The General's Remorse: From the Battlefield to the Pure Land

This is a record of an interview with Dian Wei, a famous general from the Three Kingdoms period, 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 reflects upon his life approximately 1,800 years ago. Recorded by the chief writer, Venerable Shi Faru, on April 17, 2026.

Dian Wei speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Dian Wei. As a man of honour, I lived my life standing tall between heaven and earth, never once pausing to consider the nature of life or the finality of death. Throughout my existence, I lived by a simple, brutal code: if a kindness was shown to me, I repaid it; if a wrong was committed against me, I struck it down. My life was defined by grand destruction and grand creation—I was a man of direct action. I took immense pride in my martial prowess, yet I realise now that without the chaos of that era, I would have been nothing more than a commoner. It was truly due to my lord’s willingness to trust me, appointing me as his personal bodyguard, that I was able to exhaust every ounce of my strength to protect him, allowing him to escape the clutches of his enemies.

For those actions, I have no regrets. It was my nature, and it was the duty I was bound to fulfil as a personal guard. I did not have many complex thoughts; in every moment, I held only one simple, unwavering philosophy: to hold my weapon firmly and use its edge to slaughter the enemy."

A Life Defined by the Blade

"I never cared for books or scholarly pursuits since I was a child. That was a time of great upheaval, where the common people were living in misery and rebellions were erupting everywhere. Because of this, I resolved from a young age to become a great warrior. I trained in martial arts from my youth, forging a physique that was truly extraordinary. I knew I was made of the right material for combat, and to ensure I would rise above the rest, I laboured through gruelling military training. I did not rely recklessly on my natural strength; instead, I focused intensely on how to be ferocious and efficient on the battlefield. I became intimately familiar with every type of weapon.

From my youth, I also trained my heart to be cold and unmoved, to kill without blinking. Only with such a spirit could I truly excel in the heat of battle. As a general, the most important trait is to have no fear of death, and I maintained this mindset in every single campaign. I followed the army across the land, never overthinking the consequences. Wherever I was needed, I applied my skills—that is simply what it means to kill on the battlefield.

I knew that if one were to retreat on the battlefield, it would mean not only death but also the shame of defeat. Conversely, by charging forward with ferocity, even if one were to die, one could at least claim the heads of the enemy. This, to me, was the definition of success for a warrior."

The Price of Loyalty and the Reality of War

"In truth, I had little attachment to climbing the ranks of officialdom. In an era of constant war, any title or military rank is merely a hollow label. When you are truly clashing with the enemy, no title has any real meaning. Only by relying on your own martial skill can you survive, protect your lord, break through the encirclement, and influence the outcome of the war to bring victory to the entire army. I did not love reading, nor did I understand strategy, but I could charge into the fray with the most ferocious spirit, carving a path through blood.

My lord understood my personality and my strengths, so he appointed me to his personal guard. I initially thought this position would be mundane, as it was merely a defensive role. However, our lord’s ambition was vast, and he was constantly at war; there were many who sought his life, and he frequently charged into the thick of the fighting. Therefore, I found this role deeply satisfying, as it gave me ample opportunity to display my talents. Every battlefield I charged into was a place where death was almost certain, and I felt like a fish in water.

I am very grateful that my lord entrusted me with such a heavy responsibility and valued me so highly. Because of this, whenever I had the chance to serve, I would go through fire and water, giving my absolute all. I often taught my son the boldness required of a warrior: a general must never have any attachments on the battlefield. I kept my life ready at all times to be sacrificed for the sake of my lord’s cause.

Everyone understood and respected this. In my duty to protect my lord, I spared no effort. During the hours I was on guard, in the positions I held, I would not allow even a fly to intrude upon the area where my lord resided. This was my demand of myself, and it was my duty as a personal bodyguard. In truth, I did not think much of it; if anyone approached who was not from our camp, I simply cut them down. That was my understanding of my duty. Finally, at Wancheng, that scoundrel Zhang Xiu rebelled, though in the world of war, such treachery is common. However, I could not stand for such a petty, villainous act. I personally led a group of men who, like me, were willing to hold their post and face death without fear, struggling to block the enemy and refusing to let them advance even an inch."

From Hell to the Path of Deliverance

"After I struggled to block the enemy for a time, I was indeed severely wounded. Finally, my strength failed, and I collapsed. The moment I died, I arrived instantly before the halls of Yama. At first, I did not know where I was, until Yama explained to me that I had died, and I realised I had fallen on the battlefield.

