From Prison Guard to the Western Pure Land

This is a record of an interview with Du Wencheng, who sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This account reflects upon his life and his subsequent experiences in the spirit realms. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on January 27, 2024.

Du Wencheng speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I never realised that the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss was so close to us. The moment Practitioner Su reached out to guide us, we arrived instantly. I had originally assumed that we would have to follow Practitioner Su on a long, arduous journey to reach the West, but I realise now that was merely my own mistaken thought. As long as one's heart is in sync with the Buddha and in sync with the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, the West is right before our eyes.

I am filled with gratitude today that the compassionate Practitioner Su has led us sixty prison guards to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Our hearts are overflowing with thankfulness to Namo Amituofo and to Practitioner Su for helping us liberate ourselves from the six realms of existence."

A Life of Hardship as Nourishment

"I am Du Wencheng. Many people have told me that my life was incredibly rocky. Every time I heard someone say that, I would just smile and reply, 'It is not so bad! I have learned a great deal.' I did not say this to save face or out of pride. It is just as we say in Taiwanese: 'Treating suffering as nourishment.' When I learned not to complain about my life, but instead to savour the lessons brought to me by every obstacle, I found that I actually gained much more.

I came to realise that although this life is full of impermanence, before that impermanence arrives, this life also possesses great resilience. It is truly like a cockroach that cannot be killed; no matter how great the difficulties or how much torture and devastation I faced, I always found a way to survive. It was just a little bitter, that is all. Since life can be lived no matter what, I thought to myself, why should I be so attached to the 'suffering'? If I could not yet face things with joy, at the very least, I could face everything that happened to me with a calm and ordinary heart. I chose not to let the 'sufferings' destroy me or make me live in even greater agony."

The Orphan's Path

"From a young age, I was an orphan. When people heard that I was an orphan, they would always feel that I was truly pitiful. It is true; I was not like other children who had parents by their sides to care for and educate them. From the time I can remember, I was living under someone else's roof. I would stay in one person's home for a while, and after a few months, I would move to another. I did not even know many of these people, but they took turns looking after me. I felt very grateful to them in my heart.

Some asked me if those people were good to me. I would smile, not knowing how to put it into words, but the feeling of gratitude was greater than anything else. If they had not helped me by giving me a place to stay and food to eat, I doubt I would have survived on my own at such a young age. I began learning to do chores when I was four or five years old. With my small body and young age, there were many things I could not actually do, but the benefactors who took turns caring for me gave me the opportunity to learn. Although I was constantly beaten and scolded during the process because they felt I was not doing a good job, I do not know why I had an instinct that told me: 'It is alright, I will just keep learning.'

It was truly miraculous. No one taught me such a concept or way of thinking; I just naturally felt that way. So, many neighbours could not bear to see me suffer, yet I would still smile and say to them, 'Uncle, Auntie, I am fine, I am doing well, please do not worry about me!' But every time I said that, they only felt even more heartbroken for me."

The Burden of Survival

"At ten years old, I started working outside to earn money. At that age, I was considered a child labourer. The money I earned was very little, but the work I had to do was not small at all. Whatever I was capable of doing at that age, everyone would throw it at me. My boss would say that if I did not finish the work, I had to stay behind to continue. In order to keep this job, I had to stay if I could not finish, but my family was waiting for me to go home and cook. What was I to do?

Later, I begged my boss to give me a little time when I got off work to go back and cook. As soon as I finished cooking, I would immediately return to finish the work. That was how I endured five years of working in the factory. Every night after cooking, I would not even have time to eat before I had to rush back to the factory to work, often returning home very late. But because of this, I was able to earn some money to repay those who cared for me, so they would not feel that they had raised me for nothing."

A Series of Unfortunate Events

"When I was seventeen, I planned to start living independently. I rented a dilapidated house because it was very cheap. At least it had a roof to cover me, and it was a place of my own. I do not know why my fate was arranged so interestingly. Not long after I moved into this broken house, I returned one day to find that the house had mysteriously collapsed. I asked the people nearby if it had been very windy that day. They said no, there was no wind. Was it raining heavily? No, it was a clear, sunny day. That was strange—how could the house just fall down on its own? The landlord did not want to spend money to repair this broken house, so he took it back and stopped renting it to me. Suddenly, I was left with nowhere to live, forced to squat by the roadside, enduring the biting cold wind with nowhere to go.

The factory owner who employed me learned of my situation and agreed to let me stay in the storage room behind the factory. Although that storage room was incredibly dirty and messy, I was immensely grateful to have a place to shelter from the wind and rain. However, less than three days after I moved in, the factory caught fire. The fire happened in the middle of the night, and I was the only one living there. Even though I escaped and saved my life, I was suspected of starting the fire. No matter how I explained it, I remained the prime suspect. In the end, I was actually arrested and spent three whole years in prison."

