The Dragon King's Sacrifice: A Journey of Compassion

This is a record of an interview with the newly appointed North Sea Dragon King, who shares his journey from a humble human life to his current spiritual role, and his reflections on the practice of chanting Namo Amituofo to benefit the world. He now serves in the North Sea, having been guided by Practitioner Su. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on February 16, 2021.

The Newly Appointed North Sea Dragon King speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. To me, the human world is both familiar and strange. I left the human realm over two thousand years ago, and seeing it again now, I realise it has changed immensely. When my physical body's four elements separated and I bid farewell to the world, my spirit was listed as a candidate for the North Sea Dragon King, entering a waiting space. I was originally meant to wait another thousand years before taking office. However, Practitioner Su, in her great compassion, recently led the former Dragon Kings of the Four Seas to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Consequently, I was immediately appointed to take charge of the North Sea as the new North Sea Dragon King.

A Humble Beginning and a Mother's Love

Over two thousand years ago, when I still walked the human world, my identity was nothing extraordinary; I was merely a simple, ordinary person. I lost my father when I was only three years old, leaving just my mother, my younger sister, and me. Our family circumstances were quite dire. With my father gone, my mother had to raise a three-year-old and a two-year-old all by herself, which was an incredibly arduous task. The villagers, knowing of my mother's hardship, would often come to visit and offer their support. Every villager would kindly bring fresh fruits and vegetables to our home. My mother felt deeply embarrassed and wanted to decline their generosity, but the villagers were so warm-hearted. They would tell her, 'We all live in the same village; we are like one family. Do not feel embarrassed. If there is anything you need, just ask—we are all here to help.' My mother was a kind-hearted woman, and she was moved to tears by their grace. From the time I was very young, she taught me that 'a drop of water's grace should be repaid with a gushing spring.' I never forgot her teachings; I kept them close to my heart, and no matter how old I grew, I always reminded myself: 'Never forget your roots.'

I did not possess any special talents, but I was very sensitive. I could hear sounds that others could not and perceive natural phenomena that others failed to understand. At that time, the people in the village said I was a dragon child sent by Heaven. On the day I was born, a golden dragon appeared in the sky. The villagers all ran out of their homes to watch, exclaiming excitedly, 'Something wonderful must be about to happen!' Shortly after, I was born into the village, and the people became convinced that I was the reincarnation of that golden dragon, sent to save them.

The Golden Dragon and the Premonition of Doom

On the first day of the Lunar New Year when I was eight years old—the most important and grandest festival for the Chinese people—every household was joyfully welcoming the new year. My mother had specially prepared a set of new clothes for my sister and me, entirely red and looking very festive. I could not bear to wear them, waiting until the very last moment before our New Year's Eve dinner to put them on. While eating, I kept staring at the clothes. My mother asked, 'What is wrong? Why are you eating so nervously?' I replied, 'I want to save these new clothes to wear for next year's New Year; I cannot bear to get them dirty.' My mother laughed and said, 'You silly child! The point of the New Year is to wear new clothes. If you save them until next year, they won't be new anymore. Eat with peace of mind! It does not matter.' Although she said that, I knew these clothes were made from fabric she had bought by scrimping and saving, while she herself continued to wear old clothes for the New Year. How could I not cherish them? After dinner, I immediately took them off, folded them neatly, and placed them on the table before going to sleep, ready to wear them early the next morning to greet our neighbours.

That night, I lay awake for a long time. Because it was the New Year, we did not blow out the candles; we let them light up the entire house to welcome a bright, new year. I looked at the candlelight on the table and then at my neatly folded red clothes. Usually, I would be happily awaiting the arrival of the next day, but this time, I could not feel happy at all. Instead, I had a strange premonition, and my heart felt uneasy. I tried hard to fall asleep, tossing and turning, but sleep would not come. Around the third watch of the night, a series of deafening roars reached my ears. I had never heard such a sound before. I listened carefully and realised it was the sound of the ocean. Although our village was located along the coast, it was impossible to hear such a massive roar from the sea while inside the house. I closed my eyes and calmed my heart. My vision immediately revealed the entire village being swallowed by massive waves. I could not believe this was about to happen. I jumped out of bed and ran to my mother's room to tell her. She was still asleep but woke up immediately upon hearing my cries. I sat beside her and described the scene I had seen. She asked me, 'Calm your heart again and see what is the cause of this disaster. The villagers are all very kind; why would such a catastrophe occur?' I followed her instructions, stilled my mind, and closed my eyes to observe carefully once more.

