The Soul's Reflection: Lee Kuan Yew on Life and Karma

This is a record of an interview with the spirit of Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of Singapore, who sought Chao Du 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 the nature of spiritual attachment. Recorded by the chief writer, Venerable HaiZe, on September 12, 2018.

Lee Kuan Yew speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. Greetings to everyone. I am Lee Kuan Yew. People call me the founding father of Singapore—the father of a nation. Without Lee Kuan Yew, there would be no Singapore as it stands today. I dedicated my entire life’s energy to the survival and transformation of Singapore. It was a life bought with the currency of time and vitality. I gave without asking for a price, without complaint, and without regret. Yet, as the years passed, the energy of my physical body drained away, drop by drop."

The Reality of the Three Hun Souls and Seven Po Souls

"The concept of the 'three hun souls and seven po souls' is how the Chinese describe the relationship between the physical body and the spirit. The soul, which everyone speaks of, truly exists. This world is a place where the visible and the invisible coexist. Every religion is built upon the foundation of the soul, which is why different doctrines and practices have emerged. During my time in the world, I was a Christian. However, after I passed away and entered the hells, it was Practitioner Su—whom I now respectfully call Buddha Su—from the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre who saved me. She brought me to the Hsiang Kuang Hall, where I repented, settled my mind, listened to the scriptures, and was eventually guided by her to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Mentioning religion is not to create divisions, but to use my own experience as an example. Although the names of our religions differ, we are all one family, all existing within the Truth. It is only because of different Causal Conditions that we have different leaders, doctrines, and scriptures to guide us in how to live and act according to the Truth. The ultimate goal is to escape a life of suffering and attain absolute liberation. Therefore, the Buddha’s teachings are a form of education; they are not just for those who identify as Buddhist, but for anyone from any sect or school to learn and benefit from."

A Life of Service and the Erosion of the Self

"I am now in the Western Pure Land, and I wish to take this opportunity to discuss the three hun souls and seven po souls. These are not just religious terms; they are a reality present within every single person. It does not matter if you have a religion or if you have been baptised; the truth remains the same. Perhaps other places use different terms, but they are all describing the same thing.

I lived to the age of ninety-one. Before I passed, I spent a long time in hospitals and at home, tasting the bitterness of illness and the pain of separation from my loved ones. From my graduation to entering the political arena, marrying, having children, and attending countless domestic and international meetings—whether it was meeting various figures, handling crises, making judgments, or deciding national policies—I was involved in it all. I oversaw the independence of Singapore, the establishment of its systems, the management of its people, the development of its shipping and aviation hubs, and the promotion of English, Chinese, and Hokkien. Regardless of skin colour or language, I ensured Singapore could be a hub for international gatherings, eventually becoming one of the Four Asian Tigers. This was achieved with sincerity, with my life, with determination, and with perseverance.

In those few decades of life, my three hun souls and seven po souls gradually drifted away from my body, causing it to age and collapse. The medical team could only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. The preventative measures they took could not withstand the manifestation of karma and the onslaught of illness. My body could only helplessly endure."

The Hidden Debt: A Past Life Betrayal

"Starting around the age of fifty, as the execution of national laws and state affairs reached a fever pitch, my body’s souls were scattered. They were not within me. Two po souls were in my office, rubbing my eyes, slumped over, pacing back and forth, seemingly waiting for news and results from meetings. Another hun soul and po soul were at the conference table, deep in thought, using my brain and eyes to review reports. This made my head prone to dizziness and fatigue, and my eyesight began to degenerate.

Around the age of sixty-five, I felt chest tightness and weakness. Watching my wife suffer from a stroke, I felt such deep attachment and heartache. One hun soul stayed by her side, refusing to leave. It accompanied her home and stayed there until she passed away. Later, during a prayer, a positive force brought that soul back into my body. I only realise this now.

One po soul remained in the car, travelling back and forth to inspect various districts. Two po souls stayed in the hospital, undergoing various examinations and waiting for results. By my seventies, only one po soul remained to support the body, but it could no longer take charge. One hun soul was already in the hells, being interrogated and punished. This caused my breathing to become laboured and my heartbeat to become irregular.

By my eighties, I was elderly. My memory was difficult to focus, and my reactions slowed. During those days, from simple check-ups to medication, injections, and blood tests, the routine was endless. Before every trip abroad, I had to prepare my body, hoping to appear healthy and strong before the people, only to rest and recover upon my return. Looking back, if the souls were not in the body, who was in charge? Whenever a soul leaves the body, other sentient beings enter—specifically, one’s own karmic creditors—to take the place of the departed soul. In other words, the functions of the departed soul are controlled by these external spirits.

To put it plainly, by the time I was old and nearing the end of my life, my body was merely a shell for Lee Kuan Yew. Inside, it was a gathering of spirits. These spirits watched me suffer. Some knew which parts of my body were failing and would push harder, making the illness unpredictable or worse. Some spirits were disturbed by the illness, and I would involuntarily feel that same anxiety. Others just watched silently. There were all kinds of spirits with different personalities and habits inside me.

