The Simple Life and the Path to Liberation

Bao Minghua, a former prison guard in the hells, sought deliverance through the compassionate guidance of Practitioner Su at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. This interview, recorded on December 28, 2024, captures his journey from a simple, virtuous life in a remote village to his eventual liberation in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Bao Minghua speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. Today, we have truly arrived at the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Throughout my long cycle of being reincarnated, this is the first time I have felt such intense anticipation and longing. Knowing that I was about to be guided by Practitioner Su to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss—that feeling of impending liberation is something that words and language can hardly describe.

Today, we sixty prison guards, through the help of Practitioner Su’s Dharma Body, have truly arrived at the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. We are filled with immense gratitude and are deeply moved. We are grateful for the compassion of the Buddha, and we are grateful for the compassion of Practitioner Su."

A Life of Simplicity and Purity

"I am Bao Minghua. In that lifetime, I was born in a remote and underdeveloped part of China. In our region, travelling anywhere was a monumental task. One had to traverse mountains and cross rivers, walking incredibly long distances. Every path we took was untrodden and dangerous; it was a life of extreme hardship. Because of this, very few people ever left. Most of us spent our entire lives in that one place, living a simple, self-sufficient life of mutual help and affection.

This environment allowed every one of us to retain our most simple, pure nature, untouched by any pollution. We almost believed that the world was just that small. We had almost no knowledge of the outside world, and our thoughts were incredibly innocent.

Walking through our village, you would see cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, cats, and dogs everywhere. They would walk alongside you quite naturally. You would not find it strange, and they would not feel any fear toward you. We simply lived together in such a natural way.

I remember one time when I was playing in the fields and returned home, a cow was sitting in our living room. I even gave it some grass to eat. It was not until my family was ready to eat that we asked our 'Brother Cow' to step outside. Sometimes, chickens, ducks, or pigs raised by other families would visit our home. We did not mind at all; we were accustomed to it. Our village was just like that—humans and animals lived together in perfect harmony."

The Truth About Our Sustenance

"In truth, these animals were raised for us to eat. But what you will find absolutely unbelievable is that these animals were very accepting of their fate. They knew clearly that they would eventually become our food. Yet, they were not afraid, and they were quite willing to sacrifice themselves to sustain us. Would anyone believe such a thing? But it truly happened in our village.

However, we absolutely never ate tender meat. Every animal we slaughtered was already very old and nearing the end of its natural life. We would only take their lives when they had but a few days left. We would never take the life of an animal that was still full of vitality. In fact, some villagers would wait until the animals had passed away naturally before preparing them for food; we would not actively take their lives.

These animals were as pure as we were. They could understand our speech, and we could understand theirs. Just like that 'Brother Cow' I mentioned—he was nearing the end of his time and was about to become beef for everyone. I asked him, 'Are you afraid?' He replied, 'I am old now and can barely walk. Becoming your meal a little early can be considered doing a good deed. But my meat is old; I hope you will not mind.' The meat of Brother Cow was indeed very, very old, as he had lived a long and full life. Some of these animals even knew exactly when they would die and would ask us to prepare to take their meat beforehand.

However, I was the only person in the village who did not eat meat. From the moment I was born until I grew up, I never ate a single piece of meat."

The Mystery of the Ant Nest

"I remember it clearly—I was ten years old. A strange growth appeared on my body, about the size of my fist, right on my neck. This bizarre thing terrified my parents. They rushed to ask the village doctor how to cure my illness. The doctor told my parents that I needed to eat meat stewed with medicinal herbs. As soon as I heard that I had to eat meat, I burst into tears and ran out of the house. No matter how much my family pressured me, I refused to eat it.

I did not know why I was so repulsed by meat. Even though the meat came from those old cows, dogs, pigs, chickens, and ducks, I simply could not swallow it. Later, I told my parents, 'I promise that even without eating the meat of these animals, my illness will still heal.' My parents found my words hard to believe, but seeing my firm resolve, they chose to trust me for the time being. However, they warned me that if I did not get better, I would have to eat the meat as the doctor ordered. I agreed.

