The General's Remorse: From the Battlefield to the Pure Land

This is a record of an interview with Ying Bu (Qing Bu), a fierce general from the late Qin and early Han dynasties, 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 2,220 years ago. Recorded by the chief writer, Venerable Hai Yuan, on March 31, 2026.

Ying Bu (Qing Bu) speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Ying Bu, also known as Qing Bu. I was born during the twilight of the Qin dynasty and rose to prominence as a general during the tumultuous transition into the Han dynasty. In those days, the world knew me simply as the 'Fierce General Ying Bu.'

When I was a young man, perhaps around the age of twenty, I was subjected to the 'Qing' punishment. Because I had committed a crime, the authorities branded my face with permanent ink, leaving two jagged, indelible scars. This was a mark I could never wash away, a brand of shame that followed me into the hard labour camps. Yet, this very mark became my signature as a warrior. People began to call me 'Qing Bu'—the Tattooed General—and that name became synonymous with my reputation on the battlefield.

The Ambition of a Warrior

I was a man of immense ferocity. In that era, when the land was fractured by warring factions, I believed that if one wished to seize the world, one had to be extraordinary. Without exceptional talent, without a ruthless courage, and without the iron will to stand above the rest, one would simply be swallowed by the chaos. You would be crushed by the stronger, or worse, fall victim to the deadly crises that lurked at every turn. My life was a whirlwind of action; I did not waste a single moment. My physical strength was my greatest tool, allowing me to translate my cold, calculated ambitions into reality.

I initially pledged my loyalty to Xiang Yu. He once commanded me to lead my troops in a swift, clandestine operation to bury alive two hundred thousand surrendered Qin soldiers. To this day, the memory of that night makes my soul tremble. It was a moment where I hardened my heart completely, all to prove my absolute devotion to Xiang Yu. Looking back now, after more than two thousand years of suffering, I can see that act for what it truly was: a monstrous stain upon my existence that has tested my spirit to its very limits."

The Blood on My Hands

"I am speaking to you now as a spirit, with the utmost sincerity, to recount the truth of my experiences. My hands were stained with the blood of countless men. Even in my dreams, I would often wake up in a cold sweat, gasping for air. I was a human being, yet I had killed so many that I lost count of the heads I had severed. In that era of constant war, where the strong devoured the weak, I felt I had no choice. To rise to the top, I had to become a creature without blood or tears.

Yet, deep down, there was still a flicker of compassion that I desperately tried to extinguish. I knew that if I showed even a moment of softness, I would be the one to die. So, I forbade myself from feeling. As the most ferocious vanguard in Xiang Yu’s camp, I was rewarded with the title of King. But the price of that power was a series of atrocities that would haunt me for eternity. Beyond the massacre of the two hundred thousand, I also carried out Xiang Yu’s order to assassinate the puppet Emperor Yi of Chu. My heart became a vessel of blood, all for the sake of securing a foothold in the political struggle of the time.

The Paranoia of Power

Later, when Xiang Yu was stationed at Pengcheng, he repeatedly demanded that I send troops, which bred deep resentment in my heart. When Liu Bang’s envoys came to persuade me, I defected. I helped defeat Xiang Yu and assisted Liu Bang in establishing the Western Han, for which I was again crowned King. But then, I witnessed how Liu Bang treated the founding generals to consolidate his own power. He killed Han Xin and had Peng Yue minced into a paste. I watched this with absolute terror. I felt as though I were the next victim, waiting in the shadows for the assassin’s blade. That fear was a suffocating, agonizing weight.

In my paranoia, I rose in rebellion against Liu Bang. My mind had become possessed by a demonic nature. Driven by the desperate need to survive, I fought, but Liu Bang led his own army to crush me. I was defeated and forced to flee. In those days, the reality was brutal: the victor is the king, and the loser is the bandit. There was no mercy. Even my own kin, driven by their own greed and desire for power, betrayed me. I was assassinated, and my head was severed from my body to be presented to Liu Bang as a token of submission. This was the Law of Cause and Effect in action. Every arrogant, violent, and bloody deed I had committed was now being repaid upon my own body, step by step."

A Descent into the Hells

"My life ended in betrayal and misery. I died in the prime of my life, and my death was wretched. When they cut off my head, my spirit was trapped in a state of extreme agony, filled with resentment and unwillingness. My soul was seized, and I was forced to witness the twenty-thousand vengeful spirits of the Qin soldiers I had buried alive, all coming to collect their debt. Their resentment was a crushing weight. My soul plummeted directly into the hells. A thousand cuts would not have been enough to repay what I owed. I suffered in the hells—the Eye-Gouging Hell, the Boiling Cauldron Hell, the Mountain of Knives, the Brain-Gouging Hell. The suffering was endless, agonizing, and beyond description. This is the reality of karmic retribution.

