The Prison Guard Who Found the Path to Liberation

This is a record of an interview with Icaro, who sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. This account reflects upon his life and his service in the hells. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on October 15, 2022.

Icaro speaks:

"I have never witnessed such a magnificent place; so this is the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. I, Icaro, together with fifty-nine other prison guards, am filled with profound awe and gratitude. We are deeply thankful to Namo Amituofo and to Practitioner Su for granting us the opportunity to arrive at this sacred land.

Greetings to everyone. I am Icaro, born in India. In the village where I was raised, most people possessed innate psychic abilities. It was an inherent gift—we did not need to study it intentionally; we could naturally sense many things that remained hidden from the rest of the world. However, the people in our village were incredibly humble and low-key. We never boasted about these gifts, so those outside our village remained completely unaware of our unique characteristics.

A Village of Hidden Gifts

Although everyone possessed these abilities, we never used them recklessly. We only used them when absolutely necessary; otherwise, we lived like ordinary people, leading simple, everyday lives.

In our village, when a baby was born, the parents would inevitably use their psychic powers to look into the child's past and future. As a result, many infants in our village were abandoned or killed immediately after birth. Because their parents saw that their past and future were 'bad,' and since every household struggled to make ends meet, they preferred to discard these children rather than endure the hardship of working to raise them.

And what about me? I was one of those who were discarded.

The Abandoned Child

The moment I was born, my parents looked into my past and future and saw only a vast, impenetrable darkness. They did not understand what this darkness represented, but it filled them with fear, and they worried that I would bring misfortune upon them. After discussing it, they decided to throw me away.

They left me in the hills behind our village, a place where wild beasts often roamed. By leaving me there, they knew I would soon be devoured, saving them the trouble of disposing of my body.

Just as they expected, not long after they left me in the tall grass, wild beasts approached, intending to eat me. I had no ability to resist. The grass around me felt uncomfortable against my skin, and I cried out loudly. Just as the beast was about to snatch me up, I was suddenly whisked away by a powerful force. The speed was incredible—the beast did not even have time to react.

The Shaman's Puppet

I was taken to a safe, quiet place where there was no sound at all. Even though I was a newborn, I could already sense the magnetic field around me. I could tell, even then, whether the person standing beside me was a good person or a bad one. The person standing next to me was the one who had just taken me away. His energy field made me feel terrified, for I could already sense that he was not a good man.

Every day, the things he fed me were not food, but medicines he had concocted himself. I knew he possessed dark arts, and these potions and substances had been 'enchanted' to keep me satiated while serving his own purposes.

I could feel my mind being constantly manipulated by him. He seemed to control my thoughts, causing my head to naturally generate negative ideas, ensuring that I lived in darkness throughout my growth.

Although he controlled me, I tried my hardest not to be completely dominated. It was not easy, but I gave it my all because I did not want to become his puppet.

The Voice Within

In truth, my ability to protect myself with this awareness was not entirely my own doing. There was a voice inside my heart that kept speaking to me. This voice felt kind and protective. Whenever the shaman tried to control me, this voice would talk to me, teaching me how to act so that I would not be fully swayed. The best method was to keep an 'unmoved mind.' As long as my heart remained unmoved, he could not manipulate me.

By the time I was five, I could understand almost everything. The man who had taken me was a shaman. He wanted to use my pure body to perform rituals to harm others and even to disrupt the heavens and the earth. I think he must have known about my psychic potential, and my body was particularly suited to provide the elements he required.

Beyond the shaman's interference, I also felt that I was surrounded by the spirits of infants—all the babies who had been killed in my village. At the time, I could not understand why they were all following me.

Resisting the Rituals

Every time the shaman set up an altar to perform his rituals, he would make me sit in the centre, using my body as a vessel. The voice in my heart would remind me: 'Maintain right mindfulness; keep your heart unmoved.' I used the power of my right mindfulness to resist his use of my body. It was not for my own sake, but because I did not want him to hurt anyone else.

When I was eight, I began to hear the voices of spirits and deities. I finally heard these infant spirits speaking to me in their own language. It turned out that they were following me because they hoped I could save them. When I saw the suffering they had endured, my heart was filled with unbearable compassion, and I developed the intention to save them. When this virtuous thought arose, my strength increased, and I was better able to resist the shaman's control. I realized then that the more virtuous my heart, the greater my resistance against his dark arts.

