The Jailer's Path to Ultimate Bliss

This is a record of an interview with Ke Shuhong, 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 and his time serving as a jailer in the ghost realm. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on November 5, 2021.

Ke Shuhong speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. Throughout my life, I have been learning one thing: how to lower my head. It is not that I did not want to be a successful person, but rather that I did not want to compete. Life is so short; it passes in the blink of an eye, and the things we fight for cannot be taken with us when we go. I had these realisations from a very young age, so my heart was often in a state of calm. Even in the final moments of my life, I waited quietly. Originally, I expected to spend five hundred years in the ghost realm before being reincarnated, but King Yama saw that I was honest and granted me the position of a jailer, giving me the opportunity to serve others.

The Wailing of the Hells

In the hells, the most common sound is the sound of wailing. It echoes incessantly, one cry after another, never stopping. Hearing these agonising screams, my heart could no longer remain as calm as it once was. Instead, I found myself constantly thinking about how to counsel these beings in the hells. I once tried to counsel the inmates from my own perspective, but they were all stubborn individuals. Some were willing to listen to a few words, while others would not even listen at all, simply turning their heads away. Watching the sentient beings come and go in the hells caused me such heartache. It was only after I heard Practitioner Su giving Dharma talks that I truly understood the laws of karma and cause and effect.

Most beings are spinning on the great wheel of samsara, lost in delusion and unaware of how to wake up. I do not know why, but watching them made my heart ache with a hidden pain; I hoped that everyone would have the chance to jump out of this cycle. King Yama is compassionate, and seeing that I had done my utmost, he added my name to the list for rebirth in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Today, I have finally waited for this moment, and I have been reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss along with fifty-nine other jailers. Seeing the Buddha’s eyes, they are truly so compassionate, looking down upon this world, waiting to save the countless sentient beings whose Causal Conditions have matured. Practitioner Su, here in the human world, is leading countless beings back to the Western Land. I kneel and offer my gratitude to the Buddha and Practitioner Su for what they have done for all beings, and I am also grateful to Practitioner Su for leading us sixty jailers to the Western Land.

A Childhood of Observation

My name is Ke Shuhong. From a young age, I was a person with very mature thoughts. Influenced by my mother, I became very adept at reading the human heart. My mother was the first wife in the Ke household. She married into the family at eighteen and gave birth to me at twenty. When I was three years old, and my mother was twenty-three, my father took a second wife, and in the following years, he took a third, fourth, and fifth wife. By the time my father was forty, he already had twelve children.

My father was often away on business, so he had a wide circle of acquaintances, but he rarely cared for us children. In fact, he could not even remember the names of all twelve of his children. Most of his time was spent revolving around his concubines or going to restaurants and taverns with friends to indulge in wine and song. Our home was rarely peaceful, as the concubines my father brought in would constantly compete for his favour, compare themselves to one another, and even disregard or scheme against each other.

The Pure Lotus in the Shrine

My mother’s name was Qinglian. She described herself as a pure lotus. She did not want to participate in any of the disputes in the house. In her room, my mother set up a small shrine, and every day she would fixedly chant several sutras. When she was not chanting sutras, she would chant Buddha's name. As for her feelings towards my father, she had long since let them go. Therefore, when my father spoke to her, her reactions were always quite cold, which sometimes made my father very angry.

I was the son my father valued most because I was his eldest. My father planned to hand over the burden of his business and the household to me in the future, but my mother told me, 'Hong-er, we must learn to yield. Since your father has so many sons, and they all want to learn business from him, you should yield the opportunity to them. Let them show what they can do.' I was very obedient to my mother and nodded.

My mother continued, 'I do not wish for my child to compete with others. You must know that being unkind to others is being unkind to oneself. If others suffer, you will suffer in the future. Life is short; we do not need to pursue these things.' I nodded again and asked my mother, 'Mother, why do you chant sutras every day? Can chanting sutras really remove the suffering in one's heart?' My mother replied, 'Child, I am reminding myself not to be attached to this world. Look at your father, with so many women around him and his business doing so well—is he truly happy? The happiness on his face does not represent the happiness in his heart. Seeing your aunts surrounding your father, rising and falling for his sake, do you think they are happy?'

The Search for Liberation

After listening to my mother, I asked her, 'Mother, are you happy then?' My mother said, 'I cannot call it happiness; it is just that my heart is calm, and I desire liberation.' I asked my mother, 'What is liberation?' My mother said, 'Perhaps it is going to a world without disputes.' From that moment on, the image of a calm and beautiful world took root in my mind.

