From Mountain Healer to Guardian of the Hells

This interview features Ren Kena, a dedicated physician who sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. After a life of selfless service and a subsequent period of service as a prison guard in the hells, he has now attained rebirth in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. This account was recorded by Chief Writer Shi Fajing on June 15, 2024.

Ren Kena speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. We have arrived in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss! The speed of this transition was truly inconceivable; in the blink of an eye, we were here! None of us had ever experienced such a miracle, and we are all still filled with profound astonishment and praise.

I am deeply grateful to Practitioner Su for her boundless compassion. She used her Dharma Body to lead us, sixty prison guards, to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. This is the place we have dreamed of for so long, and now it has truly become a reality—it is simply beyond words. Every one of the prison guards is so overjoyed that we cannot stop prostrating and chanting the Buddha-name, expressing our eternal gratitude to Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su."

A Childhood in the Mountains

"I am a mountain person. 'Ren Kena' is the Chinese name I adopted later in life; my original name in the mountains was Marimupuwen. Growing up in the mountains, we rarely left our home. If we needed something, we made it ourselves; if we wanted to eat, we grew it ourselves. We mostly lived on natural fruits and vegetables. Later, as Han people began to enter our region, our traditional way of life started to change, and we began to use outside goods and consume foreign foods.

In the mountains, I was like a 'king of the children.' I was always followed by a group of kids my own age, and we played everywhere together. We were incredibly close, like brothers, growing up as if we were wearing the same pair of trousers. But my happy childhood began to fade after I turned ten."

The Sacrifice of a Father

"When I was ten, my father passed away. He did not die of illness; he lost his life while trying to save others. In my memory, my father was a very kind and warm-hearted man. In our entire tribe, people would come to him for help with everything, big or small. Because he was not only enthusiastic and eager to serve, but also truly capable—there was nothing he could not handle—everyone loved to ask him for help.

In our mountainous region, there were many dangerous paths. Those unfamiliar with these routes could easily fall or face various perils. Our tribe had always taken it for granted, as we were so familiar with our own territory that even in the most dangerous spots, we knew how to pass quickly without incident. That is why no one had ever thought to apply for repairs to make these paths safer.

Later, I heard that my father had written to the government to apply for repairs, but he never received a response, and the dangerous sections remained untouched. The reason my father suddenly wrote to the government was that Han people had started entering our mountains. These outsiders knew nothing of our treacherous paths, and every time they came, someone would meet with disaster.

My father had learned some rescue techniques specifically to save those who were in trouble, and everyone was deeply grateful to him. He truly saved many people who were destined to die out there, giving them a chance to survive."

A Final Act of Compassion

"One night when I was ten, my father suddenly woke up in the middle of the night, dressed quickly, and prepared to leave. I don't know why, but I woke up too. Seeing him about to go out, I asked where he was going. He said he sensed that someone was in trouble and he had to go save them immediately. I was worried about him going alone, so I wanted to follow, but he wouldn't let me. I had no choice but to wait at home.

I waited for a long time, but by dawn, he still hadn't returned. I couldn't help but run out to look for him, only to learn that he had lost his life in the process of the rescue. That day, a group of outsiders had tried to enter our tribe, but they were unaware of the dangers of our paths and had fallen into trouble before they even reached us. My father had a very keen sense; he could feel when someone was in distress even while sleeping. But this time, there were too many people in danger, and his strength alone was not enough. That is why he perished while trying to save them.

When a neighbor brought me to the scene, my father’s body was already covered with a white cloth. I cried uncontrollably, until my eyes were red and swollen. It was just my father and me; I had never seen my mother and assumed she had long since passed away. It was only after my father died that I learned from an old grandmother in the mountains that I was a child my father had found and raised."

A Promise to Serve

"I cherished the memory of my father’s kindness in raising me, yet I never had the chance to repay him. I remembered what he had told me—that he hoped I would grow up to be someone who knew how to help others. I whispered to myself that I would. I would definitely be like my father, a person who helped others with enthusiasm, seeking no reward, with a heart focused solely on serving.

After my father passed away when I was ten, I was taken in by an aunt in the mountains. Later, I called her 'Mother' because she truly treated me like her own child and adopted me. My foster mother already had four children of her own to raise, and her husband had died after giving birth to her last child. She was raising those four children alone. When she decided to adopt me, many people asked her if she was sure, as she was already struggling to survive. Yet, she was determined. She said she understood the pain of not having parents by one's side, so she would take me in and care for me, no matter how hard life became. She promised she would raise me well and make me a useful member of society.

I was older than her children, so after I moved into her home, I became the big brother to four younger siblings, and my responsibility was, of course, to look after them."

The Path of the Physician

"When I was thirteen, my foster mother told me that a school for Han people would allow me to enroll for free and asked if I wanted to go. I hesitated for a long time because going to that school meant leaving the mountains and separating from my foster mother and siblings. However, she insisted that the education in the Han school was more complete and would be more helpful to me in the future. I didn't think about whether it would help me; I only thought about whether it would help our tribe.

