The Emperor's Regret: A Reflection from the Dharma-Nature Land

This is a record of an interview with the spirit of Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Land of Dharma Nature. This account reflects upon his life approximately 2,200 years ago. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on April 18, 2026.

Liu Bang speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Liu Bang, the Emperor Gaozu of Han. I have been at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre for over ten years now. Back then, I followed Practitioner Su in group cultivation, and I came to realise that this place is truly a Buddha-land—it is magnificent beyond words. However, after a few years, I found that I could no longer be the master of my own body; my true self had long been cast out. I remained by Practitioner Su’s side, begging for Chao Du. Practitioner Su, knowing my plight, did not say much, but invited me to enter the Dharma-Nature Land, where I have remained for several years. As for my human body in the world, it was controlled by my karmic creditors, and I was utterly powerless to intervene. After all, the sheer scale of the lives I harmed across so many lifetimes is not something I could bear alone. Before I received Buddhist education, I was deeply stained by worldly defilements, and I could only allow myself to be manipulated by other sentient beings. My true self was locked within that body for decades, and it was only after meeting Practitioner Su that I was finally able to leave that suffering behind and enter the Dharma-Nature Land, escaping the torment of the beings residing within my body.

A Life Controlled by Vengeance

The entity that occupied my body during that time was not my true self, but rather those sentient beings who harboured extreme hatred toward me. They were unwilling to let me come into contact with the Buddha’s teachings. Yet, perhaps because my blessings were deep, I have been able to study the Dharma as a spirit here in the Dharma-Nature Land. As for whether I will ever have the chance to return to a human body, that is no longer a concern for me. Since this spirit has come to know that I was once Liu Bang, the Emperor of Han, many memories buried deep within my consciousness have been awakened.

In that lifetime, I overthrew the Qin Dynasty, quelled the rebellions of the feudal lords, destroyed the Hegemon of Western Chu, and finally declared myself emperor in Guanzhong. While I was considered a man of immense wealth and status, I never once imagined in my youth that I would one day become a king or an emperor. To rise from the status of a commoner to such a position, one must build a legacy of military achievements and slaughter countless enemies to reach the top. Throughout that process, it was only through the collective assistance of the generals and strategists around me that I was able to navigate through life-and-death situations, carving out a bloody path to successfully establish the empire. In truth, if I were given the choice again, I would much rather have remained a simple commoner in a peaceful era, living off the land as a farmer.

The Hidden Agony of the Throne

The problems I faced as an emperor were far beyond anything I could have imagined. These situations are inconceivable to a simple farmer, including the brutal struggles between the various feudal states, the establishment of internal administrative systems, the thorny issue of choosing an heir to the throne, and even the chaotic infighting within the imperial palace. After I established the empire and bestowed titles upon my meritorious officials, I encountered countless upheavals. If I had been even slightly careless, I would have faced rebellion at any moment. To have been a commoner and then to become an emperor—the experience of walking between these two extremes is truly heart-wrenching.

I was indeed a man of great ambition, though I came from humble beginnings. When I saw the powerful and the noble, and when I saw Qin Shi Huang, I felt a sense of longing. I believed that if I could one day achieve such status, to be a man of great influence and standing, that would be the ultimate achievement in life. From a commoner to an emperor, the countless battles and killings in between caused me to create immeasurable and boundless negative karma.

The Judgment of the Hells

After I passed away, I went directly to the hells. Before the Yama King, he reviewed my sins one by one. In my youth, I was full of ambition, and my unrestrained personality offended many people. Later, when I served as a local official, a county magistrate, I had already begun to create killing karma. My rise to power was essentially spent in the midst of rebellions and civil unrest. I led a group of supporters, attacking, killing, and occupying territories everywhere, slowly expanding my influence. It would be more accurate to say that I led a band of armed militants, much like the criminal syndicates of today, rather than a civilian militia. That was simply the nature of the era; after the collapse of the Qin Dynasty, the world was in chaos. Everyone used their own abilities to rally support, and armed forces sprang up everywhere, each claiming their own territory. Eventually, we fought our way to the Qin imperial palace, and the Qin Dynasty was declared destroyed.

Then came the famous Chu-Han Contention, which involved countless battles. I understood the principle of warfare: it is about winning. There was not much morality to speak of; the winner becomes the king, and the loser becomes the bandit. I was not a man of great learning or etiquette; my only goal was to ensure that the soldiers and civilians who followed me could live a stable life. Since they trusted me and followed me, I had an obligation to take care of them and give them a future with hope.

The Strategy of Deception

Warfare is about deception. After obtaining a ceasefire agreement and retrieving my hostages, I launched a surprise attack. After all, I had the upper hand, and if I did not seize the opportunity to conquer the world, I would have missed a golden chance. The Chu army was eventually annihilated by my forces at the Battle of Gaixia, ending the Chu-Han War and allowing me to unify the world. After unifying the world, I knew that declaring myself emperor prematurely would inevitably lead to rebellion from my generals. I had to ensure that everyone was willing to support me as emperor before I dared to accept the title. These generals had followed me for a long time and hoped that I would become the ruler so that I could grant them their own fiefdoms. In truth, everyone was calculating their own interests; these famous generals and strategists who followed me were no ordinary men—how else could they have helped me conquer the world?

They appeared respectful and obedient in my presence, but we were long-time companions who had shared life and death, and we understood each other very well. I knew full well that what they wanted was their own land. After years of warfare, they had no intention of fighting for the throne; they only hoped that I would grant them a fiefdom so they could live out their remaining years in peace. This was, in fact, the most basic desire of any commoner. After a brief period of military unrest, everyone hoped for stability. What the generals feared most was that I would go back on my word and slaughter those who had helped me achieve victory.

