The Integrity of a Young Soul

This is a record of an interview with Zhou Pingzhi, 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 during the Qing Dynasty. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fajing, on November 7, 2020.

Zhou Pingzhi speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. On behalf of sixty other prison guards, I prostrate and offer my deepest gratitude to Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su. I am truly overwhelmed with thankfulness for the magnificent Causal Conditions that allowed me to arrive here in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. I never imagined that I, a simple soul, could possess such blessings. Every scene, every object, and every recitation of the Buddha-name I see before me now is something I cherish with all my heart. No matter how long I stay here in the Western Land, I will never forget this gratitude, and I will never forget to return to the human world to save beings when the time is right.

I am Zhou Pingzhi, a man from the Qing Dynasty. As you can see, I am still wearing my traditional Qing attire, complete with a long braided queue. I believe the appearance of people from my era is not unfamiliar to you. Looking at my clothes, you can tell that I was just an ordinary civilian, born in a rural village. My family was very poor, and we relied entirely on my father, who worked himself to the bone to support our family of six—my father, my mother, myself, and my three younger siblings. I was the eldest son, and the weight of our survival rested heavily upon my young shoulders.

A Childhood Defined by Hardship

From the earliest days I can remember, my father worked desperately every single day just to earn enough to keep us fed. Every morning, I would watch his back as he left, and every evening, I would see him return, dragging his exhausted body home. My heart ached for him. I felt so much sorrow seeing him suffer so much, yet I was powerless to help. If my father did not work, we simply had no money to survive. The hunger was a constant companion, and the cold of winter was a bitter enemy we struggled to keep at bay.

When I turned ten, I begged my parents to let me go out and find odd jobs to help ease the burden on our family. They finally agreed, and I began my life as a labourer. Every morning, I had to report to the local inn. My duties were endless: after guests ordered their meals, I had to serve the food, clear the tables, and handle all the miscellaneous tasks. If guests stayed overnight, I was responsible for cleaning and preparing their rooms. The inn was small, and there were only three of us working there—the cook, the waiter, and myself. The workload was immense, and there was never a moment of rest. If I made a mistake, I would be beaten. But I could endure it. No matter how hard the work was, I could bear it. You see, I was born with a limp, and walking was difficult for me. The fact that someone was willing to hire me and give me a way to earn money was something I felt deeply grateful for. I was satisfied with whatever hardship came my way, as long as I could bring home a few coins for my family.

The Mysterious Merchants and the Test of Honesty

One day, a group of unusual people arrived at the inn. They were dressed like members of the middle-to-upper class. There was nothing overtly strange about them, but I felt a sense of unease—a feeling that they were somehow different, though I could not put my finger on it. After I finished serving their meal, they handed me a large sum of money as a tip. I had never seen so much money in my life. I immediately pushed the money back and said, 'Kind sirs, this is too much. I cannot accept this.'

When they saw my reaction, they all laughed and said, 'This child is truly honest!' Then, one of the men took the money bag back and threw it into a nearby rubbish bin. I gasped in shock, 'Ah!' The man asked me, 'What is wrong? You said you did not want the money, did you not? Since you do not want it, we threw it away. We have no intention of taking it back.' I said nervously, 'But... but that is money! And there is quite a lot of it in there.' The man asked, 'Do you want it now?' I quickly replied, 'If no one else wants it, then please, give it to me. I truly need the money.' The man then said, 'This bag of money was stolen. Do you still dare to take it?'

Hearing this, I quickly pulled my hand back from the bin. I looked at him and asked, 'You said this money was stolen?' He replied, 'Yes, stolen.' I immediately shook my head and said, 'Then I do not want it. No matter how much money it is, if it is stolen, I cannot accept it.' I truly did not understand what kind of game they were playing. Why would they steal money only to throw it away? After seeing my reaction, they laughed again and said, 'Child, from the moment we arrived, we have been testing you to see if you are a person of integrity. It seems you have passed our test. We are looking for someone trustworthy to guard our wealth. You know how chaotic these times are; finding an honest person is not easy. We have been observing you for a long time. We sent over a dozen people to this inn to test you, and they all reported that you are a person of trust. Today, we came ourselves to see. You are indeed an honest child, and we can trust you.'

A Dangerous Responsibility

I was completely bewildered. I was only a ten-year-old boy. What kind of wealth could I possibly guard for them? Could I really handle such a task? I could not help but doubt myself. They told me, 'If you are willing to guard our money, we will pay you a very high wage. What you earn here in one day would take you a whole month to earn at this inn. Is that not a good deal?' I began to hesitate. The high wage was indeed tempting. I wanted to understand who they were, so I asked them many questions. I learned that they were a group of merchants who traded overseas and spent most of their time at sea, returning only occasionally. They had a house here where they stored all their earnings. To protect this wealth, they needed someone to watch over it. They would send people every month to deliver more money, and I would be responsible for counting and recording everything, reporting back to them when they returned.

They did not ask me to decide immediately; they gave me a week to consider. I thought about it constantly and discussed it with my parents. After much deliberation, I decided to give it a try. A week later, they returned to the inn. They were delighted to hear my answer and quickly arranged a carriage to take me to the place where they stored their gold and silver treasures. It was a very large house. They told me I was to live there, and if any officials came to inspect, I was to pretend to be the child of the house, saying my parents were out and would return later. If an official insisted on entering, I was to guard the treasures and ensure they never discovered the secret mechanism in the basement.

The Discovery of Truth

For two months, I guarded those treasures well. Then, one day, I felt a sudden urge to walk into the town. I found the streets in total chaos. I heard people crying that their money had been stolen, and that families were living in misery because of constant theft and robbery. When I heard this, my heart felt a sharp pang of pain. I have always trusted my intuition, and I thought to myself, 'Could it be that the theft of these people's wealth has something to do with those men?'

I immediately rushed back to the house. They had never allowed me into the basement, but I could no longer care about that. I turned the mechanism, walked down a long, long passage, and finally reached the room where the treasures were stored. Before my eyes lay piles of gold, silver, and jewels. I reached out and picked up a string of beads. They clearly belonged to someone; some even had names engraved on them. I knew then that this was all stolen property—the wealth that the townspeople had lost. The sheer scale of the greed was sickening, and I knew I had to act.

The next day, I immediately reported the situation to the officials. They quickly sealed the house and forbade anyone from entering, including me. After an investigation, the officials confirmed that these were indeed stolen goods. They seized everything, and through their investigation, the townspeople were able to recover their belongings. As for that group of men, they were finally captured. They were all robbers, bandits, and pirates. With their arrest, the town finally returned to a state of peace, and I felt a sense of relief that I had done the right thing, even if I was just a child.

From the Underworld to the Western Pure Land

I thought my actions had gone unnoticed, but I was wrong. They had one final, sinister move. One night, they secretly sent someone to assassinate me. I died, but my spirit did not. My integrity led me to become a prison guard in the hells. The King of Hell told me, 'Although you were young, you were righteous and brave enough to report the truth, saving the people of the entire town. This is enough for you to serve as a prison guard in the First Hall.' I was deeply grateful for this opportunity to serve. I listened and performed my duties faithfully every day, never complaining about the darkness or the suffering I witnessed.

To this day, I never expected to have the blessings to be guided by Practitioner Su to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. It is a miracle beyond my wildest dreams. I am filled with gratitude for the compassion of the Buddha and the compassion of Practitioner Su. Namo Amituofo."