When I was fifteen, a young man, my father intended to take me out to do business, but I declined. I told my father, 'I do not want to learn business.' My father was somewhat angry and said, 'If you do not learn business, what will you do in the future?' I said, 'I have not thought about it yet, but I want to stay by my mother’s side.' My father roared, 'You are just as cold as your mother.' Before I could explain, my father turned and walked away. From that day on, my father never spoke to me again; he let me develop freely. I felt a little hurt by my father’s reaction, but my mother understood my heart and comforted me, telling me not to be moved by the affairs of this world. At that time, I did not fully understand.

I walked to the creek and watched the flowing water. The water kept flowing, seemingly without facing any obstacles, but at that moment, my heart felt as if it were stuck, filled with stones of various sizes. I was pondering my future: should I follow my father or my mother? Which kind of life was the one I truly wanted? I sat by the creek alone for a long time, and it was only when I was hit by raindrops that I hurried back home.

A Life of Performance

After thinking for a long time, I decided to go out and find the answer. Still quite young, I carried a simple bag and walked through one small town after another. Finally, I met a wandering performer on the road whose act made everyone laugh heartily. Seeing everyone’s smiles and then looking at myself, I wondered why I did not even have a single smile. After the performance, I decided to follow this wandering performer. The reason was simple: I wanted to make others happy, and I wanted to make myself happy.

Performance work was not as simple as I had imagined. I underwent a great deal of training, and every task tested my resolve not to give up. As I performed with the wandering master, Wang Xia, I saw many different faces on the streets. Each face contained various emotions and thoughts. Even for the same person, what I saw in one moment changed significantly in the next. I did not understand why this was so.

Five years later, my performance skills were quite mature, and I could perform high-difficulty stunts. As my skills matured, my heart began to view people with a different perspective. I knew that most people were helpless in their hearts and needed care. Therefore, I transitioned from performing acrobatics to performing scenes from everyday life. At the end of each performance, I would always provide a perfect ending, so that after watching, people’s hearts would be bright and filled with positivity towards life.

Returning Home

I always received thunderous applause after my performances, but I always remembered what my mother taught me, so I was never proud, nor did I think I was anything special. I wandered everywhere, performing everywhere. Previously, the old master Wang Xia accompanied me, but he died in a performance accident when I was thirty-five. My heart was very sad, but I still chose to continue walking through life. I once thought about settling in one place, but my heart kept urging me to move forward. I used my own way to help people be happy. At that moment, I asked my heart again, 'Are you happy?' My heart did not give me an answer; it seemed that my heart had already seen through life, so it did not need an answer. Everything was allowed to follow its natural course.

I earned money along the way and gave Generosity to those in need. I met many people through my performances, but after the day we met, I never saw them again. They all became passers-by in my life. After walking a great circle, forty years had passed. I walked back to my hometown and arrived at the gate of the Ke mansion. I could not help but step forward and knock on the door. The person who answered did not recognise me, and I did not recognise them. I asked, 'Is Madam Meng Qinglian here?' The person replied, 'Are you looking for our old mistress?' I nodded. He said, 'The old mistress passed away long ago, probably twenty years ago. She is buried on the hillside nearby.'

The Final Peace

I inquired about the exact location and walked to the grave where my mother was buried. I saw a weathered tombstone with 'Madam Ke Qinglian' written on it. I reached out and touched the tombstone, my heart still lingering on the image of my mother when she was young. I knelt and said to her, 'Mother, I am sorry. I never came back to see you, but Mother, this is life, isn't it? We will always be separated.' I stayed in front of the tombstone for a long time, remembering what my mother told me about not caring for the possessions of this world. I decided to let go of my sadness; I knew that when my mother left, her heart must have been calm.

After visiting my mother, I continued on my journey, walking through mountains and rivers until my body began to lose its strength. I then settled in a small village. My face did not show much expression because I did not want to feel any joy or sorrow. My body became thinner and thinner. At sixty, while sitting in a rocking chair, I left this world, completely exhausted. I had no attachments to this world; I had no relatives, just myself. As my body grew weaker, I knew that death was not far away, so I kept my heart calm. I did not know where I would go after death, and I did not explore it, because it was not a question I could answer.

In the rocking chair, I gradually felt my breathing become shallow. Before my eyes appeared some of the places I had once visited, and finally, I stopped breathing, ending this life. Entering the ghost realm, I continued to perform, making people happy, until King Yama let me become a jailer. Today, I am very grateful to Practitioner Su for leading me to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Coming here, I have finally felt true happiness. My spirit has become very clear, and there is a natural happiness. This kind of happiness cannot be compared to the happiness of the human world. I only now realise that what I brought to people in the past was only superficial happiness, not the true happiness of the spirit. Having felt this here, I hope more people can come to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss and enjoy ultimate bliss forever. I am grateful for the grace of the Buddha and Practitioner Su. Ke Shuhong bows his head. Namo Amituofo."