From the Slaughterhouse to the Path of Deliverance

This is a record of an interview with the Venerable Fan Guangjin, 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 experiences across multiple lifetimes, including his time in the animal realm and his eventual path to monastic life. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on July 14, 2018.

Venerable Fan Guangjin speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. From the very moment I was born into this world, a tag was slapped onto my body. I heard someone say, 'This is piglet number sixty-nine, a female. She looks plump and tender enough; if we feed her well, she will fetch a good price.' I never imagined that I would be reborn as a little sow. My daily task was simply to grow as fast as possible. Aside from drinking sow's milk, I had to consume bucket after bucket of slop. The smell of that swill was absolutely revolting, yet my fellow pigs would devour it with such relish, burying their entire heads into the buckets as if they were trying to eat the containers themselves.

The Cycle of Greed and Suffering

After a full meal, the herd would collapse onto the floor and fall into a deep, heavy sleep that lasted half the day, only waking when they heard the door open. I would watch as the owner brought in more buckets of slop, and the piglets would scramble forward in a frenzy, eager to gorge themselves once again. The space in the pigsty was incredibly cramped. The boars and sows that grew too fat had no room to move; their only existence was to eat and mate.

Looking back at my previous life, I realise with horror that I was the very man who raised those pigs. My pork was famous in the village for being tender and succulent, and many merchants and restaurants placed orders with me. To satisfy the demand, I kept expanding the pens, raising more pigs, and slaughtering more lives. My heart was consumed by a single desire: how to raise the fattest pigs and earn more money.

A Dream of Glory and a Descent into Hell

In a dream one day, I successfully raised a champion pig. I walked onto a stage in glory, the audience applauding for me, and the village head placed a wreath around both me and the champion pig to symbolise my triumph. I stood there, beaming with pride, but in that very instant, my soul was snatched away. My lifespan had ended, and I was cast into the hells to endure unimaginable torment.

Just as I was about to drink Meng Po’s soup, an accident occurred. Another soul rushed forward with such force that it knocked me aside, causing me to tumble into the animal realm, where I became that little sow I mentioned earlier. I was no stranger to the environment of a pigsty, but I had never understood the sheer agony of the lives these creatures led—eating the sour, rotting food that humans discarded, and doing so with such gluttonous desperation. I knew clearly that the fatter I grew, the closer I was to death, so even when the food was placed before me, I dared not take a single bite. In the entire pen, I was the smallest; even the piglets born after me were fatter than I was.

The Weight of Karmic Retribution

The owner noticed my behaviour and grew furious. He grabbed a long whip and lashed me mercilessly, forcing the slop to my mouth. If I refused, the beating continued. Every day I was forced to eat, and my body grew heavier and heavier. The owner would look at my bloated form with a satisfied smile. When the day of my slaughter finally arrived, he dragged me out of the pen and sent me to the slaughterhouse. I knew my end was near; I struggled and screamed, but I could not escape my fate. Fortunately, in the final moment before my breath ceased, I heard the sound of someone chanting the Buddha’s name. That sacred sound flowed clearly into my ears, and my soul followed the chant. It was this very Buddha-name that helped me, after the agony of death, to be reborn with a human body.

New life appeared in the pigsty again, and someone shouted, 'Quick, quick! The mistress has given birth in the pigsty!' In this lifetime, I was born as the child of the very pig farmer I had been. My soul had entered the mistress's womb. After I was born, I could not bring myself to eat a single piece of meat. My parents found my behaviour bizarre. Our home was filled with more pork than we could ever eat, but I felt no interest in it at all. Every day, I would simply stare at the herd my father kept.

A Plea for Compassion

When I was ten, I told my father, 'These pigs are so pitiful. I beg you, Father, please stop raising them.' My father was enraged and scolded me loudly. I ignored his blows and continued to plead, begging him to close the pigsty and stop killing these poor beings. One day, while I was helping my mother buy vegetables in town, I saw the entire street filled with vendors selling pigs, sheep, cows, chickens, and ducks—even rats and frogs. Every kind of animal had become food for humans. I could clearly hear the wailing of these creatures and the screams they had made when they were slaughtered. Although these animals were there to undergo their karmic retribution, if people only possessed a heart of compassion, they could suffer so much less.

