From Fortune Teller to Guardian of the Hells

This is a record of an interview with Lu Benshan, 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 and his subsequent service as a prison guard in the hells. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on January 31, 2025.

Lu Benshan speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am deeply grateful that I have reached the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss; this is a truly magnificent Causal Condition. Only now do I realise that my spirit has been waiting for this opportunity for a very long time. I am so thankful that the conditions have finally matured. I am grateful for the Buddha’s guidance and for Practitioner Su. Without the connection to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, which sends beings to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, I would never have had the chance to arrive here.

Beyond gratitude, my heart is filled with light. In that very moment of being led, my sixty fellow prison guards and countless other beings all turned toward the light in an instant. I am so grateful for the Buddha’s compassion."

A Past Carved in Stone

"I am Lu Benshan. Before I possessed a human body, I was a stone. I was a small stone, originally perched high upon a mountain, until the powerful winds and rain knocked me down. I tumbled from the heights, falling to the mountainside, then into the valley, and finally into the water. I was soaked through, constantly being battered and washed away. I truly detested the water, but everything was beyond my control. It was not until I was washed onto the shore and scorched by the intense sun that I suffered immensely. Yet, throughout it all, I refused to bow to fate. It was this very stubbornness and persistence that caused me to be a stone for so long.

One day, while I was feeling dizzy and disoriented, I heard the sounds of a Dharma assembly being held on the shore. I did not understand what was being said, but as I strained to listen, I saw a flash of white light. I immediately moved toward it."

The Orphan and the Fortune Teller

"After I was born into the human world and grew old enough to understand things, I stayed by the side of a fortune teller whom I called Uncle Tie. According to Uncle Tie, I was an orphan. He had been packing up his fortune-telling stall when a sudden downpour forced him to take shelter under an eave. While waiting for the rain to stop, he suddenly heard the sound of a child crying. Seeing no one around, he followed the sound and found me. I was wrapped in a thin piece of cloth and lying on the ground. It was raining heavily that day, and the wind was so strong that it felt like needles pricking my skin, which is why I was crying so loudly.

The fortune teller looked around, and seeing no one, he did not know what else to do but to carry me home. He asked the auntie next door to help look after me. She provided some powdered milk and instructed Uncle Tie on how to care for me. Because he had brought me home, his life became a mess; he had to pay attention to my needs at every moment. If I cried, Uncle Tie would jump up immediately.

After caring for me for several weeks, Uncle Tie hoped to find a suitable home for me. He asked several families, but to his surprise, even the Chen family, who had been desperate for a child, said they did not want one at that time. No matter what he tried, Uncle Tie could not give me away. After several attempts, he finally gave up, thinking that perhaps this child was truly connected to him by karmic affinity. Once he accepted this in his heart, he gave me a name, taking his surname. I was named Lu Benshan."

The Prodigy of Divination

"As I grew up, I learned everything from Uncle Tie—his laughter, the tone he used when explaining fortunes to others, and how he operated his stall. I learned it all without even realising it. Sometimes, when I returned home and accidentally spoke in his tone, Uncle Tie would be amused to the point of laughter.

In the casual moments we spent together, Uncle Tie discovered that I actually had the ability to tell fortunes myself. He believed my ability might even be better than his, as I was more pure than he was. When I was thirteen, I accompanied Uncle Tie to his stall. When a client sat down and began asking questions, I seemed to see images appear. Before Uncle Tie could answer, I would blurt out exactly what the person wanted to hear. To me, it was just natural, but my sudden interjection shocked both Uncle Tie and the client, Uncle Shen.

Uncle Tie followed this lead, asking Uncle Shen further questions and letting me reveal exactly what he needed to pay attention to at specific times. When I finished answering, both men were astonished. Every detail regarding the Causal Conditions Uncle Shen needed to be aware of matched perfectly. Uncle Shen laughed heartily and said to Uncle Tie, 'Old Tie, I never expected that the child you raised would become such a divine fortune teller. I think you won't have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of your life.' After Uncle Shen left, Uncle Tie scratched his head and laughed with joy.

From that day on, Uncle Tie trained me through various methods and slowly taught me his techniques. One by one, he confirmed I had mastered them and then began to test me. To his surprise, I passed every test, which made him very happy. Uncle Tie told me that although we could tell fortunes for others, we must never tell our own. He did not tell me why, and although I was confused, I kept his instruction firmly in my heart."

The Price of Interference

"When I was sixteen, Uncle Tie went out one morning. Not long after, he was found lying by the side of a field, having stopped breathing. There were no visible injuries, only a deathly pale complexion. Uncle Tie was gone. No one told me where he had gone, and I did not understand what death was. His friends came to help me handle his funeral arrangements. They patted my shoulder and said, 'You are grown up now; you must be independent and strong.' After he left, I continued to live in the house we had shared. It was only when the food ran out that I realised no one would be buying groceries anymore.

Remembering Uncle Tie’s way of earning a living, I set up my own fortune-telling stall. I would tell my clients exactly what would happen at certain stages of their lives and warn them to be careful. More and more people began to trust me, and many called me a 'divine fortune teller.' People even came from other regions to find me.

Three years into this, I began to trip and fall for no reason while walking on the street. Even worse, the things I told clients to watch out for began to happen to me shortly after I spoke them. Once, I fell heavily into a ditch; another time, I choked on food and nearly stopped breathing. Suddenly, I felt a sense of fear. I was afraid that I had offended something I should not have.

My intuition told me I could not continue like this; I had to find a solution. So, I fled and headed toward the mountains. I walked and walked until I found a cave where I could hide, and I allowed myself to settle down in that silence. Once I was calm, I felt a great number of vengeful spirits surrounding me, telling me they were there to seek revenge. They showed me the faces of the people they wanted to harm—they were all the people I had told fortunes for. It turned out that the events I had predicted were actually these vengeful spirits coming to collect their debts, and I had inadvertently interfered with their laws of karma and cause and effect.

When I understood this, I communicated with the beings surrounding me with a heart of repenting. I saw that as I was sincere, some of them were willing to leave. During this time of stillness, my spirit even traveled into the hells. I saw the scenes of spirits suffering on various execution platforms and the causes they had created in their past lives. The images were so clear before my eyes that I could not help but shudder. Just as I was deeply contemplating this, a force pulled me away, and I returned to my body. Those days allowed me to see clearly the price one must pay within the laws of karma. It was so vivid before my eyes that I could never forget it."

A Final Vow of Deliverance

"Once I understood these truths, I decided to go down the mountain to tell everyone about the laws of karma and cause and effect. I used storytelling to counsel people, bringing them the concepts of karma and the importance of Goodness. I traveled everywhere, planting these seeds for everyone. For over forty years, until I reached the age of sixty-eight and my life ended, I continued this work. After my life ended, I reported to the Hall of King Yama. King Yama told me, 'You have accumulated enough merit; I will appoint you as a prison guard so you can put your talents to good use.' I accepted this gratefully and began to execute my duties.

During my time as a guard, I heard Practitioner Su giving Dharma talks and learned that the spirit must ultimately depart from these realms to truly leave suffering behind and gain happiness—to achieve true liberation. I had seen too much of the various karmic retributions before my eyes, so I had no attachments left. In my heart, I made a vow to follow the Buddha and depart. Finally, I have waited until today for the Causal Conditions to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. I am so grateful."

Lu Benshan, with palms joined.

※ Lu Benshan’s foster father, Lu Wentie, was led by Practitioner Su from the space of his accidental death to the Western Land of Dharma Nature.

Namo Amituofo.