The Integrity of a Crippled Scholar

Wang Jinchuan, a former prison guard in the hells, sought deliverance through the compassion of Practitioner Su. This interview, recorded on April 23, 2022, recounts his life as a scholar during the Ming-Qing transition and his subsequent journey in the spiritual realms.

Wang Jinchuan speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am deeply grateful to Practitioner Su for her great compassion. With her help, one hundred and eighty of us prison guards in the hells are able to be guided by her Dharma Body to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss every single week. Our hearts are filled with immense gratitude—gratitude to the Buddha for his compassion, and gratitude to Practitioner Su for her great compassion."

"I was once a part of the world, known by the name Wang Jinchuan. Even after I passed away in this lifetime, I remained in the spiritual realms under the identity of Wang Jinchuan, serving as a prison guard within the hells."

A Scholar’s Humble Beginnings

"During my life, I was considered a fairly upright and conventional person. I was born into an ordinary family; I was the only son my parents ever had, and they placed great expectations upon me. Our family circumstances were quite poor, yet my parents scrimped and saved every penny to support my education, hoping that I would one day secure a respectable position."

"The era I lived in was the transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties—a time of great chaos and upheaval. Every day, one could hear reports of various disturbances, which were quite unsettling to the heart. In such an environment, I constantly told myself, 'Do not let your heart be moved.' No matter how chaotic the world became, my heart could not follow suit."

The Burden of Public Service

"My parents saw me burying myself in my studies every day, yet we were frequently interrupted. My father held a minor role in our village—he was a sort of administrator, not the village chief, but someone who helped manage affairs under the chief. There was no clear title for his position, but it was a difficult role to fill. No one wanted it, and in truth, my father did not want it either. However, he was widely recognised as a good man, and everyone in the village voted for him. He found it hard to refuse, so he took on the responsibility."

"Every day, disputes would break out in the village, and the villagers would bring their quarrels right to our doorstep, demanding that my father settle them. 'Whose eggs were stolen?', 'Whose laundry has gone missing?', 'Whose child is crying all night?', 'Who is looking for work but cannot find any?'—all these trivial matters were brought to my father. Consequently, our home was noisy and chaotic every single day; we never had a moment of peace."

Cultivating Focus Amidst Chaos

"Despite this environment, I still had to study. I would lock myself in my room, burying my head in my books, but the clamour would constantly seep through the cracks in the walls. It was incredibly distracting. I used various methods to help myself settle my heart. Sometimes, I would balance a cup of water on my head while standing to read, ensuring that the cup would not tip over. This helped me concentrate my attention and, in a sense, dulled my sensitivity to the noise outside, reducing the impact of the disturbances."

"At times, I would even stand with my bare feet on sharp stones, setting a rule for myself that I could not move until I had finished a certain amount of reading. I used the pain beneath my feet to urge myself on, telling myself not to pay attention to the sounds outside and that reading was the priority."

The Jealousy of the Wealthy

"At that time, there was a group of other candidates in the village preparing for the examinations, all of whom were sons of wealthy families. Every time they walked past our house, they could not help but mock me loudly, claiming that I would never pass. Regarding their ridicule and their various words, I did not take them to heart. I told myself that, no matter what, I had to give my all so as not to disappoint the expectations my parents had for me."

"On the day the results were posted, I saw my name, 'Wang Jinchuan,' on the list with my own eyes. I was overjoyed and rushed home to share the good news with my parents, to let them share in the happiness. That day, my father brought out some aged wine to celebrate, and my mother prepared a table of delicious dishes to mark the occasion."

A Cruel Betrayal

"The news of my success was seen as bad news by those wealthy young men, as none of them had passed. They grew jealous, but they did not show it. Instead, they discussed it among themselves and decided to frame me. As I began preparing for the second stage of the examinations, they deliberately came to my home, bringing what appeared to be delicious food. They filled our table, claiming they wanted to wish me success in the next stage of the exams."

"I found it difficult to refuse and sat down to eat that meal with them. I never imagined that the meal was a deliberate trap. They had laced the white rice I ate with an aphrodisiac. This was no ordinary substance; it carried a specific toxicity. Once consumed, one would become addicted. When the craving struck, one had to consume more, and only after venting the urge would the effects slowly subside."

The Choice of Integrity

"After I was framed and consumed the drug, my entire body was beyond my control. I felt like a beast in heat, having completely lost my reason. I rushed out of the house, wanting to find a woman, but I quickly used my willpower to tell myself that I must not. The internal struggle and the agony were excruciating. As for those men, they all watched and laughed, waiting to see me commit a grave mistake and lose my eligibility for the examinations forever."

"I did not know what to do. I tried hard to remind myself that I must never do what I should not do. Although I was using my willpower to endure, my body was still under the influence of the drug. Given the dosage they had given me, the intensity of the effect would have made any man immediately pounce upon the first woman he saw. Even a person who was usually very rational would find it hard to resist such a powerful force."

"I was sweating profusely, screaming and running in the hills behind the village, telling myself, 'Absolutely not! Absolutely not!' Just as I was about to reach my breaking point, they deliberately brought a woman dressed in thin gauze before me, intending for me to commit a terrible mistake. Fortunately, a woodcutter happened to be on the mountain gathering firewood. Without hesitation, I snatched the axe from his hands and chopped off my own leg. The immediate, searing pain caused the effects of the drug to vanish completely."

A Life of Service

"When it was over, I was covered in blood, but my body had finally calmed down. Having lost a leg, my parents were heartbroken every time they looked at me, but I comforted them, saying that at least I had not done anything foolish. After that incident, I did not pursue those people for what they had done. Many thought I was a fool, but to me, perhaps it was simply something I was destined to encounter in life. No matter how much I pursued it, it would not bring back my leg. Being able to live a peaceful life was enough."

"I gave up the next stage of the examinations. To outsiders, it seemed a great pity, but to me, it was not at all. I used my writing ability and my speaking skills to begin mediating for others. For everyone who came to me for mediation, I hoped to counsel them toward goodness and harmony. If I could make things better for everyone, there was nothing better than that."

"Furthermore, every few days, I would write a 'good word' and post it in the village. For those who could not read, I would draw an illustration beside it. It was all about teaching people to speak well, listen well, look well, think well, and do well. My experience as a victim made me want to help society return to peace even more. In those chaotic days, everyone's heart was restless and agitated. I hoped to use my own small, humble strength to help everyone. At the very least, in such a terrible environment, one could still learn goodness, learn to look well and think well, and pass through those days in safety."

The Value of a Life

"In this lifetime, at the moment my life ended, I was a white-haired old man. Surrounding me were a group of children. Those children were not related to me by blood; they were the children of the village. I treated them as my own grandchildren, teaching them the Buddha’s teachings of Goodness, hoping that these children could learn to be good and do good from a young age. To me at that time, the value of life lay in being able to use this body to perform good deeds and help others, thereby manifesting the highest value of life."

"My convictions and my good deeds allowed me to become a prison guard after death. In the hells, I did not forget to perform good deeds. Especially after I listened to Practitioner Su’s Dharma talks, I began teaching everyone in the hells to chant Buddha's name. Today, due to magnificent Causal Conditions, I have been placed on the list for Practitioner Su to guide to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. I am grateful to the Buddha for his compassion, and I am grateful to Practitioner Su for her compassion."

"Namo Amituofo."