After much thought, I decided to go down the mountain to attend the school. I had planned my life and had a clear goal; I knew why I was leaving and was determined to work hard for that objective. I lived with a distant relative and began using the Chinese name 'Ren Kena.' Entering the Han culture was initially very difficult. I spent three months trying to adjust, preparing myself to attend classes.

At school, I was naturally ostracized. Because I was the only mountain person, my appearance gave me away. Many people were afraid to come near me, and many wanted to bully me. That period of adjustment was truly agonizing, but I persevered. No matter how others laughed at me or made jokes at my expense, I responded with a smile and never resisted. I knew my goal clearly; I had a planned life waiting for me.

Every day was spent in diligent study, and I truly succeeded in advancing my education for free. I didn't give up; I continued to study until I finally graduated from medical school. Returning to the mountains, I went back with honour. But that was not the kind of honour I wanted. What I truly wanted was to improve the quality of medical care in our mountains so that everyone could have access to good treatment."

Healing the Suffering

"The reason I had this wish was that I had seen since childhood that people in the tribe were treated haphazardly. No matter what the illness was, the same method was used. The result, of course, was that they couldn't be cured. Many people became more serious, and many had to go down the mountain to find a hospital for amputation or spend more money to get cured. We mountain people didn't have that much money, so we had to give up treatment and drag it out until death. I couldn't bear to see everyone suffering like that, so my wish when I chose to go down the mountain to study was to get a medical license and return.

I raised funds everywhere and finally succeeded in building a clinic in the mountains. This clinic was dedicated to treating everyone living there. I continued to raise funds and applied for government grants so that the sick in the mountains only had to pay a tiny amount for treatment. For everyone, this was truly the best thing that could happen. It greatly improved the medical quality in the mountains, and many people no longer had to wait until their illnesses were severe before going down the mountain for treatment.

I spent my whole life guarding this clinic. Every week, I would go deep into the mountains to provide free clinics for the residents there. Usually, these were very elderly residents, some in very poor health, and I would treat them for free."

The Final Transition

"There wasn't much time in my life when I thought about myself. To help everyone, I was often so busy that I didn't even eat, and that didn't matter to me. Because of this, during my years of hard work, I ruined my own health, especially my stomach. But I didn't care about my own condition; I would just take some painkillers and continue treating others. When I was sixty-nine, my stomach cancer became so severe that I could no longer see patients, as I had to lie in a hospital bed myself. Although I had already arranged for my junior colleague to take over the clinic before I collapsed, my heart could not let go; I was always worried about the clinic.

The terminal stomach cancer quickly took my life. The entire mountain region mourned for me, grateful for everything I had done for them. My spirit lingered on that old hospital bed in the clinic, following my thoughts. Even in the space of that old hospital bed, I was still thinking of everyone. I stayed in the space of that old bed for ten years—the time did not feel long.

In the second year after I passed, the old bed was discarded and put into a warehouse, so I followed it and stayed in the warehouse every day. In my space, I seemed to still be busy treating people, living the same busy life every day. It wasn't until the tenth year, when the bed was taken out to be thrown away, that I finally left the space of that old hospital bed."

Deliverance and Gratitude

"As soon as I emerged from the space of the bed, I was immediately taken into the hells by two officials. King Yama praised the good deeds I had done in my life and gave me the position of a prison guard, allowing me to serve in the hells. Once I arrived in the hells, I finally understood that the illnesses of the human body do not come without cause; they must be the result of some negative cause created in the past.

Later, I heard Practitioner Su giving Dharma talks, and I understood the laws of karma and cause and effect even better. I also saw Practitioner Su in the human world inviting spirits to listen to the Dharma, and I realized that the beings had not left. Any treatment was only temporary; it could only temporarily alleviate the pain in their bodies, but it could not change their karma for them. I am grateful for the Causal Conditions to hear Practitioner Su’s Dharma talks, which taught me how to truly help beings. I think of the suffering of all beings and hope to have the opportunity to save them and help them leave suffering behind.

After listening to Practitioner Su’s Dharma talks, I have been sharing them, hoping they can be liberated soon. I am fortunate that there are beings who know how to repent, and amidst the chanting of the Buddha-name, when Practitioner Su’s Dharma Body performs Chao Du, they follow and depart. Today, I am fortunate to be one of those reborn in the Western Land, on the list of those led by Practitioner Su, and I have even become a representative, leading fifty-nine prison guards to kneel before the Buddha. I am grateful to Namo Amituofo, grateful to Practitioner Su, and grateful for everything.

Namo Amituofo.

Ren Kena bows in reverence.

The prison guard’s father, Aribapuwen, has already been led up by Practitioner Su from the space of saving others and brought into the Western Land of Dharma Nature for purification."