The Price of Greed: From Earth God to Cricket

This is a record of an interview with Cai Zheng'an, who sought deliverance 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 experiences across multiple realms of existence. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Faxin, on November 24, 2023.

Cai Zheng'an speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I have finally met the compassionate Namo Amituofo. It is truly difficult to believe that I have arrived in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. The very moment I stepped into this realm, my entire being was purified within the Buddha-light, and my heart was filled with such immense joy. It is a level of happiness I have never experienced throughout my many lives. Today, the cycle of being reincarnated has finally come to an end. I have finally returned to my true home. I am so grateful, so deeply thankful. Thank you, Buddha, for your compassion toward a disciple who was lost in the cycle of reincarnation, and thank you, Practitioner Su, for your guidance."

A Life of Sudden Wealth

"My name is Cai Zheng'an. I lived during an era when life was not easy for most civilians. Suddenly, my family inherited a vast amount of wealth, and I was transformed overnight from an ordinary civilian into a wealthy man. At first, I indulged in the pleasure of spending money, satisfying every desire I had. However, after some time, I quickly realised that this was not the life I truly wanted.

In the marketplace, I would see families working together at their stalls, struggling to make a living. If business was good, the whole family could have a stable meal; if business was poor, their lives would fall into hardship, and every day was filled with anxiety. I once saw the youngest child tugging at his mother's sleeve, crying because he was hungry. The mother was helpless because they had not yet earned enough money to buy even a single meal's worth of vegetables. They could only wait and endure.

There were also young couples who grew old before their time, worn down by the struggle for survival. My heart ached deeply. I remembered that I had lived that same life before. Now that I had money and my life had improved, I felt I should do my part to help others. After discussing it with my wife, we decided to begin practising Generosity."

The Secret Benefactor

"We asked the village head to investigate the situation of each household and then provided help according to their specific needs. Whether they needed food, daily necessities, or subsidies for their children's schooling, we provided whatever was necessary. To create more job opportunities for the villagers, we collaborated with several factories, helping them improve their business so they could hire more people.

About three years passed, and I saw the lives of the villagers gradually becoming stable. My wife and I were incredibly happy. I did not let anyone know that I was the one secretly helping them. Over the years, I decided to continue living in my old house, so none of my neighbours knew that I had become wealthy.

Year after year, there were several times when my finances were nearly exhausted, and I could not continue to help others. Yet, unexpectedly, new Causal Conditions would manifest to provide the necessary support. Therefore, I deeply believed in my heart that as long as one has the intention to help others, the path can be walked very far. Holding onto this belief, I lived until I was seventy-five years old, passing away from this world after suffering only minor illnesses and pains. When I left, my wife was still with me. We had relied on each other for our entire lives, and even though it was painful to part, I had to go."

The Weight of the Earth God's Robe

"When my life ended, I felt my spirit become light and airy, as if I were drifting toward some unknown destination. Not long after, I found myself standing before a heavenly palace. The high city gates opened, and I saw the Jade Emperor. He looked quite stern. After looking at me for a few moments, he ordered me to prepare to take up a post.

Take up a post? My heart was filled with questions. I was quickly sent to a local temple in the human world, where I became the local Earth God. I was dressed in the robes of an Earth God, sitting on the altar, receiving the prayers and worship of the people. Only a few days after taking office, several people were already kneeling before my statue, weeping and pouring out their life stories—their struggles with work, their emotional pain, and the general hardships of life. Regardless of the nature of their troubles, they all hoped that the Earth God could bless them.

When I first became the Earth God, I actually did not know how I could bless the devotees. I looked at those who came to pray. Some still had karmic fortune, so I could use their own karmic fortune to help them. As for those who had absolutely no karmic fortune, I could not help them unless they accumulated some hidden merits for themselves, which would then make it possible to transform their karma. At the beginning, I was very cautious, fearing that my judgments might be biased or incorrect. I did my best to help the devotees with their prayers, and the rest depended on their own efforts.