I was not ignorant of cause and effect, but at the time, my goodness had been completely devoured by a demonic nature. It would be no exaggeration to say that I had become a demon, or that a demon had possessed me. And how did my own family view me? They killed me. That was my immediate retribution. In the hells, I suffered so intensely that I did not even have a moment to wail or repent. The torture was so constant that my soul was filled with nothing but pain; I did not even have the time to shed a tear."

The Light of Deliverance

"I felt such profound sorrow. Why had I done such cruel, bloody, and violent things while I was alive? After death, my soul was entangled in resentment and cast into the hells. My soul was distorted and deformed, yet deep within, I felt a desperate, burning repentance. I knew I deserved my fate. The suffering I endured was merely a fraction of the pain I had inflicted upon others. I felt no hatred for my tormentors; I felt only a crushing remorse, and I wept tears of a broken warrior. I begged the heavens for a chance to change, to transform from a creature of hatred into a soul of goodness. I cried out for help, though I did not know who could possibly save me. I could feel the helplessness, the pain, and the resentment of those I had killed, as if I were experiencing their final moments over and over again.

I do not know how much time passed, but suddenly, a brilliant light shone upon me. It was so warm, and in an instant, it dissolved the agony I had been enduring. I knew that the heavens had heard my sincere, desperate pleas. I knew my sins were grave, but a soul suffering in the depths of despair, crying out for help with a truly sincere heart, had finally been heard.

That light lifted me from the hells and brought me to a place of brilliance. It was a place of profound peace—a peace that a soul who had been trapped in darkness for over two thousand years had never known. I was placed upon a soft lotus seat. My heart was overflowing with gratitude; I knelt on the lotus and bowed my head repeatedly. I did not know where I was, but I had never dreamed of such mercy. I knew I deserved to suffer for eons, yet here I was, being treated with such compassion. I wept as I bowed, over and over again.

Later, I learned that more than two thousand years had passed. To think that my short, violent life had earned me two thousand years of torment in the hells—was it worth it? It was not worth it at all. I felt a renewed sense of repentance for my foolishness and cruelty.

What power was this, so great and so compassionate, that it could pull me from the hells? When that light shone upon me, I heard the Holy Name 'Namo Amituofo' resounding, just as it does here in this place. In my era, I did not know the Buddha. Although there were many recluses and high masters living in the mountains, I had never heard the word 'Buddha.' Why was the Buddha so compassionate toward me? What was this place?

A warm current flowed into my heart, telling me: 'This is the Western Land of Dharma-Nature at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. It is the power of Amitabha Buddha and the vows of Practitioner Su that have saved you from the hells and brought you here. The Buddha heard your sincere plea and is willing to give you a chance to change. You have vowed to become a good soul. It was this single thought of goodness that saved you. At this very moment, Practitioner Su at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre has made a great vow to save the suffering souls of China—those who have no one else to deliver them. It is through the great vow and the countless billions of manifestations of Practitioner Su that you have been saved from the hells.'

Amitabha Buddha revealed scenes before my eyes, and I wept again. The images showed the site in China where I had died and been beheaded; the grave still exists to this day. Because Practitioner Su’s countless billions of manifestations visited that site, hoping that the soul within the grave might be saved, Amitabha Buddha was able to pierce through space with His Buddha-light, entering the hells to rescue me, a suffering soul. Namo Amituofo."

These events and such profound transformations have truly left me, Ying Bu, in a state of utter astonishment! The Buddha-light of Namo Amituofo and the power manifested by the countless billions of manifestations of Su Fo have treated me—a spirit who suffered so deeply in the hells—with such boundless compassion. How could I possibly repay such grace? I wept bitterly for a long time upon my lotus seat. It was the sobbing of a soul finally granted forgiveness, a release of emotions so intense that I could not help but wail aloud. I cried for a long time, yet during that entire period, I was met with no mockery, no judgment, and no harm.

A Moment of Clarity and Light

When I finally calmed my heart, there was nothing left but a vast expanse of light and tranquility. I could hear Su Fo delivering Dharma talks, and I saw that Su Fo’s form before me was radiant with light. It was this Su Fo, through his countless billions of manifestations, who had descended upon my grave to rescue my spirit.