To save the infant spirits and all the villagers, I had to escape from the shaman. He discovered my intentions and began to tighten his control, determined to prevent my escape and make me his puppet forever.

The Price of Freedom

To resist the shaman, my body suffered great damage, but I felt no fear. Because I constantly saw the pitiful state of the infant spirits, I endured the pain, no matter how intense it became.

When I was eleven, I finally escaped. However, the shaman had managed to seize my soul, leaving only one portion within my body; the rest had been sealed by his talismans inside a ritual vessel.

Having my soul captured had a devastating effect on my body. Especially when he chanted spells at the vessel containing my soul, I would roll on the ground in agony from the headaches. Yet, I endured it, because I had to save those infant spirits and the villagers.

My focus was difficult to maintain, but I used immense thought power and a firm heart to help myself concentrate, all for the purpose of finding a way to rescue those spirits.

Finding the Dharma

My psychic abilities allowed me to sense a power that could save them. I followed my intuition and eventually found a group of monks who were chanting the Buddha's name.

The sound of their chanting helped my body and mind return to peace. After they finished, I told them about the infant spirits. They compassionately gestured for me to perform Chao Du for them, but I lacked the ability to do so. Finally, I made a vow before the Buddha: I was willing to join the Buddha's gate to save sentient beings, and I begged the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to compassionately save these poor spirits.

Under the strength of my firm vow, after the monks performed the deliverance, all those infant spirits were saved. My heart finally found peace.

In the temple, I practiced diligently to help all beings, including the villagers. During my practice, I encountered heavy obstacles. The greatest was my inability to concentrate; I was constantly drowsy and found it hard to focus on Buddhist affairs. But I did not give up, because my heart was firm. I still had beings to save and villagers to rescue, so no matter how great the difficulty, I had to break through.

The Return of the Soul

Through my firm perseverance and sincere vows, I received the blessings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. My soul broke free from the ritual vessel, shattered the talismans, and returned to my body. When my soul returned, I felt it immediately. Using my psychic powers, I saw the entire process and knelt down to thank the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for saving me. I then made an even firmer vow to save sentient beings.

The kind voice that had spoken to me since childhood disappeared after I had practiced for some time. I searched for it everywhere but could not find it. Finally, with the help of a fellow practitioner, I realized that the voice was actually my own—it was the virtuous thought I had held throughout my lives, the very thought that helped me escape the dark forces and return to the Buddha's gate.

Service in the Hells

For nearly ten years, I practiced and then returned to my village to save beings. I also travelled everywhere to teach the Dharma, which astonished the villagers. In addition to teaching, I used my innate abilities, combined with the power of the Buddha, to deliver spirits in other spaces.

My intentions were virtuous, and I helped as many beings as I could. The journey was mostly smooth, but I clearly saw and felt that many of the spirits I had helped did not leave; they followed me closely and entered my body. I did not drive them away. As long as they did not harm me, I let them stay while I continued to deliver other beings.

At the age of sixty-seven, my body began to lose its vitality. I felt that my time was coming to an end, but I continued to do good and help others as much as I could.

At seventy, I left the human world. Before I departed, I made a vow to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to let me go into the hells to continue saving beings. They fulfilled my wish, and I truly arrived in the hells. King Yama, knowing everything that had happened, arranged for me to serve as a prison guard, giving me the opportunity to save beings within the hells.

I used every opportunity to teach the hell-beings, helping them understand the laws of karma and cause and effect, and encouraging them to repent.

A Final Deliverance

About four or five years ago, I saw the Dharma Body of Practitioner Su in the hells, saving beings. At that moment, my heart was so moved and excited; I could hardly imagine that a human being could achieve such a thing. Afterward, I began to be able to hear Practitioner Su giving Dharma talks. I listened with great joy and shared what I heard with the beings in the hells.

Not long ago, I was placed on the list for rebirth in the Western Pure Land. My heart is filled with infinite gratitude and joy, and I have made a vow that in the future, I will return to the human world to save beings and help them leave suffering behind.

Namo Amituofo."

Namo Amituofo.