The Japanese Soldier of a Past Life, the Eastern Girl of This One

In a small village in the eastern region, a young woman named My sat beneath a tree, surrounded by pale yellow sunflowers in the late afternoon light. A gentle breeze drifted through, carrying the familiar scent of ripe rice fields. Yet her eyes gazed toward the distant, rolling hills, as if searching for a lost past.

"I remember," she told her close friend, her voice so soft it seemed like a whisper to herself. "In my previous life, I was not a girl. I was a Japanese soldier."

Her friend stared at her in disbelief. "Is that true? Do you remember clearly?"

"Very clearly," My replied, her gaze growing distant. "I remember my name. I remember my unit. I even remember when I was captured..." Her voice suddenly stopped, and her shoulders trembled slightly.

What My remembered about her past life was far from pleasant. She recounted that around nineteen forty-five, when the Japanese forces were losing ground, she—then a soldier—failed to retreat in time and was captured by the villagers. Due to the harsh and cruel actions of the Japanese army against the local people during their occupation, the villagers rose up, tied her to a post, and burned her alive.

"I could feel the fire," My said, her voice shaking. "I felt extreme pain. Then everything went dark... and when I awakened again, I was an infant, living in a family here."

From a man, she became a woman. From a Japanese person, she became a resident of the East. This transformation was so strange that it defied all conventional understanding.

My recounted every detail: the name of her commanding officer, the path leading to the village where she was captured, and even the open space at the edge of the village where she was burned. Those who listened to her story felt a chill run down their spines.

One day, a group of researchers came to the village to investigate My’s account. They brought historical records from that era and began to cross-reference them with her memories.

"You said you were captured near a small temple, opposite an old well," one researcher asked, flipping through pages of documents.

"Yes," My answered. "That temple has long been destroyed, but the well is still there."

The researcher nodded, his eyes lighting up. "We have maps from that time. This well is recorded exactly where you described."

They continued their investigation and discovered that, precisely at the time My described, a Japanese soldier had indeed been captured and killed in that area. Every detail matched: the time, the location, and even the method of execution.

"It is impossible," one researcher exclaimed, gripping the file tightly. "Everything matches down to the smallest detail. This child could not possibly know these things unless she truly experienced them."

My’s story quickly spread, attracting widespread attention. People came to hear her speak, and many found themselves believing in samsara (cycle of rebirth) after witnessing such clear evidence.

Today, My lives an ordinary existence like any other girl in the village. But sometimes, on quiet afternoons, she still sits under that same tree, remembering a lost past, and wondering: Why did I move from this life to another? Why did I change from a man into a woman? Why did I transform from an oppressor into a victim?

These questions remain unanswered, but one thing is certain: samsara (cycle of rebirth) is real, and it carries profound lessons about cause and effect (karmic law) and justice in the universe.

The Meaning of the Story:

This narrative vividly illustrates samsara (cycle of rebirth) and the law of cause and effect (karmic law). In a past life, a Japanese soldier oppressed the indigenous people. In his next life, he was reborn as a local girl—transforming from an oppressor into a victim. This demonstrates that every action and decision we make in this life bears consequences in future lives. The law of cause and effect (karmic law) overlooks no one, and samsara (cycle of rebirth) is an essential part of how the universe operates.

Compiled from the dharma talk of Venerable Thich Chan Quang