The Polished Stone: A Journey Through Suffering to Awakening

This is a record of an interview with Zhu Xian, 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 approximately six hundred years ago. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa Jing, on July 15, 2019.

Zhu Xian speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Zhu Xian. The rushing water flowed incessantly. I held my hand against the current, yet the water slipped through my fingers and continued to flow downward. Many stones, which had once been jagged and sharp, had become increasingly smooth and rounded under the relentless washing and sculpting of the water. I reached out and picked up one of these stones to place in my palm; it was black, bright, and perfectly round—a truly beautiful sight.

The Wisdom of the Ancient Elder

Just then, a voice came from behind me, asking, 'Do you know how long this stone has existed?' I turned to look and saw a tall elder with white hair and a white beard. Although he wore tattered clothing, the intricate tattoos on his face revealed him to be a virtuous tribal elder. I immediately walked up to him with respect and prostrated myself. The elder said, 'Look at that stone in your hand. Although it is an ordinary-looking stone, do you know how much time it had to endure to become as smooth as it is today?'

I looked at the stone in my hand. It was still wet, shimmering under the sunlight, and compared to the other stones, it was indeed exceptionally refined. I told the elder, 'It has perhaps existed for a few decades!' The elder took the black stone from my hand and told me, 'Do not underestimate this stone. It is composed of various small substances, and it was only through the constant sculpting and shaping of earth, water, fire, and wind that it formed its present appearance. If you were to trace it back to its original state, you would have to return to a space tens of thousands of years ago. At that time, it might have been nothing more than a particle ejected from a volcanic eruption. Yet today, it has become such a solid and luminous stone.'

A Life Reclaimed from Despair

I stared at the stone in disbelief, examining it closely. The elder asked me, 'After looking for so long, have you gained any insight?' I nodded and told him, 'I was thirteen years old, still a child, but I had already lost my home. Among so many children, I was the one chosen to be abandoned because I was considered ugly and lacked any skills. I could not do anything well. Compared to my brothers and sisters, I was truly a good-for-nothing who only knew how to beg for food. I had no ability to repay my parents, and in their eyes, I was a coward who would never achieve anything. If they continued to raise me, it would only waste the family's grain. Under these circumstances, my parents chose to abandon me. They would rather not have me as a child than waste a single grain of rice on me.

'Now, I wandered everywhere, homeless. I was aimless and idle, not knowing what else I could do with my life. As the days passed, I lost more and more confidence in myself. I was on the verge of despair when I found this stone and met you. This stone has allowed me to see hope for my life again. From a grain of sand or a single particle, it was tempered for tens of thousands of years to become what it is today. Its hardness is like a strong character—not easily subdued, not easily defeated. I, too, want to learn the spirit of the stone: to be fearless and to pursue my own life with courage.' The elder smiled and said, 'That is exactly how it should be. There are no cowards in this world. Everything in the world is created by one's own heart. If you affirm in your heart that you are a giant, then you are a giant. If you believe in your heart that you are a useless person, then you are absolutely a useless person.' Hearing this, I understood. I should not look down on myself before others do; instead, I should believe in myself and put that belief into practical action. After saying this, I bid farewell to the elder and continued to search for my life's goal.

The Illusion of Emotional Waves

I walked through bustling markets, prosperous streets, declining small towns, and desolate wilderness. I used my own feet to tread upon this unfamiliar world. No one knew me, and I knew no one. I could have lived my life passively, without needing to be responsible to anyone; or I could have lived it actively, making my life more valuable. In this way, my life would not only benefit myself but also others. I continued to walk forward. Although I still did not know what I could accomplish in this life, I had 'faith' in my heart. I believed in myself, and I believed that in this strange world, there was naturally a positive force that could help me. Because my heart was filled with such positive belief, my positive energy naturally attracted corresponding energy to sync with me.

