This is a record of an interview with He Kunsheng, a 23-year-old victim of the massive fire at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong. He sought salvation at the Hsiang Kuang Buddhist Centre in Australia and now resides in the . This interview was recorded by the chief writer, Fa Ning, on December 11, 2025.
He Kunsheng speaks:
". My name is He Kunsheng. I originally came from a rural area in Hong Kong. After my parents retired, they decided to move us to a place with better amenities, so they scraped together everything they had to purchase a home at Wang Fuk Court. Their main motivation was to shield me from the discrimination I had faced elsewhere.
I loved running through the countryside; I felt so incredibly at ease there. The fish, the shrimp, and the turtles in the stream were my constant playmates. Running fast through the wild fields in my straw sandals made me feel truly free. I often found myself lost in among the mountains and forests. Many people would find that lifestyle boring, but I found it fascinating. I discovered that when I was in contact with nature, I could naturally hear many voices. They would speak to me, and sometimes I would reply or chat with them. Most of the time, I was simply listening to what they had to say.
A Childhood Among the Spirits of Nature
Having grown up in the mountains, I understood the importance of cherishing nature. In truth, all things possess life—a stone, a grain of sand, they all have their own existence. That is why so many sages throughout history have advocated for the protection of nature; there is a profound truth to it. No one taught me this; it was something I understood naturally from my time spent with the environment as a child.
After moving to the city, the functionality of our daily life certainly improved, but I lost that sense of ease I once had. It was completely different from the feeling of being in the mountains. In the city, I felt as though I were being covered up, suppressed, though I had no choice but to accept it. I am twenty-three years old, and I studied art and design. I chose that path because I felt it was less rigid and contained a bit more spirituality.
The Suffocating Weight of the City
When the massive fire at Wang Fuk Court broke out, I actually had a premonition of it quite early on. Although I had lived in the city for a long time and could no longer communicate with the various presences in the environment as I once did, I was still much more sensitive to changes in my surroundings than the average person. That day, I felt distinctly nauseated and unwell. It was a significant distraction from finishing my final art project, so I had to stop working. I realized that the nausea was not improving; in fact, it was getting worse. With my hair standing on end, I knew clearly that something terrible was about to happen.
I decided the best course of action was to leave the building immediately. I picked up my phone and called my parents: 'Dad, Mom, please eat out today. Do not come home yet. You must remember what I said.' After saying that, I hung up the phone decisively. My parents were familiar with my condition since I was a child. Although they didn't really understand it, they knew I had some abilities that were different from others. I trusted that they would listen to me and stay outside.
A Final Warning
I left without taking anything with me. This was a principle I had learned in the mountains: the more natural, the more organic, the simpler, the better. This is a rule of life I have always believed in, and it is the direction I took in my professional development as well. As soon as I stepped outside, I knew clearly that a great fire had descended. Looking at the smoke and the faint, flickering light of the flames, I felt a sense of overwhelming evil intent. The danger had arrived.
I attempted to communicate with the fire: 'Who are you? What do you want?' The fire replied, 'I want you all to die!' I asked, 'Is there no room for negotiation?' The fire said, 'No. You did not give us a way to live in the past, so why should I give you a way to survive now?' I tried to communicate further, but having been polluted by the city for so long, I could no longer easily exchange with the environment as I did when I was a child. I believe that there is a set of principles operating between heaven and earth. In my heart, I had already prepared for death. I had no complaints, because I understood clearly that all of this was the fruit of what we had sown.
Confronting the Fire
I could not bear to see so many people die in the mouth of the fire. I hoped to save as many victims as possible, so I quickly went to every door and knocked: 'The fire is here! You must run for your lives now! Otherwise, it will be too late!' I didn't have time to confirm if they heard me; I could only pray to the Heavens to help everyone receive the warning. I notified them floor by floor. The fire grew larger and larger, and I could only apologize to them in my heart, hoping they would calm their anger and spare everyone.
Many people only realized there was a fire after I knocked on their doors. The space was filled with shouts and screams, like a living hell. More and more people were swallowed by the fire because they could not evacuate in time. Because I had a premonition before the fire, I had actually reached the first floor very quickly. As I approached the ground floor, I thought about what the fire had told me—that we had harmed them in the past. To put it plainly, this fire was the fruit of causes we had created ourselves. Now that the result had manifested, we should repent. Thinking of the hellish scenes along the way, I decided to turn back. I would save as many as I could; at least that would be a form of atonement.
A Choice to Return
I rushed back in, looking for anyone who needed help. Along the way, there was a little girl whose parents were already exhausted. I picked her up and rushed toward the first floor, delivering her to safety. I continued to provide assistance to others. At the disaster scene, my physical strength drained very quickly. Many things that were originally simple became extremely difficult in the final crucial moments, especially for parents with children. So, I focused on the children, bringing them to safety first so that the parents could at least try to survive without worry.
In my final attempt to run back, I accidentally fell and was consumed by the fire. Facing death, my heart was very calm. Perhaps it was because I could feel the fire's emotions and understood that everything has a cause and effect. I felt no fear, nor did I have any regrets. At least I had saved many people. Before I died, I thought of my time in the mountains and forests as a child. I truly hope that in my next life, I can continue to roam in nature.
Deliverance to the Western Pure Land
After I died, I was still searching for people who needed help at the scene of the fire. Suddenly, a golden light shone down, and I arrived at the Western -Nature Land of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Goombungee, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. The Buddha-light here is very bright. I sit on a lotus seat, listening to the sutras and chanting the Buddha's name. I can constantly hear the name 'Namo Amituofo.' Although I cannot leave the lotus seat here, I feel an unprecedented sense of ease. In the Dharma-Nature Land, I can see what everyone at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre is doing. When I heard Practitioner Su announce, 'The 156 victims of the Wang Fuk Court fire in Hong Kong have all been led to the Dharma-Nature Land,' I realized that it was Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su who had saved us spirits from the sea of fire.
Hearing Practitioner Su explain that the spaces of several Venerables at the temple had recently opened, I realized that my ability to talk to all things in the mountains and forests as a child was what is called 'opening the space.' I also learned that people in the world are all possessed by spirits and need purification to regain their original instincts. These were things I had never heard of before. If I had known earlier that there was a bodhimanda where Namo Amituofo resides, and that there was a Practitioner Su who cultivates talent to speak with the Buddha, I would have come to learn. Now I know that when I was in the city, many spirits entered my body—this is called spiritual attachment. No wonder I felt like I was being covered layer by layer. I only now understand that the more severe the attachment, the more depressed a person becomes.
A New Beginning
Now I am in the Western Dharma-Nature Land, bathed in light. I have no burdens, only the ease of chanting the Buddha's name. I hope my parents will not be sad for me. I hope you have the opportunity to see this interview and know that your son's death was worth it. Do not grieve for me, because I am now at the Western Dharma-Nature Land of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, living a very happy and free life. It is the life I have always dreamed of—truly free, without burdens. I hope you will come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre to meet me. And to my teachers, classmates, and juniors, I hope you can all come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Goombungee, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, to talk with me. The real He Kunsheng has been reborn in this bright Pure Land.
Thank you, Namo Amituofo. Thank you, Practitioner Su. Thank you to every member of the fourfold assembly at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre.
