The Illusion of Wealth and the Path to Deliverance

This interview was recorded on March 29, 2026, at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. The speaker, Chien Wei-te, a merchant from the Ming Dynasty, sought deliverance after centuries of suffering in the hells. He now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, having been saved by the compassion of Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su.

Chien Wei-te speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am deeply grateful to Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su. I am Chien Wei-te, and I speak on behalf of sixty fellow prison guards to express our profound gratitude to Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su for helping us escape the hells and arrive in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to be liberated from the hells and reach such an incredibly pure and beautiful world. The level of purity and brilliance here surpasses even the Dharma-Nature Land, and it is far beyond anything in the human world or the hells. This scene is truly beyond words, and I can only attempt to describe it with simple language."

A Merchant's Dream in the Ming Dynasty

"I was born during the Ming Dynasty into a family of fishermen in a coastal village. During that era, maritime trade was flourishing. I grew up in that fishing village, and from a young age, the harbour became my place of learning and play. I watched the fishing boats come and go, but my heart was not truly set on the work of fishing. Seeing the merchants coming and going, I felt a deep yearning; I hoped that one day I could become an overseas merchant. However, as my family had been in the fishing business for generations, I had no idea how to become a long-distance trader.

I had no choice but to follow the family trade to save up some capital, while simultaneously familiarising myself with fishing boats and maritime operations. Once I had gathered enough funds, I joined an overseas merchant fleet. I started as a labourer on the ship, taking the opportunity to learn how the entire merchant fleet operated. From this, I learned the basic requirements for a voyage, including funding, personnel, and logistics."

The Allure of Exotic Goods

"After becoming familiar with the trade, I realised that life on an overseas fishing boat was not much different from that on a merchant ship. The only difference was that merchant ships travelled across the world, bringing back precious items and resources from other countries to sell in China, thereby earning a profit from the price difference. However, the capacity of each merchant ship was limited. One had to have a precise and unique eye to know what the Ming Dynasty royalty and high-ranking officials would desire, so that we could procure the right goods to offer to the government.

Most of these offerings were spices, medicinal herbs, jewellery, and exotic animals that could only be found abroad. This was undoubtedly similar to the fishing business; it created a great deal of negative karma. We also imported large quantities of silver, pepper, and opium. These things provided people with a more affluent material life, but they also influenced the human heart, making people more greedy under the temptation of so many objects. The distinction between high and low quality in these goods caused the originally simple and pure human heart to develop many discriminations and comparisons."

The Weight of Karmic Retribution

"At the time, I did not realise there was anything wrong with this work. Going to sea and participating in overseas merchant groups had always been my dream since childhood. In order to see the vastness of the world, I believed joining a merchant group was a great way to do so. And indeed, I used this opportunity to recognise the breadth of the world.

Although we brought back many items to China, it was far less than what we left behind. After all, the capacity of the merchant ships was limited. Each voyage, we could only bring back the items and materials most urgently needed by the dynasty and the people of that time. Especially those precious metals and spices—they were extremely heavy. Often, a ship would set sail, and before it was even fully loaded, it had to return quickly. This was the limitation of merchant ship capacity at the time.

The time spent sailing at sea often lasted several months, so the items we could bring back each time were quite limited. This created a situation where the goods brought back to China always fetched astronomical prices, and everyone scrambled to buy them. After deducting the portion offered to the government, any simple item remaining would make our merchant group incredibly wealthy. Even after deducting the costs of the voyage, labour, and ship maintenance, we still earned a massive profit. Because I continuously accumulated my own wealth and connections, I soon became a merchant group leader in my own right. I operated my own fleet to trade overseas. However, in the process, it was inevitable that we would encounter natural disasters, causing precious goods and the entire fleet to sink to the bottom of the sea. This was indeed a significant loss.

But compared to the speed at which we made money, that kind of loss could be considered negligible. As the only channel capable of bringing overseas materials into China, every import and export had to go through us. Therefore, in the back-and-forth, we could earn countless price differences. However, this life and these 'good days' did not last long."

The Descent into Hallucinations

"Around the age of forty, I began to experience hallucinations from time to time. I thought it was the effect of sailing at sea for too long, the long-term rocking of the ship affecting my body, so I decided to retire behind the scenes and settle near the port where the Guangdong merchant fleets docked.

I no longer went to sea personally, only occasionally making a trip, reducing the frequency. However, the hallucinations did not decrease, and my vision became increasingly blurred. I often experienced symptoms of dizziness, similar to seasickness on the ocean. I had not been seasick for a long time, and I did not know why this phenomenon suddenly appeared. I sought out many famous doctors, but I could not find a cure.

