From the Hells to the Western Pure Land

Kang Jie-yu, a man who suffered from mysterious, debilitating heart pain throughout his life, sought deliverance through the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. After his passing, he served as a prison guard in the underworld, where he gained profound insight into the laws of karma and the cycle of rebirth. This interview, recorded on July 1, 2022, captures his testimony of how he finally found liberation through the compassion of Practitioner Su.

Kang Jie-yu speaks:

"A magnificent Buddha stands right before my eyes, radiating such dignity and awe-inspiring power that it shakes the ten directions. My heart is moved to its core by the Buddha’s supreme compassion. It was only while I was in the hells that I truly understood the nature of the cycle of rebirth, and I have been longing for a way to escape it ever since. I am deeply grateful to King Yama for granting me this opportunity, and I am eternally thankful to Practitioner Su for reaching out a hand to lead us—sixty prison guards—so that we may finally conclude the sufferings of this world."

The Mystery of the Unbearable Pain

"I am Kang Jie-yu. For a long time, I felt as though I were in a constant tug-of-war with myself. I suffered from frequent, agonizing heart pain that would leave me drenched in cold sweat, making it nearly impossible to breathe. My parents were deeply worried by the severity of these episodes. They scraped together what little money they had to take me for medical examinations, but the results always came back the same: there was nothing physically wrong with me. My parents found it hard to believe, so they would explain my symptoms to the doctors in great detail. The doctors would then arrange even more thorough tests, yet the outcome remained unchanged—every function of my body was perfectly normal. Hearing this news, my parents didn't know whether to be relieved or even more concerned.

The first night after returning from the hospital, the pain struck again. I bit into my quilt to endure it, and my parents watched, their hearts breaking for me. I truly wanted to pretend that everything was fine, but once that wave of pain surged, it felt as if my heart were being torn to shreds."

A Desperate Decision

"I was very thin and often needed nourishment. My parents bought the best supplements for me, spending a significant portion of their savings. At night, as I lay in bed, I would always pray that if I fell asleep, I would never wake up again. That way, I wouldn't cause so much trouble for my family, and my parents wouldn't have to worry about me every single day.

One day, as I was trembling from the pain, I saw my mother crying out of sheer desperation. Once my body finally calmed down, I felt so miserable. I packed a few simple clothes into a backpack, opened the door, and walked out of the house. This decision had been lingering in my mind for a long time; I did not want to be a burden to my family anymore, so I decided to run away.

I didn't know where I was going, so I just kept walking forward. I didn't dare go to any places I was familiar with, fearing that my parents would find me and that my resolve would have been in vain."

The Vision of Karmic Retribution

"The night was pitch black, and I was terrified. I walked to the edge of a park, and being exhausted, I crouched down by the bushes to rest. I fell asleep from sheer fatigue. I don't know how long I slept, but I was eventually woken up by a cold gust of wind. I stood up and continued walking. Just as I was about to cross the street, my heart suddenly began to ache again. I couldn't stand at all; I even rolled onto the road. Before I lost consciousness, I saw a car heading toward me, and then everything went black.

When I opened my eyes, I saw that everything around me was grey and dim. I didn't know where I was, but someone directed me forward, ordering me to kneel in a grand hall. Slap! The sound startled me. A voice shouted, 'Bring him up!' A moment later, I saw a person covered in blood screaming, 'It’s him! It’s him! He harmed me and made me into what I am today!' I was terrified by his accusation. I couldn't speak; I could only shake my head slightly. The judge in front of the hall shouted, 'Audacious! You still dare to shake your head?'

Suddenly, a scene appeared before me: a young master was following a woman he liked. When he saw her enter a house, he snuck in after her, hoping to possess her. Unexpectedly, the woman's husband returned home. The two men fought, and the young master, finding a self-defense knife on the husband's ankle, pulled it out and stabbed the husband in the heart. The husband died on the spot, the knife still embedded in his chest, blood gushing everywhere.

Seeing this, my legs went weak. I instinctively felt that I was that young master, and the blood-soaked man before the judge was the one I had killed. The judge said, 'Do you know why your heart always hurts? As long as this man is unwilling to forgive you, you must endure the pain of the heart to repay your debt.' In that moment, I realized my mistake. I sincerely wept and apologized to him, hoping he would no longer have to suffer. The judge told the man, 'If you are willing to forgive him, you will be released from your suffering.' After hearing this, I kowtowed to him repeatedly, with all my might, promising that if I had the chance in the future, I would certainly make amends. I don't know how long I apologized before the man finally agreed to stop seeking revenge and was willing to let go. When he finally relented, I continued to kowtow, thanking him profusely."

