Interview with Lu Hsin-min (Former National Policy Advisor to the Presidential Office)

Chief Writer: Venerable Fa Ru

June 4, 2026

Lu Hsin-min:

Hello everyone, I am Lu Hsin-min. I never expected that after passing away, I would encounter a temple and fellow Taiwanese here; it is truly heart-warming.

After I passed away, I went straight to the hells to suffer punishment, which truly surprised me. I never thought I would end up in the hells in this lifetime. I always believed that I had dedicated myself to the Taiwanese people; although there were inevitably some flaws, I did not think I would end up suffering in the hells.

I never expected that I would indeed end up in the hells. This shows that in life, one cannot have even the slightest deviation, nor can one fake anything; one cannot deceive the Heavens. This truly shocked me.

While I was alive, although I believed in some Taiwanese folk religions, I did not have many opportunities to come into contact with the Buddha’s teachings. However, I maintained respect for all religions, which is the basic attitude one should have as a Taiwanese legislator and as a leader of the Taoyuan region. As a politician, one must have tolerance and the ability to respond to various situations and different ethnic groups. We serve the civilians, and we widely accept all ethnic groups, ideologies, and different concepts. Our philosophy at the time was to develop local Taiwanese culture in Taoyuan and to find ways to make the government closer to the people.

As a politician, there is indeed the problem of mutual criticism. After all, partisan division is unavoidable, and it is inevitable that one must magnify and examine the shortcomings of the opposing camp. I was very skilled in local election strategies, and I knew how to rally and incite local people so that they would choose the right camp and cast their sacred votes for my own camp. Therefore, in this process, I led everyone to see the shortcomings of the opposing camp, to see their ugly side, and to see their various major malpractices.

In the process of suffering punishment, I did feel some regret. However, as a politician, how one can avoid these operations while continuing to win in the political arena is surely quite difficult. I do not yet have a real answer to this.

After learning the Buddha’s teachings and coming into contact with Buddhist education on the Dharma-Nature Land, I realised that perhaps the initial motivation for politics was somewhat skewed from the start. True healthy competition is not about pointing out the other party's scars first, nor is it about looking at their shortcomings; rather, it is about doing one's best within one's own capabilities and within the effective and feasible scope of one's team to formulate policies suitable for the people. As for one's own deficiencies or the advantages of the other side, one should consistently offer praise and recognition. After all, different political parties and teams have different areas of expertise, so one should fairly provide choices to the people and let them make their own decisions, rather than taking the lead in smearing or manipulating public opinion.

I was in the political arena for a very long time. Even after retiring from being a legislator, if anyone came to ask me questions, I could tell them from a very precise perspective, helping the younger generation to cultivate deep roots in Taoyuan and telling them about the demands of Taoyuan voters. However, these many operations were biased and favoured my own camp and political party.

I learned on the Dharma-Nature Land and realised that, as fellow Taiwanese, we should not have partisan divisions and confrontations. Because division is not a good thing for the people; instead, we should be friendly and inclusive, and fairly allow the people to make their own choices. The main principle is not to use comparisons, mutual smearing, or mutual attacks to achieve one's goals. But I did not follow such principles, which violated moral foundations and also violated the universal principle. Therefore, I had to go to the hells to suffer punishment.

As for how long the punishment will last? Actually, my sentence is not that short. Having been in politics for so many years, from the grassroots level to legislator, and then to National Policy Advisor, such a duration is not short, so the negative karma I created is not small either. In addition to the Eye-Gouging Hell, there are others like heart-gouging and brain-gouging waiting for me. It is just that I am currently temporarily suffering in the Eye-Gouging Hell. As for how many years I will have to suffer, it must be at least three years or more, right? This is the number I know for now.

Actually, I did not suffer for very long. At the beginning of this year, I was rescued by a temple called the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. The place where I am now is a spirit world within the temple. From the perspective of an ordinary person, one might not be able to see the spirit world. But if there is a practitioner whose eyes can see the spirit world, they would discover that there is a very vast and bright spirit world inside the temple called the Western Land of Dharma Nature. I was also very surprised by this; I did not know what kind of place this was. But being able to escape the hells, no matter what, is something I am very happy about. Not having to continue suffering the pain of having my eyes gouged out—what could be more fortunate than that?

Now, on the Dharma-Nature Land, I continue to listen to the sutras, listening to the teachings of Namo Amituofo, and the explanations of Namo Amituofo's teachings by the great practitioner in the human world, Practitioner Su. After listening to many teachings, I finally understood that in life, many things we think are fair and just, and many concepts and behaviours we think are correct, are actually biased. And these biases and deviations, while harming others for one's own benefit, form negative karma. This is something one will have to repay in the future. And the punishment I entered the hells for is exactly the repayment of the many negative karma I created in this life.