A Sacrifice for the Village

After a while, I opened my eyes and told my mother, 'A giant sea monster has appeared on the ocean. This disaster is caused by it churning the seabed. The monster is preparing to rise from the depths. Once its head breaks the surface of the water, the disaster will begin.' My mother immediately stood up and said, 'Quick! Let us go to the seaside!' The sea wind was ferocious; my mother and I could barely stand, having to grab onto nearby objects to remain steady. My mother said, 'Speak to the sea monster. Ask it why it wants to cause this disaster and if there are any conditions we can exchange to prevent the villagers from being harmed.' I used my mental note to speak to the sea monster in the depths. I could truly hear its voice—it was very deep and low. It told me, 'This calamity was destined to happen. Although the villagers here are kind-hearted, they must still repay the sins they committed in the past. Every person here has killed countless lives, especially sea creatures, whom they have slaughtered the most. In this life, due to this karma, they were all born in this coastal village. When the time is ripe, they will collectively receive the retribution of being submerged by the sea.' When I heard the monster say this, I could not bear it. I asked, 'Is there any condition we can exchange so that the villagers do not have to suffer this calamity?' The monster replied, 'There is no room for negotiation. Too many lives are waiting to seek revenge. Only by letting the villagers lose their lives one by one can the hatred of these resentful spirits be extinguished.' I told the monster, 'Although I only have one life, for the sake of the villagers, I am willing to sacrifice myself. I believe you do not want to remain a sea monster in the ocean forever. I am willing to exchange my opportunity to be a human throughout my many lives for your mercy. I can give up being human, as long as you do not let this calamity happen. Is that acceptable?'

The sea monster suddenly fell silent. My mother and I waited quietly by the seaside, refusing to leave despite the howling wind. After a long time, the sea monster spoke again: 'It is feasible, but I do not need to take your life immediately. You may continue to live for another twenty-six years. That is to say, when you are thirty-four years old, that will be the time for me to be reincarnated as a human, and it will also be the end of your life.' I understood. I immediately knelt on the ground to thank the monster, grateful that it would spare the village from the calamity and preserve the lives of all the villagers. When I stood up, the massive sea wind subsided, and the energy of the entire space returned to normal. I looked up at the sky and confirmed that the disaster had indeed been resolved. In two hours, the sky would brighten, and the villagers would welcome the arrival of a brand-new year."

The conviction to save others has always sustained me, keeping me going even when my own body suffered from illness during the process of deliverance. I felt it did not matter, for my spirit was soon to be separated from this physical form. As long as I could use this body for one more day, I had to make the most of it. When I was thirty, I took a look at the space within my own body. Starting from the soles of my feet, it had turned black. My calves, thighs, abdomen, and chest were all consumed by darkness. The spaces in my head and heart had not yet completely blackened, but there were already small, dark patches. I knew that once my head and heart were entirely black, that would be the moment my life would end. I was not afraid at all; instead, I accelerated my efforts to save others.

The Promise of the Sea Monster

At the age of thirty-four, I heard a massive sound from the depths of the ocean, identical to the one I had heard when I was eight. I knew the sea monster was about to emerge. I had already asked the villagers to help carry my body to the seaside, as my entire frame was now immobile. Only my two eyeballs could still move, and I could speak and communicate with space through my mental notes. A tremendous sea wind whipped up at the shore. The villagers asked me, "The wind is so strong, shouldn't you stay inside the house?" I told them in a weak voice, "Absolutely not. I must wait for the sea monster to appear in person; I must keep my promise." Seeing me like this, the villagers all stayed by my side to wait, and even though the wind was fierce, they were completely fearless. After waiting for two full hours, the sea monster truly appeared. After surfacing, it quickly dove back into the depths. I heard the voice of the sea monster speaking to me. It said, "According to our agreement from all those years ago, I am now coming to the human world to be reborn." After the sea monster finished speaking, I breathed my last. My spirit was quickly drawn into a bright space, and the heavenly beings told me that I had been placed in the position of a successor to the Dragon King of the North Sea.

The incumbent North Sea Dragon King had governed the northern waters exceptionally well, so after I took office, there was not much that needed reform. I simply dispatched many shrimp soldiers and crab generals to monitor the border regions of the North Sea. I hoped that all the subjects within the entire sea territory could be well cared for. This was my responsibility as the North Sea Dragon King: to protect the entire North Sea domain and all its inhabitants.

