The Soldier Who Became a Guardian of the Land

This is a record of an interview with Jiang Hubang, a spirit from the post-Tang Dynasty era who sought Spiritual Deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Land of Dharma Nature. This account was recorded by the chief writer, Fa Ning, on February 19, 2026.

Jiang Hubang speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Jiang Hubang. Upon hearing the compassionate words of Practitioner Su today, I was moved to tears in an instant. My heart has carried the weight of sorrow for a very long time, but my pain is not merely for myself. It is a deep, aching sorrow for the countless compatriots who have yet to obtain deliverance. I cannot help but feel a profound sense of sadness when I contemplate their suffering.

Across the vast, sprawling landscape of mainland China, thousands of years of history have nurtured countless heroes, men of integrity, and noble souls. In our world, the most paramount duty was to protect the home and defend the nation. To fight to the very end for one's country and one's dynasty—this was the essence of loyalty and righteousness. If one's thoughts and actions were aimed at the welfare of the masses, one was expected to pursue that path with unwavering resolve. These values were deeply ingrained in the hearts of the common people, and in truth, they were not wrong. Yet, in the name of these ideals, the lives of so many innocent civilians and soldiers were sacrificed. Generation after generation, we slaughtered one another, driven by visions of a future that remained elusive. It is truly impossible to articulate the full extent of that tragedy."

The Endless Cycle of Conflict

"Many say that the Chinese people are inherently warlike, and indeed, the rise and fall of dynasties occurred with alarming frequency. But if we trace the root of this, one must ask: were the wars we fought truly intended to protect the people and minimise harm, or did we simply fall, time and again, into an inescapable cycle of mutual destruction? Was it all for the sake of power, status, or the hollow promises of territorial expansion?

I was but a lowly soldier. I did not possess great wisdom, but I once harboured dreams of rising through the ranks. If I could not be a great general, I hoped at least to become a commander or a leader of the vanguard. I was born in the era following the glorious Tang Dynasty, a time of fragmentation where regional warlords held military power, often ignoring the central authority. My position was unremarkable; if my memory serves me correctly, I was stationed within the borders of what is now Shanxi. This was not a region the imperial court deemed important. The local generals held absolute sway, and the court, unable to exert control, simply turned a blind eye, leaving us to the whims of these local commanders.

The generals spoke constantly of protecting the people and guarding the borders against foreign invaders, but these were merely words. I was just a soldier managing a dozen men. After the An Lushan Rebellion, we, the small, insignificant people, were abandoned by the court and left to serve the interests of local warlords. There were many dark secrets behind the scenes that I will not recount here. To speak of one is to implicate the whole. Ultimately, it was a matter of selfish, power-hungry generals refusing to relinquish their control, engaging in actions that were hidden from the public eye."

A Soldier's Moral Line

"Why did I remain a lowly soldier from beginning to end? I believe I was a good man, and there were many like me. We did not wish to align ourselves with any particular faction within the military. We did not want to participate in meaningless wars. Whenever we were deployed, if we did not know the purpose of the mission or the specific intent behind it, we refused to act rashly. Even when the general ordered us to carry out secret assassinations, to slaughter the enemy in the heat of battle, to shoot down ambushed opponents, or to burn grain supplies, we would not do it. We maintained a silent, firm boundary within the army: we were responsible for every blade we drew and every life we took. If we were to serve as soldiers, it was to protect the people from harm and to defend our home and country—nothing more. If the goal was merely to expand influence, to seize land, or to plunder resources that did not belong to us, we were unwilling to kill innocent lives or to allow the flames of war to spread further.

Living such a life was, of course, not easy. We had to obey, or we would lose our heads, and then our dream of protecting the nation would become meaningless. We had to learn how to 'obey while not obeying'—that is, we would not fight for the private interests of the generals or participate in the senseless slaughter of the innocent.

Our lives were indeed short. In my fifth year of service, when I had just turned twenty, I lost my life in a battle. Even in my final moments, I refused to kill anyone. I had no reason to take a life, for I knew clearly that the general's motives were not born of imperial decree or the need to defend the nation, but were merely a struggle for power between regional warlords. I could only use my body and my skills to slow the progress of the battle. I wielded my weapon, but when we clashed, I never struck at vital parts; I fought only to protect myself."

From the Battlefield to the Earth's Guardian

"In an instant, I fell into a pool of blood. The enemy forces had flanked us from the rear, and I lost consciousness. I remember that my soul did not feel great pain at the moment of death. However, I did not possess true freedom. It seemed that before I died, my spirit had developed a resonance with the energy of that land. Thus, my soul remained in the valley, silently watching over the people who passed through. My brothers were there in the earth as well; they were all young, and we shared the same aspiration: to protect the people of this region from disaster and the suffering of war.

At first, we did not know how to help the travellers, but we discovered, quite miraculously, that we could perceive the good and evil thoughts of every person. With just a flicker of intent, we could tell whether a person lived for others or for themselves. If we encountered a kind or virtuous person, we would silently guide them. If a disaster were about to occur, we would transmit a warning through our mental notes, or inspire them to change their path. If we encountered someone with impure intentions, we would not harm them, but we would not help them either. We simply let things be; their affairs had nothing to do with us.

