From Business Titan to the Western Pure Land

This is a record of an interview with the late Wang Yung-tsai, former president of the Formosa Plastics Group, 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 transition into the afterlife. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Hailiang, on May 3, 2017.

Shi Hailiang speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. With the utmost compassion of the Buddha, I, disciple Hailiang, offer ten bows and respectfully invite Mr. Wang Yung-tsai, the former president of the Formosa Plastics Group, to accept this interview. Today, Namo Amituofo abides at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre to lead suffering beings to liberation. Through the great heart and ultimate vow of Practitioner Su, a direct path to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss has been opened for the world. We humbly request that you, Mr. Wang, a giant of the business world, compassionately accept our interview. We ask that you share your experience of rebirth and how you arrived in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. To repay the Buddha's kindness, we will make this account public so that the world may know that the Western Pure Land truly exists."

At this moment, Mr. Wang Yung-tsai appears wearing a formal suit. His expression is gentle and carries a smile; he presses his palms together in a respectful gesture.

Wang Yung-tsai speaks:

"Namo Amituofo, in His compassion! I am truly embarrassed. Coming to this place today, I must admit I am not familiar with it at all. However, the kindness you have shown me is greater than the heavens. When I was on the verge of being reborn, you saved me and sent me to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. I do not know how to express my gratitude. Thank you all."

A Transition to Mandarin

Shi Hailiang speaks:

"Namo Amituofo, Chairman Wang! May I discuss something with you? Could we conduct this interview in Mandarin? My Taiwanese is not very fluent, especially when translating into Mandarin. Would that be acceptable? Let us proceed in Mandarin from here on out. Please, I ask that you answer in Mandarin as well. Thank you, thank you. Namo Amituofo."

Wang Yung-tsai speaks:

"Very well! I will do my best to cooperate. Please forgive me if my Mandarin is not standard."

Shi Hailiang speaks:

"Chairman Wang, your Mandarin is excellent; I can understand you perfectly. Now, could you please tell us how you came to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre? What were the Causal Conditions?"

The Weight of a Golden Coffin

Wang Yung-tsai speaks:

"First, I must express my gratitude to everyone. When the media reported my passing, they highlighted that I was a famous business figure and that my coffin was worth ten million New Taiwan Dollars. This attracted significant public attention. When Practitioner Su was giving Dharma talks, this matter was discussed. It happened that there was a Practitioner Li here who could communicate with spirits. Practitioner Su, in his compassion, asked Practitioner Li to invite my spirit out, and that is how it was discovered that I was preparing to be reincarnated as a frog.

At that time, my spirit was dim and muddled. Practitioner Su was very compassionate; he guided my spirit to the Western Land of Dharma Nature to listen to the Dharma. Every time I listened to the teachings, I was reminded: 'Wang Yung-tsai, do not come back to be a human again. Being human is very bitter. You spend your whole life struggling in this world, but when your last breath comes, you cannot take a single cent with you. It is all an illusion.'

Fortunately, I listened to the teachings. Looking back, I was born in Anxi, Fujian. We were three children in the family, and I was the third. My eldest brother was Wang Yung-ching, and my second brother was Wang Yung-cheng, who passed away from illness when I was twenty-three. Because of my second brother's early death, my eldest brother always took me with him to struggle and work hard. Our family was poor, and life was very bitter. My brother and I developed a habit of diligence in our daily lives."

From Tea Leaves to Plastics

"When I was young, I saw my father working very hard growing tea. He had to watch the weather and rely on the heavens for his livelihood. The climate, temperature, rainfall, and sunlight all affected the quality of the tea, which naturally determined the price. At that time, I thought to myself: 'When I grow up, I do not want to rely on growing tea for a living; it is too hard!' Once, I went with my father to buy rice. I remember it very clearly; the rice shop was called Fengchun Rice Shop, and the owner was a very kind man who was always smiling. I heard that the owner had his own milling factory, and business was very good. Even as a young child, I was influenced by this. I decided that when I grew up, I would also do business. Customers would bring money to me, unlike the tea my father grew, which had to be handed over to others to sell.

Time passed quickly, and my father, Wang Chang-geng, moved our whole family to Taiwan. Taiwan is a good place to make a living. When we first arrived in Taiwan, the whole family went to work. Everyone had a job. My mother helped others wash clothes to earn money; my father went back to his old trade, helping to collect tea leaves; my eldest brother, Wang Yung-ching, worked as a clerk at a trading firm and also worked as a cargo handler in his spare time, paid by the piece; I helped wash dishes at a very busy noodle stall to earn money. With income, our lives got better and better. My eldest brother decided to go into business for himself and opened a rice shop. People consider food to be the most important thing, and since everyone has to eat, the business was actually very good. Because of his previous experience at the trading firm, he had knowledge of inventory management and procurement, so he was very confident. However, there was one time when he was greedy for a bargain and bought too much rice. Because of the time that passed, the old rice and new rice became infested with weevils, and we almost lost everything.

I happened to be working at a plastic materials shop at the time. My eldest brother came to find me to handle some business. He saw a large roll of plastic displayed in front of the shop for a long time and was curious. He asked me, 'Is this the plastic your shop sells?' I introduced it to him, saying, 'There are many colors, and this material is not easily damaged.' When my brother heard that it was not easily damaged, he began to study the plasticity and versatility of plastic materials, seeking advice and learning everywhere. My brother had sold rice and timber, but finally, he decided to develop plastic materials. 'It is not easily damaged and can be manufactured into many shapes; its utility is very high, so naturally, there will be many consumers.' From small plastic bags to large plastic barrels, and eventually to fine chemical fibers, we operated with dedication and became the well-known Formosa Plastics Group.

