Returning to My Original Home: The Story of Xia Zheming

This is a record of an interview with Xia Zheming, who sought deliverance 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 long journey through the six realms of rebirth over five thousand years. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Faxin, on October 23, 2020.

Xia Zheming speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. In the blink of an eye, my spirit felt light and began to ascend. It was incredibly fast—I arrived at the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Together with fifty-nine other prison guards, I offered my most sincere and grateful heart to Practitioner Su. I am also deeply grateful to the King of the Second Underworld Court for placing my name on the list for rebirth. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, sensing the fragrance that filled the air of the Western Pure Land. My heart felt so light, so relieved. After five thousand years of wandering in the cycle of rebirth, I had finally returned home. I could not hold back my tears. I knelt before the Buddha and whispered, 'Disciple has returned home.' The Buddha remained silent, offering only a compassionate smile. I am eternally grateful to Practitioner Su for guiding me back to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss."

Five Thousand Years of Wandering

"Five thousand years ago, I knelt before the Buddha and vowed to save all suffering beings. My heart was so firm, so determined at that time. I never imagined that this path would be so long, and that in the end, it would be Practitioner Su who would lead me back to the West. I feel such shame—such deep shame. In that life before the Buddha, my name was Heba. That was the name I would carry when I descended into a world filled with slaughter, hoping to counsel those people to stop their violence. The population of that world was small, yet they were constantly fighting, stealing, and killing. I descended because I saw how these people had developed habits of greed and aggression through their endless wars. Everyone had become self-centred, driven by an insatiable desire to possess. I knew that after they died, these souls would be reborn into other times and spaces, carrying this spirit of conflict with them and bringing disharmony to other corners of the universe. I could not bear to see this, so I decided to descend immediately to correct their ways.

When I arrived, the battlefield was in a state of chaos. People were hacking at each other with swords. Just as a blade was about to pierce the chest of a powerful general, he let out a cry. I used all my energy to enter the general's body, hiding within him to avoid the strike. With a surge of strength, I knocked the weapon from his hand and held my own blade to his throat. I had no intention of killing him, but he spat in my face and shouted, 'If you want to kill me, just do it!' I did not kill him. Instead, I bound him and negotiated many conditions, all with the hope of ending the war. His hard-line attitude eventually softened, and he agreed to my terms. At the very least, there would be no more war for a time. After he led his troops away, I used my position as the general to invest my own resources into rebuilding the lives of the people, ensuring they could live in peace. I personally carved a statue of Namo Amituofo, taught the people to chant and make prostrations, and told them all to seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss."

The Burden of a Decoy King

"As the general's body reached the end of its life, the opponent who had promised not to invade did not return, but his son did. In the end, that nature of slaughter was passed down. I was nearly sixty years old, and the enemy army had already reached the outskirts of the city. I donned my old armour, willing to trade my life for the peace of the people, even offering all my family assets to appease the enemy soldiers. The young, arrogant king could not care less about the stability or happiness of the people; he was obsessed with power and fame. He laughed in my face and ordered his troops to attack. I knew then that I could not stop it. Within days, I heard the wailing and fleeing of the people inside the city walls. Their hearts were no longer peaceful; they were filled with anxiety and resentment. I used my mental focus to communicate with the demon crowds possessing this young king. The demons laughed at my ignorance. It turned out that the king's mocking laughter was actually the voice of the demons. His body had long been occupied by them, his mind poisoned by greed. I could feel the demon children and grandchildren spreading throughout that space, their polluted souls scattering everywhere. I was filled with regret. My soul wept uncontrollably within that general's body. The emotional turmoil was too much, and finally, on a cold night, that aged body gave out and life faded away.

My soul left the general's body and entered a spinning space. Many sounds swirled around me—men, women, the cries of various animals, and the sights of the ghost realm. Following my original vow, I chose to enter the ghost realm. There, I encountered the fires of ignorance, which burned the body, especially the throat, with an unbearable heat. Others were suffering the pain of being pierced by swords on mountains of blades. Their faces were twisted in agony. We could only eat if someone in the human world offered special sacrifices for us. The days in the sea of suffering are born from one's own heart—the desire to have more, the urge to take advantage of others, or the bottomless pit of greed. After death, all these things return to nothing, and one follows these thoughts to suffer retribution in the ghost realm.

