The Fish Faces and the Light of Salvation

This interview was recorded on February 10, 2026, at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. It features the spirit of Kanzawa Chuanbu, a Japanese man who, after a lifetime of consuming seafood, found himself haunted by the spirits of the fish he had eaten. Following his death in a nursing home, he was eventually delivered to the Western Dharma-Nature Land through the compassionate light of Namo Amituofo and the intervention of Practitioner Su.

Kanzawa Chuanbu speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. My name is Kanzawa Chuanbu, though everyone just calls me Chuanbu. I am a native Japanese, born and raised by the sea. Life on our islands is incredibly rich, and naturally, our consumption of seafood is vast. Sashimi was a daily staple for us. You could say I grew up eating seafood; that was simply the way of life for everyone I knew.

I grew up in an ordinary family, married, had children, and lived a peaceful, unremarkable life. As my children grew up, married, and had their own children, I became a grandfather. I never had to worry about food or clothing; I was quite fortunate. However, in my later years, I fell gravely ill. I was eighty years old, and becoming severely ill at such an advanced age is truly a pitiful thing—you have nowhere to go and nothing you can do. I spent my days bedridden, feeling my body wither away and my back hunch over. Although my family took excellent care of me, I was deeply unhappy. I never wanted my old age to be like this, yet that was the situation I found myself in."

The Vengeful Faces of the Deep

"Eventually, the time came for me to leave the human world. That day, as I lay in bed, I saw many fish faces surrounding me. They were staring at me with such fierce, hateful eyes. I was terrified. I remembered that the thing I loved most in my life was sashimi. Could it be that the fish I had eaten were coming to claim my life? As I thought this, every single fish revealed itself in the bloody, sliced-up state they were in when I consumed them. I wanted to scream, but no sound would come out. It felt as if I were being dragged out of my body by those fish faces, alive. It was so painful, so incredibly painful.

At that moment, I remembered visiting a shrine. Someone had once told me that if I were ever in danger, I could call out 'Namo Amituofo,' and Namo Amituofo would come to save us. So, I shouted 'Namo Amituofo' with all my might, though no sound escaped my lips. Perhaps it was the protection of Namo Amituofo, but the fish heads vanished. I was drenched in cold sweat. After I 'woke up,' that nightmare haunted me constantly. Eventually, I passed away from my illness. Although the fish faces did not reappear, I became a ghost after death—an unhappy ghost, terrified all day long that those faces would return. I wandered through space, the soul of a hunched old man, drifting aimlessly."

The Loneliness of the Nursing Home

"I saw many other elderly spirits in the same state. I later realised that my family had sent me to a nursing home, and that is where I had died. After death, I remained in the space of that nursing home, and since many other elderly people had also passed away there, their souls remained trapped in that same space. There were so many elderly ghosts; it was truly sorrowful. I had no thoughts left, only a profound sense of sadness.

One day, I heard a voice: 'Everyone, you can chant Namo Amituofo, Namo Amituofo. Namo Amituofo can save you.' Where was this voice coming from? It was a woman's voice! I watched as she hung a sign on a tree. I looked at it curiously, wondering what it was. Ah, it was a small, long card hanging from the tree. The most remarkable thing was that the card was actually glowing. I had never seen such a thing before. For ghosts, light can sometimes cause our souls to wither, so we usually avoid it. But the light emanating from this card was incredibly gentle and bright. I didn't need to hide; I stayed near that card. There was a Buddha on it. The one emitting the light was the Buddha—the very Buddha I had thought of when I was surrounded by the fish faces. Suddenly, I chanted, 'Namo Amituofo.'"

A Beacon of Hope

"I had always felt that chanting Namo Amituofo was my protective amulet. Sure enough, as I chanted, the Buddha-light on the card became even brighter. At that moment, hope rose in my heart. I believed I was saved, and I hoped that everyone else could be saved too. I hurried to tell the other elderly spirits in the nursing home: 'Everyone, come quickly! Look, there is a Buddha here, or at least there is light. It can make us feel better; our bodies won't feel so cold and icy anymore.' Every day, we would go to the Buddha card to bathe in the Buddha-light before returning to the nursing home. Many days passed, and we would return to the card again and again, much like how we used to visit shrines when we were alive. We treated the Buddha card as our shrine, paid our respects, and then went back.

Today, a voice suddenly rang out: 'We are going to save the Japanese people!' What a resonant, powerful voice. We were paying our respects before the Buddha card when we heard it. After hearing the voice, we looked at the Buddha, and light radiated from the Buddha's body, shining upon us. Soon after, in a very short time, we arrived at a place that was also very bright. I saw the elder who had issued the call to 'save the Japanese people.' I later learned that this elder was Practitioner Su. She was speaking to a Japanese woman, and I even saw my own name written down. I was very curious about what was happening, but there was no time to figure it out. We were drawn by a great sound and a powerful attraction into another place of light."

A New Beginning in the Western Dharma-Nature Land

"Afterward, I heard there was to be an interview. I was still confused about the situation, as I had experienced things in such a short time that I had never encountered before. I quickly understood: this place is called the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, and where I am now is the Western Dharma-Nature Land. What a unique experience! I have even forgotten that I was once an elderly Japanese ghost, because this place is so bright that it feels as if I have become young again. This is truly a wonderful encounter, unlike anything I have ever known. I believe this is the good fortune brought to us by Namo Amituofo. Chanting 'Namo Amituofo' is truly a wonderful thing.

I have now told you all about my situation from the time of my death until now. I am still observing how things are here. However, I believe one thing: I should be able to stay here from now on, right? I no longer need to drift aimlessly through space, because there is a wonderful lotus seat here for me to sit upon. I have never felt this kind of stability before. The elderly truly need stability, and I have no pain or illness in my body at all. Wow! This is just the best thing imaginable.

Thinking about it now, I should thank that woman who first called out, 'You can chant Namo Amituofo, Namo Amituofo can save you.' I discovered that this woman seems to be here! Could this be a clever arrangement of Causal Conditions? She is also a Japanese woman. If it really is her, I truly must thank her. She saved the souls of many of us elderly Japanese people because she hung that Buddha card on the tree. There are many, many kinds of cards hung on trees, and some people have hung Buddha cards before, but I have never seen a Buddha card that emitted light, and one that could even bring us here. Thank you, and thank you again.

I must also thank Namo Amituofo, as well as the elder, Practitioner Su, who said she would 'save the Japanese people.' Her voice is so full of strength; she doesn't sound like an old person at all. I truly feel that if the world had a few more compassionate elders like Practitioner Su, everyone could be saved. This is my sincere heart speaking.

I am grateful to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre and to the lotus seat in the Western Dharma-Nature Land where I am sitting right now. Thank you all."