The main controller, the one who made the decisions, had actually entered my body when I was in my thirties, but remained dormant until I was sixty-eight. They were karmic creditors from six lifetimes ago, waiting to seek revenge until the end of my life. In that past life, due to a conflict of interest in the government, I had framed them, leading to their dismissal and their death by forced poisoning, which caused them to suffocate. There were 1,183 such beings. Aside from those who reincarnated, the others followed the main controller into my body. They resided in my respiratory tract and head. Some attached to my nose, throat, trachea, bronchi, and lungs, intending for me to die just as they did—suffocating from poison. Others attached to my head, controlling my brain’s vascular functions, making my thinking, decision-making, and reactions slow and dull. That is why, in this lifetime, I suffered from lung inflammation, chest tightness, difficulty breathing, fever, and coma, eventually passing away.

My main soul was not locked away by these beings, but it was extremely weak, like someone suffering from a severe illness. It could only maintain basic life functions, unable to argue with the commands of the controllers. When my life ended and I took my last breath, these spirits left my body one by one. My life signs gradually weakened until all the spirits had departed, and my main soul’s intermediate state followed. My life ended. After my main soul emerged, it went to the hells to be judged. Every detail of my life was weighed, and the accusations from the beings of my past lives were validated, adding to the punishment I received in the hells. It was not until Practitioner Su called my name that a beam of light sent me to the Hsiang Kuang Hall, where I settled my spirit and listened to the scriptures, before she sent me to the Western Pure Land. That is where I have been until now."

A Message to My Son and the World

"The main controller and those thousand-plus beings returned to the ghost realm after leaving my body to be judged by the King of Hell. Because they did not exceed their authority while in my body, some were arranged to reincarnate, while the main controller and others remain in the ghost realm. This is the situation regarding my three hun souls, seven po souls, and the controllers.

In the world, the higher your position or rank, the greater the impact of your thoughts and actions, and the higher your profile in the spiritual realms. You are more likely to be possessed or controlled, and the karma you create is greater. The chance of preserving your three hun souls and seven po souls becomes lower. If not for Practitioner Su’s meticulous investigation, it would be impossible to present such complete information. Those who have the affinity to read this must be vigilant: are you truly yourself, or are you already ill and unable to take charge? Often, one is trapped within and cannot know. If your personality or temper changes, it is often because you are possessed or controlled by other beings. If you are a practitioner who chants the Buddha’s name and vows to be reborn in the Western Pure Land, you can imagine that this wish will drift further away, and you will face obstacles at the time of death, making it impossible to go to the West. It seems that it is truly necessary to perform Chao Du for one’s own karmic creditors daily to reduce obstacles to rebirth.

What Practitioner Su is doing is truly meaningful. By performing Chao Du for these spirits—whether they have karmic debts or not—and helping them be reborn in the Western Pure Land, she brings peace and tranquillity to this world, rather than letting it be filled with the grievances of debt-seeking and repayment in the six realms of rebirth. In this world, to find a place that is pure, selfless, and without ego is so precious! The Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia is such a precious land.

If my son, Hsien Loong, could see this, his surprise would be immense. Given his rigorous, modern, and high-level education, his reservation toward these views is understandable. But I hope that because these words come from his father, Lee Kuan Yew, he will believe them. In the world of human competition for fame, profit, and power, it is difficult to explore such a deep spiritual world. Today, I have analysed my own situation so frankly, hoping that with my credibility as a father, I can encourage the public and Hsien Loong to pause, rest, and examine how much attention they are paying to their own spirituality. Is it rising, falling, or degenerating? Do not spend your whole life working hard, only to end up in the three lower realms—the hells, the animal realm, or the hungry ghost realm—upon your death. How tragic that would be!

The Buddha-name 'Namo Amituofo' can cleanse the wounded, helpless, and resentful soul. Practitioner Su can help these souls go to the Western Pure Land and attain true liberation and peace. This is not a distant matter; it is closely related to us, inseparable, here and now. This is the conclusion I have reached from what I have seen and heard in the West and at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. I hope everyone, and my son Hsien Loong, will take this matter seriously."

Venerable HaiZe: "May I ask where the beings who controlled Lee Kuan Yew are now?"

Spirit (Li Cangwen): "I am here (a ghostly voice emerges). I have long been prepared for this interview. My name is Li Cangwen, and I am currently in the ghost realm. At that time, we existed in his respiratory tract and head, which was the cause of our death and, consequently, the cause of his gradual decline toward death. We acted only in these two areas and did not overstep our bounds. We were honest in seeking our debt, so after the debt was settled, we were not punished in the hells but remained in the ghost realm.

I never expected to have the chance to come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. This temple and Practitioner Su are very famous in the ghost realm. We know that coming here gives us the chance to be reborn in the Western Pure Land. We do not want to be ghosts anymore, living in darkness. May we request Practitioner Su’s compassionate Chao Du?"

Venerable HaiZe: "The Buddha is compassionate. It is through Practitioner Su’s compassion that you are granted this interview, and you may now have the opportunity to enter the Dharma-Nature Land of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre and be reborn in the West."

Spirit: "Some of us have already reincarnated. There are about 782 of us left."

Venerable HaiZe: "Very well."

(Memorial Tablet: Sentient beings with karmic affinity to Lee Kuan Yew: In the sixth lifetime, forced to drink poison, suffocated and died. 1,183 beings, now approximately 782, seeking Chao Du. Representative: Li Cangwen.)

(Some spirits still retain the symptoms of poisoning after death; please detoxify and restore them to their original state.)

(To be sent to the Dharma-Nature Land of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre.)

Namo Amituofo.