In my dreams, I would always see many exotic animals and large quantities of fish rushing towards me. I did not understand why I had such dreams. I kept thinking that no matter how many fish there were, they could all be exchanged for wealth. If there were exotic animals, or even gold, silver, and jewellery, that was even more essential cargo for a merchant group. Later, the situation became more and more serious; the dizziness and the feeling of being weak and paralysed intensified. I was still young, not even fifty years old, yet I was already bedridden for a long time.

Many subordinates and workers from the merchant group came to visit me, bringing back precious medicinal herbs they had specially purchased for me during their voyages. However, I could not consume them. Whenever I tried to take these precious herbs, I would vomit them all up; I could not eat them at all.

Reaching this stage in life, I truly felt completely desperate. I spent most of my time in a state between sleeping and waking. When I was occasionally clear-headed, I would always wonder to myself: 'What exactly did I do wrong? Why am I encountering such an embarrassing situation?' And then, in one of my dreams, I arrived before the Hall of the King of Hell. At first, I did not recognise this place, but later, the judge of the underworld explained to me that I had died and had come before the King of Hell for trial."

Confession Before the King of Hell

"The King of Hell explained to me one by one every little thing I had done in my life: the fishing had created a massive amount of killing karma; the goods procured through overseas trade had disturbed people's hearts, causing them to develop greed; the silver brought back had influenced people's hearts; the spices had made people more obsessed with their sense of taste; and the opium itself had caused people to become muddled and confused, affecting their ability to live normal lives.

Facing these many sins, the King of Hell asked me if I pleaded guilty. I was very shocked at first, as it was the first time I had heard these things, but I immediately recalled the various dreams I had seen before I passed away, as well as the various reactions of my body. I realised that they indeed matched perfectly. The various conditions my body suffered were exactly as the King of Hell said; the harm I had caused to the world had all returned to act upon myself. That was why I had lost my life at home at the young age of forty-five.

Although this lifetime was only forty-something years, I had created immeasurable and boundless sins because of my work. I repented to the King of Hell, admitting that I was indeed wrong. Because at the beginning, I simply wanted to broaden my horizons and did not genuinely want to harm the civilians. I thought that the precious items I brought back could bring better changes to people's lives, enriching their material resources, giving them different choices, and allowing them to learn about the customs of foreign lands. I never expected that these materials would instead disturb people's hearts; this was indeed something I had never thought of. And that making money was indeed my greed; I admit that as well.

I truly repented. Seeing that I had sincere repentance, the King of Hell reduced my sentence. After my sentence was served, the King of Hell asked me if I was willing to serve as a prison guard. I sincerely expressed to the King of Hell that if I could be given the chance, I would be willing to explain this truth to the beings suffering in the hells. After all, there are not a few beings today who seek novelty and change and end up in hell because of it. People today always use 'attracting people and making their eyes light up' to make money, and these sins of disturbing people's hearts are the same as mine. I hope that through my story and my personal experience, I can make them wake up."

The Path to the Western Pure Land

"After the King of Hell gave his permission, I began to serve in the hells. I served for hundreds of years, and finally, I had the opportunity to hear Practitioner Su give Dharma talks, which made me understand even more clearly the sins I had created. I also understood that being able to earn money in that lifetime was the result of blessings cultivated in previous lives.

Before I passed away, I donated all the wealth I had earned back to the merchant group. At the time, I thought I had no use for it, but because of this unintentional act, I reduced much of the karma I had to repay. After all, every bit of that money earned was owed to immeasurable and boundless beings. If I had kept it for myself after death, that immeasurable and boundless karma would have been even harder to repay.

After listening to Practitioner Su's Dharma talks, I repented and wept bitterly. I had never heard such a great Dharma, nor did I know where the goal of life lay. Now I know: the goal of life is to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. As long as one resolves to join the salvation team, one does not need to be restricted by the many material things of the human world. One can quickly escape the sea of suffering in the Saha world and arrive at the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, which is truly filled with gold, silver, jewellery, and vibrant colours.

At this very moment, I am in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, looking at this immeasurable, boundless, and infinitely beautiful world. I sincerely want to tell everyone that no matter what kind of gold, silver, jewellery, or exotic animals exist in the world, they are all as insignificant as dust compared to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. The true treasures and beautiful scenery of the Western Pure Land can be said to be incomparable; they are things the world cannot imagine, and cannot even reach one-hundredth or one-thousandth of.

This is the fundamental reason why everyone should let go of their worldly pursuits. The Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is incomparably beautiful. This is a motivation I give to the people of the world: do not be attached to the illusions of the world anymore. No matter how beautiful the illusions are, they are far inferior to the beauty of the Western Pure Land.

I am grateful to Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su for saving us and bringing us to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. I hope that those who have karmic affinity can let go of their obsession with the world, join the salvation team, and be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Namo Amituofo.

Chien Wei-te"