Dharma in the Dragon Palace

Although Practitioner Su does not often visit my Dragon Palace, I do not feel like a stranger to Practitioner Su. Even my shrimp soldiers and crab generals are very familiar with Practitioner Su, because I ordered that Practitioner Su's Dharma talks be played in every corner of the Dragon Palace. Every day, we hear the sound of the Buddha, allowing the Dharma sound to flow continuously. My shrimp soldiers and crab generals are nurtured by the Buddha's teachings every day, and their characters have become increasingly gentle and compassionate, which is something I am delighted to see. I know the goodness of the Buddha's teachings; the Dharma needs to be propagated in the world, and it must also deliver sentient beings in the underwater world. I have given all the subjects of the North Sea the opportunity to hear Practitioner Su's teachings, allowing every subject to awaken and be willing to make a vow to be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Practitioner Su's Dharma Body saves sentient beings in space every day. When Practitioner Su prays for rain for the sake of all beings, I also very much hope to use my strength to bring rain to the arid land of Australia. Therefore, I specifically petitioned the Jade Emperor to allow me to bring the rain of the North Sea to the Australian land. The Jade Emperor told me, "There is a cause and effect relationship here; sentient beings have created negative causes and must taste the evil consequences, suffering from the lack of water." I understand the laws of cause and effect, but now that the Buddha's compassion has come to save the world, sentient beings are suffering immensely. I believe there must be a way to bring down heavy rain. Thus, I led all the subjects of the North Sea to chant Namo Amituofo, and Practitioner Su led all the earthly creatures of Australia to chant together. The power of this chanting is immense; it can extinguish the suffering of birth and death spanning eighty trillion kalpas. I firmly believe that the power of chanting can transform karma. Indeed, I waited for the opportunity to transport the moisture of the North Sea to the Australian land, especially to the arid land of Goombungee where the Buddha resides. Practitioner Su is compassionate and prays for rain without ceasing, inviting the entire Western Land, the heavenly realms, and others to join in the prayer. I participated in this, not daring to slacken for even a second, all to help sentient beings escape the suffering of drought.

A Global Chorus of Chanting

Today, Practitioner Su has further invited Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, the Venerables, the ancestral masters of the Pure Land school, the holy assembly of the West, and immeasurable multitudes to circle the Earth and chant Namo Amituofo. I was aware of this, but without the guidance of Practitioner Su's Dharma Body, I had no way to go and join on my own. However, my heart is with them all. In the North Sea Dragon Palace, I led all my shrimp soldiers, crab generals, and North Sea subjects to chant. Even though we were not physically participating in the circling, our hearts were one. At the time of this Thrice Yearning Ceremony, I was very surprised to receive an invitation from Practitioner Su, allowing me to join in circling the Earth to chant. I was so happy that I immediately spread the message throughout the North Sea, inviting all my shrimp soldiers, crab generals, and subjects to join in. Our force is massive, and I believe that with our participation, the power of the chanting will increase by tens of millions of times. Because my shrimp soldiers, crab generals, and subjects are nurtured daily by Practitioner Su's Dharma talks, each one of them possesses a compassionate heart to save others. They had long been looking forward to this day, to join the ranks of circling the Earth to chant. Now that they have finally waited for this magnificent causal condition, each of them is even more overjoyed than I, the Dragon King, am.

Over two thousand years have passed, and looking at this Earth again today, the changes are drastic. Without the education of the Buddha's teachings, sentient beings create negative causes and suffer evil consequences. Throughout the entire Earth—whether it be volcanoes, magma, rock walls, crevices, the land, the strata, the Earth's core, or the seabed—in these endless spaces, there are endless sentient beings suffering the consequences. I feel compassion for the suffering of sentient beings, and I chant even more diligently to awaken these suffering beings, hoping that they can repent, change their ways, and follow the chanting to escape their spaces.

The Reach of the Dharma Body

In the process of chanting, I have also seen many sentient beings connected to me by karmic affinity. Following my chanting, the spaces they exist in open up, allowing them to be saved and depart following the golden light ahead. All my shrimp soldiers, crab generals, and North Sea subjects can also chant to help the sentient beings in spaces connected to them. When I saw that my own family members from the past were still trapped in these spaces, I felt deep sorrow. It has been hundreds of millions of years, and it turns out they are still suffering. I am very grateful to Practitioner Su for giving me this opportunity to chant and save others, allowing me to better feel the suffering of sentient beings and to use my strength to chant and help them escape.

The pandemic on Earth has not yet ceased, and one can see a kind of chaos manifesting in the entire space. The deviated orbits have not yet fully returned to their proper paths, but under the daily chanting of the circling team and Practitioner Su's Chao Du, everything is slowly recovering. I believe in the Buddha, and sentient beings must also believe in the Buddha. The power of believing in the Buddha is unimaginably great. As long as self-power and the Buddha's power are combined, even the most inconceivable things can happen.