At that time, I was incredibly proud. I believed that because of my sacrifice, my lord would surely succeed in escaping Wancheng. I thought the scoundrel Zhang Xiu would fail, and that my lord would eventually capture him and make him suffer the most painful, miserable lesson. Yet, these beliefs of mine were met with Yama’s stern rebuke. He told me harshly that I had committed countless acts of killing in my life, yet here I stood before the halls of Yama without a shred of repentance. I retorted righteously: I had spent my life loyally protecting my lord, fighting bravely at the front, all for the sake of my country and the victory of my camp. I did not fear sacrificing myself, so what crime had I committed? Yama then displayed before my eyes the many scenes of me slaughtering enemies, leaving them to die in agony, drowning in pools of blood as their lives slowly ebbed away.

At first, I did not waver. After all, I had seen such scenes countless times; I was long accustomed to them. However, as I listened closely to their wailing, I could not help but feel a tiny flicker of pity in my heart. But I quickly suppressed those thoughts. As a warrior, how could I show the 'kindness of a woman' to the enemy? If I had even the slightest hesitation, the one losing their life on the battlefield would be me.

Seeing that I had no intention of repenting—that I was, in a sense, incorrigible—Yama sent me directly to the great hells to suffer punishment. I suffered for a long time in the hells of blades, the hells of cutting and slicing, and the hells of decapitation. In my early years, I had fought constantly, killing countless enemies to earn my military honours; later, I continued to wage war, killing an immeasurable and boundless number of soldiers. Because of this, I suffered in the various hells for nearly one thousand one hundred years. Throughout the process of my punishment, I initially felt not a shred of remorse. I thought to myself: if this is the karmic retribution I must pay for the lives I took, then I will bear it alone; it is the price I must pay.

However, gradually, through the endless process of suffering, as I neared the end of that millennium, a change began to stir within me. I thought to myself: this suffering is truly beyond what a human can endure. If, within the universal principle, I must suffer like this to repay these sins, then did the enemies I slaughtered also endure this same agony and the process of death, just as I am suffering in hell now?

Thinking of this, the subtle depths of my heart began to shift. I began to feel some regret for having slaughtered those enemies. I saw that they, too, were originally common civilians, forced onto the battlefield by the circumstances of the time, only to encounter a cold-blooded, ruthless warrior like me, experienced in the art of killing. In an instant, their fate was sealed; and the process of their death was entirely of my own making. The panic, the regret, and the longing for the world they felt as their lives slipped away—all of that karma returned to me.

This was something I had never considered. I lived in this world for only a few decades, achieving great military success, and in my role as a personal bodyguard, I took countless heads. All those souls who died by my blade were waiting for me, all of them wanting me dead. Thinking of this, while suffering in hell, a faint sense of remorse finally took root in my heart."

"After one thousand one hundred years of suffering, I returned once more before the halls of Yama. Yama asked me if I finally understood the sins I had created. I told Yama that I did. Having suffered in the great hells for so long, I understood that the process of causing others to die in agony was indeed my responsibility. Yama then sent me back to the world, to be reborn as a herbivorous animal.

In a hazy, dreamlike state, I existed as a herbivorous animal for several hundred years. In each life, I was mostly hunted and preyed upon by larger animals. I constantly reincarnated within the space of the animal realm, being hunted and killed countless times, life after life. This time, while waiting in that space for my next entry into an animal body, I was bathed in a vast, brilliant golden light. Immediately, I was liberated from the animal realm and entered the Western Land of Dharma Nature at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. This is a temple located in Goombungee, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. In truth, I have no real concept of this place name; I am simply relaying what I heard.

Having been a herbivorous animal for so long, I spent most of my time living in fear, constantly trembling, terrified that at any moment I would be hunted and killed by a carnivore. Yet, every time I was hunted and slaughtered by a large animal, I had no ability to resist; it seemed that this was the nature of my karma. In the past, I was as strong as a god, fighting bravely on the battlefield, capable of taking on a hundred men alone. But now, as a weak herbivore, I lost all my strength and could only submit to the slaughter of carnivores. This, too, is the cause and effect I had to repay. Here in the Dharma-Nature Land, I have gradually awakened; I am no longer an animal.

Thinking back to eighteen hundred years ago, I was once a fierce general of my generation, and after death, I suffered in hell for over one thousand one hundred years. Afterwards, I was cast into the animal realm. The home I once guarded has long since changed dynasties, and the lord I fought so desperately to protect has also changed his face; he is no longer the Cao Cao of that time. It is all very poignant. Everything I fought with all my might to protect, and the version of me that struggled so valiantly on the battlefield, hands stained with blood—what was it all for?"

