like paying to enjoy special skills; whether they have faith afterwards is not important. Therefore, this can be said to be an industry that uses special skills in the name of salvation. Apart from those who perform miracles without seeking reward, it is clearly for profit."

"How do spiritual mediums explain their miracles?"

"It's very simple. Just say that you have a certain magical power. As for how you got the power, you can answer however you want. It's not limited to the results of cultivation or faith. You can say that you were born with it, or even that you are a god. That is to say, compared to religious people who are believers in God, the mediums themselves can interchange positions with God, which is why faith in the mediums themselves arises."

Bird Mouth nodded with an expression that seemed to understand but not quite.

I think I understand now.

"Then—next is the fortune teller. Divination is divided into several systems, such as those originating in China, those that occurred in the East, or the I Ching, astrology, and so on. There are countless types. But as long as you learn the theory of the divination, anyone can tell fortunes. No need for cultivation or faith, nor for talent. Just like becoming a lawyer or scribe, as long as you work hard, you can become one."

There are also fortune-telling schools—according to Bird Mouth.

"That's right, the purpose of this situation is very clear: fortune tellers need to set up stalls to make money, so it's undoubtedly for profit. As for the reason for the miracle—though it's not called a miracle here—it's also clear: it comes from their respective divination theories. Whether it's Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, the Ten Heavenly Stems and Twelve Earthly Branches, the Four Pillars of Destiny, the Twelve Zodiac Signs, etc., it all works. If someone asks why they can see through the secret, they just need to explain what they've learned, such as how wood, fire, earth, water, and metal work, how the sun is in Aries, etc. Divination is just like that, nothing more, nothing less. If you want to criticize it, there's no other way but to point out the contradictions in the divination theory." "But Kyogoku-do, there's also so-called inspirational divination in the world, isn't there?"

"That's just replacing divination theory with religious or mediumial concepts. People who do this probably find it too troublesome to study divination techniques. In short, those who hang the signboard of fortune tellers but say things like 'you should worship the ancestors' or 'you've encountered a bad relationship' after divination are completely in the wrong field."

What he said seemed to make sense, but it was really unclear to me. I've never paid attention to the differences before, and even if I could clearly distinguish them, it would be like the difference between calamus and iris to me—not very meaningful. It's probably because everyone, like me, approaches it with this half-understanding attitude that these kinds of guys are everywhere.

"Finally, there are the superpowered individuals. These people don't have any particular purpose, and it's not something Aida can just become. They mostly use science as their explanation system, but most of them can't fully explain it. After all, if it could be fully explained, there wouldn't be a 'super' at the beginning. It's simply a power. If Natsuki were to categorize them, they would fall into this category."

Torikochi didn't know who Natsukizu was, so his last sentence must have been addressed to me.

"We can't criticize the ability itself, because that's a matter of constitution. We can only criticize how he uses it and whether he's lying about what principles it's based on. But before questioning these things, we must first examine whether he truly possesses this ability—that is, whether the ability itself is fraudulent. However, even if someone truly has special abilities, many superpowered individuals misunderstand the source of their abilities, such as claiming to be a spirit medium, or claiming to have opened their eyes through spiritual practice, or using divination to trick others, which often causes more confusion. Okay, Bird Mouth, is this all right?"

Bird Mouth was suddenly called out, and it shrank its chin and made a stupid, strange noise.

"Now, back to my earlier trick, Sekiguchi has been saying it was fraud."

"It is indeed a scam."

“As I just said, if I claimed to be a medium who knew about Torikou’s visit with incredible telepathic abilities, that would be fraud, because I would be lying. Or, if I said I was a psychic who used mind-reading to see into Torikou’s mind, that would also be fraud. But in both cases, the only part that truly constitutes deception is that I lied about how I obtained Torikou’s information, and there are no other lies. And even if I did use psychic or psychic abilities to obtain this information, it wouldn’t bother you.”

"At most, I just think there are unbelievable things in the world, right?"

"Well, even if someone really has superpowers, it's not that unbelievable. And if it's fake, a simple test can expose it. If the other party gets carried away and claims to have precognitive abilities, it's even easier to expose them. In short, superpowers are just that kind of thing. But what if I don't call myself a medium and instead call myself a fortune teller?"

