The Vigil of the Virupaksha: A Guardian's Vow
An Interview with the Western Heavenly King, Virupaksha
Recorded by the Chief Writer, Shi Fa, on November 25, 2022
This interview features the Western Heavenly King, Virupaksha, who sought Spiritual Deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Buddhist Centre. Having served as a guardian of the for many lifetimes, he recounts his transition from a dragon deity to a human practitioner, and finally to his role as a protector of the Buddha-land. This testimony was recorded by the Chief Writer, Shi Fa, on November 25, 2022.
Western Heavenly King, Virupaksha, speaks:
"Namo Amituofo. Practitioner Su possesses great , saving countless beings from the endless sea of suffering. Today, we, the Four Heavenly Kings, have also come to seek Spiritual Deliverance from Practitioner Su. As there are successors ready to take our places, we have completed the handover of our duties. The incoming Heavenly Kings are already waiting to assume their positions once we have attained rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss."
A Long-Awaited Deliverance
"Here at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss feels as though it is right before our eyes. Countless sentient beings are pouring in, each yearning for the chance to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss—a wish they have long held but could not fulfil. We, the Four Heavenly Kings, have been waiting for this moment. Yesterday, when all conditions were finally met and everything was perfected, we brought our subordinates and family members to wait for today's Dharma assembly. We wish to seek the compassionate from Practitioner Su during this assembly. This is our greatest honour, and we are filled with immense gratitude.
As the first session of the Dharma assembly began, the moment Practitioner Su called out our names, we were immediately invited onto the memorial tablets. Each of us, including our subordinates and family members, was provided with a large lotus flower to sit upon, all waiting to be sent to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss."
The Journey to the West
"Very quickly, the sound of the Buddha-name chanting arose. Practitioner Su’s appeared in countless forms, taking us by the hand one by one and leading us toward the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. In less than a second of worldly time, we arrived in the Western Land. Each of us was transformed, becoming a member of the Western Pure Land. We all knelt to express our gratitude for the Buddha’s compassion and for the compassion of Practitioner Su.
Before we came here to seek Chao Du, we had long known of Practitioner Su. Together with other Dharma protectors, we have been silently guarding this Buddha-land, for we knew that a true Buddha resides here, and it must be protected. We each used our abilities to stand guard, capturing any invaders and preventing them from committing malicious acts."
Defending the Buddha-Land
"This Buddha-land faces many invaders, with demons being the most prominent. Demons always commit evil, while Practitioner Su practises Goodness. Therefore, the demon crowds do not want Practitioner Su to exist in this world. Furthermore, Practitioner Su’s power, which can stand against them, is seen as an obstacle. They even view Practitioner Su as an enemy, using every method to interfere with Practitioner Su and destroy this Buddha-land, hoping to prevent Namo Amituofo from descending to save the world. Because of this, we often see various Demon Kings and their crowds frequently arriving. There are also non-human, non-ghost, and non-demonic beings—strange entities from the deep spaces of the universe—who possess immense evil power and wish to interfere here. We stand guard to ensure these demon crowds, strange entities, and ghosts have no opportunity to cause chaos. This is our responsibility in protecting this Buddha-land; protecting the Buddha-land is protecting all beings.
The universe is vast, and there is nothing that does not exist. I have seen all kinds of evil demons and ghosts. Every one of them that I have encountered, I have saved, leading them to surrender to the Buddha’s gate."
From Dragon to Human
"I am the Western Heavenly King, Virupaksha, and my original name is Xijiamozijina. Before I assumed this position, many predecessors had served as this Heavenly King. Today is my final day as the Western Heavenly King. I am about to step down and will be led by Practitioner Su to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, while the next Western Heavenly King continues to guard the world.
Before I became the Western Heavenly King, I was once a dragon, and I was also once a human. I became a dragon first, and only later did I become a human. I am a member of a dragon deity family; in our family, everything is Goodness, and there is no evil. We are responsible for protecting the people, hoping to allow them to live peaceful and smooth lives.
In the process of protecting the people, we encountered many evil forces that wanted to contend with us. Some of them were also dragons, but their mental notes were different from ours because they wanted to commit evil, dominate, and harm humanity. To prevent humans from being harmed, our entire family exhausted our efforts to protect them, and we were often injured as a result."
The Discovery of the Dharma
"I once lost half of my body while fighting a black dragon. I thought I would remain a half-bodied dragon forever, but fortunately, I met a human with high-level Dharma power who saved my other half. At that time, I became curious about humans—how could they possess the ability to reattach the half of my body that had been bitten off?
In the three hundred and sixty-fifth year of my life as a dragon, the Buddha’s teachings were transmitted into the dragon world where we resided. Before this, we had never heard the Buddha’s teachings, nor did we know what a Buddha was. In that year, out of curiosity about human life, I secretly observed humans. During those days of observation, I discovered the Buddha’s teachings. I saw vast golden light, and I saw many suffering sentient beings entering the golden light and being saved. I knew then that the Buddha’s teachings were good. I silently followed humans to learn the Buddha’s teachings and transmitted them into our dragon world.