However, when I saw the graceful figure of a woman by the riverbank, I finally understood why a person's life, without any goal, would be lived so mundanely. Everyone walks into marriage, into family, gives birth to children, and after sickness and old age, they depart this life. In the end, they still do not know the meaning of their existence in the human world. It turns out that the fluctuations of emotion within the heart arise so naturally. All kinds of love and desire exist inherently within this physical body. The human world is filled with emotion, and emotion creates an ocean of karma. Sentient beings, whether called male or female, or masculine or feminine, exist within this attractive force—a pull that is difficult to escape. The woman turned gracefully and walked toward me. My heart beat violently as her footsteps approached. This was the first time I had such a strange feeling. My eyes were too shy to look directly at her, but I knew she was getting closer. I did not want to have this feeling, but I could not stop the pounding in my heart. At that moment, I completely forgot the meaning of life I had been searching for; I only felt that the desires of my physical body had occupied my mind. The woman wore red clothes and white ornaments; her appearance was dignified, and her temperament was extraordinary—a sight I had never seen before. I never thought I would be moved by a woman. When she stood before me, I looked up, and to my shock, the person standing there was not the woman, but the elder I had met earlier. I was nervous and immediately prostrated myself with respect. The elder said to me, 'To polish the true crystal within the stone, one must undergo various trials. Otherwise, a stone will always be a stone, and you will never see its different brilliance.' I hesitated for a moment and told the elder, 'In that instant, I seemed to have gained some insight. I did not know that woman at all, yet at the first sight of her, my heart was moved. But the woman was an illusion created by you, so the emotion I projected was also false. When the woman turned back into the elder, my heart's agitation stopped instantly. I no longer beat for that false illusion and returned to the real space and time. What is this all about? It turns out that the impulses and fluctuations of the heart are all empty illusions. So many people in the world are lost in these illusions, obsessed with them without knowing how to return to the Truth, until they grow old, die... and where do they go?' The elder nodded and said, 'Go and search again!'

The Crucible of the Dungeon

I set off again, embarking on the path to seek the Truth. However, the tests did not end there. When I arrived at a poor and backward place, I encountered officials capturing a large number of prisoners. Many criminals were hiding in this remote area. My appearance was similar to these poor people, and when the officials were rounding up the criminals, I was mistaken for one of them and taken away. I had no chance to defend my innocence and was thrown directly into a dungeon to be punished. Large boards struck my body, and I wailed in pain. Cold water was splashed on my face, and I woke up from my stupor, shivering. My limbs were chained to the wall, and my body was tortured at every moment. The scorching fire burned parts of my skin, and the character for 'prisoner' was branded on my back. My whole body was covered in scars; there was not a single intact spot. At that moment, I felt as if I had been cast into hell. The suffering endured by my body was truly beyond words.

I did not know how long I would be imprisoned or how much longer I would have to endure the punishment. When I cared about my physical pain and suffering, the agony I felt increased tenfold. Therefore, I tried hard to learn to let go of this body, so that the body would not have any sensation. Because of the dirty environment, the wounds on my body became infected and began to fester. The rot spread, and my body felt as if it were being corroded away. I did not know if I could continue to survive. The other criminals who were imprisoned with me—I thought they were all caught for serious crimes, but they told me they had never done anything against their conscience. Because they were poor and had no status, they were framed and falsely accused, suffering all kinds of torture in an unjust prison. I looked at these innocent civilians; their faces were full of the traces of life's hardships, and now, having been thrown into the dungeon for no reason, their hearts were filled with even more helplessness and despair. The pain was unbearable.

There were all kinds of people in the dungeon, and inside, I saw the full extent of life's suffering. Everyone was missing their family members—missing their children, wives, and parents—while their own bodies were being ravaged by punishment. Physical suffering and mental anguish were woven into a song of life's misery, a melody filled with the tragedy of existence. The water we drank was bitter, the food we ate was bitter, and the tears we shed were filled with endless sorrow. I never knew that life could be so full of suffering. If the officials could be lenient, I would be willing to sacrifice my life to gain freedom for everyone. Because I was alone, without any attachments, even if I died, there would be no family to grieve for me.

The Path of Compassion

Under the daily torment, my body eventually lost all sense of pain because the sorrow in my heart surpassed everything else. I felt compassion for the suffering of the people and prayed incessantly for the heavens to help, so that these poor civilians could be liberated soon. I was willing to dedicate my life to helping the masses. One day, the door of the dungeon was suddenly kicked open with great force. Someone came in and shouted, 'Alright! Everyone out!' Our chains were unlocked one by one. For a moment, we could not react to what was happening; we did not know that we had regained our freedom. When we finally came to our senses, we hugged each other in joy. We looked at one another and saw that everyone's hair had grown long. From the time we were thrown into the dungeon until now, many people's beards had grown long enough to be grabbed in a handful. We did not know how much time had passed, but judging by the length of the beards, we guessed it had been about three years. After saying our goodbyes, we dispersed. Everyone was eager to return home to reunite with their wives and children, except for me. I stood where I was, not knowing where my next stop would be.

