The Teacher Who Became a Chalk Stick: The Testimony of Cai Bentian

The Turning Point of a Young Life

Today is a truly significant day. I am honoured to accept an interview with a Venerable from the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. I am transmitting this message from the spiritual realms so that people may learn the truth of my experience. My name is Cai Bentian, and I was once a primary school teacher in Taoyuan. After I passed away, I became the very chalk stick I used in my daily lessons. It was not a coloured chalk, but a simple white one. This chalk stick became a vessel for the immense effort I had poured into my teaching. I had spent countless hours practising my handwriting, hoping to write clearly so that my students could learn with ease and find comfort in their note-taking. Eventually, my hard work paid off, and my calligraphy improved significantly.

Reflecting on why I became a teacher, I must return to my middle school years. I remember lying on the grass beneath a footbridge, gazing at the blue sky and sighing, 'Oh, another day has passed... how incredibly boring.' At that time, I was a student with decent grades, but I suffered from a terrible habit: I loved to skip class. This made me a problematic student in the eyes of my teachers. On one hand, they hoped I would bring honour to the school with high exam scores; on the other, they felt I lacked ambition and constantly broke the rules. Because my parents were permanent board members of the school, the administration often turned a blind eye to my behaviour. As long as I did not cross the line, they pretended not to see. Consequently, my behaviour grew increasingly outrageous, until I finally reached the point of being expelled.

My parents said little, but I could see the profound disappointment in their eyes. Fortunately, my teacher at the time stood up for me. He promised that if I could not improve, he would resign. Because he was a veteran teacher with an excellent track record, the school gave me one final chance. Seeing that even my own parents lacked such faith in me, while a teacher with no blood relation believed in my capacity for change, I was deeply moved. My heart was stirred. He told me, 'Everyone, on the path of life, needs a helping hand at a critical moment.' Because of his words and actions, I resolved to turn over a new leaf. I suddenly had a new goal: to become a teacher who could provide that same helping hand to my own students. Later, I fulfilled that wish and became a primary school teacher in Taoyuan.

The Karma of the Chalk Stick

In my life, I did not do anything particularly extraordinary. Beyond teaching the curriculum thoroughly, I simply offered my students my absolute trust whenever they faced a choice. I truly believed from the bottom of my heart that they could make the right decisions. I knew that what truly saves a person is not something complex, but that simple, pure trust—that sincere belief in their potential.

After I became a chalk stick, my spirit drifted between different pieces of chalk. No matter how the physical form changed, the essence of my spirit remained trapped within the space of the chalk. I was a chalk stick with a kind heart. Whenever a teacher held me, I would help them naturally think more of their students, especially by giving them more confidence in their pupils. I spent fifty years in this chalk-bound state. Recently, a delivery driver carrying a crate of us saw a billboard of Namo Amituofo in Taiwan and recited, 'Namo Amituofo.' Because of that, I was liberated from the space of the chalk. I saw the golden light emanating from the billboard, and I was filled with joy. That is how I arrived at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. Through the Chao Du performed by the Dharma Body of Practitioner Su, I entered the Western Land of Dharma Nature within that golden light.

A Beacon of Light in the Spiritual Realms

Only after listening to the sutras and hearing the Dharma in the Western Land of Dharma Nature did I realise the terror of the cycle of rebirth and the importance of the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way. I had been a chalk stick; if I had not been saved by Practitioner Su and brought to the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I do not know what fate would have awaited me. Seeing so many different types of spirits coming to the temple seeking Spiritual Deliverance, I realise that any one of those paths could have been mine. Fortunately, I have encountered Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su. I no longer need to be reincarnated, and I even have the opportunity to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Reflections on Modern Education and the True Path

Cai Bentian observes the current educational environment and sees that while technology develops rapidly—even primary school students now use high-tech tools for learning—it is a pity that the cultivation of moral foundations and character has not seen similar progress or breakthroughs. Now, as I listen to the sutras and hear the Dharma in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I see the Buddha’s teachings provided by the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. This is the education that children today truly need. Beyond understanding the laws of karma and cause and effect, it allows them to understand the situations of the spiritual realms and the relationship between the countless sentient beings within the human body and oneself. This naturally inspires the learner to seek liberation, to be willing to adjust their own the "self," personal ego, and selfishness, and to rediscover their original nature, truly helping to save beings and leave suffering behind.

A Vow to Save All Beings

I am now in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, constantly listening to the sutras and hearing the Dharma. I aspire that one day, I may be like Practitioner Su—a person who can truly help sentient beings, truly help spirits leave suffering behind so they are no longer reincarnated, and ultimately be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Namo Amituofo

Cai Bentian