The Marriage of Fate

"After I was released from prison, I did not know where to go. Suddenly, a stranger appeared and claimed to be my relative. I did not even know my own parents, so how could a relative appear before me? At first, I did not believe him, but later he was very good to me. He not only let me stay in his home but also found me a job. As time went on, I stopped being suspicious. Regardless of who he was, I was grateful that he helped me at that time. However, fate has such curious arrangements. Five years after I lived in his house, he suddenly demanded that I pay him back for all the accommodation and food expenses. He wrote the total amount on a piece of paper and gave it to me. I took one look and nearly fainted. The price was so high that even if I worked for a lifetime, I could not pay it off.

I kept asking him how he calculated that money, as it was completely unreasonable, but he would not say a word. Finally, he gave me a choice: I could either pay the money or marry his sister. He brought his sister before me, and the situation was very serious; she was a woman who had lost her mind. He told me that in the past, his sister had been normal and a great beauty, but after a failed relationship, her mental state began to deteriorate, and she would even hurt people. No one dared to go near her, and he forbade her from leaving the house so she would not harm anyone.

I looked at his sister and wondered what it would be like to marry such a wife. But thinking about it was useless; I definitely could not pay that money, so I had to marry his sister. Fortunately, after marrying her, I found a better job. However, I had to take care of my wife while working. Often, in the middle of work, I would suddenly receive news that something had happened to my wife. I could only take emergency leave and rush home, only to find that my wife was intentionally putting on a show, just wanting to get my concern and comfort. Many people saw me like this and felt very sorry for me. Instead, I had to be the one to comfort them, telling them I was fine and that there was nothing to worry about."

A Miracle and a New Life

"When I was nearly forty, a miracle suddenly happened. My wife gave birth to a son. Once the son was born, my wife's mental state miraculously returned to normal; she was no different from any other person. Whether it was the look in her eyes, the way she spoke, or her ability to manage daily life, everything returned to a normal state. After she styled her hair and dressed herself, she was truly a great beauty, which left me feeling incredulous. Many people said that my kindness and patience had moved the Heavens, allowing me to have a son and regain a beautiful wife. I felt very relieved to see this; our home had finally stabilised.

However, without realising it, I had tied this home tightly to my heart. Besides taking care of my wife as my responsibility, I also worked hard to give my family a better life. Later, my wife became ill. By then, our son was fifteen and could work outside. I quit my job to focus on taking care of my wife, but I never expected that I would be the one to pass away first. The moment I stopped breathing, my spirit left my body. Following my attachment to my home, I eventually entered a large tree at the entrance of my house, becoming a tree spirit, stretching out my arms to protect my family. My spirit remained in that large tree, taking the protection of that home as my duty."

Awakening to the Truth

"I never knew that thinking of one's own home was selfish and a sign of a narrow mind-capacity. One day, when I heard the sound of the Buddha's name and woke up from the space within the tree, I discovered that the home I had been protecting was long gone. Only the tree remained; the house had been rebuilt. The building next to the tree was now a temple, and the one who had just been chanting the Buddha's name for me was the master in the temple. The home I had protected for so long was no longer there. Listening to the master inside the temple give a Dharma talk, I finally understood how selfish I had been.

I was a tree spirit for over a hundred years. During those hundred years, my trunk saved several people during a flood. It was only then that I deeply understood that what I needed to protect was not just my own family. Later, during a Dharma Assembly held at the temple, I departed from the space within the tree. My spirit entered the Yama Hall, where I saw many people being judged. I had not done anything bad in my life; I just did not know how to help others while I was alive, only caring for my own family. It was only after I died and became a tree that I woke up and realised my selfishness. My self-reflection and the merit I accumulated from saving people and animals gave me the opportunity to serve as a prison guard in the hells.

Watching every criminal suffer and receive retribution in the hells made me feel very sad and reluctant to see them suffer, but I had no way to save them. Later, I heard Practitioner Su give Dharma talks, and I finally understood many principles. I began to counsel these criminals to listen to the Dharma, chant the Buddha's name, and repent. Only through repentance can one truly change one's ways. Later, under the Chao Du of Practitioner Su's Dharma Body, many criminals were able to find the opportunity for liberation through true repentance. I was so happy for them. Today, it is my turn to be liberated. I am one of the names on the list that Practitioner Su is leading to the West today, and as the representative, Du Wencheng, my heart is filled with endless gratitude to Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su.

Namo Amituofo.

Du Wencheng bows in reverence."