We were finally free from suffering. We no longer had to live under the shadow of swords and arrows; we became 'good spirits' of the land. The days of being a soldier faded into the distance. We knew that the spirits of soldiers from that era were still numerous, but we kept to our post in the land, and we had no connection with them. Why were they trapped in the space of the military? I did not know then, but I was fortunate to become a benevolent spirit of the earth."

The Call of the Buddha's Name

"We had heard the Buddha's name before. We had seen many monastics passing through this place. Although this valley was unremarkable, it was one of the main thoroughfares between the East and the West. As a spirit, I could feel the compassionate energy emanating from the monks' chanting—a magnetic field completely different from anything we had experienced during our years in the military. We began to feel a sense of longing. We could feel the Buddha-heart hidden deep within us, and a yearning for liberation. We were good spirits of the land, but we were no longer content to remain as ghosts. It felt as though this was not the life we were meant for, yet we had no other choice, so we remained in the earth, silently doing good deeds. It would not be an exaggeration to say we were the guardian spirits of the land. Fortunately, we were not suppressed, nor did we suffer; we simply continued to protect that place.

It seems that after several hundred years, we once again encountered a practitioner passing through, chanting the Buddha's name. Several of us followed along and chanted, 'Namo Amituofo.' Miraculously, we were released from the space of the land and became a group of ghost deities guarding the mountains. Whether we were gods or ghosts, we did not know, but in the unseen realm, we enjoyed the love and offerings of the people who passed by. When they offered sacrifices to the mountain gods, we were able to partake in them. Everything felt so natural. We had, in a sense, 'upgraded.' The Buddha's name we chanted had not yet allowed us to leave this space, but perhaps the merit we had accumulated over the centuries was enough for us to be elevated to the status of local guardian deities, continuing to protect the people who travelled through."

The Golden Light of Deliverance

"From ancient times until a few decades ago, we saw the construction of bridges and roads reaching into our valley. The atmosphere here was vastly different from the old days. People no longer walked upon this land; they passed by in cars, or occasionally, we would see aeroplanes streaking across the sky above us. These changes did not affect our silent practice of doing good. We continued to guide people, and we silently guarded the mountains, ensuring that the drainage remained healthy during heavy rains so that landslides would not occur.

Were we suffering? Those who do good do not suffer, and even a ghost who does good deeds lives a decent life; this is what we believed. Yet, the path ahead was uncertain. We did not know if we would continue as local deities or if there was another way out. At the very least, we did not have to experience the suffering of war, nor did we have to be wandering, homeless soldier-spirits, or continue to slaughter one another in the space of war. We simply did good deeds in silence.

Then, one day, a golden light streaked across the sky above us. We initially thought it was another advancement in human technology, and that we might have to move elsewhere. But when we looked up, we saw a bright, warm golden light shining upon us. Ah! I recognised it instantly—I knew it was the Buddha-light! I remembered that 'Namo Amituofo' from centuries ago, and I pulled my brothers together, and we shouted at the top of our voices, 'Namo Amituofo, Namo Amituofo, Namo Amituofo.'"

A New Life in the Western Land of Dharma Nature

"In an instant, we could no longer find one another, and then we arrived in a completely different space. This space was filled with the sound of the Buddha's name, an incredibly beautiful sound that never ceased. When I opened my eyes, beneath me was no longer the dirty earth, but a large lotus flower. I felt so comfortable inside it, and I just kept chanting the Buddha's name, one phrase after another. Not long after, I learned that the place I had arrived at was called the Western Land of Dharma Nature at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. This is not the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, but a Buddha-land that leads to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Wow! We all exclaimed in wonder. There is actually a Buddha here, teaching the Dharma and introducing the beauty of the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss to everyone. Namo Amituofo is right here, and there is a person called Practitioner Su. It turns out that it was Practitioner Su's vow to save us, the spirits from mainland China, that gave us the opportunity to be saved today!

We began to learn how to prostrate. We bow to Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su, grateful that they found us and helped us leave behind our lives as land spirits and ghosts, helping us find the Truth we had been searching for all along. To think that there is a Buddha currently residing on Earth—this is truly inconceivable! We have begun a new life in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, silently vowing to practise well and chant the Buddha's name, hoping that one day we, too, can go to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. How wonderful it would be to become a Buddha; we do not want to be land ghosts anymore!

Looking at the people of the world from here, especially the people of China, there are so many ghosts on that land. Many are not as fortunate as we are; they live miserable lives. Many who died in war are still bleeding, their bodies broken and limbs missing. We feel such deep sorrow for them. Only by elevating our own practice will we have the chance to help them. The compassion of Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su will surely help more of our compatriots one day!

I am grateful for the compassion of Namo Amituofo, and I am grateful for the compassion of Practitioner Su!

Namo Amituofo.

Jiang Hubang"