An Ordinary Life: The Testimony of Wu Jianxin

This interview was recorded on April 9, 2021, at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. It features the testimony of Wu Jianxin, a former prison guard in the underworld who sought deliverance through the compassionate guidance of Practitioner Su. Wu recounts his humble life, his act of mercy in rescuing an abandoned infant, and his eventual transition from the suffering of the underworld to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Wu Jianxin speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Wu Jianxin. Since I was a child, I dreamed of a paradise—a place where everything one could imagine existed. It was filled with wonderful toys I had never seen before, herbal jelly, glass marbles, and spinning tops. In that place, there was only laughter, and no unhappy thoughts could ever take root. Even as I grew older, this dream of a paradise never faded from my heart. Life is full of ups and downs, but the dream of that paradise always sustained me. Today, the day of my rebirth, I have truly seen that paradise. My dream has come true. Just a moment ago, I was still waiting with fifty-nine other prison guards, and in the blink of an eye, I arrived in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

A gentle breeze began to blow, and the sound of Namo Amituofo giving a Dharma talk filled my ears. I could not help but smile, and in that moment, I smelled the fragrance of flowers. I thought to myself, 'This place is so similar to the paradise of my dreams, yet it is even more beautiful than I could have ever imagined, for every inch of this land is filled with golden light.' As this thought crossed my mind, everything I had ever dreamed of in that paradise appeared right before my eyes. I was filled with surprise and joy, and a deep sense of gratitude surged within me. I am so thankful to Practitioner Su for guiding me to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. We, the sixty prison guards, all knelt to express our deepest gratitude."

A Childhood Amidst the Shadows of War

"I was born in the early years of the Republic of China, beside the Dajia River in Taichung. At that time, the riverbank was littered with skulls—the remains of soldiers left behind after a brutal conflict before the Japanese retreated from Taiwan. There were also the bodies of Japanese soldiers who had died resisting the local people. The corpses were piled one upon another. Our home was not far from this site of death. Whether it was day or night, it felt as though one could hear low, mournful weeping. Life was not prosperous then; some families had no clothes to wear, so when no one was looking, they would go to the site of the remains to salvage whatever clothing could be used or provide warmth, cleaning them to survive the winter.

The village head of the neighbouring Hao-Xing Village could not bear to see these remains exposed to the elements day after day. He invited the villagers to dig several large pits to bury them and hired people to perform Chao Du for the deceased. After that, the weeping in the village seemed to cease. The area, once a desolate scene of blood and sorrow, transformed into a green field. After the deliverance, we erected a simple tombstone inscribed with the words: 'In Memory of the Spirits of This Area.'"

A Dream of Mercy

"Just before those remains were buried, I had a dream. I was eleven years old, old enough to understand a great deal. A woman, covered in blood, begged me for help. She was crying so bitterly, pleading with me to save her child. She said that before she died, she had used her final strength to give birth, and the child was now lying beneath her body. 'I have already stopped breathing, but my child may still have one last breath left.' The vision she showed me was incredibly clear; she was near a large tree. In the middle of the night, I woke up in a cold sweat. The images from the dream were so vivid, playing out before my eyes like a film. I began to feel anxious. I was not sure if it was real, but if it was, I had to save that child who was on the verge of death.

I considered this until dawn and decided I could not wait any longer. Saving a life was more important than anything else. I did not think about how I would care for the child if I truly found him. I simply put on my clothes, passed through the kitchen, and said to my mother, 'I am not eating breakfast yet! I will eat when I return.' Before my mother could even ask where I was going, I grabbed the long bamboo pole my father used to drive the oxen, took a deep breath, and headed toward the pile of remains. I felt nervous, but I kept encouraging myself.

Before long, I saw the large tree in the distance. To reach it, I had to cross a vast field of corpses. I took a deep breath and, as I stepped over the bodies, I whispered, 'Excuse me, excuse me, I am so sorry. Please forgive my intrusion, I am truly sorry.' When I reached the area near the tree, I began to search with intense focus. I had to find that woman, but the panicked, fearful expressions on the faces of the dead made my heart race. I did not dare to look directly at them; I only squinted, glancing briefly at their faces only after confirming they were female. After checking three or four of them, my breathing became rapid."

The Rescue

"Just as I began to feel dizzy, I suddenly heard a faint cry. The sound was very, very small. I knelt down to listen more closely. To my surprise, the crying seemed to come from beneath a pile of remains. I struggled to find the source of the sound and moved the heavy bodies aside. Only then did I manage to see the child, completely naked, with the umbilical cord still attached to his deceased mother. I used a small knife I had taken from a Japanese soldier's remains to cut the cord and, relying on the memory of what my mother had told me as a child, I tied it off. I wrapped the baby in a piece of cloth I had brought with me and carefully made my way back home through the field of bodies.

The moment I arrived home, the first person I saw was my mother. She asked, 'What is this?' I replied, 'It is a newborn baby.' My mother exclaimed, 'A baby? Where did you get a baby?' I explained, 'A woman at the burial site came to me in a dream and begged me to save her child.' My mother asked, 'You took a dream so seriously that you actually went to fetch a baby?' I said, 'The dream was so real, I could not just leave him!' My mother stepped forward to look at the child and said, 'Quickly, wash him and feed him, or his breath will fade.' I handed the child to my mother and rushed to boil water. My mother bathed the baby and asked the daughter-in-law of the Wang family next door for some milk. After drinking, the baby fell into a peaceful sleep. Seeing him sleep, I asked my mother, 'This child is an orphan without parents. Can we keep him?' My mother did not hesitate for long and said, 'Let him be your younger brother!' I jumped for joy and said, 'Thank you, Mother.'"

