On April 14, 1997, Taiwan was shaken by the notorious Bai Xiaoyan (a.k. Pai Hsiao-yen) kidnapping and murder case. Bai Xiaoyan, the teenage daughter of the famous entertainer Bai Bingbing (a.k. Pai Hsueh-hua) and Japanese author Ikki Kajiwara, was abducted on her way to school and brutally murdered by her kidnappers. The main perpetrator, Chen Jinxing (a.k.a. Chen Chin-hsing), went on a violent spree while evading capture, committing additional murders and sexual assaults. His crimes culminated in a hostage standoff at the residence of a South African diplomat, McGill Alexander, turning the case into a global sensation.
Amid intense media coverage, the police brought a daring human rights lawyer and a mysterious woman named “Mrs. Chen” to negotiate with Chen Jinxing. Risking their lives, they successfully persuaded him to surrender. Their bravery won widespread admiration, and the mysterious Mrs. Chen garnered particular attention.
It was later revealed in The Five Books of Lingji that this enigmatic Mrs. Chen was none other than the clairvoyant Cai Lingji. Yang Zijing, the former director of Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau, expressed deep gratitude for Cai’s contributions. As a gesture of appreciation, Yang later wrote the foreword to Cai’s books.
Cai Lingji’s interpretation of the case of past life karma
In her writings, Cai Lingji recounts the karmic ties from a past life between Bai Bingbing, her daughter Bai Xiaoyan, and Chen Jinxing. Bai Bingbing was the first wife of a wealthy landowner, and Bai Xiaoyan was his concubine, while Chen Jinxing served as a slave girl in their household. The landowner favored the slave girl, sparking jealousy in the first wife. In collusion with the concubine, she subjected the slave girl to cruel mistreatment and ultimately expelled her from the household, leaving her to a tragic fate.
Chen, who died with unresolved hatred in that life, carried his resentment into the spirit realm and petitioned for vengeance. Granted the right to reincarnate with a “Black Flag of Authority,” the spiritual authorities permitted him to settle his karmic score with Bai Bingbing and her daughter. The Black Flag rendered divine interference impossible, as the case was karmically ordained.
Chen’s crimes were initially shielded from detection due to the weight of his past-life grievances. However, his unchecked aggression escalated beyond karmic justice into wanton violence against innocents. This excessive wrongdoing triggered karmic retribution, ultimately leading to his capture.
Persuasion through karmic wisdom
Cai Lingji used this karmic narrative to reason with Chen during the hostage standoff. She warned him that further violence would only deepen his karmic debt, binding him to harsher consequences in future lives. Moved by her explanation, Chen sighed three times, resigned to what he saw as the will of fate, and surrendered his weapons.
Cai’s courage as a clairvoyant — venturing into danger to confront Chen — was widely commended. Her account of the Bai Xiaoyan case, including her spiritual insights and the karmic entanglements involved, is vividly detailed in The Five Books of Lingji, with forewords written by notable figures such as Director Yang Zijing.
The inescapable fate of karma
After his arrest, Chen confessed to a slew of additional crimes, including at least 19 sexual assaults and multiple kidnappings. On January 23, 1998, he was sentenced to five death penalties and two life sentences by the Banqiao District Court. On October 6, 1999, Chen was executed by firing squad in Taipei.
During his time in prison, Chen converted to Christianity and wrote an autobiography titled I Repent, Please Forgive Me. He requested that his organs be donated after his death. However, when potential recipients learned of his identity, they were horrified and refused his organs, unwilling to accept what they described as “a wolf’s heart and a dog’s lungs.”
Reflections on karma: what you sow, so shall you reap
As The Sutra of Past, Present, and Future Karma teaches: “To understand your past, observe your present circumstances. To know your future, reflect on your present actions.”
Indeed, this story poignantly reminds us of the inescapable law of karma — our actions, whether good or bad, sow the seeds for the circumstances we will encounter in the future. It shows how unresolved grievances and past wrongdoings can manifest in the present, sometimes in dramatic and tragic ways, as in the case of the Bai Xiaoyan incident.
This account also highlights the transformative power of repentance and the importance of living with kindness and virtue. By consciously acting with compassion, fairness, and integrity, we mend past errors and lay the groundwork for future blessings. The spiritual truths revealed through Cai Lingji’s clairvoyance offer a cautionary tale and an inspiring call to take responsibility for our actions, striving to bring light and healing to ourselves and others.
In the grand tapestry of life, every act of kindness, no matter how small, adds to the collective good, reminding us that what we give to the world ultimately returns to us in kind.
Translated by Katy Liu and edited by Tatiana Denning
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