This is a record of an interview with Zheng Zihong, who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This account reflects upon his life and his subsequent service as a prison guard in the hells. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Haliang, on July 26, 2021.
Zheng Zihong speaks:
". At the assembly held at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, sixty prison guards were led to rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. The site of the ceremony was filled with countless spirits, all waiting in anticipation for the proceedings to begin. I am one of those representatives—my name is Zheng Zihong. I am incredibly fortunate to have been guided by Practitioner Su to the Western Pure Land. We were positioned at the front, and every day I listened to Practitioner Su deliver Dharma talks. Through these teachings, I finally understood the suffering of beings in the worldly realm and the hells. As a prison guard, I had witnessed them suffering through punishments and heard their agonising cries, but it was only then that I realised all of that suffering was a result of their own past actions.
The of the Buddha and the compassion of Practitioner Su are boundless. When Practitioner Su called my name, with a single recitation of the Buddha-name, in the blink of an eye, I arrived in the magnificent Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Oh, my heavens! It was shimmering with golden light. We beheld the compassionate Namo Amituofo and knelt down with the utmost sincerity. We also knelt to express our gratitude to Practitioner Su, the monastics, and the volunteer Bodhisattvas at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. We thank you all for your immense help."
A Humble Beginning in Lishan
"I, Zheng Zihong, lived in Taiwan. People often called me a taro-sweet potato—a term for those born of a mainland Chinese father and a Taiwanese indigenous mother. My father had followed the army to Taiwan, and after the war broke out, he was unable to return to the mainland. He eventually settled in Lishan. My father used to tell me that there was a beautiful indigenous woman who worked at a local grocery store—that was my mother. From the moment he first saw her, he would visit the store every single day. He bought everything: washbasins, toothpaste, toothbrushes, slippers, underwear—he bought so many tubes of toothpaste and so many toothbrushes that he had practically purchased every daily necessity in the shop! He did all of this just to have the chance to speak a few more words to her and catch one more glimpse of her face.
One day, my mother finally asked him, 'Sir, how many people are in your family? You are always buying toothpaste and toothbrushes.' My father replied, 'It is because I have a wonderful impression of you. I want to come and show my concern for you every day; seeing you makes me truly happy.' After that direct confession, he was no longer shy about visiting the grocery store."
Lessons from the Orchard
"Within two years, my parents were married. Since my mother was the only child of my maternal grandparents, they entrusted the management of the grocery store to her. My father was a very frugal man. He used the money he had saved to purchase a plot of hillside land. Two years after they married, I was born. People used to say that children born of a taro-sweet potato union were both handsome and intelligent. My parents cherished me deeply, though they were also very strict with my upbringing.
When I was about ten years old, my father would take me up the mountain to see the fruit trees he had planted. When the fruit was ripe, he would pick some for me to eat. My father taught me that for every fruit tree to grow well, it must be pruned; the unhealthy branches must be cut away. When grafting, one must bind the junction securely so that it can thrive. He told me that being a human is exactly the same: when you know you have done something wrong, you must adjust and correct yourself. If you develop towards the good, you will become better and better. If a fruit tree rots or decays and is not treated, the entire tree will eventually rot to the core. My father used the fruit trees to teach me the principles of life—to look for the good in people and to think of their virtues. Aside from the time I spent in school, I was always by my parents' side.
My mother had a very kind heart. She often told me, 'Use things sparingly. With the money we save, we can buy food and warm clothing to help the indigenous people in remote areas.' Under the education of my parents, I went to school and returned home every day with a smile on my face. I was the happy pill of the school; no matter what happened, I would always try to see the positive side of things. After I graduated, my father gradually handed the orchard over to me. At that time, for some reason, many of the fruit trees were suffering from severe pest infestations. Everyone else was spraying pesticides, but my father and I insisted on not using them. We felt that pesticides would kill the pests, but consuming such fruit could not be safe for the human body."
The Wisdom of Chili Water
"A neighbour, who was a good friend of my father, suffered from a persistent cough throughout the four seasons, and seeing doctors did not help. My father kindly reminded him, 'Would you like to listen to my advice and stop spraying pesticides from now on? Because when you spray pesticides, you kill so many insects, and that is also a form of killing.' My father said that some monastics had recently come to the mountain and told him, 'All things have a spirit. For example, if an ant falls into the water and sees a leaf, it will struggle desperately to swim towards it and cling to it, just to survive. Fruit flies eating your fruit is a sign that your fruit is sweet. They also have families. If you spray pesticides, they will die, and their families will surely be heartbroken. If you can be compassionate, you could contribute a few fruit trees for them to eat. If you are still worried about the fruit being eaten, I suggest you try spraying chili water instead. Insects will not eat spicy fruit, and you will avoid the act of killing.' Ever since the neighbour took my father's advice and switched to chili water, we heard his coughing much less often.