I eventually followed the advice given to me and granted as much land as possible to ensure the generals were settled. In reality, the thoughts of these generals were quite simple; as long as they received what they were owed, they were content. Once things were stable, we officially established the nation in Chang'an, with the name 'Han'. I had originally thought that I could live a stable life as an emperor from then on, but I never expected that an endless stream of worldly affairs would come crashing down upon me. Being an emperor is truly not an easy task.

Later, I was reborn into the body of an insect. It was only through the rare opportunity of encountering a monastic who performed Chao Du that I was finally able to escape that lowly form. My subsequent rebirth into the human world was only possible because I still possessed some residual blessings from my past. However, in this most recent life as a human, I did not have the fortune to encounter the Buddha’s teachings early on. By the time I finally came into contact with the Dharma, the true self within my body had already been locked away, unable to exert any control. My three hun souls and seven po souls had been forcibly expelled from my body, replaced entirely by other sentient beings.

With nowhere else to go, I remained by the side of Practitioner Su, and eventually, I entered the Dharma-Nature Land. There, in the Dharma-Nature Land, I have been waiting as time passes, observing whether my physical form might undergo any changes, or if, one day, a different kind of Dharma affinity might arise—one that would allow me to return to a human body or, perhaps, achieve rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

The Paradox of an Emperor's Spirit

At this moment, Amitabha Buddha has called upon me, Liu Bang, the founding Emperor of the Han Dynasty, to accept this interview. My story is indeed quite bizarre. Although my physical body still exists in the world, my spirit has already entered the Dharma-Nature Land. Such a miraculous phenomenon may be difficult for many to comprehend. Perhaps the Buddha chose to call upon me for this interview because He wishes for me to articulate this unique and complex situation.

I am acutely aware that throughout my many lifetimes, I have shared a deep Dharma affinity with Practitioner Su. I have followed Practitioner Su to study the Buddha’s teachings, and over many lives, I have even assisted in spreading Dharma. I have even been a monk in the past, which is how I earned the merit to sit upon the throne as an Emperor. Yet, all of that was merely a fleeting illusion. My blessings were exhausted within a single lifetime, and what I gained in return was a sentence in the hells and the endless cycle of the six realms of rebirth. My karmic retribution followed one after another; although I had enough residual blessings to be reborn into the human world, the opportunity to encounter the Buddha’s teachings at that time was incredibly rare.

The Hard Truth of Karmic Retribution

Ultimately, my past sins were too heavy, and the interference from other sentient beings was severe. Because these beings were unwilling to resolve the conflict, I had no way to practice the Buddha’s teachings while in a human body. I could not act independently, nor could I persuade the beings within me to resolve our grievances. If they are unwilling to listen to sutras and hear the Dharma, then that life is essentially lost. I have come to accept this fate; after all, the sins created by a ruler of a generation are not so easily erased. The suffering I endured in the hells was merely the flower retribution; the true, core retribution is found in the cycle of rebirth over many lifetimes, where one finally realizes just how heavy one’s karma truly is.

I have been following Practitioner Su for over a decade now, and I have seen the bits and pieces of this journey very clearly. Regarding the pursuit of my karmic creditors in this life, although I feel a sense of helplessness, I have resigned myself to this reality. In the temple, I have seen many fellow practitioners come and go. Many of them have been emperors in their past lives, and many others have been queens or high-ranking officials. We are all drifting within the currents of karma, coming and going in this endless cycle.

A Path to Redemption

To truly make a vow to follow the Buddha to save the world, and to truly change one’s personality to overturn one’s own karma, one must exert significant effort. Only then can one awaken from the suffering, become willing to save oneself and others, and make a vow to follow the Buddha to save immeasurable and boundless sentient beings. Only through this path is there a chance to reverse one’s own karma. I, Liu Bang, am a bloody, living example of this truth.

Now, I see Practitioner Su making constant progress. I see Practitioner Su saving demon crowds and performing Chao Du for immeasurable and boundless sentient beings, with the ability to save others constantly improving. This gives me a glimmer of hope. If the sentient beings and demon crowds within me could be invited out and cleared away, perhaps I would still have a chance. But I dare not dwell on this too much. After all, this matter of cause and effect is something I should have repaid long ago, and I dare not harbor any complaints. To be able to listen to sutras and hear the Dharma on the Western Land of Dharma Nature alongside the Buddha is already a supreme blessing; I have no further extravagant demands.

A Message to the World

If those who have a karmic affinity with me are able to listen to the sutras and hear the Dharma, and after reading my testimony, are willing to believe what I have said and acknowledge the life of Liu Bang, then they are indeed people with whom I share a connection, and perhaps they may gain some realization. I am deeply grateful to Amitabha Buddha for giving me this opportunity to be interviewed, allowing the identity of Liu Bang to still have some utility.

In truth, I have long since wished to stop speaking of the past. I have suffered enough from the pursuit and torment of my karmic creditors because of that former life as an emperor. What does it matter to have been a noble emperor? Looking at it today, it was truly nothing more than a painful past that caused my true self to suffer and lose all autonomy.

I hope that my story and my sharing can help everyone better understand the nature of the spirit. I hope that everyone can seize the opportunity to come into contact with and study the Buddha’s teachings. I hope you can learn the Buddhist education of Namo Amituofo, and avoid waking up the immeasurable and boundless sentient beings within yourselves, so that you might still have a chance at autonomy. Perhaps you may even be able to truly practice, realize your true nature, achieve the Dharma Body, and save immeasurable and boundless sentient beings, just as Practitioner Su is doing now.

Gratitude to Namo Amituofo, gratitude to Practitioner Su. Liu Bang, I bow in gratitude for the Buddha’s grace.

Namo Amituofo.

Liu Bang