From the Ashes of Greed to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss

Zhou O-hao was an employee at the Fu-O Machinery Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. who tragically lost his life in a factory explosion. For ten years, his spirit remained trapped in the site of the disaster, consumed by resentment and the desire for vengeance. He was eventually saved by Practitioner Su, who guided him and his fellow workers to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. This interview was recorded by Chief Writer Shi Fa-jing on November 2, 2024, at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre.

Zhou O-hao speaks:

"Finally, finally, I am liberated.

Today, our group has arrived at the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. For the first time, smiles have returned to our faces; we are no longer the tortured souls we once were. We look at one another and say, 'A blessing in disguise! A blessing in disguise!' It is truly so. Now, we can finally let go of everything and laugh from the heart. We have also learned to chant Namo Amituofo, and we chant with such joy—such immense joy.

The Sudden Shattering of Life

The human body is no match for the forces of destruction. In a single instant, my spirit was blasted out of my physical form.

At that moment, I did not even realise I was dead. I desperately wanted to return to my body, but when I looked at it, the sight was so horrific that I could not even recognise it as my own. It was a mass of mangled flesh and blood; there was not a single part left intact.

I wept bitterly, kneeling beside my own remains, wailing and screaming. I called out my own name, trying to wake myself up, but I could not. No matter how much I cried, I could not return. It was agonising.

The factory was my second home. I spent more time there than I did with my own family. Who would have expected that I would lose my life in such a place? It was a truly tragic end.

The Weight of Unresolved Resentment

My family must have been devastated. Such a sudden tragedy—no one could accept it. Even I could not believe I was dead; how could my family possibly accept it? I was in such pain, crying incessantly, but it was useless. It was all too late. I was truly gone.

In the factory, we were like brothers. Sometimes we would complain together, other times we would share jokes. Life was hard, and the work was gruelling, but we would always find a moment to catch our breath, wipe away the sweat, and continue. Looking back at my past now, I cannot detail every part of my life, but I have a profound realisation that it can all be summed up in one word: 'suffering'.

Every day, we worked with machinery. In that entire factory, only our bodies were sentient; everything else was unfeeling. Those machines were heartless—they could claim your life at any moment, and you would have to pay the price. One explosion destroyed everything we had and shattered our trust in humanity.

A Decade of Darkness

My head was blown open, and my blood and brains were scattered everywhere. My face was unrecognisable; I could not tell where my eyes, nose, or mouth had been. My chest looked like minced pork—it was a sight too horrific to behold. I do not even remember if any of my limbs remained attached to my body. I simply do not know.

Before Practitioner Su saved me, I admit, I was filled with hatred. No matter how good my original nature might have been, I was consumed by it. We felt it was not our fault, yet we were the ones who had to pay with our lives. I was filled with such deep injustice.

The company was massive, yet it could not protect the most basic safety of its lowest-level employees. We were just trying to feed our families, risking our lives in such dangerous conditions for a pittance. When we realised our lives were gone, we suddenly felt that it was all so worthless. Especially when our spirits were still trapped in that space, the intense regret, the profound sense of unfairness, the burning hatred, and the accusations—all that resentment and anger surged up within us.

We had not yet seen through the nature of the world. We only felt that our lives had been cruelly stripped away, so we were angry and hateful. We used to share our secrets, but now, looking at each other, we were all in agony. No one said a word because we did not know how to face the reality of our situation. Our spirits remained in that space for one, two, three years... and now, ten years have passed. We were still there, and I had been kneeling there, crying and suffering for ten years, filled with hatred, until I finally saw the light again.

The Temptation of Vengeance

People are selfish, and I was no exception. In my resentful soul, I kept thinking, 'Why me? Why not someone else?' I even thought, 'Why weren't the people in the entire company blown up too? Why only us?'

I did not want to harm others, but at the time, my heart was so unsettled. I could not accept why our lives were the ones sacrificed. Everyone wanted to go home to have a good New Year, but instead, we were separated from our families forever.

