The Pond of Souls and the Circus of Karma

This article presents two accounts recorded by Chief Writer Shi Faxin at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia in August 2018. The first is an interview with the spirits of the Zhou family, who were trapped in a pond following a tragic mudslide, and the second is a testimony from Venerable Yongning regarding the karmic relationships within a circus troupe.

Jobs speaks:

"A clear pond, where shrimp and crabs swim with such apparent ease—yet every creature living within these waters shares a profound and specific set of Causal Conditions. If we trace the timeline upward, this site was once home to an old house, inhabited by a family of thirteen. There were originally fifteen, but life was so impossibly hard that they had to send a pair of their lovely children to be raised by a neighbouring village. To survive, every member of this family, from the eldest to the youngest, had to contribute. The father caught fish, shrimp, and crabs in the stream; the older children helped sell the catch at the market; and the younger ones stayed home to help their mother weave bamboo traps. Life was far from wealthy. Every day, the dinner table held only one dish of greens, accompanied by porridge made of barley, just enough to barely fill their stomachs. Only once every two days could they afford white rice. On those days, the children were exceptionally happy, for only white rice provided a true sense of fullness. With a dash of soy sauce and a little lard, it was the ultimate delicacy for the Zhou family.

The Tragedy of the Seventh Child

Only two or three of the Zhou children could attend school, so they sent the brightest among them. In the gaps between their daily chores, the children would huddle together to learn how to read. Life was, in its own way, happy. Then, one day, the seventh child—the brightest of them all—was struck by a large boulder on his way home and fell into the valley. The entire family dropped everything in a frantic search. As the sky grew darker, there was no news. The mother wept until she was exhausted. They searched until late into the night, but to no avail. The seventh child became the village's missing boy. The Zhou family fell into a state of deep despair. The mother even hired a Taoist priest to perform a soul-summoning ritual, spending the money they needed for food. The seventh child became an eternal scar upon the family. They continued to sell seafood to survive, but then the third child fell ill, and the ninth child inexplicably left home and never returned. The family spiralled into depression. They began to wonder if something was wrong with their ancestral grave, but they were struggling just to keep their bellies full; there was simply no extra money to restore the grave.

The Omen of the Great Fish

One day in a dream, the mother saw a fierce, giant fish. In its mouth, it held the seventh, third, and ninth children. The fish circled constantly. In the dream, the mother herded all her children behind her, just like a hen protecting her chicks. The giant fish lunged forward, floodwaters poured in, and the whole family seemed to be sinking and floating in the deluge. The mother screamed in terror in her dream. When she awoke, her face was pale, and she looked at each of her children, relieved to find them still safe in their beds. Not long after that dream, a heavy rainstorm struck. The earth loosened, and a massive mudslide—a natural disaster—claimed the lives of the entire family. The site, filled with deep, stagnant water, became a silted pond, and new life soon appeared within it.

Deliverance from the Pond

The ethereal souls of the Zhou family became part of the life within that pond: frogs, fish, shrimp, and crabs. The father, having harmed so many lives, became a microorganism in the pond. The family cycled and recycled through these forms, and few people ever passed by that pond. Today, as the grandmother conducted a Chao Du for Taiwan, chanting the Buddha-name, she delivered this seemingly ordinary pond. The family within the pond was released from the bodies of various fish, shrimp, and crabs. Such karmic retribution was the result of the karma they had created in their lifetime. Beyond the family, there were countless other creatures in the pond. Every blade of grass and every flower in the void possesses life. Countless spirits are waiting for the daily, authentic deliverance provided by the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. As long as a spirit makes a vow to seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land or is willing to chant Namo Amituofo, Namo Amituofo will compassionately lead them. But more importantly, the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre helps more people find their Dharma Body, enabling more beings to escape their confined spaces and allowing Namo Amituofo to continue to dwell in this world."

Venerable Yongning speaks:

"A circus: a monkey, a donkey, and a whip. Humans play the roles of monkeys and donkeys, and humans use whips to lash other humans. Because of outward differences, people create hierarchies. The concepts of 'you,' 'me,' and 'him' arise. The circus performers consisted of three monkeys, two donkeys, and one parrot. The monkeys rode the donkeys, and the parrot flew through fire hoops and answered simple questions from the audience. It looked like a spectacular, exotic performance, but who truly understood the bitterness of the monkey, the donkey, and the parrot? Their becoming circus performers was tied to special Causal Conditions with their master. The monkey was a former servant who had stolen from the master's home without telling him; under the eyes of heaven, he had to come to repay his debt in this life. The donkey was once the master's father; in the past, he had failed to fulfil his duty as a father, and instead, the master had supported him his whole life, so he was repaying that debt now. The parrot was the master's former lover, with whom he could talk about anything; after becoming a parrot, she remained a beautiful, talkative bird.

The Cycle of Entanglement

The three animals also had their own love, hate, and grievances, which is why they met and lived together in the circus. Their interactions remained as they always were: if they liked someone, they liked them; if they didn't, they didn't. The donkey was the first to reach the end of his life; the master was saddened, and the animals were saddened too. The emotions between people, between animals, and between humans and animals remain entangled after cycle upon cycle of rebirth. Identities mutate, relationships mutate, yet within every body lies the memory of the spirit. Past memories and habits are tightly linked to the present.

Awakening to the Dharma Body

The suffering is endless, yet we still do not know how to wake up. Only by truly letting go of the emotions and personalities of our many lifetimes can one be considered to have truly left suffering behind and gained happiness. This requires a great Awakening and a comprehensive view of one's lifetimes. Let go of the illusions before your eyes; if you cling to yourself, you will become one of the beings in the void who needs to be saved. What is success, and what is failure? Success and failure lie within this heart. Face your heart honestly and bravely cast off the fate of reincarnation. A wise person who is willing to stand up and make a vow will save an immeasurable number of beings. I, Yongning, hope that everyone will become someone who has awakened from the dream. See clearly that everything before you has nothing to do with you, and be grounded in your daily practice. The number of beings to be saved in the future is immeasurable and boundless. At that time, the physical body will truly manifest Awakening, Rightness, and Purity. This is the way to reclaim the highest spirituality: the Dharma Body. Namo Amituofo."