A Father's Journey to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss

This interview was recorded on September 16, 2022, at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. It features the spirit of the late Lay Practitioner Feng Xikui, the father of Lay Practitioner Feng Meilan, who sought deliverance through the compassionate guidance of Practitioner Su. Having transcended the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death, he now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Lay Practitioner Feng Xikui speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I have been waiting for such a long time. I kept waiting, hoping to see if my children would come to visit me. Every time the Venerables here asked me if I was ready to go, I would stretch my neck and peer into the distance, searching for any sign of my family. Time and time again, I waited, but they never appeared. When the Venerable asked me once more if I was ready to depart for the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, I finally nodded my head. I thought to myself, 'Let us go then.' Perhaps I had waited long enough.

The Illusion of Worldly Attachments

While staying here with Practitioner Su, I have been listening to the Dharma for some time. My mind has become much clearer, yet I still held onto a lingering shred of worldly emotion. After all, I lived in the world for several decades. Those decades forged deep emotional bonds, especially with my family. To be told to simply 'let go'—it did not seem that easy at the time. But now, having arrived in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, I have finally realised that those who cannot let go are truly foolish. Everything I clung to in the world was merely an illusion.

The Bittersweet Reality of Human Life

I am deeply grateful to Practitioner Su for leading me to the Western Land. Looking at the beauty of this place, and then looking back at the world where I once lived, I could only let out a long sigh. 'Alas,' I thought, 'being a human is truly full of suffering!' Every family, every single person, is trapped in the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death. I was no different. Eventually, this spirit leaves the body and enters the cycle of rebirth once more. Where does one go? Even the family members I loved most did not know. Just like my own children—they had no idea where I had gone. The relationships of this lifetime simply ended like that. It was all so fleeting.

The Value of Spiritual Deliverance

I was never a person of great Wisdom, nor did I have the Causal Conditions to study the true Buddha’s teachings. I was just an ordinary person living an ordinary life. The days passed one by one until my lifespan was exhausted, and I had to leave. If you ask me whether my life was worth it, I would say that because my children knew to arrange for my Chao Du, then yes, it was worth it. If they had not performed this deliverance, I would have continued to wander in the cycle of rebirth, suffering endlessly. That would have been truly worthless. All the efforts of a lifetime would have been like throwing a stone into the vast ocean—it sinks, it vanishes, and it holds no value.

A Final Plea to My Children

I want to thank my children for remembering to save their father. I truly hope that all my children will learn the Buddha’s teachings. I know that my children all have strong personalities and are not easily changed. You are all getting older, and perhaps you feel it is too late to start practising, but at the very least, you must learn to chant Namo Amituofo! Do not spend every day caught up in the mundane, worldly life. Look at how your father has changed, and you must learn to change yourselves as well. Change your personality traits, and please, chant Namo Amituofo diligently!"

Feng Xikui