Beyond Two Millennia of Wandering

This is a record of an interview with the spirit of Jing Ke, 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 2,250 years ago. Recorded by the chief writer, Fa Ning, on April 1, 2026.

Jing Ke speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Jing Ke. I feel incredibly fortunate at this moment. It has been 2,250 years—I had no idea I had been away from the human world for so long. I have returned to a place in the human world, though it is quite far from where I once stood; I am now at the Western Land of Dharma Nature at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. This is a truly pleasant and dignified place. The word 'dignified' is one I had never even heard before. In the era I grew up in, the Buddha’s teachings had not yet reached China. Now, having been saved by the Buddha and placed here in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I feel a sense of joy that is truly beyond words. I never imagined that after more than two thousand years, I, who once knew nothing of the Buddha, would suddenly arrive in the Buddha’s world and receive the most compassionate and wise education from Him.

Today, I am here, resonating across space with those from the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre who have come to interview me. To have my innermost thoughts recorded is a truly magnificent event. The name 'Jing Ke' is surely known to everyone in China, and the story of 'Jing Ke Assassinating the King of Qin' is a household tale. I lived during the late Warring States period, an era of competing powers, with the State of Qin being the most formidable. Our smaller states had reached a dead end, almost entirely devoid of the strength or courage to survive. Many individuals, even feudal lords and men of ambition, surrendered one after another, joining the ranks of King Ying Zheng of Qin. The King of Qin’s momentum was unstoppable; he intended to conquer the other six small states one by one, a goal that seemed within his grasp."

A Legacy of History

"I was born in the small State of Wei, but the peak of my life was in the State of Yan. Yan was the country I felt most deeply connected to, for it was there that I met people who understood me, and there that I made many close friends during the most brilliant time of my life. Although Yan was weak, my loyalty to it was, I believe, evident for all to see.

My life was not long. The events unfolded with great speed, and after the failure of the first arduous task of my life, my existence was abruptly cut short. I died right before the eyes of King Ying Zheng of Qin. If I were to tell my story, I was always a wanderer, travelling to the four corners of the earth. Yet, in this vast land, it seemed there was no place for me to call home. Later, I drifted to the State of Yan, nearly losing my fighting spirit. I did not know where my life was heading, and the frustration in my heart was difficult to resolve. At that time, I often sang on the streets to express my suppressed emotions. It was then that I met a famous musician named Gao Jianli. He was likely the first person who truly understood me. When he saw me on the street, we began to perform together—he played his zheng, and I sang my songs. We were a very good duo. Without needing many words, we could understand each other’s hearts through the world of music."

The Path of the Assassin

"The heroes and men of ambition of that time had mostly lost the chivalry and loyalty that righteous people should possess, turning instead to profit-driven paths to find their security. We, however, had yet to achieve our goals; we wanted to accomplish something great but had nowhere to apply our aspirations. Just then, I reached a turning point in my life—I was recognised by a chivalrous man from Yan named Tian Guang. They were both from Yan, but they did not mind that I was not. From my singing, he heard my inner world, my talent, and my ambition. Thus, under Tian Guang’s recommendation, I joined the ranks of Crown Prince Dan of Yan.

Crown Prince Dan was deeply distressed by the tiger-like gaze of the State of Qin, knowing that Yan, as a weak state, had nowhere to run. He devised a plan: to invite a brave warrior to approach and assassinate King Ying Zheng under the guise of offering advice or gifts. At the time, no one in the State of Yan was suitable for such a heavy responsibility. Prince Dan found Tian Guang, but alas, Tian Guang was already old and frail. Tian Guang suddenly thought of me, the chivalrous man he had appreciated on the street. He valued my chivalrous heart and courage, so he bravely recommended me, Jing Ke, to the Prince. My name was not yet known to the world then. Based on this causal connection between Tian Guang and me, I took on this heavy responsibility."

The Weight of a Final Vow

"Tian Guang found me and informed me that Prince Dan intended to hire me as the executor of this mission. I did not agree immediately. My heart sank. I thought to myself, 'Is this a good deed I can do for the people?' I had always wanted to accomplish something for the people, but the circumstances and environment of the time left me with no outlet for my ambitions. When Tian Guang spoke, I was truly moved.

