This is a record of an interview with Venerable Alikada, who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the . This account reflects upon his life and spiritual journey. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fajing, on July 1, 2018.
Venerable Alikada speaks:
". I am Venerable Alikada. I grew up under the care of my grandmother, a woman of immense Wisdom. Despite her age and the constant, agonising pain in her legs that often made it impossible for her to walk, she was the pillar of my life. To support us, she would weave intricate floral cloth and sell it at the local market. We lived on the meagre income from those sales, yet she never once complained about the hardship of our existence.
A Childhood of Hardship and Love
I felt a deep sense of gratitude for the way she raised me. By the time I was five years old, I began taking the cloth she had woven to the market myself, hoping to help her. However, as time passed, the number of pieces we sold began to dwindle. My heart ached to see her working so tirelessly, only to have her efforts go unrewarded. Desperate to ensure our cloth would sell, I started leaving for the market earlier and earlier each day.
Every night, I would carefully place the cloth my grandmother had woven into my basket. Before the sun had even risen, I would set off for the city. I was terrified that she would worry if I returned empty-handed, so I was willing to travel to even the most distant towns. I was so afraid of wearing out my shoes that I would walk barefoot, regardless of the terrain. Even on the roughest, most painful paths, I would hurry along, driven by the single-minded goal of selling every piece of cloth to bring home some relief for her.
The Lesson of the Broken Dolls
One day, my grandmother finally spoke to me about it. 'I know how far you walk every single day,' she said softly. Her heart broke as she applied herbal medicine to my feet, which were covered in scars and dried blood. She looked at me with such profound tenderness that I could barely hold back my tears.
She told me, 'Every person in this world is reincarnated to suffer, but our suffering is nothing compared to what others endure. Whenever you have the ability, you must help others. If we suffer a little more ourselves, we can bring a glimmer of warmth to someone else.' I took her teachings to heart, engraving them into my very soul.
The very next day, I went to the city again, and by some miracle, all the cloth sold out. I was overjoyed! I could not wait to run home and give the money to my grandmother. I ignored the pain in my feet, skipping and running all the way home in pure delight. Suddenly, I heard a sound of weeping. I stopped and looked around, calling out, 'Who is crying?' In a corner of the street, I saw a young boy, his hands covering his face as he sobbed. I approached him and asked what was wrong. He pointed to a few tattered, broken dolls on the ground. 'These are my favourite dolls,' he said. 'My parents are sick, and we have no money. I brought my dolls to sell, but no one has bought them for days.' Looking at his ragged clothes and the dust on his face, I knew he had been waiting there for a long time.
A Grandmother’s Final Guidance
Without a second thought, I took all the money I had earned that day and gave it to the boy. His face lit up with such that it warmed my entire being. I returned home empty-handed, wondering how I would explain it to my grandmother. But when I walked through the door, she saw my empty hands and said happily, 'My grandson has returned with a full harvest today!' I looked at her in confusion, and she explained, 'Today, Alikada, you have added a layer of to your face. That is more precious than anything else.' In that moment, I finally understood: giving is far more important than receiving. Even in our poverty, we could survive by living frugally. If we could use the money we saved to help those in greater need, even a single penny would carry the value of gold.
One evening, after I returned from work, my grandmother spoke to me for a long time. I had never heard her speak so much before. Every word was a lesson, a gentle guide to help me become a person of Goodness and compassion. The next day, when I returned home at dusk, she was gone. I searched everywhere, calling her name, running through the entire village, but she was nowhere to be found. I was frantic, eventually collapsing on the floor in a fit of inconsolable weeping. Then, I remembered her words from the night before. I realised she must have left on purpose, wanting me to learn how to stand on my own two feet.
The Riverbank Vision
After mourning her departure for several days, I finally wiped away my tears. I told myself, 'I must learn from my grandmother’s compassion. I will never forget her teachings as long as I live.' I cleaned our home, thinking perhaps she would return one day. I packed a single set of clothes into a bundle, took one last look at our home, and bravely walked out, closing the wooden door behind me.
I wandered the city, telling myself, 'I will spend my entire life helping people. This is what my grandmother taught me; it is her wish, and I will fulfil it.' As I walked through the crowded streets, I saw many elderly, weak, and vulnerable people in need. I reached out to help them all. When I offered my hand, I felt no discrimination in my heart. Everyone was my family; everyone was someone I wanted to save. This sense of freedom and closeness gave me a profound feeling of warmth.
One day, I reached a riverbank and cupped my hands to drink. I did not know where to go or what the future held, so I prayed earnestly for direction. Suddenly, a golden light descended from the sky and illuminated the surface of the river. Looking into the reflection, I saw my own face transformed into that of a monastic. I was stunned. 'Could this be the will of Heaven?'
The Truth of Our Causal Conditions
A monastic with a dignified and compassionate appearance appeared behind me and said, 'Child, follow me.' I was shocked by his sudden appearance, but his presence was so serene and kind that I felt drawn to him. I followed him to a temple, a place of incredible purity. But when I turned around, the monastic had vanished. I wondered to myself, 'Is this also the will of Heaven?'
Life in the temple felt completely natural to me, as if I had lived this way in my past lives. I cherished every moment, engaging in diligent practice, never daring to slacken, all for the sake of helping more beings leave suffering behind. Through three years of pure practice and constant purification of body and mind, I regained the abilities I had possessed in my past lives. I could see not only the past but also the future.
One day, while sitting in meditation before the Buddha, a wave of sorrow suddenly washed over me—a feeling I had never experienced in my three years of pure practice. I looked into my own heart and realised it was a longing for my grandmother. I had never truly let go of my attachment to her. I knelt before the Buddha and made a vow: 'I am willing to sacrifice myself for others. I pray for the Buddha to help me, to grant me the Wisdom to let go of my emotional attachment to my grandmother. I pray for the Buddha's .' My sincerity moved the Buddha, and I was granted the vision to see the Causal Conditions between my grandmother and me in our past lives. She had once been my monastic teacher, and in this life, we had both descended from the Western Land to save beings. She had become my grandmother to teach me, through her own Wisdom, to perform acts of Goodness everywhere.
Serving Within the Compassion of Practitioner Su
The monastic I met by the river was the manifestation of my grandmother, appearing in the dignified form she held when she was a monk. I finally understood that all these Causal Conditions were meant to help me fulfil my potential, so that in this life, I could once again exert my strength to save beings. I let go of my longing for her and transformed it into the power to save others.
I eventually took the vows and became a monk, receiving the name Shi Huaide. In this life, I fulfilled my vow to save beings, never stopping for a moment. At the age of seventy-five, I returned to the Western Land to reunite with my grandmother.
To continue spreading the Dharma and saving the world, I have entered the leg of Practitioner Su. Every cell within Practitioner Su’s leg allows me to feel such warmth and compassion. Practitioner Su truly lives in this worldly realm solely for the sake of saving beings. Even when his leg is under immense attack from sentient beings, and despite the pain, he uses every ounce of his strength to stand before the public, once again exerting the power to save all spirits. Practitioner Su’s great compassion deeply moves all beings in heaven and on earth. I hope this heart of compassion, dedicated to saving the world and delivering beings, will be passed on forever.
