The Honest Life of a Prison Guard

This is an interview with Xu Jiayu, who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This account reflects upon his life and his subsequent service in the underworld. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Hai Liang, on July 16, 2021.

Xu Jiayu speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. When I realised that I was one of the sixty prison guards being led to the Western Pure Land by Practitioner Su, I began to listen to the sutras with great diligence. I also heard Practitioner Su chanting Namo Amituofo to save the beings in the hells. I am Xu Jiayu, a representative of the prison guards. When Practitioner Su called my name and took our hands, in the blink of an eye, we arrived in the magnificent Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Seeing the dignified Namo Amituofo, we were moved to tears and knelt before the Buddha. We are so grateful to Practitioner Su, the monastics of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, the lay practitioners, and the volunteer Bodhisattvas. Thank you all for chanting Namo Amituofo with us. Thank you all."

A Childhood of Poverty and Lessons in Integrity

"My home was in Sanchong, Taipei. My family ran a garment factory, employing many workers to sew clothes that we exported overseas. The causal conditions for this began in my childhood. We were very poor, and I had little to wear. My grandmother would tell me, 'Children grow up so fast, don't buy new clothes. If the neighbours want to give away their old clothes, we can accept them.' I had two younger brothers and two younger sisters; there were five of us children. It was not easy for my parents to earn enough to raise us. My grandfather passed away early, so my grandmother stayed home to care for us, allowing my parents to work without worry.

"As the eldest of five, I had to shoulder more responsibility. The old clothes sent by others were often too small, so they were saved for my younger siblings. When the clothes were too small for me, I would wear them until they tore, and my grandmother would have to mend them. After a few times, I began to dislike wearing these hand-me-downs and preferred to wear my own few pieces of old clothing.

"If not for the poverty of my childhood, I probably would not have started a garment factory. My grandmother often said, 'Sigh, clothing is not important; food is more important. Having something to eat is more important than having something to wear.' I remember trying to work part-time to help the family when I was young. I washed dishes at a noodle stall. The owner was a very kind man. In the evening, when there were no customers, he would cook a bowl of noodles and add a braised egg for me. For the first few days, I would finish it all at once because I had never tasted such delicious noodles. After a few times, I became smarter. I thought of my younger siblings, who seemed to need it more than I did. We had many children and little food or money. I asked the owner, 'Could you give me a little more soup and a few more noodles?' The owner replied, 'Of course.' I was so happy to bring it home to share with my siblings. The happiest person at home was my grandmother. She said, 'You are such a good child, thinking of your siblings who have nothing to eat, and bringing it back to share with them.' I asked my grandmother to eat first, but she had worked so hard for our family and would just smile and say, 'You children eat it.'"

The Temptation of the Lychee Orchard

"My parents would leave for work early in the morning. My grandmother would clean the house, wash the clothes, and prepare the lunch boxes we took to school—a bowl of white rice topped with a few pieces of pickled radish. That was our delicious lunch. My grandmother worked so hard to care for us. We only saw my parents at night; early in the morning, a transport vehicle would pick them up to go to the mountains to plant and harvest mushrooms, and they would be driven back down in the evening.

"One day, an uncle came to our house and said, 'Starting tomorrow, we will be bringing many lychees down from the mountains. Do you want to earn some money? You have so many children, you should be able to earn quite a bit.' My grandmother said, 'Please help us; we are willing to do this work.' The first day, four baskets of lychees were placed at our door. I was very happy. My grandmother said, 'Come home early after school today. Those who aren't studying, help peel the lychees first.' When my grandmother wasn't looking, I stole a lychee and ate it. 'It's so sweet!' We had no money to buy such things; lychees seemed very expensive.

"That day, I came home early from school and told my grandmother, 'I want to help peel the lychees.' I noticed that the peeled lychees were soaked in water. When the uncle came to collect them, he would weigh them, so he knew exactly how much weight there was after peeling. I thought to myself, 'Oh no! Oh no! I stole one lychee. What if the boss finds out one is missing?' When the boss arrived in the evening, he brought a scale and a notebook to record the weight. I kept my head down, afraid to look at him, fearing he would catch me. To my relief, he didn't call me out, and I got through the day.

"The next day, there was an extra basket of lychees at the door. I asked my grandmother, 'Why is there an extra basket?' She replied, 'The boss said we are fast, so he gave us another one.' Since no one knew I had stolen one, I became bold and took a handful of lychees, put them in my bag, and hurried to school. No one noticed. On the way to school, I ate the lychees and threw the shells away. When I returned home after school, I saw the uncle at our house. I said, 'Hello, you're here early today?' The boss said, 'You just got back from school? Which road did you take? Tell me, did you peel any lychees today?' I said, 'I went to school and didn't have time to peel any; they were already finished when I got home.' The boss said, 'I only gave this work to your family, not the others. Children shouldn't do things like this.' He weighed the lychees and left.