My entire body was scorched by the fire of ignorance. I had to experience how much they suffered. While enduring the pain, I used my mental focus to counsel those in the ghost realm who were suffering alongside me. I asked them, 'Do you wish to leave this suffering behind?' Their expressions told me they certainly did. I told them to repent for the sins they had committed in the human world. Many who were suffering did not understand what they had done to deserve such retribution. I could look into their past lives, so I told them one by one, urging them to admit their mistakes and teaching them to chant Namo Amituofo. Some were stubborn and refused to believe they were wrong; they did not want to chant, so they continued to suffer. Those who were willing to chant with me were eventually reborn—some as humans, some as animals—and were able to leave that space of retribution. I spent over two hundred years in that ghost realm, teaching the beings there to transform their hearts and minds. When I was focused on saving them, I did not even feel the pain my own soul was enduring. After two hundred years, I felt a ray of light, and my soul left the ghost realm. I drank the water of forgetfulness, entered the human world and other realms for several lifetimes, and finally became the Xia Zheming of today."

The Path of the Underworld Prison Guard

"As far back as I can remember, my grandfather would always be waving a fan. One day, I heard my mother shout, 'Ming-er!' I ran away quickly because I had just caused trouble. I had knocked over all the sauces in the kitchen while trying to catch a mouse. When the mouse jumped out, my hand slipped, and the jars fell and shattered everywhere. I didn't care about the mouse anymore; I knew I would be chased by my mother, so I hid. But her shout was so loud I didn't dare stay hidden. My mother asked, 'Was it you?' I nodded. She made me kneel before the ancestral tablets. I whispered to my late great-grandmother, 'Grandmother, it was the mouse's fault, not mine. Why does Mother only look at the surface? How can the surface represent everything?' My mother heard me and shouted, 'Shut up! Do not explain. A mistake is a mistake.' I pouted, feeling completely unwilling to accept it.

Hours passed, and I collapsed on the floor from exhaustion. My grandfather was fanning me, and I felt a cool breeze and woke up. He called me over and asked, 'What did you do wrong?' I told him, 'I knocked over the sauces trying to catch a mouse, and because I didn't admit it, Mother punished me.' Grandfather asked, 'Did you admit your mistake?' I replied, 'I suppose so.' He said, 'A real man must admit his mistakes. Even if you are not wrong, there is no need to explain. Strengthen your shoulders to carry heavy burdens so that you can achieve great things in the future.' He asked what I wanted to do when I grew up. I said, 'I want to be a refined person. I don't want to be loud like Mother, and I don't want to work like Father, complaining for a lifetime.' Grandfather said, 'Ming-er, you should look at the hard work your parents have put in for you. They were so happy when you were born, and now they have aged for the sake of this family. Filial piety is your duty. Your parents are very filial to me.' I nodded.

From that day on, I changed my attitude toward my elders and became someone willing to give and help others. When I saw a vegetable stall in the market struggling, I would go in and help them shout, 'Come, come! The freshest vegetables, just picked!' I brought life to the dull stall, and people flocked to buy. This helped the stall increase its income and finish work earlier. After a while, I became familiar with everyone in the market and the neighbourhood. I even tried to help beggars find work in the market so they could support themselves. I became known as the enthusiastic young man of the market.

One day, a fortune teller from out of town visited the village. He looked at my face and was shocked, saying I had the 'face of an emperor.' Such an absurd thing! How could that happen to me? He asked for a strand of my hair, examined it, and insisted it was truly the face of an emperor. I didn't dare tell anyone; if this talk of treason got out, I would be beheaded. After he left, his words were deeply imprinted in my mind, but I continued living my life as usual.

Until one day, a group of unfriendly mountain bandits came to the village. They had already looted it once and were preparing to do it again. At ten years old, I stood up, wanting to protect the village. The bandits were impressed by my courage and said, 'If you come with us, we will never come to this village again.' I didn't hesitate; I didn't even ask my parents, and I left with them. On the first day at the bandit lair, my eyes were fixed on the treasures they had stolen. While I was observing, a bandit tapped my head and told me to go cook for them. I did whatever I could in the lair, knowing that only by working hard would I get to eat. The bandit leader wanted to train me to be a bandit, but I always pretended to be clumsy. In my heart, I knew being a bandit was wrong. Although my actions were restricted, my heart knew the difference between right and wrong.