Kyogoku-do extended his hands and clasped them together on the coffee table.

"How is it? Nothing changed, right? Are you lying or lying?"

“There are changes. For example, if I claim that I used the ancient Chinese fortune-telling method of the Heavenly Queen to predict that a bird-mouthed creature would visit, and that I could see its troubled fortune from its face and bone structure, and then use this to describe its various deeds abroad, of course this is also a fraud, but you would believe it, right? I remember you just said that.”

"It sounds more convincing than superpowers or anything like that. Although we already know the truth, I can't guarantee it. But I think most people would believe it."

Kyogoku-do untied his clasped fingers and said, "So what if I went on to say that Toriguchi will suffer a series of misfortunes tomorrow—work will go wrong, he won't find anyone he's looking for, he won't get his lost items back, he'll face water disasters, fire disasters, women's misfortunes, and even death—what do you think would happen?"

With a mournful "Ooh-hey," the bird let out a cry. It seems that "Ooh-hey" is its catchphrase.

“Kyogoku-do, you’re really something else. Why didn’t you give a more auspicious example? Look at Toriguchi, he almost believed it even though he knew it was a lie. If you hadn’t exposed the truth first and just announced it to him like that, I think he probably would have hanged himself.”

The fake fortune teller looked at Bird Mouth with ill intent and asked, "Why would you believe it? Unlike things in the past and present, no one can guarantee the accuracy of what will happen in the future."

I answered for the stammering bird: "You're talking nonsense. Since you've predicted everything in the past and present, you'll naturally assume you can predict the future as well."

The fake fortune teller nodded.

"That's right. This is the biggest scam in this situation. We can know about the past and present simply by collecting data, so it's only natural that they could be accurate. The example just now used accurate predictions of the past and present to guarantee the accuracy of their future predictions. But in reality, a so-called fortune teller must be able to predict to have any value; knowing only the past is meaningless. Conversely, we don't know what tomorrow will bring, so no matter what they say, we can't judge. After all, we can only use the past and present as a basis for judgment. Therefore, fortune tellers who always accurately predict the past and present are not trustworthy."

"I see, I've learned a lesson, but what's the point of all this? I don't understand your intention."

The fake fortune teller revealed a confident smile.

"You'll understand if you keep listening. Let's say I'm a fortune teller. Whether I'm swindling people or honestly using divination to help them, my job ends when I predict the future. Once I get my fortune-telling fee, I can just walk away, and it's none of my business whether the birds drown or burn."

"I see, but this is really..."

"In fact, it's better for me that it actually happened, because it proves that I am indeed very accurate."

"But this is going too far!"

The bird cried out in vain.

"Don't worry, it's probably mostly inaccurate anyway. We have no reason to foresee the future. However, assuming Toriguchi completely trusts me as a fortune teller, even if I'm wrong, he'll think—he sensed danger through divination and changed his fate under his watchful eye. Therefore, when he successfully overcomes the difficulty, he might even thank the fortune teller with gratitude and take his divination as a guide for life. That's fine, even if the fortune teller is a fraud, the client is completely deceived, but the person seeking divination is grateful, so it's not a problem. And for the fortune teller, he can just casually say something each time to collect his fee, and if he doesn't go too far, he might give himself away. But what if I'm not a fortune teller but a medium?"

“As for spiritual mediums, it’s not just about helping people foresee an unfortunate future and then settling the deal; there’s always something more to it.”

What happened next?

The fake fortune teller transformed himself into a hastily made spiritual medium.

"Of course, it's helping people remove spiritual obstacles."

"Ah—I see."

"That's right. As I just said, fortune tellers are in business. After taking your fortune-telling fee, they don't need to take care of your future. But spiritual mediums are different. Their job is to save all living beings, so they must teach people how to avoid an unfortunate future. Therefore, they will often help you get rid of bad luck, exorcise evil spirits, persuade you to have a lucky seal carved, or persuade you to buy a lucky pot, etc. These are all much more expensive than fortune-telling fees."

Kyogoku-do reached for the white teapot placed on the tatami mat and held it up high.

There must be some snacks inside.

"Hmm, I see. Bird Mouth, if it were you, you would probably buy it, right? For example, the white pot he's holding."