My father's hands were very rough and covered in thick calluses; sometimes I would see them cracked and bleeding. My father said that his hillside land was very steep, and when it rained, there was a slight risk of landslides. He was afraid that if a heavy rain came one day, large rocks might be washed down, injuring passersby or blocking the road, which would be a great trouble. So, my father moved the stones all by himself, stacking them one by one. It took him a whole year to build a retaining wall. My father said, 'In the past, there would be landslides here, but now that the retaining wall is built, I am no longer afraid of heavy rain.'"
A Community Transformed
"Once, during a typhoon, two of the three roads leading to and from Lishan were blocked by large rocks washed down by landslides and heavy rain. Only the road where my father had built the retaining wall remained passable. After the typhoon, the nearby residents came to visit my father, asking how he had made the retaining wall so sturdy that it was not damaged by the heavy rain. My father shared his method with everyone and encouraged them to practise good soil and water conservation, saying that this would attract more tourists to come and buy our fruit in the future.
After this heavy rain, many fruit farmers began to take advantage of the good weather to build their own retaining walls. My father gathered some people to reorganise the roads damaged by the landslides and to build retaining walls on the steep slopes. The residents of Lishan even came to consult my father on safety measures and maintenance work for the roads, and he became their construction consultant. My father handed over the work in the orchard to me so he could focus on public service. The residents of Lishan were grateful to my father for his work in soil conservation and road safety.
I spent my days in the orchard with my father, caring for the fruit trees and learning about the dangers of pesticides to the trees and the spirits of the land. I visited the community and vigorously promoted the idea of 'no pesticides, only chili water' to the fruit farmers. Because I was using my father's name, everyone was willing to accept my recommendation to spray chili water. We began implementing this, and although the fruit did not look very good in the first year, we persisted for two or three years. Eventually, the apples we grew were so fragrant and sweet that you could smell them from far away. The fruit farmers took the fruit they had worked so hard to grow to the tourist bus station to sell, but there were too few people, and seeing the leftover apples was truly heartbreaking."
The Earth God's Revelation
"As it happened, a friend of mine worked at the Tourism Bureau. I asked him to help promote the fact that Lishan fruit was grown without pesticides. To support the livelihoods of the farmers, he opened up a channel for organic fruit from Lishan, allowing the public who wanted to eat organic produce to enjoy our products with peace of mind. With my friend's help, orders for one box, ten boxes, and fifty boxes came in one after another. This increased the income of the fruit farmers and improved their quality of life. We continued to grow vegetables and fruits without pesticides.
One day, while I was taking a nap in the orchard, I dreamed of the Earth God. The Earth God told me, 'You have done very well. The land is no longer sick from excessive pesticide spraying, which used to pollute the soil and cause it to become barren and devoid of nutrients. Because you have not used pesticides on me for these five years, we have awakened. We will provide your land with the most nutritious trace elements.'
With fertile land and a sales channel for our fruit, the sweetness of our produce became well-known. Every time we harvested pears, apples, or peaches, they were sold out immediately. Seeing the fruit farmers all smiling happily, I encouraged them to donate some money to help poor children in remote areas, so that everyone could share in the fruit we grew. Because we performed this small act of kindness, the reputation of Lishan fruit spread even further. I was also recommended to work at the Farmers' Association, where every fruit farmer and farmer could consult me. My father told me that in doing things, I must do my best to help everyone so that I would not bring shame to him. I remembered my father's words and served at the Farmers' Association for twenty years with great diligence. I kept track of the fruit grown by every farmer, provided whatever they lacked, taught them how to make chili water, and helped them test the pH levels of their soil."
A Call to the Hells
"When I was thirty-nine years old, one night as I went to bed, two official messengers came to me and asked, 'Are you Zheng Zihong? Come with us; the King of the Ninth Hall of Hell wishes to see you.' I followed the two messengers to the Ninth Hall. The King of Hell said, 'Zheng Zihong! Zheng Zihong! In your past life, because of excessive lust, you were reborn as a king of insects after death. In this life, you have saved many crawling and flying creatures; they were all your subjects from your past life. Originally, the farmers intended to use pesticides to kill you, but in this life, your parents were the very people who saved you. You have repaid your parents' kindness, and in this life, you have saved many human beings from the poison of pesticides. You have also helped the residents of Lishan open up sales channels for their fruit, improving their lives and sparing the earth from being poisoned. I ask you to return and serve as a prison guard in the Ninth Hall; the inmates need you to counsel them so they do not return here again.'
I worked hard to counsel the beings in the hells for twenty years. Then, the King of Hell notified me, 'Your name is on the list of the sixty prison guards to be led to rebirth in the Western Pure Land by Practitioner Su.' I studied hard, listening to Practitioner Su's Dharma talks, and came to understand the Truth of the universe. Only at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, where Namo Amituofo is residing, can one find Practitioner Su, who uses his to lead beings to rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This is a rare opportunity, difficult to encounter in millions of years, and one must cherish it well.
I am grateful for the compassion of the Buddha.
I am grateful for the compassion of Practitioner Su.