The dragon tribes began to learn the Buddha’s teachings. Many dragons wanted to chant the Buddha’s name and seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land. As a result, many dragons attained Buddhahood through Buddha recitation; they were no longer dragons and went to the Western Land to become Buddhas. As for me, I wanted to be a human, so I did not go to the Western Land after chanting the Buddha’s name, but instead entered the human world."
A New Life in the Human Realm
"I did not drink Meng Po’s soup; I directly reincarnated as a human. This was a very miraculous event, and even I do not know why. From the moment I appeared in the human world, I was already ten years old, a young boy. I had a grandfather, a grandmother, a father, and a mother. This boy’s body was the grandson of this family, and I entered this boy’s body directly, rather than growing up from a mother’s womb.
The boy had almost lost his life in a flood, but in the end, he was brought back to life. His family thought the boy had been saved, not knowing that I had entered his body and replaced him to continue living in this world. As for the boy’s spirit, it had already reincarnated, and I do not know where it went.
After becoming the boy, I spent every day with his family. I lived according to the habits of his body, such as his routine, how to address each family member, and how to interact with them. All of these memories existed within this body. I only needed to follow ’s intentions and , so the whole family did not notice anything unusual, thinking the boy was still the same boy."
Standing Firm Against Interference
"This family was not very wealthy, but they were happy. For humans, such a life is already very good; there is no need for great wealth or status. Being able to gather together as a family and live an ordinary life is enough. However, I was not content with this, because my spirit knew to learn the Buddha’s teachings, but this body did not know the Buddha. This family, and indeed everyone in the village, did not know the Buddha.
At the age of fifteen, I asked my mother, 'Why does no one here believe in the Buddha?' My mother looked at me in surprise and asked why I suddenly asked about the Buddha. Seeing my mother’s nervous expression, I asked, 'Has something happened?' My mother whispered, 'Someone here once believed in the Buddha, but they all died in the end. They were murdered, so one must not believe in the Buddha. Those who believe in the Buddha will surely die.' When I heard my mother say this, I was shocked. Believing in the Buddha leads to liberation; how could it be that those who believe in the Buddha here are doomed to die?
I did not give up. I secretly searched everywhere for answers, wanting to know who had made the people in this area, and in other villages and towns, afraid to believe in the Buddha. I kept asking and observing everywhere, and I discovered that in some places, people were secretly learning the Buddha’s teachings, but they dared not speak of it and only dared to chant the Buddha’s name in secret. From these practitioners, I learned that there were demons interfering here. When I heard there were demons, I was immediately enraged. In the past, I had also fought against demons to protect the Buddha’s teachings. I did not expect that demonic power had also invaded this place. They used people in this area who possessed magic to cast spells on all who believed in the Buddha, so those who believed could not escape the control of the spells and eventually all lost their lives."
The Power of Faith
"I would not allow such things to continue. But I did not have my past abilities; I was just a boy now and could not fight the demons at all. So, I began to think of a way. I deliberately let everyone know I was learning the Buddha’s teachings, chanting the Buddha’s name openly and without any avoidance. I wanted those demons to know that I was learning the Buddha’s teachings.
When my family learned of my actions, they were terrified. They did not know where I had learned to chant the Buddha’s name, and they were scared, wanting to take me away from the village. To put my family at ease, I constantly persuaded them and helped them understand the true Buddha’s teachings, helping them to believe in the Buddha, chant the Buddha’s name, and seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. In the end, my family was moved by me; they began to believe in the Buddha and supported me.
My blatant actions were soon discovered by the demons. They immediately used those who possessed magic to cast spells on me and try to control me. I kept chanting the Buddha’s name, chanting with all my might. Their magic did not have much control over me, but my body still suffered from their harm. For ten full years, I endured the damage and manipulation of my body by them, never giving up on spreading the Buddha’s teachings. I remained firm in my belief in the Buddha and my practice of chanting, introducing the Buddha’s teachings to people everywhere, hoping that everyone would not fear evil forces and would bravely believe in the Buddha and chant the Buddha’s name, for they would surely receive the Buddha's ."
A Guardian Forever
"My efforts moved many people. Everyone’s strength became more and more united. The sound of Buddha-name chanting could be heard everywhere. They no longer feared demonic power and, like me, had firm faith that the Buddha’s teachings must be propagated.
My right-mindedness and faith in the Buddha allowed my mind to remain clear even under the interference of demonic power, but my internal organs were severely damaged by their destruction. I exerted myself to continue chanting the Buddha’s name. Before the end of my life, I knew I should seek rebirth in the Western Land, but I did not go to the Western Land. Instead, I begged the Buddha to let me protect the Buddha’s teachings; I wanted to continue guarding the Buddha’s teachings.
My vow and mental note moved those demons who wanted to harm me. They all surrendered to the Buddha because of this and accepted the Buddha’s teachings. As for me, I succeeded as the Western Heavenly King, observing the world and guarding the Buddha’s teachings and the people.
Today, we, the Four Heavenly Kings, have obtained this opportunity to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. There will be successors to continue serving as Heavenly Kings, protecting the Dharma and the people. We bring our family members and subjects to kneel together and express our gratitude to the Buddha.
Gratitude to the Buddha’s compassion. Gratitude to Practitioner Su’s compassion.
Namo Amituofo.
Western Heavenly King, Xijiamozijina, bows with joined palms."
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About the Author
Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre
Contributed to Pure Land Buddhism knowledge library