The Karmic Retribution of the Chicken Seller

This is a record of an interview with the Venerable Wancheng, who lived approximately seven hundred and eighty years ago. He now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. In this account, he reflects upon the tragic karmic retribution experienced by his mother, known as 'Chicken Mother Aunt,' and the profound spiritual transformation that followed their encounter with the truth of the laws of karma and cause and effect. This interview was recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fajing, on January 26, 2019.

Venerable Wancheng speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Wancheng. Looking back at my life seven hundred and eighty years ago, the memories are as vivid as if they happened only yesterday. My mother was known throughout our village as 'Chicken Mother Aunt.' She raised countless chickens in our backyard. Beyond what she sold at the market, these birds were the primary source of meat for our family, especially during the various festivals when we would offer them to the celestial deities. We were, in our ignorance, inviting immense suffering into our home under the guise of celebration, never realising the heavy price we would eventually pay for our actions. We lived in a state of constant, blissful ignorance, unaware that every act of killing was carving a deep, indelible mark upon our own life force."

A Childhood Defined by the Cycle of Killing

"From the time I was a small child, my mother taught me how to raise, slaughter, and sell chickens. This was our family trade for over twenty years. In the local market, everyone knew my mother. My father worked as a cloth merchant, but on holidays, he would assist my mother in selling the chickens. Business was always booming. I can still see my mother, smiling broadly as she collected money, her purse always full. Because of this trade, we never went hungry, and my father’s cloth business ensured we were always well-clothed. It seemed like a prosperous life, but we were blind to the heavy karmic debt we were accumulating every single day. We were so focused on the material gains of the present that we completely ignored the spiritual consequences that were silently gathering like storm clouds over our household.

Every day, the hens would lay eggs, and my daily chore was to collect them and place them into baskets. If the yield was high, my mother would take them to the market to sell; if it was low, we would keep them for ourselves. It was a routine, a cycle of life that I thought was perfectly normal. I had no idea that every egg, every chicken, and every act of killing was weaving a web of cause and effect that would eventually ensnare us all. We were living in a world of delusion, mistaking the accumulation of wealth for true blessings, while in reality, we were merely deepening our own suffering in the six realms of existence."

The Monk and the Mirror of the Soul

"One day, I was home alone. Before leaving, my mother had instructed me to collect the eggs from the backyard. As the time approached, I grabbed my basket and headed out. Just then, a monk arrived at our door, seeking alms. Being young and naive, I did not understand the sanctity of his presence. I went straight to the backyard, grabbed one of our chickens, and brought it to him. I said, 'Our family’s finest dish is chicken, though my mother hasn't cooked yet today. To ensure you have a delicious meal, I have specially selected this chicken for you. It is absolutely the best!'

The monk looked at me with deep compassion and said, 'I do not consume the flesh of sentient beings.' He then looked closely at the chicken and added, 'This chicken is ill.' I was shocked. I examined the bird and protested, 'This is the most energetic chicken we have! It runs the fastest and eats the most. How can you say it is sick?' The monk replied, 'Look into its eyes.' I looked, and suddenly, a chill ran down my spine. I had seen those eyes before. I searched my memory, and the realization hit me like a thunderbolt. I screamed, 'These are my mother’s eyes! I have seen these exact eyes on my mother!' I asked the monk, 'If the chicken is sick, does that mean my mother is sick too?'"

The Tale of the Champion Pig Man

"The monk then told me a story. He spoke of a man who raised champion pigs. Every year, his pigs were the largest, and he won every competition. He became obsessed, sleeping in the pigsty and loving his pigs more than anything. Eventually, he began to look like a pig, act like a pig, and even eat the same slop as the pigs. One day, a friend visited and found him in the sty, grunting like a swine. He had completely transformed into the very beings he had raised for slaughter. The monk’s message was clear: we become what we cling to, and the karmic retribution for killing is inescapable.

The next day, my mother suddenly fell ill. She was at the market when she lost her voice. She clutched her throat, her face contorted in a terrifying expression. I rushed to the backyard to find that specific hen, but it was gone. My father told me it had been sold to the neighbor the night before. I ran to the neighbor's house, and there, I saw the chicken being slaughtered. Its face, in its final moments, mirrored the exact expression of agony my mother was currently suffering. I grabbed the dying bird, crying out, 'Mother! Mother!' My father and the neighbors were stunned, thinking I had lost my mind from worry, but when my father looked into the dying chicken's eyes, he saw it too. The truth was undeniable."

The Inescapable Laws of Karma and Cause and Effect

"My mother’s condition worsened. She suffered immense pain, her skin felt as if it were burning, and her tongue kept protruding from her mouth. I knelt and prayed to the Buddha or Bodhisattva, chanting the name of Namo Amituofo as the monk had taught me. My father joined me, and we repented for the decades of killing we had committed. As I made a sincere vow to study the Buddha’s teachings and save all sentient beings, my mother’s condition improved. But it was short-lived. Her greed for the taste of meat returned. She thought a single piece of chicken wouldn't matter. As she swallowed that piece of fat, she felt a fleeting, demonic pleasure—like she was in heaven. But as she reached for a second piece, she choked. She struggled, gasped, and finally suffocated to death. When we found her, she was gone.

The grief was overwhelming, but it was a wake-up call. We realized that the money earned from killing could never buy back a life. After she passed, I released all the chickens we had left. My father used all our savings to buy animals for release. He joined a Buddhist group, and I entered a monastery to practise. I never forgot my vow: to achieve spiritual success and save the beings I had harmed. My mother’s 'flower retribution' became a warning to the entire village. No one dared to kill again; everyone turned to a vegetarian diet. As I grew in my practice and became a dignified monk, the village’s energy shifted. The people became kinder, and the atmosphere was transformed by the Dharma."

The Compassion of Practitioner Su

"I spent my life teaching the laws of karma and cause and effect, using my mother’s story to help others understand that these laws are absolute. This merit helped my mother escape the hells and find rebirth in the human realm. I am eternally grateful to that monk who saved my family and my village. Namo Amituofo.

In this age of the Dharma’s decline, to encounter Practitioner Su and receive his guidance is a tremendous blessing. Many people chant, but how many truly achieve spiritual success? People today are filled with delusions, afflictions, and attachments. Without following the Buddha’s teachings to adjust one's own heart, even chanting ten thousand times a day will not lead to success. You will still be trapped in the six realms of existence, unable to attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Practitioner Su has made a great vow to save the immeasurable and boundless beings of this age, whether they are in the human world or the spirit realms. His compassion and sincerity have moved the Buddhas to respond, allowing him to teach the true essence of Buddhism. He helps beings correct their bad habits and chant Namo Amituofo to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. His Dharma Body travels through the universe, performing Chao Du for spirits who have never seen such brilliant light. The six-character name of Namo Amituofo resonates throughout the Milky Way, and spirits come from everywhere seeking deliverance. The space around us is changing, and the world is slowly turning toward Goodness. I am deeply grateful for the compassion of Practitioner Su. Namo Amituofo."