Looking at the blue sky, my heart was filled with mixed emotions. What was the meaning of my existence? Watching so many people living for their families, although there was the warmth of home, when impermanence arrived, who could be spared? Everyone had to taste the pain of separation, just like the longing I felt while being tortured in prison—it was unbearable. I stood there for a long time, and after making up my mind, I finally took a step forward. When I took that step, the elder appeared again.

After three years, the elder had not aged; his face was even more dignified than before. I respectfully prostrated myself to the elder, and he signaled for me to sit down. We sat cross-legged facing each other. The elder stared at me, and I waited quietly for him to speak. After a while, the elder finally opened his mouth and said, 'The angles on the stone have finally been polished a bit rounder.' I looked at the elder in confusion, and he added, 'To be an innocent person yet enter prison and suffer—it depends on whether you would feel resentful for your innocence. To endure extreme torture in prison—it depends on whether you can let go of this body and endure all suffering. Now that I sit before you, I can feel that your state of mind has improved even more than before. This so-called improvement is no longer being attached to this world, no longer being attached to oneself.' After the elder finished speaking, he remained silent. I continued to wait quietly. When I calmed down, I seemed to be able to feel the purity within the elder—so pure that there was not a single ripple, so pure that I felt as if I could not even feel his existence. Following the purity within the elder, my own heart became increasingly pure. After a while, the elder spoke: 'Now that your heart is pure, you can hear every word and every sentence I say to you. Listen quietly as I teach a sutra!' I listened respectfully, taking every word the elder spoke into my heart. I never knew that there was Buddha’s teachings in this world. Now that the elder was expounding the scriptures to me, it completely captivated my heart. I shed tears; it turned out that this was the Truth I had been searching for all these years.

A Life Dedicated to Deliverance

When I realized such magnificent Buddha’s teachings, I rushed toward the temple without stopping. Over the years, I have known the preciousness of time and have grasped every moment in the temple to practise diligently. The days I spent being tortured in prison became a great tempering before my practice. I know the suffering of sentient beings, and I have completely dedicated this body to the Buddha’s teachings.

Fearlessness of suffering is my greatest ability. When my heart is completely selfless, with only sentient beings in mind, everything in the world is an empty appearance; only the word 'compassion' remains. I have the Buddha in my heart, and the Buddha dwells in my heart. No matter what kind of tests I encounter in my practice, I can still move forward courageously, just like the black round stone I once held in my hand. I hope to learn to be like this stone, constantly accepting the tempering of earth, water, fire, and wind, until there is no self, no body, and everything is in perfect harmony.

Delivering sentient beings is my vow for this life. I have traveled everywhere to propagate the Buddha’s teachings. Although in some places the Causal Conditions are not yet ripe, I still deliver them according to the conditions, never giving up, waiting for the time when these beings can naturally recognize the Buddha and receive the Buddha's compassionate salvation. Throughout my life, I have been able to feel the Buddha’s constant blessing upon me because I am of one heart with the Buddha, and I can naturally feel the Buddha’s power. In this life, I have finally returned to the Western Pure Land. I am grateful for the Buddha’s compassion. Namo Amituofo.

Practitioner Su delivers sentient beings without a single day of rest. Every time there is a Chao Du, spirits flood in like a great tide. If Practitioner Su did not manifest the Dharma in this world, no one would know how many spirits there are in the space, all suffering in misery at every moment, waiting to be saved. If we wish to possess a Dharma Body like Practitioner Su, we must all learn to have a mind-capacity like Practitioner Su. Such a mind-capacity can only be achieved in the state of no-self. If there is a self, one can never accommodate others.

Who are sentient beings? They are you and they are me. People in the world are always prone to distinguishing between sentient beings and myself, but in fact, sentient beings and I are no different. Am I not also a sentient being? If one can view sentient beings and oneself as one, this heart will be different, and the state of practice will inevitably improve. I believe that as Practitioner Su teaches the Dharma every day, everyone can hear and know it. Only by letting go can one achieve liberation, and after liberation, one must also know how to act. In this way, one will surely benefit and achieve rebirth in the Western Pure Land without obstacles and with ease. Grateful for Practitioner Su’s compassion. Namo Amituofo.

Interview information recorded by the Buddhist disciple Shi Fa Jing.