The Healer's Journey: From the Hells to the Western Pure Land

This is a record of an interview with Liduoqie, who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. This account reflects upon his life as a healer and his subsequent time as a prison guard in the hells. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fajing, on July 26, 2025.

Liduoqie speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. At this very moment, we have finally stopped our endless wandering. After cycling through the cycle of rebirth for so long, we were so incredibly weary. Now, we can finally rest, peacefully abiding in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, listening to the Dharma sounds alongside the Buddha, and chanting Namo Amituofo in harmony with the celestial music.

I represent all sixty prison guards who have been reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss today. I prostrate and offer my deepest gratitude to Namo Amituofo and to Practitioner Su. It is through the Buddha's boundless compassion and deliverance that we, souls who once served in the hells, have finally been given the chance to end our long, painful cycle of rebirth and return to our true home.

Looking at the smiles on the faces of my companions, we all understand that this is true peace, this is true stillness, and this is true liberation."

A Life Bought with a Mother's Love

"I am Liduoqie. Many people in my past life said that my birth was a mistake, a curse upon the land. But I have always known in my heart that my life was never a mistake.

I was born in a remote, underdeveloped country, a place rarely visited by outsiders. Our people had their own unique culture, and we passed down mysterious ancient arts from generation to generation. These arts could be used for the Goodness of saving lives, or they could be misused to cause harm. In our village culture, there were prophecies, divination, and inexplicable spiritual powers. I was born under the shadow of being prophesied as a 'child of calamity.'

Shortly after I was born, my mother was burned alive by the villagers under the pretext of 'protecting the spiritual order.' They believed I would bring disaster, and that if one life were not sacrificed, the entire village would suffer divine retribution. It was my mother who chose to trade her life for mine. She knelt before the village prayer altar, begging the village chief to spare me, willing to bear all the consequences herself. The village elders finally compromised, allowing my mother to die in my place.

I heard this story from other villagers when I was five years old. That night, I wept until I had no voice left; it felt as if a mountain were pressing down on my chest. My life had been bought with my mother's life. From that moment on, I told myself: I cannot live in vain. I must live for my mother, and I must make this life meaningful."

The Healer's Path and the Crystal Ball

"From a young age, I carried special abilities within my body. Some called it shamanism, some called it mediumship, and others called it an ancient form of spiritual energy. But to me, it was simply a bridge that allowed me to reach into the hearts of others. I wanted to use this power to save people, so I worked hard to ensure my thoughts were not polluted. To me, the greatest pollution is biased concepts and impure motives. Once the heart is skewed, the power becomes corrupted.

To keep my abilities pure, I avoided excessive contact with others and prevented my emotions from fluctuating. I learned to live in seclusion, training myself not to let the chaos of the outside world enter my heart. I appeared aloof, but in reality, I was simply refining myself. I continued this training for nearly twenty years. By the age of twenty, my internal energy was profound, and I began to treat and heal people around the village.

By twenty-two, I had officially become a healer. But I was not an ordinary healer. I did not just treat the illnesses of the body; I cared for the illnesses of the heart. I discovered that for most people, the true sickness lies not in the body, but in the heart. Many people allow disease to take root because of grievances they cannot let go of, hatred they cannot resolve, or losses they cannot endure."

The Shadow of the Clinic

"I possessed a crystal ball left behind by my mother, a precious ritual object. I could allow those seeking help to enter that crystal ball, to see their own past, and even to see the wounds hidden deep within their subconscious. Some would speak to their childhood selves inside, while others would re-experience a trauma within a story they created themselves. I accompanied them as they saw these things, and I accompanied them as they found release. Whenever someone was willing to loosen their attachments, I would light a lamp of the heart for them. Those were my happiest moments.

However, my work was not always smooth. Some local priests and shamans were jealous of my ability to heal the illnesses of the heart, and they viewed me as a thorn in their side. They suspected I wanted to replace them, so they slandered me in groups. When I was forty, they set a trap to make it appear that I had violated forbidden laws, leading to my exile. I did not argue; I simply packed my bags and left the village. I knew that one cannot stop the mouths of others, but I could certainly control my own heart.

I went to the mountain border and built a simple hut. Although life was frugal, I was unexpectedly happy. I did not have to face politics or participate in disputes; I only needed to care for the occasional person who came for treatment. Later, many merchants and travellers from afar received my care while passing through the mountain roads. Whether they were sick or poisoned, I helped them selflessly. Some became wealthy merchants, others started families elsewhere, but they never forgot me.

When I was seventy, a massive landslide swallowed my clinic and took my life. I could not escape because I was in the middle of saving a heavily injured pregnant woman. When the rocks fell, I felt a surge of heat in my chest, and then I knew nothing more."

From the Hells to the Western Pure Land

"When I woke up, I was in the state of a spirit. I entered an ancient clinic—familiar yet slightly distorted. The walls glowed with a grey-green cold light, and the air was filled with the smell of disinfectant, but mixed into these scents were heavy layers of 'attachment' and 'regret.' I immediately understood that this was a space projected by my own consciousness, a shadow world of my own attachments. In that clinic, various patients kept appearing: those I had failed to save, those I had promised to see again, and the pregnant woman for whom I had sacrificed my life. They appeared before my eyes, vanished, and appeared again.

I was trapped in that space for what felt like decades, as there was no concept of time there—only regret, suffering, and helplessness. Until one day, two prison guards appeared. They stood firmly at the door and led me away from that space. Upon arriving in the hells, I met King Yama. Because I had spent my life healing and saving others, he appointed me as a prison guard. And so, I became a guard in the hells.

During a chance encounter, I heard the sound of Practitioner Su giving a Dharma talk. The moment that sound entered my ears, my entire spirit felt as if it had been awakened. It was not an ordinary sound; it was a compassion from eons past, awakening our dormant Buddha-nature. I immediately encouraged more prison guards and beings in the hells to listen, hoping that everyone could be awakened and leave suffering behind as soon as possible.

Later, I made a vow to be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Today, following the Dharma Body of Practitioner Su, I have safely and smoothly arrived in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss along with fifty-nine other prison guards. Our hearts are filled with gratitude.

Gratitude to Namo Amituofo.

Gratitude to Practitioner Su.

Namo Amituofo.

Liduoqie prostrates."