The Ant Life: A Labourer's Cycle of Samsara

Venerable Chang Gao, a monastic residing at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, recounts a significant event involving the deliverance of spirits. This interview, recorded on December 25, 2020, details the liberation of a multitude of ant spirits, including the poignant testimony of a former Australian labourer who had been trapped in the cycle of rebirth for ten lifetimes.

Venerable Chang Gao speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. Today, I have once again extracted a vast kingdom of ants from the skin of Practitioner Su. Practitioner Su has performed Chao Du for an immense number of these beings—a densely packed multitude, all crawling within their nests and across the ground. The ant nests vary in size; the larger ones are truly colossal, standing taller than a human being, while the smaller ones reach heights of at least sixty to eighty centimetres. These are the nests visible to the naked eye, but beneath the earth, there are even more expansive ant tunnels, forming a hidden world that is entirely the domain of these creatures.

The Confusion of the Ant Realm

As Practitioner Su performs this deliverance, some of the ants awaken and are filled with profound gratitude, repeatedly attempting to thank him. However, others who have not yet regained their clarity believe that Practitioner Su is destroying their peace. Many of these unawakened ants have been trapped in this form for over ten lifetimes. Having been ants for so long, they have completely forgotten that they were once human. They move rapidly across the ground, find food, and scurry back to their tunnels—a pattern of behaviour that is, in truth, remarkably similar to the habits they held while they were alive in the human world.

Today, I interviewed one of these ants. His name is Hawthorn, and he was an Australian. Hawthorn shared his story: 'I was a labourer. I loved my family dearly; I had parents, a wife, five daughters, seven horses, and a house. These were the things I cherished most in my life. I kept my wife at home to care for our daughters, so I was the sole breadwinner. I worked myself to the bone. Every morning at three o'clock, I would drive out to work, no matter how far the journey was. To earn money, I would take on jobs that no one else wanted, simply because I had a family to provide for. While others would rest on holidays—and we Australians truly value our holiday gatherings—I would often forgo my rest. Whenever there was work available on a holiday, I would actively pursue it so that I could bring home a little more money for my family to spend.

A Life of Endless Toil

'From the time I married at twenty-three, I worked without pause. By the time I reached fifty, my body could no longer bear the strain. To keep my energy up, I drank excessive amounts of coffee and stimulant drinks, and the immense economic pressure also took a toll on my physical health. I was diagnosed with liver disease, and by the time it was discovered, it was already terminal cancer. I prayed incessantly to my Lord, begging for a few more years to care for my beloved family, but my Lord could not save my life. At the age of fifty-six, the Grim Reaper finally claimed me.

'After I lost my physical body, I continued to work, for that was the only lifestyle I knew—endless, relentless work. I never imagined that I would become an ant, continuing to toil endlessly within the space of the ant realm. When Practitioner Su saved me, I was utterly bewildered. I quickly remembered my beloved family and cried out, "Where is my wife? Where are my children?" No one could answer my question, for no one knew where they were. I wept for a long time, until I finally awakened completely from the dream and saw the truth of this world.

The Truth of the World

'It turns out that the family I loved so deeply and everything I cared about belonged only to this world. Once I lost my body, I had no connection to this world anymore. No matter how much I missed them, it was all just a past that had once existed. Once I saw the facts clearly, I decided to follow the Buddha-light of Practitioner Su and depart. Although my heart still carried a sense of sorrow, I knew that only by choosing to follow Practitioner Su would I have a chance at salvation. Therefore, I am deeply grateful to Practitioner Su for saving me. Now, I have the opportunity to speak with Venerable Chang Gao, to recount my past, and to express my gratitude to Practitioner Su.' This is the story of the ant who spoke today.

All things in heaven and earth, whether sentient or insentient, are transformations of spirits. Without the Dharma Body of a master to save them, it is extremely difficult for them to escape their confined spaces. This ant was an honest labourer who worked himself to death for his family, only to end up as an ant—a truly tragic conclusion to a life. People of this world should awaken. This world is but a fleeting dream. Practitioner Su has performed Chao Du for so many beings, and so many true stories have been revealed through these interviews. You should see this world for what it is, engage in diligent practice, and seek to escape the suffering of the cycle of rebirth.

Namo Amituofo.

Chang Gao

The content of this interview was received and recorded by the disciple Shi Fajing."