I followed my brother's words in everything; whatever he said, I did. The only project I agreed with most was the land reclamation project for the Mailiao Sixth Naphtha Cracker in Yunlin, because the Fengchun Rice Shop had a milling factory, and a reliable source of supply was indispensable. Naturally, I supervised the construction of the sand pumping and land reclamation, fighting against the sea for land, and that is how the petrochemical park came to be."

A Message to the Family

Shi Hailiang speaks:

"Namo Amituofo, Chairman Wang, thank you for explaining everything so clearly in one go. Now, the important thing is, how do you intend to make your family believe that you have gone to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss?"

Wang Yung-tsai speaks:

"That is very simple. I will have what I have said broadcasted. Business people will know whether they believe it or not as soon as they hear it."

Shi Hailiang speaks:

"Namo Amituofo, Chairman Wang. Every member of the Wang family has great blessings and a significant background; they are not easily convinced. Now that you are a resident of the Western Land, how will you invite them? You must counsel them well, otherwise, in the end, there is only one path: reincarnation and suffering."

Wang Yung-tsai speaks:

"What you say makes sense. My sons, daughters, daughters-in-law, and sons-in-law are all very filial. They should come looking for me when they see this news. Please pass on what I have said today. I am in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss; do not doubt it! You can come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia to take a look. The people here are truly practising; they can transmit the Buddha's voice. I want to specifically thank Practitioner Su. People call him Practitioner Su; it was he who guided me to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. This is not something that can be bought with money."

The State of the Soul Before Death

Shi Hailiang speaks:

"Namo Amituofo, Mr. Wang Yung-tsai, there is one very important matter we must ask you to tell us. What was the state of your three hun souls and seven po souls when you were ill and before you passed away? Sharing this could save many people."

Wang Yung-tsai speaks:

"If it can save people, I must say it. Let me think for a moment. I was ninety-three when I passed away. I had never thought about my three hun souls and seven po souls. My family only knew that 'those responsible for the funeral arrangements would naturally invite my soul to the spirit tablet, and after the Dharma assembly, I would naturally go to a good place.' They were all mistaken. As early as when I was forty-two, one of my po souls went missing. In my dreams, I would see scenes from my childhood. Because our family was poor and I was the youngest child, I would see myself at home, with no one else there. I was all alone, and when it got dark, no one had returned home. As it got darker, I became very afraid, so afraid that I would wake up from the dream in a panic. After waking up, I did not pay much attention to it, but in my heart, I was very afraid of the dark. Because my personality was relatively cheerful and lively, it was not easily noticed. But whenever I went to an unfamiliar place, my eyes would be particularly alert, observing whether the environment was safe before I could relax; otherwise, I would be tense.

When I was about sixty-five, I attended the annual sports meet for Formosa Plastics Group employees. My brother would always attend company events, and I was no exception. My brother waved to the employees as chairman while jogging a lap, and I followed on his right side. I was careless, and my sports shoe caught on the PU track, and I almost fell. If my special assistant hadn't supported me, I would have fallen. At that time, I felt a group of people behind me pushing me. I turned around to look, but there was no one there. Now I understand; it was my karmic creditors. But after that sports meet, my waist and hip joints would ache. At that very moment of being pushed, I lost one hun soul, and my physical strength began to decline; I started going downhill. Usually, my way of maintaining health was simple, but to have good strength, I would occasionally eat nourishing food.

When I was about seventy, I was busy with meetings regarding the land reclamation project for the Mailiao Sixth Naphtha Cracker in Yunlin. I was truly busy; even when I was sleeping, I was still thinking about the project. One hun soul and two po souls were supervising the work; I was very busy. The most serious thing was the investment contract for the Sixth Naphtha Cracker project, worth over 500 billion. In my dreams, I would study the clauses one by one. I had to be cautious with such a huge investment, and in the end, I collapsed from exhaustion, slumped over the pile of engineering contract documents. At that time, I was running between Taipei and Yunlin every week, and that is how another soul was snatched away.

When I was seventy-two, I was sitting in a car driving from Taipei to Yunlin. When we reached the Linkou section, my driver braked suddenly, and I was startled awake from my sleep. It was what we call 'shock' in Taiwanese. I sighed, and another po soul was gone. Being old is truly useless. I sighed, and from then on, my family doctor came to see me regularly, at least twice a month. After three months, it seemed to improve a little.

When I was around eighty, I started dreaming frequently, and my head would often feel dizzy. At night, I would often dream of the seaside at Mailiao, standing there in the wind, blowing the sea breeze. The next day, I would start to catch a cold and cough. While dreaming of the wind, my body would feel light and airy, as if my feet were a brick's height off the ground. One hun soul and three po souls were snatched away again. The reason they were snatched away was that all the spirits harmed by the construction at Mailiao were surrounding me."

The Final Years

Shi Hailiang speaks:

"If your three hun souls and seven po souls were all snatched away, how could you live to be ninety-three?"

Wang Yung-tsai speaks:

"I do not know either. I only knew that my body was suffering. One moment I was getting an injection, the next I was taking medicine; I was always muddled and drowsy. Then, it seemed I had less and less strength. I remembered most that I was the chairman of Formosa Plastics. Thinking of this, I would smile to myself. I loved hearing people call me 'Chairman Wang, Chairman Wang!' Even until I was ninety, I did not know what kind of life I was living; I only knew that my internal organs felt hot inside."

Shi Hailiang speaks:

"Gratitude! Gratitude, Chairman Wang Yung-tsai, for describing your process. We will transmit your information. Namo Amituofo."

Message content written by Buddhist disciple Shi Hailiang.