A Sacrifice for the People and the Path to Deliverance

This is a record of an interview with Hu An-san, who sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Land of Dharma Nature. This account reflects upon his life approximately one hundred years ago. Recorded by the chief writer, Fa Ning, on February 27, 2026.

Hu An-san speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. In the life of Hu An-san, the Buddha’s teachings have always been like a calming anchor for the heart. I first encountered the Dharma during the lowest point of my human life. Now, I have encountered the Buddha once again, having arrived in a different spiritual realm—the Western Land of Dharma Nature. The depth and breadth of the Buddha’s teachings are profound, yet they can be presented to the world in such a simple, bright, and clear way. The strength the Dharma gives me now is entirely different from what I knew in the past. The Dharma that Hu An-san understands now is the true path home, taught by Namo Amituofo Himself when He came to this world to instruct humanity on the true Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way.

A Witness to Unprecedented Deliverance

I am deeply moved by this. For thousands of years, the Buddhist education in our great China has never seen anything as authentic or as capable of truly saving the vast multitude of spirits as what I see now. Here in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I have witnessed with my own eyes the magnificent scale of the Chao Du ceremonies conducted by Practitioner Su, with Namo Amituofo present, across the vast regions of China. It was dazzling; I could hardly take it all in. So many lives that were once 'sleeping' with nowhere to go are now walking toward clarity. And how many of the 'demon Bodhisattvas' who plunged the Chinese people into darkness and despair are now stepping into the light at Practitioner Su’s massive deliverance sites? China is so vast, and its population so immense—it is beyond what any ordinary person can imagine. Yet, for thousands of years, no one has truly known: when people die, where do they actually go?

From the Temple to the Battlefield

Let me tell you the story of how I, Hu An-san, was saved. I was once a little novice monk in the Chaoshan region of Guangdong. Before I could even grow up and be formally ordained, I chose to return to lay life and join the military to serve my country during the War of Resistance against Japan. I gave my body to protect the countless defenceless people. During those eight long years of Japanese occupation, the number of simple, honest civilians who were brutally harmed was truly countless. I had spent my childhood in a temple for over a decade, having been abandoned at the temple gates by my parents and raised by the monastics. The early years of immersion in the Dharma cultivated a compassionate, kind, and helpful character within me—one could say it awakened my inherent goodness and heart of compassion.

When I was fifteen, the Japanese army reached the Guangdong area, bringing weapons and bombers that caused massive casualties across many towns and villages. Watching my elders and fellow countrymen fall one by one, I felt that I could serve both my country and the Buddha’s grace simultaneously. I chose to temporarily set aside my identity as a little novice. I did not intend to remain a layperson forever; it was merely a temporary withdrawal. I longed to return to the Buddha’s gate once the country was stable, to continue serving the lineage of the Dharma. This had been my aspiration since I was a child, for I knew deeply that the Buddha’s teachings are the ultimate, perfect education—the only door that can truly help everyone leave suffering behind and gain happiness, achieving ultimate liberation. The abbot of the temple, seeing my sincerity and compassionate heart, agreed to my request.

A Life of Protection and Chanting

After joining the volunteer army to protect the people, my life took on a new direction: taking up arms to defend the innocent. Killing was not an easy thing for me. Even when facing enemy soldiers, I wanted to use my own physical body to block their advance rather than actively taking their lives. I do not know how I survived in the military with such a temperament, so I chose to join the reserve forces, which focused on rebuilding homes, settling the people, and calming their hearts. We did not fight on the front lines to kill; instead, we stayed in the rear, using our bodies to protect the safety of the civilians and rebuilding homes in the areas ravaged by war.

For a very long time, we lived on wild potatoes or tree sap. I never regretted that decision, and I developed many useful skills and crafts. Not a single day in the army did I forget to chant the Buddha’s name. I chanted 'Namo Amituofo' constantly. Wherever we marched, the seeds of the Vajra were planted by the Buddha-name, sprouting in the vast mountain forests. Although life was bitter, my heart was stable. Because I could put life and death aside, there was nothing in my life to worry about—or rather, I had no way to worry for myself. All my thoughts were for the safety of the people, and my tears were shed for them. I taught the men in the army to chant the Buddha’s name, helping everyone navigate the life-and-death crises with the Buddha-name in their hearts. In those days, people’s hearts were simple and pure; in the army, we were all brothers, regardless of our origins, all striving for the welfare of the people.

The Final Sacrifice

Hu An-san’s life was not long. Before I was even twenty, during an uprising that escalated into an active defensive operation, I chose to retreat to the rear. It so happened that the army needed someone to be a 'sacrifice' to delay the Japanese advance. Without hesitation, I applied for this role as I was withdrawing. In the end, my life was taken by the Japanese army in a 'thousand arrows piercing the heart' manner. My sacrifice gave our main force enough time to escape the predicament and saved many children from certain death. The only regret of my death was that I forgot to chant the Buddha-name in my final moments. The chanting stopped intermittently, and because I did not chant at the very end, I did not gain the opportunity for rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

A Guardian Spirit in the Space Between

After I died, I arrived at the Second Heaven. The Jade Emperor knew that my heart could not leave the people behind, so he appointed me as a 'Guardian God of Life' for the China region. Because I had to work for the people, I could not return to the heavenly palace. The spirits in that space were suffering terribly. I could speak with them, and I saw that they were all terrified and disfigured. After so many years of war and turmoil, coupled with the 'Century of Humiliation' that China had endured, the people were already in a state of panic, unable to control their own destinies.

I travelled back and forth between the various armies and villages in Southern China, seeking welfare for the people and calming their hearts, while continuing to propagate the holy name of 'Namo Amituofo' in that spiritual space. I chanted this Buddha-name with a truly sincere heart. I was also able to comfort the suffering spirits who were like me. Although we were all left here as spirits, because my spirit held the Buddha-name and the Buddha-title, I was much more stable and at peace compared to the other spirits. This was the difference I could see in my own spirit.

Returning to the Buddha’s Side

When the Buddha-light of Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su arrived in Guangdong, it also reached the mountain forest where we were. When we felt the Buddha-light shining upon the earth and upon us, many spirits came to life. They lined up in an orderly fashion and entered the golden light above their heads. Afterwards, we each sat upon our own lotus seats. This was a completely different world—a spiritual world called the Western Land of Dharma Nature. We felt no sense of strangeness; the Buddha-name continued in our hearts, and I felt so fortunate to finally return to the side of Namo Amituofo. The Buddhist education at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre brings to the world the reality of the Buddha abiding in the world and performing the act of deliverance. As I mentioned before, under the deliverance of Practitioner Su’s countless manifestations, there are so many spirits heading into the light.

A life lasts only a few decades, but to be able to follow the Buddha today and arrive at a lotus seat in the Western Land of Dharma Nature to continue my past Buddhist affinity—Hu An-san is filled with infinite gratitude. Before, I only knew that the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss was ten trillion Buddha-lands away, but I did not know that the Buddha was right before my eyes, here in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, and also in the heart of every person who chants the Buddha’s name. Now, here in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I can see the world-saving deeds performed by Practitioner Su and Namo Amituofo—a magnificent scene never before seen on the land of China. Hu An-san is deeply moved and full of admiration for the compassion and great power of Practitioner Su. What kind of vow and heart of compassion must one have to support such a vast scene of deliverance? What kind of virtue must one have to invite the true presence of Amitabha Buddha?

My heart is full of gratitude—gratitude for the Buddha’s compassion and Practitioner Su’s compassion, which have brought the hope of rebirth to so many spirits. Hu An-san is moved to tears.

Namo Amituofo.

Hu An-san"