The Saleswoman Who Found Her Final Resting Place

This is a record of an interview with Lu Caixia, who sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. She now resides in the Western Dharma-Nature Land. This account reflects upon her passing during the massive fire at Wang Fuk Court in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on December 12, 2025.

Lu Caixia speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Lu Caixia, and I am thirty-seven years old. Please forgive me, Venerable; I was still immersed in the profound emotion of the ceremony. I truly wanted to finish reciting one more sutra before accepting this interview. I had never participated in a Dharma assembly before; this was my very first time. I am so excited! The Dharma assembly here is so vibrant and alive. I feel such immense joy participating in it. It is the first time I have ever joined a ceremony alongside so many immeasurable and boundless spirits. For as long as I can remember, I have always been all alone.

A Life of Selling Final Resting Places

I did study Buddhism to some extent, though usually, I could only recite scriptures on my own—the Universal Gate Chapter, the Lamrim, the Heart Sutra, the Earth Store Sutra, and the Lotus Sutra. I have recited them all, but my practice was never very consistent. When I arrived here, I happened to join your Dharma assembly right away. In truth, I had been dead for quite some time, but my body had not been discovered. I kept waiting at the scene for everyone to come and find me. I watched as many other remains were carried away, but perhaps I was pinned down, and so they did not see me.

I was a saleswoman—a salesperson for columbarium niches. The clients I usually dealt with were families who had recently lost a loved one. I would take the opportunity to recommend that they purchase niches and burial plots for the whole family all at once. In Hong Kong, land prices are astronomically high, so my business was not easy to manage. The auspicious, precious land sites were all bought up by the wealthy; those locations are incredibly hard to come by. I was responsible for selling the less popular, 'cold' locations—otherwise, they wouldn't have needed a salesperson like me. For every successful sale, I would earn a small commission. It wasn't much, but it was enough to scrape by.

Every day, I dealt with clients facing the white-haired person sending off the black-haired person or other forms of separation and death. Because of this, I came into contact with many different religions—Buddhist, Taoist, and Christian rituals—all of which required a place to settle the remains or ashes. Most of my clients chose cremation, so I would ask if they were interested in purchasing a family niche. Dealing with these grieving families day in and day out, I inevitably became a bit superstitious. I always felt that there were many ghost deities following me, so whenever I had free time, I would recite a few sutras and dedicate the merit to them, hoping they would bless me with a smooth career.

The Day the Smoke Rose

On the day of the fire, I did not have any clients scheduled to meet me, so I was at home waiting for business. If a client called to make an appointment, I would go out to meet them and pitch our plans—our company's plans were always economical and practical. On the day of the fire, I had nothing to do, so I was relaxing at home, watching television. By the afternoon, I suddenly felt exceptionally tired, so I decided to lie down on the bed for a while.

Halfway through my sleep, I felt someone pulling at my feet. I opened my eyes in a panic, but I did not see anyone there. I felt a bit frightened. I was worried that I might have offended someone or some invisible being. I thought, 'I should just recite some sutras.' I tried to turn on the light, but the switch would not work. I started to get nervous. Was there something unclean in my home? Was I not even allowed to recite scriptures? I began to recite the name of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, over and over again, but the light still would not turn on.

After a while, I decided it would be best to leave the house and perhaps hire a professional to handle the situation later. As soon as I opened the door, I saw thick smoke. The smell was pungent—more nauseating than the scent of a funeral hall—and the air temperature was quite high. Suddenly, I saw a vision of a cremation, and when I looked closer, I was horrified to see myself lying inside. My skin crawled with terror.

Trapped in the Darkness

I panicked and started heading toward the elevator, but the smoke was getting thicker and thicker. I did not dare take the elevator. I knew this must be a fire. I felt slightly less afraid—though I should have been terrified—even though I knew it was not caused by invisible beings, a fire is still something to be nervous about. I headed for the stairwell, pushed my way through the crowd, and slowly made my way down. I kept hearing many sounds, though I was not sure what they were. I just had to keep going down.

Suddenly, I missed a step and fell on the stairs. Before I could even crawl back up, a heavy object suddenly pressed down on me. It covered my head, chest, hands, and feet. I could not breathe. I wanted to struggle, but I could not move. I could not see anything; everything was pitch black, and I lost consciousness very quickly.

When I regained consciousness, I saw an entire sofa pressing down on me. The sofa quickly caught fire. I watched my own body being pinned down, and the fire slowly burned downward. My entire body was being burned along with the sofa that was crushing me. Yet, I felt somewhat numb. Perhaps it was because I was used to dealing with these matters in my line of work. I knew that everyone has to die one day, though I never expected it to come so suddenly—so sudden that I could not even react, could not even struggle.

A New Beginning at Hsiang Kuang

I suddenly thought I should recite the name of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva. As I recited, I realized I was already dead, and reciting seemed to be of no use. I just stayed there, waiting for someone to come and collect my body. I saw the fire department slowly advancing into the disaster area, but when they passed by me, they just treated me like a sofa. I shouted, 'I am underneath! Please, someone look!' But they could not hear me; I was still pinned down. I suddenly remembered that I should be a ghost now, and there must be some 'ghostly' ways to make people notice me. I tried for a long time, but I still could not attract any attention. I was still trying to think of a way, but I was a 'rookie ghost.' I did not know what to do. I asked other ghosts, but they did not know either.

I just kept guarding my body. Several times, golden light shone down, but I refused to go toward the light. I had to let everyone know I was here. At the very least, give me a niche! I had spent my whole life selling them; the company should treat me a bit better. My savings should be enough to buy one if there was a discount.

I really waited for a long time. The search and rescue ended, and I was a bit disappointed. It seemed like no one had discovered me; I was just buried under a pile of trash. Forget it. I decided to give up. I had heard that the golden light was a shortcut to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, and I wanted to go there and see it. As the golden light shone down once more, I arrived at the Western Dharma-Nature Land of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia.

I just arrived today, and I happened to join the Dharma assembly. The assembly here is so lively! I rarely participated in such lively ceremonies before. The ones at family funeral halls were always so solemn; they could never be this vibrant. Everyone there was just chanting listlessly, as if they were just going through the motions, and once it was done, it was over. But the Dharma assembly here is wonderful and so lively. It kept me glued to the spot. The chanting is so loud, and I just joined in and chanted loudly too. I am so happy. Here, there are scriptures available, and I can follow along. I used to recite the Amitabha Sutra often when performing Chao Du for the deceased, and I have recited it before; I miss it so much. I chanted with such joy. I heard this is the Thrice Yearning Ceremony; I had never participated in one before. The lay practitioner presiding—that must be Practitioner Su—is so powerful. We all followed him in chanting, and it was so powerful that I even forgot my body was still at the fire scene. If it were not for this interview, I would have been completely focused on the Dharma assembly.

I am so grateful to Namo Amituofo for bringing me here. Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva is here too. I never expected that even after becoming a ghost, I would encounter such a wonderful thing. Now, it does not matter if my body is collected or not. Anyway, since no one is performing Chao Du for me, I can just follow the Dharma assembly and chant the Buddha's name myself. I am so grateful to Namo Amituofo for giving me this opportunity. I heard the Dharma assembly lasts for three days; I am going to participate earnestly. It costs nothing, and I can save myself. Practitioner Su even gave me a memorial tablet—oh, I am so grateful.

Namo Amituofo."