When I helped the devotees in this way, many of them spread the word, saying that this Earth God temple was very effective and that those who came to pray could have their wishes fulfilled. With this word-of-mouth, batches of devotees came to worship, especially during the holidays. They would kneel before me one by one to tell me their troubles. I would have my attendant record everything so I could check their remaining karmic fortune and see how to help them. When the temple was at its peak, there were sometimes hundreds of devotees a day. I had to check each one carefully, ensuring there were no mistakes. Sometimes the paperwork was overwhelming, and I realised that being a deity is not simple. There are many things to pay attention to, and every single matter involves the laws of karma and cause and effect."

The Fall into the Cricket's Form

"For five years, I was very diligent every day, not daring to be the least bit negligent. But as time went on, I began to feel tired. Although I had become an Earth God, the habits of the world still existed within me. The lazy habits I had when I was a human began to manifest, and I could not suppress them. After one particularly exhausting day, my thoughts shifted. I decided that I would just focus on maintaining the incense offerings. I saw many other deities enjoying the incense without working as hard as I did. In that moment, I decided to be like them.

From that day on, I stopped reviewing the petitions and only enjoyed the feeling of being respected. I did not know that this had already begun to erode the Blessings I had earned as an Earth God. Originally, when I was diligently thinking for the sake of the devotees, my Blessings were constantly accumulating, and I was close to being promoted among the deities. Now that I had started to enjoy the offerings, my karmic fortune began to diminish. My mindset also changed; I became particularly concerned with the incense and offerings from the devotees, and in my heart, I even wanted to surpass the incense levels of other deities. Bit by bit, this rapidly shortened my tenure as a deity.

One day, a year later, I was suddenly pulled down by a great force. I felt my body shrinking and becoming weaker and weaker. I never imagined that I would end up as a cricket. My spirit had entered the body of a cricket. At first, I did not know I had become a cricket. When I looked at the altar, I saw a spirit wearing the robes of the Earth God, and I was furious. I shouted in my heart, 'Who is so rude? How dare they wear the Earth God's robes and sit in the statue!' I tried my best to jump upward with my cricket body, wanting to jump back onto the altar and enter the statue. But no matter how hard I jumped, I could not reach the altar, let alone enter the statue.

I began to feel anxious and angry, unable to understand what was happening. I did not eat even when I was hungry, and I did not drink water; I was desperately trying to regain my past. Suddenly, I heard the Dharma protector who used to be by my side when I was the Earth God say, 'Former Earth God, the temple has already appointed a new Earth God.' Upon hearing these words, I was stunned.

After learning the truth, I remained in the temple and watched the new Earth God serving the devotees with great diligence. He had no airs of a deity and was kind and approachable. His actions turned my jealousy into repenting. I knew that it was because I had not cherished the opportunity I was given that I ended up in such a state. My own greed had caused me to suffer the retribution of becoming a cricket. After understanding all of this, my spirits began to weep loudly. I felt so ashamed, regretful, and sad. Gradually, my body lost all strength, and I passed away."

Repentance and the Path to Deliverance

"This time, I arrived before the King of Hell. The King of Hell saw my actions and originally intended to sentence me to the ghost realm to become a hungry ghost. However, seeing that I had a heart of repenting and still had some remaining karmic fortune, he gave me the job of a prison guard so that I could serve the beings in hell. I cherished this opportunity very much and resolved to counseling the beings in hell. But each being has their own personality and stubbornness, which is why they suffer so greatly.

While in hell, I was fortunate enough to hear Practitioner Su giving Dharma talks. I am so grateful to Practitioner Su for letting us know about the magnificence of the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, which allowed me to pray with a single-minded heart. Today, I have received this opportunity for rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Thank you, Buddha. Thank you, Practitioner Su."

Cai Zheng'an kneels and bows.

Namo Amituofo."