A Life Together

"That night, I slept as peacefully as the child. The next morning, before dawn, I rushed to my mother's room to check on him. He was still sleeping soundly. My mother was woken by my movements and asked, 'What are you doing?' I said, 'I am just checking on my brother.' She smiled and asked, 'You like him that much?' I nodded and asked, 'Mother, my name is Jianxin, what should we call my brother?' My mother thought for a moment and said, 'Call him Kangcun—a healthy existence in this world.' She added, 'Now, we are the only family Kangcun has in this world; we must take good care of him.' I nodded, feeling truly blessed to have my mother by my side. My mother told me that my father had been killed by the Japanese, but she taught me not to hate them. 'That is a matter of the past generation,' she said, 'it is not worth getting yourself entangled in it.' I nodded in agreement.

After Kangcun joined our family, my mother had to take on more laundry work to support us. Kangcun grew up day by day, becoming a lovely and endearing child. Not only did my mother and I love him, but the neighbors also knew his story and cherished him. Life was not wealthy. My mother could not afford to send us to school, but Uncle Hu, who knew a few characters, taught us to trace them on the ground. We learned to write simple words like 'up' and 'down,' 'sun' and 'moon,' 'king,' and the numbers one through ten. I told Uncle Hu I wanted to learn to write my own name, but he said he did not know how. It did not matter; I did not force it. Being able to write a few characters was enough."

Honouring the Past

"Every morning, Kangcun and I would help Mother carry the laundry back to the customers. Many aunts and uncles would pat our heads and say, 'Oh, you are such good boys! Here, have some sugar cubes.' We were always happy to receive them. Sometimes, when they saw Kangcun's adorable face, they would say, 'It is fortunate that Jianxin saved him, otherwise such a lovely child would not be in this world.' Although Kangcun was young, he understood what they meant. He asked me, 'Brother, what do they mean by that?' I did not want to answer, but after he asked several times, I told him about the dream and how I had brought him home. Kangcun knelt down immediately to thank me. I pulled him up with a smile and said, 'Kangcun, I am just glad you are growing up with me; you make my life so much less lonely.' Kangcun smiled, and it was the most beautiful smile.

A few days later, Kangcun said to me, 'Brother, can you take me to the place where you found me? I want to pay my respects to my birth mother. She gave her life to ensure I could live; I should be grateful to her.' I nodded. Along the way, we picked some wildflowers, and I led Kangcun to the tombstone. We knelt together. Kangcun suddenly burst into tears, and my heart ached for him. He cried out, 'Thank you, Mother. Thank you for letting Kangcun still exist in this world. Mother, I am doing well. Mother and Brother are taking care of me. I will live a good life.' I waited for him to finish crying before patting his back. After he stood up, I followed him home. That night, Kangcun did not speak to me. I knew he was processing his emotions to start anew.

From that day on, we visited the tombstone every month to pay our respects. When we had no money, we picked wildflowers; when we had money, we bought offerings and food. As we earned more, we hired people to perform Chao Du, hoping that all those spirits could be liberated from their suffering."

A Humble Life and the Underworld

"I never married, and neither did Kangcun. We lived together to show filial piety to our mother, ensuring she lived in peace. My life was ordinary and stable. However, when I reached the age of fifty, my legs gradually became heavy and I could no longer walk, forcing me to rely on Kangcun for care. After I lost the ability to walk, I aged quickly. I did not want to spend the rest of my life just sitting at home, so every day Kangcun would push me to the large tree. I would tell stories to the children there, teaching them to be filial and to look at life with a positive perspective.

One morning, at the age of fifty-two, I stopped breathing. My life had come to an end. I arrived before the King of Hell to report. The King said, 'In your life, you saved a human life and performed meritorious deeds by paying respects to lonely wandering spirits. In your final years, your inability to walk was caused by those spirits you worshipped—they did not know where to go, so they followed you, clinging to your legs. Despite this, you did not complain and lived every day with sincerity. With these accumulated blessings and merits, you are appointed as a prison guard in the underworld to manage the lonely wandering spirits.' I was very grateful to the King of Hell.

After becoming a prison guard, I caught a glimpse of Kangcun. I saw that because he could not escape the shadow of his mother's tragic death, he had attracted many spirits to possess him during his rituals, eventually leading to a mental breakdown. He was wandering the streets alone, and even now, he is still wandering in that space. Seeing this, I felt a deep sadness, but I could not help him.

During my time as a prison guard, I told myself that this was the compassion of the King of Hell, and I must do my best and be grateful. Today, after sixty-five years of service as a prison guard, I participated in the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre's Dharma Assembly for rebirth in the Western Pure Land. Boundless light is now before my eyes. It is because there is a Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in this world that we, the prison guards of hell, have such Causal Conditions. I am grateful for the compassion of the Buddha and the compassion of Practitioner Su.

Namo Amituofo.

Wu Jianxin

Note: Wu Jianxin's mother, Wang Shuiniang, is in the ghost realm. His brother, Wu Kangcun, is in the space of longing for his mother. Kangcun's mother, Wang Yangmei, is in the space of victimhood and fear. All were delivered on April 10, 2021."