I did not know how to save these poor creatures, so I sat by the roadside in distress. Just then, a monk walked by. My eyes clearly saw that the souls of these animals were departing from their original spaces simply because the monk had passed. My eyes lit up, and I ran forward to ask him what was happening. The monk told me that it was the sacred name of 'Namo Amituofo' that could save all sentient beings—not just animals, but humans as well. Spirits reincarnate within the six realms, suffering the agonies of samsara. If they can hear the sacred name of Amitabha, understand the magnificence of the Buddha’s teachings, and are willing to believe, chant, and seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, then as long as their hearts are free of messy thoughts and they chant with single-minded focus, they will naturally follow the Buddha to the Western Pure Land.

The Path of Diligent Practice

I asked the monk how I could change my parents' minds and convince them to close the pigsty. He told me that delivering sentient beings requires the skilful use of Causal Conditions; every being is transformed by different circumstances. As long as I held onto positive faith and worked bit by bit, perhaps one day my parents would be moved. I thanked the monk. Looking at his dignified appearance, so cool and transparent, I could not help but want to follow him in his practice, to walk the earth and save beings just as he did.

To deliver sentient beings, I had to grind away my own stubborn personality. I began serving in various temples, learning to live harmoniously with others and to treat everyone with compassion and equality. This process was not easy, as I had a strong will and my own opinions. Every time my ego manifested, I reminded myself that for the sake of all beings, I had to change and improve—to be like the earth, which allows itself to be trodden upon, and like flowing water, which is soft and yielding. It took me ten full years to refine my character, smoothing out my sharp edges until I was complete.

The masters in the temple practised together every day. Depending on their level of diligent practice, their personalities were refined to different degrees. Several of the great monks had pure and dignified appearances. I observed their methods; even though they were elders in the temple, they would still crouch down to scrub the floors, bending their backs to serve the masses. The spirit they upheld was 'only sentient beings, no self.' They spent their lives practising the perfection of Patience, holding the Buddha-name in their hearts without interruption, keeping their minds constantly settled in the chant. I took these monks as my examples, practising meditative concentration in the midst of activity, and cultivating Wisdom within that concentration.

A Mission Across the Universe

When I finally returned to my village, my parents were grey-haired and frail. My father was suffering from a serious illness, pursued by his karma. This was the law of karma and cause and effect. I urged my father to chant the Buddha's name, to repent for the sins he had committed in this life, and to return to the Western Pure Land together with his karmic creditors. I travel everywhere to teach, speaking the Dharma for human beings, for beings in the animal realm, for the mountains and rivers, for the flowers and trees, for the smallest insects, and for all things in heaven and earth. I can teach at any time and in any place, all for the sake of saving every spirit caught in the cycle of rebirth. Even an ant is a spirit that has taken form; all sentient beings are equal, and they are all the objects I wish to save.

My life was bestowed upon me by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In this lifetime, I have become a monk to deliver ten thousand spirits, using this body to save beings and serve them, fulfilling my vow to deliver all. Practitioner Su delivers ten thousand spirits through her Dharma Body, and I am honoured to follow her. The entire Dharma Realm and empty space are within the scope of Practitioner Su’s deliverance. No being is left behind; those who possess the necessary Blessings and Causal Conditions will naturally be reborn in the Western Pure Land.

There are countless spirits in the universe, and every planet has its own inhabitants. Practitioner Su, in her compassion, saves them one by one, bringing these spirits—who have wandered for trillions of years—out of their spaces. She teaches them to chant 'Namo Amituofo' and seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, spreading the sacred name of Namo Amituofo throughout the entire universe. There are planets that have waited for ages, finally hearing this sacred name. One such planet, named Lia, had once heard the name of 'Namo Amituofo,' but it was lost during a great catastrophe. The ancestors of the planet Lia had once expended immense energy searching through other planets, but they could not find this magnificent Buddha-name. Finally, with their energy depleted, they had to give up. That was hundreds of millions of years ago.

Today, the Buddha-light shines upon every space in the universe. The planet Lia, having fulfilled the necessary Causal Conditions, has been illuminated by the Buddha-light. The sacred name of 'Namo Amituofo' has entered their world. The ancestors of the planet Lia heard this name and leaped for joy, shouting, 'This is it! This is the Buddha-name! Everyone, hurry and follow along, chant the sacred name of Namo Amituofo!' The citizens of the planet cheered with delight. Now, the sound of the Buddha resonates on that planet 24/7. Every citizen is chanting the Buddha-name, making the vow to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Namo Amituofo."