From the Battlefield to the Western Pure Land

Warren, a former soldier who spent centuries trapped in the lingering trauma of war and later served as a prison guard in the hells, sought deliverance through the compassionate guidance of Practitioner Su. This interview was recorded on December 1, 2023, at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre.

Warren speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. Today, I am filled with immense gratitude to Practitioner Su for leading me to see the Buddha. Through the baptism of this period, I have finally come to realise the greatness of the Buddha. I have arrived at the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss created by the Buddha. This world is one of absolute peace and harmony; the light is so vast and brilliant that it illuminates my entire being, leaving me in a state of profound calm. At this moment, my heart is bright and overflowing with gratitude. I feel that I am completely different from who I was in the past."

A Scholar’s Search for Meaning

"I am Warren, and I come from the United States. Since I was a child, I preferred reading over playing like other children; I enjoyed being quiet and reflective. I read a vast number of books, always searching for an answer within my heart—an answer that could settle my mind, which felt so directionless regarding the purpose of life.

After reading so much, I discovered that many people were just like me, searching for the answers to life. I wanted to share what I had learned with others. I hoped to become a writer, to lead everyone in finding the true direction of life."

The Tragic Turn of Fate

"Just as I was moving toward this goal, my life underwent a drastic change. A group of soldiers arrived in our town and took away every man under the age of sixty. One by one, we were gathered from our homes and from everywhere else, and forced onto military trucks.

Truck after truck, packed to the brim with men.

The military trucks drove for a very long time before dropping us all off at a military camp. We were gathered in the square, issued several sets of uniforms, and given a basin containing some basic toiletries. The officers decreed that we had to be dressed in our uniforms and gathered back in the camp within half an hour. It was clear that here, one had to obey every regulation without question; having one's own opinion was not permitted.

From that day on, men from several other places were sent here for concentrated training. I took a rough look, and there were over three hundred of us men who had been brought in like this. In this camp, we were divided into three categories: the elderly, the middle-aged, and the young, with different levels of training according to our age.

Naturally, at twenty-one years old, I underwent the strictest training in the camp. From early morning until we went to bed at night, we almost never stopped."

The Burden of War

"I saw many who could not adapt to such training; they either lacked the physical strength or fell ill due to the harsh environment. The military unit showed no mercy to these people. Sometimes, they were forced so hard that it cost them their lives.

The lives lost at that time were worth nothing at all; they were casually tossed into a pit at the edge of the camp and buried.

Those of us undergoing training felt deeply disheartened by such scenes, and we knew that only by pushing ourselves past the limits of the human body could we hope to survive.

During one of the briefing sessions for our training, we learned that the country was preparing to launch a war against other nations. It was for the sake of the country's future direction that they needed to gather and train so many soldiers.

Ever since I arrived at the camp, my heart had been in constant turmoil, deeply afraid that bloodshed would occur in the future.

Although the United States had always educated its people that Americans were superior and would be the great power of the future world, I could not deny this, but I did not wish for us to seize power through force.

Looking at the soldiers training alongside me, many were kind-hearted civilians who did not like to fight either. Together, we prayed to God.

But a year later, we were forced onto a large ship. The ship set sail for another country, prepared to seize its territory and resources.

After we set off, my whole body began to feel incredibly tense. When the war began, I had just turned twenty-two. I held a gun in my hand, pointing it at people of a different race than us. After I fired the first shot, the person I killed fell right before my eyes. My heart completely collapsed. I could not bear to hurt another person. In the chaotic scenes of war, I watched as my own army and the enemy army fell in droves. I could not endure hurting anyone else, so I raised my gun and took my own life. After I died, I remained with the many spirits on the battlefield."

Trapped in the Echoes of Resentment

"Until the war ended, I saw a group of kind-hearted people helping to collect the bodies of the war spirits, and they also erected two memorial monuments on the battlefield to commemorate those of us who had died in battle.

I led the multitude of spirits into the space within the monument.

Although it seemed that we war spirits could have a shared space to stay, in reality, we were never able to walk out of the time and space of that war. That chaos and unease constantly surrounded us, so there was still a great deal of resentment in that land. For many years, the atmosphere was so gloomy and eerie that no one dared to approach. Many people had rumours about this place; some said they saw many people with severed limbs, others said they saw many bleeding, weeping soldiers. These were indeed reflections of our state.

I was considered a relatively clear-headed spirit within the monument. For these years, I had been longing to lead everyone out of this space of suffering. I brought hope to everyone with a sincere heart. I told the spirits that one day we would leave and achieve our wishes. Although it was hard for them to believe this was true, a spark of hope existed.

For hundreds of years, many religious figures from various sides came to this place to perform rituals to pacify our spirits, wanting to help us departed souls."

From Hell to the Western Pure Land

"Just after one group came to perform some Dharma ceremonies, we saw a light. We instinctively walked toward the light and left that space of war, arriving in the underworld. The suffering and torment of hundreds of years were, in fact, all due to the laws of karma and cause and effect. In the past, our group had harmed many people together, using our power to suppress and occupy the territories of others. Therefore, in this lifetime, we tasted the retribution of being harmed and becoming lonely wandering spirits.

During the period of receiving retribution as a lonely wandering spirit, King Yama, seeing that I still had a kind heart, appointed me as a prison guard so that I could accumulate merit and virtue to repay the sentient beings. For this opportunity, I was deeply grateful in my heart and cherished it immensely.

In the hells, there were countless torture platforms, and immeasurable and boundless spirits were undergoing punishment. I was responsible for the Nail-Bed Hell and the Amputation Hell. Every moment, seeing the scenes of the spirits suffering, I felt deep compassion. I wanted to counsel them, but they were all extremely stubborn. Some even harboured resentment in their hearts, asking why they had to suffer such retribution. Their attitudes were very rigid, and because of this, they continued to suffer. Seeing this scene, I felt helpless and could only offer them my blessings and prayers.

While on duty, I constantly prayed to find a way to help them and counsel them. Unexpectedly, not long after, I was fortunate enough to hear Practitioner Su giving Dharma talks. Every word of the scriptures I heard entered my heart. Sometimes it was like a Lion’s Roar, and sometimes it was a compassionate counseling to every sentient being, telling everyone that they must change their personality traits to escape the suffering of reincarnation. Indeed, every hell-bound being who arrives to report has a very strong personality, which is why they ended up in hell to suffer.

Many times, as I listened to the Buddha-name coming from Practitioner Su's side, I would involuntarily follow along and chant. As I chanted, my heart felt open and joyful, and I hoped that one day I could follow Namo Amituofo. I made a vow in my heart to help sentient beings.

To my surprise, not long after, I received the notification that I could be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. My heart was deeply moved, and I intensified my chanting of the Buddha-name, with every phrase entering my heart. Just today, as I truly chanted the Buddha-name and was reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, seeing the Buddha, I could not help but burst into tears. My entire body was bathed in the Buddha-light, feeling completely pure. Gratitude to the Buddha, gratitude to Practitioner Su, for allowing me to leave suffering behind today. Gratitude."

— Warren