Chopping a Bodhisattva statue: Three generations, two eyes
This is a true story of the consequences of karmic retribution in the 1950s in Yangjiahuan, Yongyu Township, Anxiang County, Hunan Province. The protagonist, He Kejian, and his family of five were relatively well-off before 1949 (later classified as middle peasants). After the People’s Republic of China was established, He Kejian joined the volunteer army in 1950 and returned to farming in 1954.
Influenced by atheistic education, He actively participated in the “Four Olds” campaign to eradicate “superstition.” He Kejian was appointed a small militia leader, a seemingly insignificant position. Still, he was given a large knife to prevent “class enemies” from causing trouble, which he carried daily.
In 1954, when Dongting Lake experienced severe flooding, He Kejian was responsible for water management in the brigade. One day in June, he came across a small temple dedicated to the Earth God while inspecting water routes. Upon seeing the deity statue, he thought: “Isn’t this superstitious nonsense? How can such things exist?” He then drew his large knife and split the statue in two, using the pieces to block a water outlet in the fields.
Many people witnessed this and remarked that such actions were inappropriate, questioning how he could destroy a deity’s statue. However, He Kejian dismissively replied: “What deity? What’s wrong with chopping it?”
After this incident, He Kejian’s family was never at peace. Initially, they heard the sound of a knife striking at night. Six months later, his mother went blind. The following year, his wife inexplicably hanged herself (the county police investigated, but found no cause). In subsequent years, He Kejian and his only son lost an eye. By 1966, He Kejian’s father had passed away.
Thus, He Kejian’s family was reduced to three people with only two eyes. A saying persists: “Chop a Bodhisattva statue, three generations, two eyes.”
Everything has a cause and effect; nothing happens without reason. Good and evil deeds have consequences. This story of retribution for destroying a Buddha statue illustrates that the atheism promoted by the Communist Party is not a universal truth and can be harmful. The principle of retribution for good and evil deeds has remained unchanged throughout history. Believing in atheism and committing evil deeds may seem fearless, but when retribution comes, the suffering affects oneself and one’s descendants.
After the temple demolition
As a child, she lived next to a man who always lay on a bench in front of his house, looking sorrowful and lonely. People avoided him, and whenever Ruoshui passed by with her mother, she felt both pity and fear, not daring to approach him. She quietly asked her mother: “What’s wrong with him? What illness does he have? Why don’t people like him?” Her mother explained his actions.
In the past, there was a temple in the village with Buddha statues. During the Cultural Revolution, the Communist Party ordered the temple’s destruction. The production team leader gathered young people to discuss it. Everyone said it shouldn’t be demolished, but the leader threatened those who disagreed. In the end, only that man (the neighbor) believed in the Party’s atheism, saying: “There’s no such thing as gods or ghosts!” He angrily took a large hammer and smashed the Buddha statue. Seeing this, others joined in, and the temple was torn down.
That night, the man went home and suddenly awoke with severe stomach pain. Although he could still work, he was constantly ill. A week later, his eldest son developed a high fever that couldn’t be cured and he died within days, a massive blow to his father.
Later, someone in the village invited a feng shui master to inspect their home. When the man heard about it, he was furious, accusing them of superstition and threatening to tie them up and parade them through the streets. The feng shui master fled the village, but told the person who invited him: “That man is so fierce because a demon possesses him. He won’t last three days!”
Indeed, within three days, the man collapsed on his way to buy soy sauce, writhing in pain and unable to get up. Someone informed his family, who carried him home. At the hospital, he was diagnosed with severe liver disease, which was untreatable. From then on, he was bedridden, only able to sit at his doorstep occasionally.
Later, the neighbor would howl in pain from his liver every night, his cries echoing throughout the village. As the consequences were evident, people gossiped, warning others not to destroy Buddha statues or temples. Not long after, one night, while everyone was asleep, the neighbor ended his life by hanging himself from a large tree in the backyard.
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