Back then, I could not let go of many things. The knots in my heart only made me hate more. I even thought about taking revenge, because I believed it was the company's fault and they should pay with their lives. We were waiting for an opportunity to take our revenge. We did not know when, but we knew we would find a way. We would rush into their blood, straight to their brains, and in a split second, take the ultimate revenge to reclaim our lives.

I speak of this so vividly not to scare anyone, but to show how much hatred we held. It was too painful, too hateful, too resentful. While we were in that space of hatred, how could the factory be peaceful? Would our energy not affect the entire place? Of course it would. The entire factory was filled with resentment, anger, and so much negative energy, permeating every corner.

So many spirits filled the company. Every workshop was like a sea of fire; it was truly terrifying. I dare not look back too much, because I did not realise that the karma humans create is so frightening.

The Golden Light of Deliverance

The day Practitioner Su saved us, I was still kneeling beside my body, crying. But my spirit had become terrifying—no longer as it was when I first left my body. I had become like a demon; my entire spirit was black.

My spirit became this way because of my hatred. Not only did my spirit turn black, but my face also became fierce and horrifying. I knew I was preparing for revenge; I was just waiting for a chance to strike.

However, that day, a golden light suddenly appeared before me. It was a very warm golden light—or rather, a vast expanse of it, because the light was immense. I looked up, watching the light, not knowing what was happening. Then, I heard someone calling my name, 'Zhou O-hao'. I did not hear it clearly at first, but the moment my name was called, my spirit began to vibrate with a powerful force, and I was immediately carried away by that power. It happened so quickly.

I still did not know what was happening; it was too fast to think. Later, I found myself sitting on a fragrant lotus flower, with my brothers beside me. They had been saved too. We looked at each other, still confused. But when I raised my hands and looked at my brothers, I saw that we had all returned to our original forms, and the blackness of my soul was slowly fading away.

Later, we realised we had been saved. Now, the Buddha is here before us, and the Buddha-light shines upon us. We can hear the Buddha-name and listen to Practitioner Su’s lectures. Many things have slowly become clear.

Learning the Laws of Karma

How did it feel to be saved? At first, my feelings were complicated. I had intended to take revenge, but now that I was here with the Buddha, I knew I could not. I thought, 'Are we just going to let them off? We were so wronged.' At that time, my thinking was still low and vulgar. My spirit was not yet clear; I had just come out of that painful space, still full of hate and anger, so my thoughts were very negative.

Sitting on the lotus seat, we could not move, but it was very comfortable, and my heart became increasingly calm.

I knew that the lady teaching the Dharma before us—whom I later learned to call Practitioner Su—was the one who had called us out of that space and saved us. My heart was filled with gratitude.

We listened quietly to Practitioner Su’s lectures. It was only after listening that I suddenly realised how vicious my heart had become. I wanted revenge—I should not have been so wicked. How could I have let myself become like that? Later, I gradually realised that my spirit was suffering so much because I could not accept what had happened. The complex, tangled emotions were what made my heart increasingly hateful, wanting revenge, unwilling to let them go.

However, we are truly fortunate. Because we experienced so much suffering, coming here to Practitioner Su and feeling this peace, along with the Buddha’s compassion, we learned to let go of our resentment. We realised that none of it was worth pursuing.

Whenever Practitioner Su gives a lecture, we listen. When she holds a Dharma assembly, we participate. At first, it was strange to suddenly become a practitioner. In the past, I was too busy working to have time for anything. Here, we have nothing to do but listen to the Dharma and chant Namo Amituofo. During the Dharma assemblies, we hum along—we don't really know how to sing, but as we listen, we hum along, and our hearts are filled with joy. I have never felt this way before.

The Truth of Past Lives

We never knew the suffering of the soul. After experiencing it ourselves and coming here to see so many other spirits suffering, we finally understood that every spirit is in pain. We saw that many people carry karmic creditors on their bodies; if these creditors are not saved, they wait to take revenge. If we had not come to Practitioner Su, we would have become karmic creditors ourselves, seeking revenge on those we hated.