In truth, I had no idea how I would get better; I just wanted to avoid eating meat. That night, I sat alone in the living room, touching the large lump on my neck. As I touched it, I suddenly saw that inside the lump, there were many, many ants crawling back and forth. They were so busy. I looked closer and realized that the lump was actually an ant nest.

I was absolutely stunned. How could an ant nest be growing on my neck? When I tried to look closer, it turned back into a lump, and the ants were gone. I sat there in the living room for a long time, wondering if what I had seen was real.

The next morning, I immediately went to find my cousin. She was very gifted and could see into many different spaces. I begged her to help me see if the lump on my neck was truly an ant nest. When she looked, she confirmed it was indeed an ant nest, and it was even larger than what I had seen. Not only that, she saw that in a past life, I had burned that ant nest with fire, which is why they were now on my body.

I was terrified. It was only after my cousin told me this that I realized every one of us has past lives, and those past lives were not necessarily filled with good deeds. We might have done many bad things or eaten a lot of meat. It was true—I had eaten a lot of meat in my past lives, which is why I was so afraid to eat it in this lifetime.

After learning the truth, I shared it with everyone in the village. Our villagers were very simple-minded. After I shared my story, the entire village stopped eating meat, and no one dared to harm any insects or animals again. Later, the lump on my neck slowly shrank and eventually disappeared. This miracle made the villagers believe even more firmly that one must never harm any living creature to avoid karmic retribution."

A Village of Joy and Harmony

"I began to lead the villagers in researching how to grow better fruits and vegetables so that everyone could enjoy delicious food without eating meat. As I grew older, I gained a wealth of planting experience. By the time I was fifteen, I had successfully developed some incredible produce. Every vegetable was large and sweet, and the fruits were the same.

The villagers began to grow these crops together. Not only were they delicious, but they also had a magical effect: they made people feel happier and more joyful the more they ate. That was the method I taught everyone. During the planting process, we would constantly infuse these crops with positive thoughts—praising them, singing to them, and speaking positive words. We let them keep a happy heart at all times, and naturally, they grew into wonderful food for us.

This method was truly effective. It led the villagers to become very happy, and from then on, we became a joyful, meat-free village. I was filled with deep affection for my village and lived there my entire life without ever leaving. At that time, living to fifty was considered a long life. I lived to sixty, which could be considered a great miracle.

At sixty, my physical energy grew weaker and weaker. I knew I was about to depart. Although my legs could barely walk, I still wanted to wander around the village to see everything one last time. As soon as I returned home and sat in my chair, I stopped breathing.

After my spirit left my body, it immediately entered a stone slab in the village. This slab was very old, and I continued to cherish memories of my village from within it. About a hundred years later, my spirit finally left the stone slab and was taken to the hells by two officials. King Yama assigned me the work of a prison guard.

In the hells, seeing so many suffering spirits, I suddenly woke up. I was so grateful that I had lived in such a simple village in that lifetime, avoiding the creation of such heavy sins. These suffering spirits were there because they had lived in environments filled with evil thoughts and intentions, which led them to commit these karmic acts. In the hells, I could only do my duty; I had no ability to help these spirits.

But do you know what happened later? In recent years, I began to hear Practitioner Su giving Dharma talks in the hells. That was the first time I had ever heard the Buddha’s teachings. I was so surprised and filled with admiration. Later, I understood that there exists a Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, and as long as one can chant Namo Amituofo, one can go there.

I began to share this with the suffering spirits everywhere, urging them to repent, listen to the sutras, and sincerely chant the Buddha’s name. In the end, many were truly liberated and left their suffering behind. After I made my own vow to go to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, I was recently placed on the list to be guided there, and today, I finally have the opportunity to arrive at the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Gratitude, endless gratitude.

Gratitude to Namo Amituofo.

Gratitude to Practitioner Su.

Namo Amituofo.

Bao Minghua bows in reverence."