Because of this, I have been listening to Su Fo’s Dharma talks with the utmost sincerity. At the very beginning, my spirit was unable to focus because of the two thousand years of hellish punishment I had endured. My head ached terribly, and my eyes felt as though they were clouded and unable to see clearly. But before long, these pains gradually faded away. This spirit, once trapped in a tall, powerful body that had been twisted and shattered by the agony of death, has now been restored to its original form upon the lotus seat.

The Discovery of the Dharma

It was only while listening to the sutras that I learned of the existence of the Buddha’s teachings. I learned of Namo Amituofo, of the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, and of the fact that Namo Amituofo is currently residing at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. I learned of how Su Fo, in this lifetime, has realised his true nature and attained Buddhahood, and of the various deeds he has performed alongside Namo Amituofo to save beings and demon crowds alike. To me, hearing all of this was almost impossible to believe. Reflecting on my own past actions—the deeds of a murderous demon—I felt an overwhelming sense of shame! The Buddha is so compassionate in His efforts to save beings, yet I had been so cruel in my harm toward them. Now that Namo Amituofo and Su Fo possess such great power to lift my spirit from the hells, I must ask myself: do I want to be a demon, or do I want to be a Buddha? I must, at all costs, choose to be a Buddha; I must never be a demon again! How can I ever repay the kindness of Namo Amituofo and Su Fo?

The Compassion of a Bodhisattva

I continued to listen to the teachings and witnessed the Thrice Yearning Ceremonies held at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. I saw that the Buddha is truly, in every sense, saving beings. I saw how the demon crowds used their cruel magic to inflict extreme pain upon Su Fo, yet Su Fo was able to harbour not a single shred of resentment. He simply said, 'It is worth it, it is worth it, for only in this way can the demon crowds be saved.' This level of mind-capacity left me deeply shaken. How could such compassion exist? This is the heart of a Buddha or Bodhisattva.

I, Ying Bu, am quite intelligent; I am not merely a reckless warrior. Furthermore, having endured over two thousand years of torment and agony in the hells, I have gained a different understanding of Goodness and compassion. Here, I saw the demon nature that once defined my intense personality, and I saw the infinite, boundless compassion of the Buddha toward all beings. In the past, I was a demon who killed and harmed life; today, Su Fo risks his own life to enter different spaces to perform Chao Du for suffering spirits. This is truly a courageous spirit—a spirit and action of heroic salvation, dedicated to saving spirits and all beings.

Joining the Salvation Team

I also saw the salvation team formed by the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre under the leadership of Su Fo. It is a spiritual group composed of many who were once demons, yet everyone has washed away their past, transformed their lives, and now carries themselves with such dignity. There is not a trace of demon nature left in them; they follow Su Fo in the work of saving beings. I, too, wish to join this salvation team so that I may make amends for the sins I committed in the past. I am willing to follow Namo Amituofo and Su Fo, to diligently chant Buddha's name, to perform prostrations, and to recite the sutras, so that I may eliminate the cruel negative karma I created long ago.

The Infinite Life Sutra is a classic text, and I had never recited it before. But during these past ten days or so at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, I have watched and listened as the practitioners recited this sutra every day, and I have been deeply moved. Only now do I realise how great Namo Amituofo truly is. The Forty-eight Great Vows are mentioned in this sutra, and every single vow is capable of saving immeasurable and boundless spirits.

A Path to the Western Land

Furthermore, the establishment of the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss—it is truly such a beautiful, pure realm. That a spirit as deeply sinful as I could be saved by Namo Amituofo and Su Fo is a miracle. If I can diligently chant Buddha's name and make the vow to be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, might I also have the opportunity to enter that realm?

If I am given the chance to enter, I will certainly study with diligence and continue to transform my heart. I now understand how precious the days are when one can learn the Buddha’s teachings and chant Buddha's name; I will surely cherish them. I even hope to attain Buddhahood as soon as possible, so that I may follow Namo Amituofo to save other suffering spirits and people.

Too many people commit evil deeds simply because no one has taught them otherwise, and after death, their spirits are destined to suffer. They are in desperate need of salvation; this is my own personal experience. I am willing to join the salvation team, and I pray for rebirth in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. I must first ensure my own salvation, and then I will save those beings with whom I have karmic affinity, so that I may finally compensate for the inhumane acts I committed in the past.

I am deeply grateful to the Greatly Compassionate Namo Amituofo, to Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju, and to Su Fo. I kneel once more to express my gratitude. It is because of you that I have been granted this chance for salvation. This kindness is beyond repayment; I will double my efforts to diligently study the Buddha’s teachings and attain Buddhahood early to repay the Buddha’s kindness.

Namo Amituofo.

Ying Bu, bowing his head in gratitude.