The Soul Within the Flour

This is a record of an interview with the spirit of a former baker, Wu Baochuan, who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This account reflects upon his life and his subsequent transformation into the essence of flour, recorded by the chief writer, Venerable Fa Xi, on October 7, 2017.

Venerable Fa Xi asks:

"May I ask, from where do you beings come?"

Wu Baochuan, the spirit of the flour, speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. It is finally our turn to speak! We have been waiting for this opportunity for so long. We always thought we were destined to live out our days in simple, quiet obscurity—it never occurred to us that we would be noticed, let alone have the chance to share our story. We are so incredibly grateful. In the past, you all had more leisure time to bake buns, but now, only a few of the sisters in the kitchen, especially Sister A-Tao, interact with us regularly. She is the one who most often handles us, mixing us into dough or coating us for deep-frying. Please, do not worry—we do not feel any pain at all. On the contrary, we feel immense joy knowing that we can serve as offerings to the public."

A Life Dedicated to the Craft

"To tell you the truth, it is a long story. In my past life, I was a baker. I was absolutely passionate about crafting pastries and bread. My skills were quite unique; the texture of my bread was exceptionally soft and dense, which is why everyone loved coming to buy it. Often, customers would have to leave the shop sighing because they could not get what they wanted, but there was nothing I could do. I simply could not produce more without compromising the quality, and I was determined to maintain my standards. I never cared much about how much money I made; I only knew that a good reputation and a name for quality are not easily built.

I have always been an optimist, and I worked with such sincerity. I got along well with everyone, and I even trained several apprentices, though none were quite ready to take over the shop on their own. Every day, I would work for over ten hours, and even after closing the shop, I still had to deal with business matters or order raw materials. Think about it—running a business is exhausting work! But because of my genuine interest, I was deeply in love with my profession, so I never felt tired. However, I do not know when it started, but I began to feel an unusual fatigue outside of work hours. I seemed unable to concentrate, and I would often catch the scent of flour, even when I was not in the kitchen. I did not have the heart to be vigilant; I just assumed it was because I spent so much time around flour every day."

The Tragic Fire and the Transformation

"When I was fifty years old, a terrible accident occurred in the shop. An electrical fire broke out. In my desperation to save the equipment that had accompanied me for so many years, I was unable to escape in time. I choked to death right beside my workbench. By the time the fire was extinguished, I was already charred beyond recognition. My family was absolutely heartbroken—they wept so bitterly. After that, they could never bring themselves to touch the pastry business again, because it was too easy to be reminded of their father.

After I passed away, I seemed to live in a world filled with the fragrance of flour. It turns out that I had become the flour itself. From the very first moment I smelled that scent, I had already begun my transformation. After becoming flour, I deeply understood that for any chef—whether a pastry chef, or someone cooking Chinese or Western cuisine—the secret to making food delicious is to put your heart into it. You need a sincere and passionate heart. When you do that, the spirit within the flour naturally reveals its best qualities, and the pastry will naturally possess its own soul. That is why communication and sincerity are so incredibly important."

Gratitude and Rebirth

Venerable Fa Xi asks: "May I ask how many of you there are, and how should we write the memorial tablet?"

Wu Baochuan, the spirit of the flour, speaks: "We represent a group of forty-five. I am the representative, Wu Baochuan. We are so grateful to everyone here. We are overjoyed that we have been able to achieve rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Namo Amituofo."