One day, the leader excitedly gathered everyone, saying that jewels destined for the imperial palace would pass through a nearby mountain road. They were all excited, thinking they wouldn't have to go out for years if they succeeded. They told me to guard the lair while they were gone. Half a day later, a bandit ran back in a panic, shouting, 'The government troops are coming!' Many bandits grabbed their treasures and fled, but some were too slow. The troops surrounded the lair and seized the treasures. They took me and the bandits to prison. I was seventeen then. They asked me, 'You are so young, why be a bandit? You have a temperament completely different from theirs. Why were you in the lair?' I didn't answer; I didn't want to explain. I just sat quietly in the cell, staring out the small window for days.

One day, the cell door opened. Several people in magnificent clothing looked at me and whispered, 'This boy really does look a bit like the Emperor.' Soon, they took me out, had me cleaned and dressed in fine clothes. When they saw me again, they said, 'He truly is a man of talent.' They trained me in secret—how to eat, the tone of my voice, my stability, and my ability to judge matters. After two months of training, I was transformed, appearing as if I had been born into a noble family.

Six months later, I was officially brought to the throne. Dressed in imperial robes, the civil and military officials knelt before me. I said, 'Ministers, please rise.' It felt like a dream. I wanted to understand what was happening. Suddenly, the ministers began discussing state affairs, and I had to respond with a conservative attitude. From their reports, I learned the country was in turmoil, and the people were suffering. Over time, I gathered from the older ministers that the real Emperor, fearing for the survival of the royal line, had fled and gone into hiding. They had trained me to be his decoy to maintain the stability of the royal house. I didn't know how long this would last or what the future held.

After learning this, I was filled with motivation. I wanted to do everything I could to help the country and the people recover. I began to study earnestly to become the kind of emperor the people needed. Years passed, and I became known as a good emperor. I offered the invading enemy the most generous terms to ensure they would stop their incursions. While the people's lives were still unstable, I ordered tax cuts and listened to all the advice from my ministers. If a suggestion was reasonable, I implemented it, thereby stabilising the nation. Twenty years later, the original Emperor, seeing that the situation was stable, quietly returned to the palace. We met, and without a word, I told him I would leave and return to being myself, and that I would never reveal what had happened. He happily gave me plenty of silver to use, and I knelt in gratitude.

Before dawn the next day, I set out on the road, carrying a simple bag and wearing plain clothes. Walking toward the outskirts, I decided to stop at an inn for a hot meal. When I entered, I found the inn empty. As I stood there in confusion, a group of masked men in black appeared. Before I could react, they plunged their blades into my heart. I took a few deep breaths, knowing in my heart this was the work of the Emperor. As I was about to breathe my last, I felt no resentment. I felt that I had done my best to serve the people in this life.

I closed my eyes and died. When I opened them again, I saw two officials in red robes leading my soul to the Underworld Court. The King of the Underworld reviewed my book of life and death and told me that I had accumulated merit in this life, and that I had repaid the life I owed the Emperor. After weighing my merits and demerits, he granted me the position of a prison guard. As a guard, I didn't speak; I only did my work. Watching so many people sink into the abyss because of their attachment to fame, wealth, and desire, my heart was heavy. I hoped for a chance to help them.

One day, while performing my duties, I heard Practitioner Su giving a Dharma talk. I learned that Practitioner Su could help beings suffering in the underworld, and I was overjoyed. Hearing the Dharma resolved the knots that had existed in my heart. The more I listened, the calmer my heart became. I prayed for the day I could be liberated. After waiting for three and a half years, I saw my own past lives and felt such shame that my soul had wandered in the cycle of rebirth for so long. Finally, today, I can return to my original home in the West. If not for Practitioner Su, my soul would still be wandering. I am so grateful for Practitioner Su's great kindness and virtue. Zheming and the fifty-nine prison guards kneel in gratitude."

This interview was recorded by the Buddhist disciple Shi Faxin.