Practitioner Su's Chao Du never stops. Now, I can see the magnificent scene of Practitioner Su's Chao Du even more clearly, and in my heart, I truly praise Practitioner Su. Practitioner Su's Dharma Body has countless manifestations, performing Chao Du widely throughout the entire Earth and even the Milky Way. I have never been to the Milky Way, yet Practitioner Su can perform Chao Du for sentient beings on planets within it. Every planet is filled with sentient beings; if not for the Chao Du of Practitioner Su's Dharma Body, they would have no opportunity to know the Buddha's teachings, nor would they have the chance to escape from their plight. On Earth, Practitioner Su's Dharma Body penetrates deep into the spaces of land, sea, and air. The spaces in a single mountain forest are countless; mountains have their own spaces, the forests within the mountains have spaces, there are spaces inside rocks, in mountain walls, and in sheer cliffs. Flowers, plants, trees, dust, and sand all contain spaces. The densely packed spaces of an entire mountain can all receive the Chao Du of Practitioner Su's Dharma Body through the six-character name of "Namo Amituofo." When an entire mountain was first formed, it might have been land or it might have been the seabed, slowly compressed over the years until it became a high mountain today. The spaces are immeasurable, yet all are within the Chao Du of Practitioner Su's Dharma Body, slowly unlocking the spaces one by one with the six-character name, helping the sentient beings within to have the opportunity to chant and escape.

In the spaces of icebergs and glaciers, one can also see Practitioner Su's Dharma Body. In every fraction of a second, there are different sentient beings existing within the icebergs and glaciers. Practitioner Su uses the uninterrupted six-character name to continuously shatter large areas of icebergs, ice seas, and glaciers. Large fish leap out, large penguins become active, and many other creatures of all sizes that have never been seen before are rescued from their spaces. They have existed in the spaces of icebergs and glaciers for a very long time. Under Practitioner Su's daily Chao Du, they gradually wake up and are willing to follow Practitioner Su's golden light and depart.

In the sea territory I am familiar with, Practitioner Su's Dharma Body is also present. The underwater world is vast and boundless, beyond what people of the world can imagine. The underwater creatures seen by humans are just the tip of the iceberg. The entire underwater world contains many stunning animals that have lived in these underwater spaces for millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of years. No human can discover them because the levels of space are different; even the most advanced instruments cannot detect them. However, Practitioner Su's Dharma Body has the ability to save them, because Practitioner Su's Dharma Body can penetrate endless layers of space. Practitioner Su's Dharma Body can be in every space; as long as they are willing to chant and seek deliverance, they can follow Practitioner Su's Dharma Body and leave their space.

Under the sea, massive schools of fish are saved by Practitioner Su's Chao Du every day. These schools of fish are of various types, along with underwater seaweed, coral, plankton in the seawater, water molecules, and other sentient beings, and even the spirits of those who died in shipwrecks. As soon as Practitioner Su's golden light shines upon them, they can all receive deliverance and escape their spaces. Can you imagine that grand and spectacular scene? The densely packed plankton and the immeasurable water molecules all transform back into human bodies under the illumination of the golden light and head toward the golden light. Such a magnificent sight is truly indescribable unless seen with one's own eyes.

Within the vast expanse of the clouds, there exist countless manifestations of Practitioner Su’s Dharma Body. The clouds shift and swirl with incredible speed, and within those spaces invisible to our physical eyes, there are countless spirits lingering. These beings were once human, but now they have become beings dwelling within the clouds. They are trapped within this space, unable to find a way out. No matter how many years or eons pass, without the salvation of Practitioner Su’s Dharma Body, their space cannot be opened. They remain unable to break free from the constraints of that realm, drifting aimlessly through the void. When Practitioner Su’s Dharma Body arrives, bringing with it the brilliant golden light, these spirits beg for salvation in vast, overwhelming numbers. Yet, the number of spirits is truly infinite; as one group is delivered, another immediately takes its place, all waiting in line to be saved. It is truly a testament to the extreme suffering of beings; the sea of suffering is indeed endless.

The Boundless Vow of Practitioner Su

Practitioner Su’s Dharma Body continues to break through barriers, and the vow to save beings grows more expansive with each passing day. There has never been a moment of hesitation or pause; every single second, every fleeting moment, the work moves forward with relentless momentum. I, the North Sea Dragon King, hold the deepest admiration for Practitioner Su. Every day, every second, as I circle the Earth chanting Namo Amituofo, it serves as a time for me to learn how to save beings. It is a golden opportunity for me to expand my own compassion and mind-capacity. I am constantly learning from Practitioner Su’s boldness and vow to save the world. Although I do not possess a Dharma Body, I am fully committed to learning this heart for all beings, doing my utmost to chant Namo Amituofo and save sentient beings to head toward the Western Pure Land.

The North Sea Dragon King—Wang Xixing—along with the shrimp soldiers, crab generals, and all the subjects of the North Sea, kowtow in gratitude to my Buddha and Practitioner Su.

Namo Amituofo.

Recorded by the chief writer, disciple Shi Fajing.