A New Path of Practice

"When the man was willing to let go of his hatred, my body returned to its original state, and an official led him away. I collapsed on the ground, feeling deeply saddened, still repenting for what I had done, my tears flowing continuously.

Then, I heard familiar voices calling me—it was my parents, shouting, 'Xiao Yu! Xiao Yu!' I opened my eyes, and they finally felt at ease. My mother said, 'Xiao Yu, you disappeared in the middle of the night and scared us to death! Fortunately, a kind person helped you when you had your attack; otherwise, if you had had an accident, we would have been heartbroken for the rest of our lives.' I apologized to my parents, though my body still felt quite weak.

After waking up, I still remembered the blood-soaked man. That image never faded from my mind. I remembered my promise to compensate him, but for a while, I didn't know how. I asked my mother, 'Mother, if you owe someone, how do you repay them?' She replied, 'You repay them with whatever you owe them.' I returned to my room and reflected on this, thinking, 'I owe someone a life; how can I repay that?' I thought about this for a long time but couldn't find an answer.

It wasn't until I heard Auntie Wang from next door telling my mother that she had been doing good deeds at the temple to repay her karmic creditors that I understood. My mother didn't react much, but I was struck by the realization that I could perform good deeds or Dharma work to repay my karmic creditors. After some thought, I told my mother I wanted to go to the temple with Auntie Wang. My mother nodded in agreement. I saw Auntie Wang helping out in the temple kitchen. Since I didn't have that ability, I started by sweeping the floors. Once I became more familiar with the environment, I helped move things or set up for Dharma assemblies. The volunteers at the temple were all very kind to me because I was the youngest one there. Every day that I did Dharma work, I felt truly happy. Before leaving the temple, I would kneel before the Buddha to repent for the karma I had created in the past, hoping that I could do my best to repay all beings.

In addition to doing Dharma work at the temple, I would also join the volunteers in releasing captive animals. Seeing those living beings on the verge of losing their lives made me feel so much compassion. Consequently, I turned to vegetarianism and encouraged my parents to do the same.

Strangely enough, ever since I apologized to the blood-soaked man, my heart never ached again. My parents were also puzzled by my transformation and asked, 'Why has your heart suddenly recovered and stopped hurting?' I replied, 'If you owe someone, you repay them.' My parents didn't understand what I meant, and I didn't explain further. I simply continued to do my best in my Dharma practice."

The Final Journey

"When I was eighteen, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. I urged her to come to the temple with me to do Dharma work, and I brought her to kneel before the Buddha to repent to her karmic creditors. However, my mother didn't quite understand what repentance was, so most of the time she just followed me without a truly sincere heart. Two years later, she passed away. I was devastated, and I dedicated myself even more fully to the temple.

With that experience, I began to counsel my father, using stories of cause and effect to help him understand, allowing him to gradually accept the truth and approach Dharma work with a sincere heart. Unexpectedly, my father later donated most of our family's assets to the temple and served there until the day he passed away, without suffering from any major illnesses. I felt a great sense of comfort regarding this.

I took a job delivering newspapers, waking up early and heading out early. After finishing my work, I would go to the temple to serve. I became a volunteer who served from youth until old age. I met many people at the temple, and they all became as close as family to me.

There was once a romantic relationship in my life, but in the end, I chose to let it go. I remembered that in my past, it was precisely because of emotion that I had harmed others. In this life, I did not want to let myself do anything irrational for the sake of emotion again.

My life was not very long. At the age of forty-two, a car accident took my life. I had no obvious external injuries, but I lost my life after a concussion. It was only when I entered the Hall of King Yama that I realized that during my previous judgment, I had also come before the King of Hell. Now that I had died, I realized before the King of Hell that I didn't just have one karmic creditor, but an endless sea of them. The Dharma work I had done in this life had only offset a tiny fraction of my karmic debts. The accident before my death was a retribution that my karmic creditors were destined to collect. King Yama also said that if I had married in this life, the children I would have had would have come to collect debts from me. If I hadn't dissolved my karma through Dharma work, there would have been another great debt to suffer. I understood that there is a Law of Cause and Effect, so I repented with a sincere heart.

After the judgment ended, I could have gone to practice beside Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, but King Yama saw my sincerity and allowed me to serve as a prison guard to accumulate merit and dissolve my spiritual obstacles. I am grateful for King Yama's compassion. During my time of service, I saw the laws of karma clearly, and I saw the cycle of rebirth even more clearly. After hearing Practitioner Su give Dharma talks, I longed for the opportunity to escape the cycle of rebirth, and today, that wish has finally been fulfilled. Today, as a representative of the sixty prison guards, we all kneel and kowtow to Practitioner Su, expressing our gratitude to the Buddha and to the compassion of Practitioner Su."

Kang Jie-yu, with palms joined.