Before I could even give my answer, Tian Guang picked up a long sword and said to me, 'Because this matter is highly confidential, it cannot be leaked.' Prince Dan seemed to have doubts and specifically instructed Tian Guang not to reveal it. Therefore, at the very last moment of his life, Tian Guang repeatedly urged me to complete this mission, no matter how difficult, as I was the only one who could bear it. His trust and regard for me left me speechless for a moment. But the next scene stunned me: Tian Guang took his own sword and committed suicide. Before he died, he repeatedly urged me to take care and ensure the task was done well—for the sake of the country and the world, I had to succeed. His suicide shocked both me and Prince Dan. Since this heavy responsibility had been entrusted to me, I had no more worries and was determined to walk this path to the end."

The Final Journey

"Prince Dan received me and pleaded with me in a very humble manner, as if he were entrusting the fate of all the people of Yan to me. I agreed and was determined to plan this matter carefully. I brought several items to present to the King of Qin, feigning a proposal: a precious map, the head of a man the King was offering a high reward for, and a dagger coated with deadly poison—the most important secret weapon for the assassination. After preparing these three things, and with my close friend Gao Jianli seeing me off, I stepped onto a path of no return.

To be honest, as a chivalrous man, I had always aimed to travel the world and protect my country. For the sake of the people, I was willing to pay any price. A chivalrous person does not care much for his own body and knows that life is short. If I could trade my life for long-term peace for many others, it would be a worthy sacrifice. As I departed, there were two lines of poetry that I am sure everyone is familiar with. Before I left, I sang this poem with Gao Jianli, a poem that has been passed down through the ages: 'The wind whistles, the Yi River is cold; the brave man goes, never to return.' Regardless of success or failure, I knew I could never return to Yan. During the execution of the plan, many situations arose that I could not react to in time. Although the King of Qin gave me many opportunities to assassinate him, fate seemed to dictate that he would survive. And I, Jing Ke, finally died under a hail of arrows."

The Loneliness of the Spirit

"My life ended abruptly in the palace of the King of Qin. The moment I stopped breathing, my soul was ejected from my body. I sat in the void, watching my corpse lying in a pool of blood. For a moment, I could not react. Is this death? I had always known that death was near, but now it had happened. Seeing my own physical body lying before me, having nothing more to do with me, was a scene filled with deep emotion. I never expected that before I could even realise my ideals and ambitions, my life would end in this major mission.

Actually, I had no regrets in my heart. This was a debt of gratitude I had to repay. Prince Dan and Tian Guang had shown me great kindness; they treated me with respect and trusted me with sincerity. They were the ones who lit up my life when I was at my lowest. But at that moment, as a lonely soul, my spirit naturally drifted back to the banks of the Yi River. I spent a very long time alone by the Yi River. I did not expect that the world would change so quickly and that everything would end like this. The world after death was so lonely and helpless. I had once longed to realise my ambitions and to have a group of friends who understood each other to fight together for the country and the people. But at that moment, everything I had imagined had vanished. After my illusory life ended, I became a lonely soul, unknown and unrecognised by anyone."

The Light of the Buddha

"Although the name 'Jing Ke' spread throughout the human world, and people knew me as a failed chivalrous man, what meaning did that have for a lonely spirit like me? I could no longer feel the warmth of the human world. Even if later generations wrote poems to praise me, what of it? It was of no help to my spirituality. It was only then that I deeply realised that the human body and the spirit are two different concepts. I was just a depressed soul full of bitterness, unable to go anywhere. It seemed I stayed by the Yi River for more than two thousand years, without any ability to act on my own. I was not a high-level spirit, so I could not drift at will; I just guarded the banks of the Yi River, recalling the past over and over, witnessing the various developments and changes in history from there.

