The Path of Generosity: The Testimony of Fu Xianzhong

This is a record of an interview with Fu Xianzhong, a former prison guard who sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This account reflects upon his life and his time serving as a prison guard in the underworld. It was recorded by the chief writer, Venerable HaiZe, on March 8, 2020.

Venerable HaiZe: I respectfully invite Fu Xianzhong, the representative of the sixty prison guards who were sent to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss today, to accept this interview.

Fu Xianzhong speaks:

"Fu Xianzhong and the sixty other prison guards have already arrived in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. We have arrived! We are filled with gratitude to Namo Amituofo, Practitioner Su, and all the virtuous ones who chanted the Buddha-name to send us on our way. Gratitude, and even more gratitude." (Fu Xianzhong leads the group in three prostrations.)

A Childhood of Curiosity and Destruction

"I am Fu Xianzhong. From a young age, I was a mischievous and troublesome child who gave my parents endless headaches. I could never sit still for even a moment. Anything I got my hands on would be dismantled, scattered across the floor, and left behind. Often, I would hear my mother shouting, 'Fu Xianzhong, where are you? Come out here!' As soon as I heard her, I would run out and say, 'I am here.' My mother would stand there with her hands on her hips, eyes wide, and say, 'This wooden chair was bought only yesterday. I saw that it was nailed together very sturdily. What kind of ability do you have to take it apart piece by piece? I want to see if you have the ability to take it apart, and if you have the ability to nail it back into its original shape.' I would simply reply, 'Alright!'

My small hands had a knack for it. I would pick up the screwdriver and hammer I had just used to dismantle the chair, and with both hands and feet, I would fix the boards and nails. I would aim the hammer perfectly and strike the nails home. I would assemble it exactly as I had taken it apart. My mother would watch, completely dumbfounded. In no time at all, the chair was restored to its original state. My mother could only sigh helplessly and ask, 'Where did you learn this?' I would just smile and say, 'I figured it out myself; it is not a difficult task.' My mother would leave the scene, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. That happened when I was only five years old!

In today's terms, I might have been called a hyperactive child, but there is another way to put it: I was exceptionally clever. My parents did not teach me any of this; it was all natural, innate. We were an ordinary, modest family, and my parents were honest people. How could they have given birth to a child who gave them such headaches and whom they did not know how to raise?

The Uncle’s Lesson: The True Meaning of Giving

"Days passed, and when I was ten years old, an uncle came to visit—a childhood playmate of my father. As soon as he saw me, he laughed and said, 'Wow! The little baby from back then has grown so big!' My parents then poured out all their frustrations about me to this uncle, even recounting mischievous things I had done when I was so young that I did not even remember them myself. I truly admired my parents' memory! The uncle just kept laughing as he listened. Later, he spoke very seriously to my parents: 'Since this child gives you such headaches, why not hand him over to me? I will take him as my foster son. It seems he and I have a strong karmic affinity.' My parents were stunned at first, but then they nodded. It seemed the uncle had done them a great favour. From then on, I followed my uncle to learn.

Later, I discovered that my uncle was unmarried and had no children. Wherever he went, he would first visit the local town mayor or village head to ask where there were elderly people or orphans in need of help. Then, he would go to see them. He would buy them daily necessities and leave behind some money so they could live comfortably for a good while! By my uncle's side, I learned to help the poor and practise Generosity. My uncle was extremely intelligent; he was the type of person who could infer ten things from one. I could at most infer three, but by his side, I learned to behave. I stopped being mischievous because every move I made could not escape his eyes. Many things were caught in the act, so I dared not cause trouble again.

Strangely enough, once I stopped causing trouble, I began to see clearly what my uncle was doing. I once asked him, 'Why are you so kind-hearted, helping those people?' My uncle said, 'Take advantage of the time when you have the ability to help others. Do not wait until you have no ability left, only to have others help you. Be a person who can help others, not a person who needs others to help them survive.' I did not understand my uncle's words at the time, but when I grew up, I understood the principle: 'Helping others is helping oneself. Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself; if you desire something, you should give it to others.' I asked my uncle again, 'Why do you always give money and buy things for others, but rarely buy anything for yourself?' My uncle replied, 'Giving to others is the same as giving to myself. When I fill the needs of others, it is as if I am filling my own deficiencies.' Only then did I understand the principle of empathy.

The Cycle of Life and the Reality of Impermanence

"Every so often, my uncle would return home, take more silver, and head out again to relieve the poor. Because the inheritance left by his parents was enough for him to live without worry for a lifetime, he did not use it for himself but instead went everywhere performing acts of kindness and Generosity. From the bottom of my heart, I deeply admired his kind heart. Once, as we were returning home, we saw a mother and child hugging each other for warmth, shivering with cold. My uncle saw them, immediately took off his thick coat to give to them, and gave them all the silver he had on him. I saw the mother kowtowing to my uncle in thanks. My uncle did not stay for a moment; he took my hand and left quickly. I asked him why we had to leave so fast, and he said, 'We are just ordinary people, without merit or virtue. We cannot let people kowtow to us like that; it will exhaust our blessings, do you understand?' I nodded.

