The Illusion of Grief and the Path to Deliverance

Zhushang speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Zhushang. Looking back at my life three hundred and fifty years ago, it feels like a dream—or perhaps a nightmare from which I am only now truly waking up. Let me tell you about the day my world shattered. I was only seven years old, and my brother, who was less than two years my senior, was my entire world. We were orphans, left to fend for ourselves after our parents passed away, clinging to each other for warmth and survival.

A Tragic Loss: The Chicken and the Carriage

It was my birthday. My brother, in his kindness, had gone to the chicken coop to gather eggs to make me a special meal. But one of the chickens, startled, bolted out of the coop. My brother, desperate to retrieve it, chased after it with a bamboo stick, shouting, 'Come back! Don't run!' I watched him from the side of the road, a cold, sinking feeling growing in my chest—a premonition of the tragedy to come. Suddenly, there was a sickening thud. A carriage, moving at breakneck speed, struck him. He died instantly. I stood there, frozen in terror, before rushing to his side, screaming his name, while that wretched chicken simply clucked and wandered away. It was absolutely heart-wrenching! Absolutely heart-wrenching!

Three Years of Living in Shadows

After he died, I was a shell of a person. I locked myself away, refusing to face the world. A man who claimed to be our uncle appeared shortly after, and though we were unsure of his identity, we had no choice but to let him stay. For three long years, I lived in a state of denial. Every time I heard footsteps, I would scream 'Brother!' and run to the door, only to be met with the crushing disappointment of seeing a neighbour. I would chase strangers in the street if they had a similar build, only to be devastated when they turned around. I kept every single one of his belongings, counting them daily, terrified that losing even a trinket would mean losing a piece of him. My heart was trapped in a dark, suffocating room of my own making.

A Village Plague and a Moment of Clarity

The turning point came in the fourth year, when a mysterious plague struck our village. Livestock everywhere were dying, covered in strange red spots. Yet, the chickens my brother had been raising remained untouched. The villagers, in their ignorance and fear, began to whisper that my brother’s spirit was behind the curse, or that I was somehow involved. One villager even accused me of lying about his death, claiming he was still alive. That accusation hit me like a bolt of lightning. I shouted back with all my might, 'My brother is dead! He can never come back!' In that moment, it was as if I had finally called my own soul back to my body. I realised then that I had been living like a ghost, wasting away, unrecognisable even to myself.

The Orphanage and the Suspicious Uncle

I remembered my brother’s dream: to use our parents' inheritance to build an orphanage for children like us. I sought the help of Uncle Wang, a dear friend of my late father, to plan this project. But as I began to take action, I started to question the 'uncle' who had moved in with us. Why had he appeared so conveniently after my parents died? Why had I never heard them mention him? When I told him of my plan to donate the money to the orphanage, his reaction was violent and greedy. He was furious that I would 'waste' the money. I began to suspect his true motives. I even tested him by telling him I had buried the money under a specific tree in the garden, just to see how he would react. The air in our home grew heavy with suspicion. Namo Amituofo."

After finishing his meal, Zhushang left the house. Not long after he had gone, chaos erupted at home. A group of yamen constables stormed into the residence, and the head constable barked, "Search!" Almost immediately, a constable shouted, "The criminal is here!" Uncle was in the middle of digging in the garden with a hoe; seeing the constables, he froze in terror. Just then, Zhushang returned and, seeing the scene, immediately asked, "What is happening here?" The head constable replied, "This is the criminal our yamen has been hunting." Zhushang looked at the hoe in his uncle's hand and the massive hole he had dug in the ground. He asked, "Uncle, were you digging up the money my brother and I hid?" Uncle stammered, unable to speak. The head constable added, "This criminal poisoned and murdered Zhu Wendong eight years ago! We have finally discovered that this man is none other than Huang Qing!" Hearing that name, Zhushang gasped in shock: "Huang Qing!" Knowing the truth could no longer be hidden, Uncle looked up to the sky and let out a manic laugh: "Ha! Hahahaha!" Seeing him like this, Zhushang felt as if he were looking at a completely different person.

The Mask of Deception Falls

Uncle sneered at Zhushang: "I am Huang Qing! I am the one who killed your father! And that chicken your brother chased? That was my doing too!" Zhushang could not believe his own ears and shouted, "Stop this nonsense! Why are you saying such things?" Huang Qing laughed again: "You are truly naive, child! You actually treated your enemy as family! I am telling you the truth, yet you still think I am spouting nonsense! How could a man as calculating as Zhu Wendong have sired such a naive child?" Suddenly, Huang Qing’s face twisted with rage: "Your father ruined my family! My wife, my children—all destroyed by his words! I had to take my revenge, to see his family broken and destitute! His wealth belongs to me!" Hearing this, Zhushang suddenly recalled an event from when he was four years old. He said to Huang Qing, "My father once told my mother that he felt a deep sense of guilt toward his friend Huang Qing for failing to protect his wife and children. Father was the first to discover that Huang Qing's wife was having an affair. He had seen her with another man and tried to counsel her against betraying Huang Qing. He never expected that she would turn around and frame him, leading Huang Qing to believe that his family's departure was Father's fault."

