The River of Sorrow: Saving Spirits from Depressive Realms

Venerable Chang Gao, a dedicated monastic at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, has been actively assisting Practitioner Su in the sacred work of Chao Du. Through his ongoing practice and spiritual cultivation, he has gained profound insights into the various dimensions where suffering spirits reside. This interview, recorded on February 5, 2023, captures his reflections on his recent experiences delivering spirits trapped within the dark, depressive realms of the world's river systems.

Venerable Chang Gao speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. Every single day, I follow Practitioner Su to perform Chao Du. Beyond the spaces we have already attended to, as my own spirit undergoes purification and my compassion is nourished—or as my mind-capacity expands—the spaces we encounter for deliverance change. The depth of the work increases, and the scope of the deliverance becomes far more extensive.

Regardless of the specifics, I strive with every ounce of my being to assist sentient beings every day. My greatest hope is that more beings can leave suffering behind and gain happiness as soon as possible. This is what I find most joyful, and it is the ultimate purpose of Chao Du: to benefit all sentient beings without exception.

The Infinite Layers of River Spaces

Today, I travelled to many river spaces. There are countless great rivers in this world, and every single river possesses its own existence in the spiritual realm. Furthermore, it is not just one single space; a single river can contain infinite spaces. Each space holds a different time, a different era, and because of this, the differences between each space are immense. They are layered one upon another, densely packed, filling the entire realm.

As for how long these spaces exist? If no one comes to help them find a way out, they will likely remain trapped in these spaces forever. They do not know that they should walk out of these spaces; in fact, they do not even realise that they are trapped within them in the first place.

A Girl from the Nile

I encountered a young girl who walked out of a space within the Nile River. It was an incredibly dark, suffocating space. She had been trapped there for who knows how long. When she finally emerged, her eyes were hollow and vacant. Her face was completely devoid of expression; she looked utterly consumed by depression. Yet, I heard her whispering the Buddha-name. I could see that her heart was crying out for help, which is the only reason she could be rescued and guided out of that darkness.

After speaking with her, I learned that she was a spirit who had ended her life by jumping into the Nile. From the moment she jumped, she had been trapped in that space, never stopping her suffering for a single day. She lived in extreme agony every moment. She had originally thought that ending her life would bring an end to all her suffering, but she never expected that death would bring even greater pain. She was not only trapped in the exact space where she had committed suicide, but she was also being interfered with by other spaces—attachments she could not let go of—which made her feel just as tormented as she had been while alive.

The Weight of Depression

In the language of the human world, this girl was a patient suffering from clinical depression. Her long-term mental anguish prevented her from walking out of the darkness. Her life was filled with negative thoughts and emotions. Even when faced with joyful things, she would mix them with pessimism and sorrow. These thoughts were constantly interfering with her, making her existence unbearable.

I took a look at the various river spaces and was shocked to find that many of them were exactly like this girl's—filled with spirits living in spaces of depression and suicide. There are so many such spirits within the rivers, all trapped in these depressive spaces, unable to find their way out.

The Light of Deliverance

Practitioner Su performs Chao Du for many rivers, especially in mainland China, where there are so many. Under the arrival of the golden light and the purification of the Buddha-name chanting, these spirits in the depressive spaces were able to leave their entrapment one by one.

I observed that the faces of these depressed spirits were all grey and dim. This was not something that happened after death; they were like this while they were alive. Their hearts were deeply locked within the spaces of their own attachments. At the time, this attachment was also being controlled by their karmic creditors. Just like this girl—I saw that when she was depressed while alive, her heart, her head, and the space surrounding her body were all being orbited by other spirits. Some were crying, others were screaming and acting out in madness. They were all interfering with her, which is why she fell into such deep depression and could not escape.

I helped this girl and the other spirits in similar depressive spaces to face the Buddha-light. I encouraged them to look at the Buddha and to repent before their own karmic creditors. Following the Buddha-light, they walked out, waving goodbye to their spaces of depression, no longer trapped within them.

A Continuing Mission

Today, I helped save a great number of depressed spirits. They were depressed while alive, and they remained depressed after death. They suffered while alive, and even after committing suicide to leave the human world, their spirits remained in pain—often even more so than before.

The entire realm of the rivers is full of wonders and horrors; every kind of space exists there. Today, I have only mentioned one type of space. I will continue to save sentient beings, ensuring that more and more can find their way out of these dark, confined spaces.

Namo Amituofo.

Chang Gao"