Because my heart was desolate, everything I saw was also sorrowful. The changes unfolding before my eyes seemed unable to stir me. Perhaps I had not done any great evil in my life, so I did not fall into a place of extreme suffering to receive retribution; I simply spent my afterlife in a very lonely way. Two thousand years is not a short time, but for a drifting soul, these two thousand years passed in the blink of an eye. I waited in that place for so long and never saw a glimmer of light. Until a few weeks ago, a huge light suddenly enveloped the place where I was. I had never seen such warm light; I could even say I had never seen any light at all. My world had always been dim and endless. But when this light shone on me, I suddenly became much clearer. The depression that had accumulated for thousands of years vanished in an instant. After my heart opened up, I finally saw my situation clearly."

The Truth of the Universe

"It turned out that this light came from the Buddha. Buddha-light was a light I was very unfamiliar with because I had never known the Buddha. But the moment I entered the light and arrived at the Western Land of Dharma Nature, this Buddha-land, I slowly opened my heart. Everything here became clear in an instant. It turned out to be Practitioner Su—a highly accomplished awakened being currently in the human world—who, with his countless manifestations and the twelve golden lights of Namo Amituofo, was shining brightly in the place where I was, saving countless poor souls like me. I opened my eyes wide and discovered that there were so many deep spaces here, so many overlapping spaces that I had not been aware of. Many poor spirits like me suddenly appeared, and everyone walked towards the light. So, in the world after death, everyone is in a different space. Even if you were friends or confidants in life, the path of the soul after death must be borne alone; no one can accompany you. This profound experience is something Jing Ke will never forget.

Arriving at the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I used a brand-new life to learn to let go of everything from the past and start anew. I truly recognised what the Buddha is, what the Buddha’s teachings are, and I came to know Namo Amituofo, the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, and Practitioner Su, this great venerable being in the world. Everything happened so quickly. I went from someone who knew nothing about life to suddenly being enlightened, able to understand the truth of the universe. All of this was possible because of the wisdom, teachings, and education of the Buddha and the awakened being, Practitioner Su."

The Law of Cause and Effect

"These changes made us souls on the land of China feel very surprised. Although everyone’s reactions were different, once we entered the Western Land of Dharma Nature, after a period of purification and our hearts became peaceful, we were all one. Therefore, the joy we felt was no different. After coming here, I think everyone can feel that happiness, satisfaction, gratitude, and sense of stability! After coming here, I finally understood the truth of the universe: the human body is inherently short-lived and illusory. Furthermore, I realised that I am actually as complete and perfect in wisdom as the Buddha, and that I can also save countless suffering beings like the Buddha. This point really surprised Jing Ke. I never imagined that I would have the blessing to step into this place.

I also deeply understood the true reason why I felt so much suffering in the human world. At that time, I sang songs, longing for someone to understand me and to receive the praise of the world. This was because I valued the act of making friends with 'heroes' too much. It seemed that if I could not find like-minded people in my life, it was a sad thing. As a dignified chivalrous man, I also valued 'emotion' too much. Whether it was the gratitude for being recognised or my excessive attachment to everything in the human world, it led me to enter the ghost realm the moment I died, unable to be liberated for a long time. That 'long time'—the days spent as a ghost—was truly too long; counting them up, it was more than two thousand years.

In the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I can finally truly say: all the grievances, hatreds, and attachments of these two thousand years can now be thoroughly let go. Regardless of the length of time, the moment the physical body ends, everything becomes illusory. Jing Ke had no knowledge of the truth of life, the human body, or the spirit in the past. This was because there was no Buddhist education in China at that time, and no positive education on spirituality, which led to people having too little understanding in this regard. Later, as I continued to purify myself in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I saw the various laws of karma and cause and effect more clearly. At that time, I was only a step away from assassinating the King of Qin; that was a very fatal step. Only now do I know the reason why I could not successfully execute the mission: First, in terms of the laws of karma and cause and effect, King Ying Zheng was indeed a person with tremendous blessings. Second, he also had an indestructible collective karma with the people and civilians of the vast region at that time. Such vast collective karma could not be overturned by me, Jing Ke, with a single dagger. This was a scene that everyone had to repay and experience in their own karma. That is why King Qin later became the First Emperor of Qin and ruled the world. Jing Ke was just a small character in this huge collective karma, unable to play a big role, but I did indeed give the King of Qin a huge shock, which led to some different changes in his later life. Therefore, no matter how meticulous or perfect my plan was, in the face of such a major key point of karmic force, there was truly no room for me to manoeuvre."