Later, my heart became even more relieved. Through listening to the Dharma, attending assemblies, and having my spirit continuously purified by the Buddha-light, I had the opportunity to see my past. I cannot see much, but fragments of scenes appeared before me. Although the protagonist in those scenes looked different, my spirit naturally knew that it was me—just different incarnations in different lives, but every one of them was me.

It was because I saw my past that I understood that everything that happens—every encounter—is due to the laws of karma and cause and effect. I only understood this after listening to Practitioner Su. I had heard of it before, but I did not feel it deeply. Now that I have experienced it and seen it myself, I have to believe it. It truly is all cause and effect.

In the past, we had also harmed others. There was a reason why our group worked together in that factory and died together in that explosion.

When I saw what I had done in the past, I felt deep repentance. I felt that I deserved to die—that no matter how horribly we were blown up, it was deserved, because I was guilty of terrible crimes.

In the past, our group was extremely greedy. It was because we were so greedy that this life was so full of suffering. Back then, we were very wealthy, but we never had enough money. No matter how much was offered to us, we would greedily accept it.

We knew there were precious minerals in the mountains, and we knew we would make a fortune if we mined them. So, we hired many workers to dig. We found many treasures, and as we saw them, our ambition grew. To gain more and to possess it all for ourselves, our hearts turned evil, and we prepared to do something wicked.

After the workers had dug out most of the mountain, while they were still inside, we blew up the entire mountain. I do not know how many workers were buried alive. I saw their deaths—they were far more tragic than ours. I wept and immediately knelt, kowtowing, begging for their forgiveness.

So many families were destroyed by us, all because of our greed. So, our current encounter was entirely the retribution we deserved; we could not blame anyone. If we still wanted revenge, we would be worse than animals. If we were to be reborn as humans in the next life, we would surely suffer even more tragic retribution.

I was terrified—truly terrified. I dare not think of the past anymore, nor do I dare to resent anyone. Now, we only chant Namo Amituofo obediently. We want to let go of everything; we want nothing more.

A Message to the Living

As our spirits were purified more and more by the Buddha-light and became clearer, we saw clearly that everything in the world is an illusion. Look at how many places this spirit of mine has been reincarnated—I have been everything, even cats and dogs. Now, this same spirit is here. Which of those past lives became real? Once my life was lost, everything was gone.

When I recognised the truth of reality, I looked back at our desperate struggle in the factory. I remembered some things—though not very clearly—and I knew there was much unhappiness in my heart. Not just me; many others felt the same.

If I could, I hope more people will wake up. Although one must earn money to live—we were not the type to save much; we spent what we earned, sometimes not even enough—otherwise, we would not have had to work so hard as labourers. It was truly exhausting.

I hope more people can come to know the Buddha. Even if work is busy, one can still chant Namo Amituofo in their heart. We have all suffered too much. If we could have known the Buddha earlier, resolved our disasters and difficulties earlier, and resolved our own karma earlier, we would have suffered less. Most importantly, one must chant Namo Amituofo to return to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Our group of brothers has been led by Practitioner Su to the Western Land. We are so happy; we are finally liberated. Everyone is dressed neatly in white. One of my brothers wanted to whistle, but I quickly told him to be dignified. Now, we can only chant Namo Amituofo—respectfully chant—and be grateful to Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su. Without Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su, we would not have had the chance to come here today; we would have gone to take revenge, and the outcome would have been truly tragic. So, we must be grateful.

We also want to send peace to our families. Although we have no connection to the world anymore, we know our families still think of us as their own, and perhaps they think of us occasionally. So we want to tell them: we are liberated, we have arrived at the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, and we are all doing very well, laughing happily. We hope our families will also come to know Namo Amituofo, chant Namo Amituofo, think of Namo Amituofo, and together return to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss to see Namo Amituofo.

We are grateful to everyone who helped us. Although we cannot name you all, we know who you are. Thank you.

Namo Amituofo.

Zhou O-hao bows in reverence."