The Monk Who Became a Prison Guard: A Journey of Repentance

On November 10, 2019, the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre conducted an interview with Hong Guocheng, a representative of sixty prison guards who have recently been delivered to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Hong Guocheng, who once lived as a monk, shares his harrowing life story, his time serving in the underworld, and his ultimate redemption through the compassionate guidance of Practitioner Su.

Hong Guocheng speaks:

"Hong Guocheng and the other fifty-nine prison guards prostrated ourselves before Namo Amituofo, Practitioner Su, and all the virtuous ones. We express our deepest gratitude for the Buddha's immense grace, as we have now arrived in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss."

"Hong Guocheng is my secular name. In my past life, I had ordained as a monk under the name Shi Hanqing. I began as a little novice and eventually received the full Bhikshu precepts. I was small in stature, and knowing that my spiritual obstacles from past lives were profound, I practised diligently, focusing my studies on the Amitabha Sutra. Rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss was my greatest aspiration, and I chanted the Buddha's name without ceasing.

However, my heart was haunted by memories of my parents. When I was a child, my father would often beat me. My mother, trying to protect me, was once pushed by him and struck her head against a wall. The Head trauma she suffered was severe, and she passed away after several days of agony. My great-aunt, seeing this, sent me to a small temple nearby to become a little novice, hoping to spare me from further abuse. That wound remained deeply etched in my heart for years."

The Tragic Climax of Unresolved Emotion

"Unexpectedly, when I was twenty-five years old, my father suddenly appeared before me. He cursed me for my lack of filial piety and attempted to strike me just as he had done when I was a child. In that moment, every memory of my past flooded back—the face of my mother as she died, the lingering pain of her loss, and the bitterness of my childhood. Overcome by a surge of anger, I pushed him away with all my might. He stumbled, struck his head against a high threshold, and collapsed. He fell into a coma and died several days later.

This incident shocked everyone in the temple. I was expelled and forced to return to secular life as an ordinary person. I knew the weight of my sins was immense, and I struggled to regain my composure. I tried to pick up the practice of chanting 'Namo Amituofo' again, but my heart was heavy with despair, and I felt powerless. Later, a fellow practitioner from the temple visited me with great compassion. He taught me about the impermanence of life and the suffering of the cycle of reincarnated beings. He urged me to seek the Buddha's help, saying that if I could not achieve rebirth in the Western Pure Land, I should pray for another chance to serve sentient beings in the human realm to wash away my past sins."

Repentance and Redemption in the Underworld

"I spent my days working odd jobs to survive while chanting the Buddha's name on my own, constantly praying for the Buddha's blessings. When I was thirty-six, one night, while I was struggling to maintain my focus on the Buddha-name, I was taken by prison guards before the King of the Fourth Hall of the Underworld. I felt a profound, piercing repentance. I realized that as a former monk, I had failed to let go of worldly emotions, which led to the death of my own father and my subsequent fall from grace. I begged the King and my karmic creditors to forgive my transgressions.

Seeing my sincere repentance, the King granted me the position of a prison guard. Remembering that I had once been a practitioner who chanted the Buddha's name and practised diligently, he deemed me eligible to be included in the group delivered by Practitioner Su. After waiting for five long years, my wish has finally been fulfilled today. I am eternally grateful for the Buddha's immense grace."

Hong Guocheng and the sixty prison guards prostrated in gratitude.

This interview was recorded by the disciple of the Buddha, Venerable HaiZe.

Note: Practitioner Su, feeling deep compassion for the suffering of Hong Guocheng's parents in the cycle of reincarnated beings, has already guided the spirits of his father, Hong Zhicun, and his mother, Hong-Liu, from the snake realm and other spaces into the Western Dharma-Nature Land to listen to the sutras and hear the Dharma.