So everyone should understand that what the Buddha’s teachings teach everyone is to prevent people from repeating the same mistakes and going to the hells to suffer punishment. These truths are truly important. Although I had contact with folk beliefs, I did not truly believe in or implement them. If I had truly believed in folk beliefs, and truly believed in these traditional moral foundations and Goodness, at least I would have exercised some restraint in handling many things. But looking back now, at the time, whenever I made the most critical decisions, I always prioritised my own interests; and moral foundations, along with other aspects belonging to good customs, virtues, and humanity, were my secondary considerations. Now I have become a spirit; I no longer have a body, but the true spirit has not died. This is also what I learned at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia; the true spirit is neither born nor destroyed, and I am the best proof of this. After I passed away, although I had no body, this spirit kept circulating in different spaces, first arriving in the hells, and later arriving at the Dharma-Nature Land of the temple. This proves that this spirit did not die from beginning to end; what died was only the physical body.

If there were no Buddhist education to explain this truth, how many people would be able to understand this? Everyone might have a slight concept of spirits, deities, and ghosts, but who can really clearly understand what the world after death is like? And the densely packed spirits on and within this body, the interaction between these spirits and the body, and how these spirits influence one's life and decisions—all of these can only be clearly seen and explained through learning the Buddha’s teachings.

So here, I also want to say to my family and to the many excellent younger generations of our Democratic Progressive Party: in life, striving for power, striving to control Taiwan's political power, economic lifelines, etc., may seem like a very tempting achievement, but everyone must understand the price behind it. I cannot explain it comprehensively in a short time here, but the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia is a global charitable organisation that continuously puts these very important truths on the internet for everyone to read and learn. If you are interested, you should go and find out; you only need to search for 'Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia' online to see very complete information.

There are videos of Dharma talks, dialogues with spirits, interview transcripts, and personal teachings from Namo Amituofo. And at this moment, Namo Amituofo is truly at the 'Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia'. The 'Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia' is located in Goombungee, Queensland, Australia, which is considered a remote rural area. But this is not an ordinary desolate countryside; it has magnificent and dignified buildings, and Namo Amituofo is here twenty-four hours a day, taking care of everything in the temple. And I am also on the Dharma-Nature Land, receiving the irradiation of Namo Amituofo's compassionate and warm golden light twenty-four hours a day, which has slowly allowed my spirit to return to peace and stability, and I have slowly understood what the chaotic situation after death is really all about.

The process of death can be said to be very painful, and the hells after death are even more painful. So if everyone is willing to learn more about Buddhist education and actively contact the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, it will certainly be of great help to your future. The Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia is also very compassionate; there are a total of five large billboards set up by Taiwanese people along Taiwan's highways and at various locations, which are printed with the holy name of Namo Amituofo, and tell everyone that learning the Buddha’s teachings can lead to no ageing, no illness, and the spirit never dies.

Many people do not understand, nor do they understand the truth behind it. In fact, this truth is related to the interaction between the spirit and the physical body. This process is very complex and is a profound field of study; you might as well go online and learn about it yourself. If you learn to understand the importance of this spirit world, you will naturally not walk the wrong path that I have walked.

Actually, a good politician should have sufficient foresight. This foresight is not just about benefiting one's own political party, nor is it just about benefiting a region or benefiting a portion of the people; it is about truly leading the whole of Taiwan to move forward continuously from a long-term and macro perspective. This is the core purpose of the Democratic Progressive Party: not to create confrontation, nor to have ideological conflicts with the Kuomintang. These are actually just creating sins that lead to the hells. In fact, the two parties should work together, rather than picking on each other's faults, or even using rumours and smearing to consolidate their own political power.

These all have the laws of karma and cause and effect operating behind them. The saying 'three feet above one's head, there are deities' is truly real, and there will be no omissions. Everything one creates, whether Goodness or evil, follows one closely. If one uses smearing, negative, or even immoral means to obtain political power, the governing process after taking power will also be severely tested, and there will be constant natural and man-made disasters, testing the Wisdom and blessings of the person in power.

Rather than testing and challenging one's political career in this way, it is better to take the righteous path, learn more about Buddhist education, and integrate it into policies, so that one can truly benefit the people. In fact, everyone should learn Buddhist education; it is not content that only Buddhists or a minority of people should learn. In fact, Buddhist education is a high-level education; it can allow people to better understand the spirit world and the levels that ordinary people cannot usually come into contact with, so it is extremely important to list Buddhist education as a mandatory subject for everyone.

So, if my dear family members, the comrades and fellow fighters who once fought side by side with me, and the respected younger generations of our Democratic Progressive Party, you can all actively contact the 'Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia' and actively learn Buddhist education. This will be of great help to everyone, and also of great help to the Taiwanese people.