"Maybe, if you have the money."

The local tax bureau in Niaokou was operating quietly.

"But at most, a spiritual medium can only exorcise evil spirits for you and sell you lucky charms, and that's it."

Kyogoku-do placed the teapot on the coffee table.

"If it were a religious figure, there would be further developments."

"Is it even worse?"

"Not necessarily, there's just more to come."

"Is there more to this story?"

"As I have repeatedly emphasized, the duty of religious figures is to proselytize, that is, to convert people to faith and religion. Take Toriguchi as an example. In order to make Toriguchi a believer of a certain religion, religious figures will combine all the previous actions. That is, whether it is the initial fraud, the subsequent inaccurate prophecies, or the subsequent blessings and prayers, they are all just performances to achieve the goal, and are irrelevant. Lying is just for convenience, as long as Toriguchi can sincerely believe. Once Toriguchi becomes a believer, will they care whether he was defrauded or not? No matter what kind of treasure pot or jewel it was, it all becomes a precious treasure; not to mention the lies told when proselytizing, they are not worth mentioning at all. Because a bright future awaits, and those who believe will have eternal life."

Kyogoku-do's tone of voice became like a monk giving a sermon.

Influenced by his tone, I felt as if I were being deceived.

Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that such dissemination is not something to be grateful for at all. Although Kyogoku-do claims that these four types of people are different, the more I hear, the more I feel that whether it's a psychic, a fortune teller, a medium, or a religious figure, they all seem to be the same.

"The more I listen, the worse it gets. To put it bluntly, it's all a scam. Even religion is no different from a scam."

"It's not bad at all. You only feel that way because you knew a scam was used from the beginning. If you didn't know, you wouldn't feel that way."

"That's true, but it's still the same; it's all deception."

"Of course they're different. Although all four use the same deceptive methods, the scope of their fraud differs. First, regarding the superpowered individual, if they use the trick I just described, it means their ability is fake. There's nothing to say; once exposed, that's it. They can't refute the criticism because claiming to be a superpowered individual without the ability is fraud itself. Therefore, even if the trick is cleverly executed and not exposed, they should still be criticized because they should be calling themselves a magician. So, naturally, only those with genuine abilities can qualify. Now, what about the fortune teller? If the fortune teller uses tricks, it means their divination of the past and present is..." It's a scam, but that doesn't mean the subsequent divinations about the future are necessarily untrue. Even if they aren't true, they might just be results calculated according to their own theories. To put it bluntly, the scam part is just a way to attract customers. I've always maintained that humans can't predict the future, but fortune tellers probably don't think so. Anyway, they might just say something offhand and it might come true, as long as it does, that's what fortune telling is all about. Therefore, even if a fortune teller has deceived people in the past or present, we don't need to completely deny their actions. And what about spiritual mediums? Their primary function is prayer and the like; whether the initial part is scam or not is irrelevant, as long as the medium's spirit is effective.

"That's utter nonsense. Regardless of whether exorcisms are effective or not, the initial steps are all the same; it's all a scam."

"Although it's the same, it doesn't matter, because that's what the so-called paranormal is all about."

Kyogokudo asserted.

"Many people have been mistaken about this since ancient times—or rather, even now, a large portion of the Japanese still believe this. In fact, so-called psychic arts are merely a temporary form of practice used to imbue the concept of an inexplicable 'spirit,' and are by no means some incredible, unscientific power. Therefore, shrine maidens or sorcerers cannot know what will happen tomorrow, nor do they need to know. What they need to know is the special ability to obtain the information they need, and the methodology for effectively disclosing this information. Information obtained through some form is disclosed in the most effective form—here, meaning effective to a third party—as evidence for the miracles that are subsequently performed."

"Isn't this the same as using deception to attract customers during fortune telling?"

Even now, I still can't grasp the intention behind Kyogoku-do's words, but although I can't, I'm completely captivated by his topic. As usual, Kyogoku-do answered my question without hesitation.

"It's different. In the case of divination, the initial purpose of the method is to make people believe in one's own theory. Because people believe that if they can predict the past and present, it means that they can also predict the future based on the 'same theory'. But in terms of results, apart from the occasional correct prediction, most prophecies are wrong, because the future cannot be truly and accurately predicted by any theory."