Namo Amituofo.

I now realise that it was Practitioner Su and the salvation team, wielding the Twelve Lights of Amitabha Buddha, who continuously performed Chao Du throughout the five thousand years of Chinese history. They reached into the dark, hidden corners of time and space, opening the gates of the animal realm where I was trapped, and finally guided me to this radiant, luminous world of the Western Land of Dharma Nature.

After a lifetime of striving and fighting in the human world, the reward I received was not glory, but the depths of the hells and the wretched existence of an animal, destined to be slaughtered over and over again. My initial reaction was one of utter bewilderment. I had never imagined that a few short decades of fierce combat and battlefield ambition would result in thousands of years of agonizing retribution.

The Endless Cycle of Suffering

If not for the compassionate Chao Du performed by Practitioner Su, who could say how much longer I would have been forced to endure the cycle of rebirth, suffering the agony of death and rebirth within the animal realm? It is truly beyond imagination. At the time, I believed my heart was pure—I fought solely for my country, charging into the fray with courage. But now, I understand that this was merely a manifestation of my own selfishness. I was driven by my own pride, my own specialized skills, and my own personal ambitions. I abused the powerful physical constitution I was born with to take the lives of countless others. Having now experienced the profound suffering of the cycle of rebirth, I see clearly that no life should ever be slaughtered. The process of death is truly terrifying, filled with a pain that words cannot adequately describe.

I have lived through countless lives as an animal, and I know with absolute certainty that the human world is a place one should not return to lightly. If one cannot encounter the Buddha’s teachings, if one cannot truly learn to think for the benefit of others, and if one cannot work to reduce the wars that plague this world, then everything in this existence is utterly meaningless. Only by completely letting go of the ego, sincerely following the Buddha’s teachings, and working to save the immeasurable and boundless sentient beings across all spaces can one truly help oneself escape from such a desperate plight.

The Wisdom of the Dharma-Nature Land

However, these profound truths were only accessible to me after I entered the Western Land of Dharma Nature. In that chaotic era eighteen hundred years ago, there was simply no opportunity to hear such a supreme Dharma. The Buddha’s teachings had not yet reached China, a reality that fills me with deep regret even now.

Perhaps it was because my spiritual obstacles were too heavy that I lacked the karmic conditions to encounter the Buddha’s teachings while I was alive. Now that I have passed away, I have spent seven hundred years as an animal. Only upon arriving in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, where the Buddha has slowly helped me restore my original form, have I been able to recall my name from the Three Kingdoms period and reflect upon everything that transpired during those years.

The Myth of the Warrior

Dian Wei, once a renowned general of his generation, has long since left the stage of history. The courage and ferocity I once displayed have become nothing more than fodder for casual conversation or material for films and television, often distorted and rewritten for entertainment. People have always been fascinated by the figures of the Three Kingdoms, and they hold their own expectations and speculations about us.

Yet, what people fail to understand is that no matter how formidable a warrior may be, behind the brilliance of their achievements lies an immeasurable and boundless accumulation of sins from killing. I was never a man of letters or a refined scholar; I cannot speak of grand, complex philosophies, and I am only just beginning to learn the Buddha’s teachings. But I can say this with full responsibility: as a man, one must take responsibility for all of one's actions. Every single deed, every bit and piece of the karma I created while in the world, I must carry on my own shoulders.

A Warning to the Living

Throughout this process, I have seen how many lives I took and how much karma I created; I must now repay every debt. From the hells to the body of an animal, having walked this path time and time again, I can tell everyone with absolute certainty: never violate the universal principle for the sake of your own body, your own fame, or your own meaningless survival. This is the truth I have learned while listening to the sutras here in the Western Land of Dharma Nature.

I am filled with gratitude to Amitabha Buddha and Practitioner Su for saving this suffering spirit, burdened with such heavy sins, and bringing me to the Western Land of Dharma Nature. If not for you, I would still be an animal today, waiting to be slaughtered and consumed. I wish to make these harrowing facts public, to let everyone know that while I was a general of my time, a famous warrior with extraordinary strength, it was all just a fleeting, momentary bloom that withered as quickly as it appeared.

My time in the human world was incredibly short; I was cut down by enemy forces in my forties. Yet, the eighteen hundred years of retribution that followed were agonizingly long. If I had not been saved by the compassion of Amitabha Buddha, I would have been forced to endure even more time in that boundless suffering before ever having the chance to escape and restore my pure body.

Gratitude to Amitabha Buddha. Gratitude to Practitioner Su.

Dian Wei