"After the boss left, my grandmother made me kneel at the door until my knees were sore. My father asked, 'Why are you kneeling here?' My grandmother said, 'You wretched child! You stole lychees and threw the shells everywhere.' After my grandmother finished scolding me, everyone went to eat dinner. I thought, 'This is a big problem.' Everyone was eating dinner, but I was still kneeling there. I thought, 'If only I hadn't eaten that extra handful of lychees.'

"After dinner, my father came out with a bamboo stick and hit me several times. He said, 'I have taught you since you were small. I am hitting you today to tell you that you must never steal from others.' My mother ran out and said, 'That's enough! He knows he was wrong, don't hit him anymore.' I thought to myself, 'My father has taught me since I was young to be an honest person and never steal. This time, I succeeded in stealing one, then a handful. If my grandmother hadn't caught me, I probably would have eaten a whole basket.' My father cried while he hit me. I felt ashamed that I could not resist the temptation. After that lesson, I never stole anything from anyone again."

A Life Defined by Honesty

"When I grew up and earned money, I bought a hillside and planted many lychees. I had my own orchard. When I had too many, I would sell them, and customers would tell me, 'Boss, your lychees are red and juicy.' Because I earned a lot of money, I bought more and more land, eventually owning a vast lychee orchard. At that time, lychees were not expensive, and the ones I grew had small seeds and lots of flesh. I planted a total of three hectares of lychees.

"I hired my parents and some other ladies to help me. Later, I branched out from the orchard and opened a garment factory. I hired women to sew clothes for me, paying them by the piece, so they were very diligent.

"One day, I stayed late at the factory and encountered a woman who was the last to leave. She had a bag filled with several pieces of clothing from my factory and was trying to take them home when no one was looking. I saw her, and she was startled. I said to her, 'Big sister, how many clothes do you need? I can give them to you.' The woman said embarrassedly, 'Boss, I have many children, and they don't have enough to wear, so I took some clothes from the factory. You can deduct it from my salary.' I told her, 'As long as you tell me in advance how many pieces you need, you can take them home.' She looked at me with moved eyes as she left. I remembered what my grandmother told me: 'If we have possessions, we should look at those who are poor and in need, and help them. That is also doing good deeds.' I thought about our own poor days and how we had hoped for help.

"My grandmother, father, and mother were honest people. They taught us not to be greedy and to be content. These were the values my grandmother taught my father, and my father passed them on to me. Whether in the orchard or the garment factory, I earned money happily. I didn't earn money just for myself; I always set aside a portion to support orphans who had no clothes to wear.

"Like my father, I didn't have much formal education, but by living by the motto 'Be an honest person,' I met many noble people in business and in my interactions with others. Even if some laughed at me for being 'tricked,' I didn't think it mattered; it just meant they didn't yet understand what it meant to be an honest person.

"I always kept the phrase 'One must be honest' in my heart. I never married or had children. I handed the garment factory over to my most honest employee and told him that this factory was meant to help people. Every cent earned was used to help others. With this philosophy, the business grew. As the saying goes, 'Heaven protects the simple-hearted,' and my factory grew larger and larger.

"I earned money only so I would have the ability to help others, so I never felt tired. I used the money from the garment factory to do good deeds, and as a result, the business became even better, and foreign orders started coming in. I began sending clothing to poor and remote areas, mailing them to those in need, and helping everyone in society who required assistance. I went to work and came home every day with a happy heart.

"When I was sixty-nine years old, I was lying in bed preparing to sleep. Not long after I closed my eyes, I heard someone calling, 'Xu Jiayu! Xu Jiayu!' They said, 'Wake up! Please come with us to see the King of Hell.' When I arrived in the underworld, the King of Hell said, 'Xu Jiayu, you performed good deeds in the world. Now, I invite you to serve as a prison guard. Please advise these prisoners not to return to the hells.' I gratefully accepted this task and served diligently in the Seventh Hall.

"One day, the King of Hell summoned me and congratulated me. My name, Xu Jiayu, was on the list of sixty prison guards to be led to the Western Pure Land by Practitioner Su. I listened to the sutras every day. When I arrived at the site of the Dharma assembly, there were immeasurable and boundless sentient beings. Practitioner Su’s Dharma Body manifested in countless forms, leading the beings toward the light. In this magnificent temple, we chanted Namo Amituofo and attained rebirth in the Western Pure Land."

"May the Buddha be compassionate."

Prison Guard — Xu Jiayu