A Final Message

"After death, although my physical body had long since rotted away in the human world, people have continued to pass down my spirit and integrity, and they still remember the name 'Jing Ke.' But as time passed, from the moment I had no physical body, fame was no longer something I cared about. I only cared about what I, as a lonely spirit, could still do for the world. At this moment, the spirit of Jing Ke resides in the Western Land of Dharma Nature at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, telling this story to everyone. I cannot help but feel immense respect and reverence for the Buddha’s teachings. I never expected that for the first time in over two thousand years, I would recognise the truth of the universe and the righteous path—the Buddhist education brought to everyone by Namo Amituofo—which has deeply shaken my heart. I also want to share this with all the figures in Chinese history, whether famous or unknown. We were all people who grew up on this land, and having been trapped here for so long, everyone should wake up. No matter how attached we are to the world or how much we possess, it all becomes empty in the blink of an eye. There is really nothing worth clinging to. Only by bringing people the true Buddhist education, allowing them to reach true purity and Goodness, and with the firm heart of chanting the Holy Name 'Namo Amituofo' to the end, can one attain Buddhahood and save countless suffering beings.

This is what Practitioner Su has been doing his whole life. He honestly chants this Holy Name 'Namo Amituofo' and reads the Infinite Life Sutra. This sutra is a very important treasure of Mahayana classics, from which one can understand why people become Buddhas and how to attain Buddhahood. By wholeheartedly following Namo Amituofo, letting go of one’s body and mind, and changing one’s habits, one can truly achieve the perfection of the five eyes and realise one’s true nature to attain Buddhahood. Most importantly, the foundation of everything Practitioner Su does is not for his own liberation, but for the countless beings like Jing Ke who are still in the six realms of rebirth. It is precisely because of this that he can realise his true nature and attain Buddhahood.

In addition to realising his true nature and attaining Buddhahood, Practitioner Su has also bravely taken a big step, which is to use the ability and skills of realising his true nature and attaining Buddhahood to invite Namo Amituofo to descend to the human world, residing at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. From then on, Practitioner Su began his journey of following Namo Amituofo to save countless suffering beings. All of this requires Namo Amituofo to be residing here and for Practitioner Su, a person who has realised his true nature and attained Buddhahood in the human world, to make a great vow, so that the Buddha and the people of the world can resonate, exerting the greatest technology of the universe here. The things Practitioner Su does, one by one, are very special. For example, the Chao Du alone has made Jing Ke here feel very envious. It turns out that the human body can have such a huge impact, can have countless manifestations, and can save all the suffering spirits like us between this universe and heaven and earth. Everyone has been trapped in their own space for hundreds or thousands of years, and because someone in the human world has made a vow, we can all be saved.

After the spirits are saved, they reside in the Western Land of Dharma Nature. This place is not a Buddha-land that ordinary people can possess. This is something that has never happened in human and Earth history, but Practitioner Su has indeed done it. With the help of Amitabha, he established the Western Land of Dharma Nature and then began his career of leading countless beings and demon crowds. This extraordinary career is something Jing Ke admires very much. If life could be lived again, I would definitely strive to spread the Buddha’s teachings widely in the human world. Although Shakyamuni Buddha had already been born in my era, the Buddha’s teachings had not yet reached China. Therefore, if I could return to that era, I would definitely recommend the education of the Buddha’s teachings to the monarch, so that every person would understand the education of the Buddha’s teachings. Then there would not be so many senseless wars, and this world could truly achieve peace. People would cherish each other’s lives and would not harm the lives of others for their own interests. Jing Ke is now telling everyone this fact with a heart full of gratitude. Gratitude to Namo Amituofo, gratitude to Practitioner Su."