Breaking the Stone Cage of Self-Suppression

This is a record of an interview with Huang Riping, who sought spiritual deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. This account reflects upon his life and his subsequent service as a spirit. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on June 1, 2025.

Prison Guard Huang Riping speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am filled with boundless gratitude—gratitude for all the teachings of Goodness in this world. It is only because of the guidance of such true spiritual friends that every person can have the opportunity to return to the path of Goodness.

I am deeply thankful that today I have the opportunity to be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. I thank Namo Amituofo, and I thank Practitioner Su. On behalf of all the prison guards, I bow in gratitude for the Buddha’s grace and the grace of Practitioner Su. Namo Amituofo."

A Life Built on the Expectations of Others

"In my past life, I was born in the seventh year of the Republic of China in a small, remote town in Taiwan. My parents were honest, hardworking people. From a young age, they taught me that one must endure hardship, be yielding, and always consider others before oneself. They taught me that I should not have too many emotions or too much of a 'self.' Over time, I adopted these teachings as my very nature, and they eventually became my prison.

I was always the one who could endure the most suffering. When my mother suffered from headaches and could not sleep, I would stay awake all night, applying hot towels to her forehead and brewing medicine. When the village rebuilt the ancestral hall, I was always the first to volunteer to carry the heaviest timber. If anyone needed help, I never said 'no.' People praised me for being filial, sensible, and blessed, and I worked hard to play that role. It felt as if, as long as I continued to be a 'good person,' I could trade that for peace and validation in life."

The Weight of Unspoken Burdens

"It was not until I was eighteen, when my father passed away and our family fortune declined, that the cracks began to show. I took on multiple jobs and odd tasks, yet I could not stop our family’s descent into poverty. At that time, I only felt: 'Am I not good enough? Have I not done enough?' That sense of powerlessness pressed down on my heart like iron.

Once, I secretly went to the temple to draw a fortune stick. The poem read: 'Though ascetic practice is good, if you lose your original heart, you become bound by it.' I did not understand. I thought, 'I have endured so much, I have worked so hard—what could I possibly be doing wrong?'

At twenty, I fell gravely ill. I could not stop coughing, my face turned black, and the doctors could not find the cause. I grew weaker and weaker, my body filled with pain, yet I still forced myself to take care of my family. Finally, on a cold night, I breathed my last."

The Stone Cage of the Soul

"At that moment, my soul left my body, but it did not leave the human world. I seemed to fall into a space of extreme heaviness—all around me was a darkness as hard as stone. I saw myself transformed into a stone statue: silent, wordless, rigid, and cold. I could not move, I could not speak, and no one could see me. This was the accumulation of everything I had been: afraid to speak, afraid to refuse, afraid to express, only knowing how to play the role of the 'good person.'

My heart was filled to the brim with suppressed feelings. I began to see the emotions I had never dared to acknowledge—resentment, anger, fear, self-blame, and longing. Those buried voices, like thick darkness, wrapped around me inside the stone statue. I felt myself gradually disintegrating. Was this hell? No, it was the prison I had built for myself."

The Awakening of the True Self

"Then, one day, a wandering monk passed by this abandoned stone statue. He did not offer incense or bow; he simply sat before me, looked at me, and said in a low voice: 'You have always been good, but you have never allowed yourself to truly live.' That sentence struck my silent heart like a bolt of lightning.

He continued: 'The Buddha does not want you to play the role of a good person; He wants you to become a clear-minded person. You did not come here to suffer; you came here to awaken.' I suddenly wept. It was not out of regret, but because for the first time, someone had given me permission to stop pretending. At that moment, my inner self shattered, and a beam of light shone through the cracks in the stone—the Buddha-light descended upon me, my spiritual obstacles peeled away, and my consciousness escaped the stone statue.

I arrived in the underworld, but I did not immediately reincarnate. Instead, I rested in a quiet place where every ray of light was the compassion of the Buddha. Looking back at my past, I finally understood: 'Always being a silent, good person is not compassion; it is suppression. Always forcing oneself to suffer is not virtue; it is losing one's roots.' I made a vow: in my next life, I would live as a real, gentle, authentic self—one that does not need to please others or suppress its own nature."

A New Life and the Path Home

"Before long, I was reborn into a family of practitioners, named Huang Riping. From childhood, I was spiritually sensitive and steady in temperament, but I no longer felt the need to compromise or please others. I knew when to speak, when to rest, and when to help, rather than living as others expected me to. At fifteen, while practicing in a temple, I met a teacher spreading the Dharma. The day he gave his teaching, I suddenly wept uncontrollably—I knew I had found the way home.

From that day on, I chanted Namo Amituofo, studied the Dharma, and helped others without suppression or performance. I simply walked naturally. Now, at twenty-one, although a serious illness was approaching, I felt no fear at all. Before I passed away, I pressed my palms together and said to my mother: 'I did not come into this life to endure hardship, but to truly awaken once.' That night, in my dream, the Buddha-light shone everywhere, and I left with a smile."

Service in the Underworld and Final Deliverance

"When my soul arrived at the Hall of Yama, the King of Hell looked at me and said: 'You have walked out of the stone statue; this life and death have broken your predicament. I permit you to delay reincarnation and serve here, helping sentient beings to break through their suppression and cultivate a sincere heart.' I bowed and replied: 'Namo Amituofo. If I can help sentient beings awaken, that is my vow.'

During that time, I traveled between the human world and the underworld, perceiving the bitter fruits of the suppression, struggle, and inner pressure of sentient beings. Whenever I saw someone in pain, unable to speak, I would guide them in their dreams with a single sentence: 'You are not here to perform; you are here to live with clarity.' Some wept upon waking, others changed their mindset—that was my greatest comfort.

Until one day, I heard the sound of the Buddha in the air. Someone was teaching the Dharma. I followed the sound and found Practitioner Su teaching the sutras to sentient beings. I knelt, tears streaming down my face. Practitioner Su’s teaching allowed me to fully understand what it means to depart from the cycle and what it means to truly dwell in peace. In that Dharma assembly, I made a vow: 'May my life, this light, and this vow all serve to lead sentient beings from the false back to the true.'

The Buddha-light shone upon me, and I was drawn into the reception of the Western Pure Land. I know that this time, I am not returning to the human world, but returning to my true home. I am so grateful that today I can be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. On behalf of all the prison guards and all sentient beings with karmic affinity, I bow in gratitude for the Buddha’s grace and the grace of Practitioner Su. Namo Amituofo."

Huang Riping, with palms joined.