A Truth Revealed in Blood

As the memories flooded back, everything clicked into place. The man standing before him, who had posed as his uncle, was indeed the Huang Qing of the past! Huang Qing had misunderstood his father, murdered him and his brother, and now sought to steal the family fortune. Upon hearing this, Huang Qing’s expression shifted once more. He grabbed Zhushang and demanded, "Is what you say true?" Zhushang nodded, "I was standing right beside Father. I heard him tell my mother exactly that!" Huang Qing collapsed to the ground, finally realising that he had been wrong all along—it was his own wife who had been unfaithful, not his friend who had betrayed him. Huang Qing covered his face and wept, kneeling before Zhushang to beg for forgiveness. Zhushang never imagined the truth would come to light in such a way. The man he had lived with for years was his father's killer! Zhushang walked over, pulled him up from the ground, and said, "Though I grieve for my father and brother, and I cannot bear the cruelty of their deaths, killing you now will not bring them back, nor will it bring me peace. Living with you all these years, I know you are not inherently evil; it was the hatred in your heart that drove you to such madness. I will not forget my father's teachings. I choose to forgive you. I believe that if Father were still here, he would agree with my decision."

The Finality of Karma

Huang Qing wept uncontrollably, consumed by regret for destroying himself and the family of Zhushang. "Even if you forgive me," he cried, "I cannot forgive myself!" With those words, he snatched a blade from a constable's belt and plunged it into his own stomach, dying instantly. It was all over. Zhushang sat alone in the vast, empty hall. In such a large house, he was entirely solitary. He asked himself, "Is this what life is?" He thought of Huang Qing's wife, who betrayed her husband for a fleeting emotion, leading to such malice. He thought of Huang Qing, who sacrificed a lifelong friendship for the sake of his family, only to end up a murderer. It was all the work of emotion—this very thing that everyone clings to and craves, yet which is so easily betrayed and so prone to causing harm. Zhushang shook his head: "All of this is truly an illusion!"

A New Beginning

Within six months, the orphanage was completed. Every homeless child in the village was taken in, and for the first time, they smiled. They had never known the comfort of a home, the taste of a hot meal, or the warmth of companionship. Their hearts were filled with gratitude, cherishing this rare opportunity. With all matters settled, Zhushang entered the temple to begin his practice. To him, there was nothing left in this world worth clinging to; he only wished to use this body to deliver sentient beings. He had seen clearly that for anyone in this world who does not let go of emotion, the only path is one of suffering. Without releasing greed for the world, the spirit has no way out, forever trapped in a dark vortex. Zhushang was grateful to the Buddha for allowing him to begin his practice at fifteen. Had he not experienced so much of the world's reality before then, he might never have seen through its falsehoods.

The Return to the Western Land

Kneeling before the Buddha, his master shaved his head. At that moment, Zhushang did not weep from emotion, but with a heart of firm, fearless resolve, he vowed to sacrifice his physical form to save all beings. It was over a decade later that he finally reunited with his father and brother. His father was rescued from the void, and his brother was finally liberated from the body of a chicken. None of them had ever expected to meet again; Zhushang was deeply grateful for the compassion of the Buddha. Zhushang spent his life working for the sake of all beings, his heart so filled with the joy of the Dharma that he forgot the exhaustion of his physical body. Even at ninety, his eyes remained bright and piercing, but the time had come to return. He passed the lineage of the Buddha’s teachings to his disciples and, with a heart of gratitude, stepped onto the boat of compassion to return to his Western home.

The Golden Light of Deliverance

Golden light shone, and countless spirits emerged. The Dharma Body of Practitioner Su manifested in the void for the sake of all beings, transforming infinitely; with every movement, countless spirits were delivered. After enduring countless trials, Practitioner Su had truly been reborn. He suffered all manner of tests to bear the burdens of sentient beings, breaking through every obstacle with fearlessness and determination. Each ordeal was a gateway to a higher level of practice. Today, Practitioner Su has attained the true Buddha body; every cell radiates a lotus of golden light, and his form naturally emits a gentle, virtuous fragrance that permeates the lives of infinite beings. Zhushang has followed Practitioner Su for nearly a year, and in this time, he has felt the shifts in this world. From his own era to the present, the suffering of beings has only intensified. Zhushang sighs deeply—the sea of suffering is endless! Were it not for the compassionate heart of Practitioner Su, the suffering of beings today would be far worse. People of the world must know: if you know suffering, you should seek to leave it. Where there is love, there is fear; where there is suffering, there is pain. If you can understand that all things are like dreams, bubbles, and shadows, you should strive for liberation. Otherwise, if you do not leave in this lifetime, who knows when you will encounter such an opportunity again? You must seize it. Gratitude to the compassion of Practitioner Su. Namo Amituofo.

This interview record was written by the chief writer, Shi Fajing.