My uncle treated me like his own child and taught me many principles of being a person. Through his influence, seeing so many poor and sick people, I learned to be grateful. I was grateful for my healthy body, grateful to my parents for giving birth to and raising me, and grateful for my uncle's teachings, which taught me to be humble and modest. Even if you are clever and capable, there are still people who are more clever and capable than you, yet they do good deeds silently without letting anyone know.

My uncle spent his whole life doing good deeds. He lived to be sixty-three, and when he passed away, there was no pain, and the whole room was filled with a pure fragrance. We believe that my uncle must have received good rewards for his kind heart and went to heaven to enjoy blessings as a celestial being! I took over my uncle's remaining estate and walked through the villages he had taken me to, hoping to see the people I still remembered. Yet, many had died, many were sick, and some had moved away without a trace. This is the impermanence of life.

The Underworld and the Role of a Prison Guard

"Unlike my uncle, I fell ill at the age of thirty-eight. From then on, my legs were weak, and I could not travel far. Thus, I stopped my life of travelling and giving. Later, my body gradually became weaker, and no cause could be found. On a night when I was forty, I felt my breathing gradually stop. In fact, when my body began to weaken, I had anticipated that I would not be in this world for much longer, and my prediction came true. When I stopped breathing, there was no pain at all; instead, I felt very calm. Although I knew I was going to an unknown world, I had no fear because I knew that I had lived this lifetime with a clear conscience. When I heard the official messenger call my name, my spirit quickly left my body and followed him to the presence of the King of the Seventh Hall of Hell. The King of Hell knew my life story clearly and told me that I was the reincarnation of my uncle's deceased father. Due to Causal Conditions, even though my parents lived many days' journey from my uncle's home, we were still destined to meet. In this lifetime, we were also father and son, just with the roles reversed. Because that estate was what I had earned in my previous life, I had remaining blessings to enjoy and did not need to repay anything, so I came to this lifetime to accompany my uncle and share it with him. Looking back a few more lifetimes, it turned out that in one life, my uncle and I were close friends, both destitute and starving. So, we made a vow that no matter how many lifetimes passed, as long as we had money, we would give together to help the poor who had no food, clothing, or medicine. This wish was finally realised in these two lifetimes.

The King of Hell saw that I still had remaining blessings and that I could have been reincarnated as a human again. However, seeing the suffering in the human world and not knowing what kind of person I would become in the next life—with both good and bad possibilities—it was better to grasp the present. Thus, the King of Hell gave me the position of a prison guard, which I accepted willingly. I felt grateful, seeing the retribution for evil deeds, and grateful for meeting my uncle in that lifetime and being a good person. I was grateful to the King of Hell for telling me about my own laws of karma and cause and effect and experiences, and for giving me the position of a prison guard, which let me know that for doing evil, the retribution in the hells is extremely painful, and one must still repay the debt in the next life.

Deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre

"One day, I received a notice from the King of Hell. Because of my remaining blessings from doing good, and because I had maintained kind thoughts during my time as a prison guard without a single evil thought, I was added to the list of those to be sent to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss by Practitioner Su. I felt so honoured! I never imagined that I would have such a day! To me, the Western Land is a holy place, a place that only kind-hearted people who chant the Buddha-name can reach. So, I began to silently chant 'Namo Amituofo' in my heart—the Buddha-name I had heard my uncle chant long ago. It was the kingdom I was about to head towards. I waited for four years, and finally, today arrived.

Just today, during the Thrice Yearning Ceremony at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, the scene before us was brilliant and golden. Under the illumination of the Buddha-light, we sixty prison guards were invited out before the countless sentient beings attending the Dharma assembly. Among the countless manifestations of Practitioner Su, sixty of them took us sixty prison guards by the hand, one by one, and flew into the air. In an instant, we arrived at the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss; it was as if the Western Land was right before our eyes. We believe that Practitioner Su has the ability to break through the space of the Dharma assembly we were in, which is why we could enter the Western holy land so quickly! Because of the Chao Du performed by the Dharma Body of Practitioner Su in the human world, countless souls in the cycle of rebirth have been saved, and we sixty prison guards are just a few among them. Moreover, we have been blessed by the Buddha to accept this interview and share our experiences for the world to reference. Gratitude to Namo Amituofo, gratitude to Practitioner Su, and gratitude to all the virtuous ones at the Dharma assembly."

Fu Xianzhong and the sixty prison guards knelt and prostrated three times to express their gratitude for the Buddha's grace.

The interview message was written by the disciple of the Buddha, Venerable HaiZe.

Namo Amituofo.