A Witness Account of Spiritual Deliverance at the Thrice Yearning Ceremony

The Gathering of Infinite Beings

The great Bodhisattvas and the ancestral masters stand above, their presence magnificent and solemn. Everyone present pays deep homage to the compassionate and Great Holy One, Namo Amituofo. On the twenty-fourth of September, 2017, a remarkable scene unfolded in the space beyond our physical perception.

From the vast expanse of the void, the sound of a great drum resonated: Dong, dong, dong...

Wu Caiwei called out, "It has begun! Hurry, hurry, walk faster! Where has my younger brother gone? His name is Wu Chaocheng. Wait, let me look." After steadying her focus, she spotted him. "This child is thinking of snacks again. Chaocheng! Chaocheng! Come back here!"

Wu Chaocheng replied, "No, I do not want to. I am watching the fourfold assembly of disciples eating biscuits. I want to eat those too. Besides, they are saying so many things; some I cannot understand, but some are quite funny. They have not gone up to the Buddha hall yet, so let us wait a little longer."

Wu Caiwei urged him, "You cannot be like this. We have come here to seek Chao Du; we must be respectful. Hurry up and come here. We have waited for this opportunity for hundreds of years. We must not miss it this time. If we miss it again, your sister will not forgive you. Come up here quickly!"

Wu Chaocheng finally agreed, "Oh... alright."

The Path to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss

Wu Caiwei continued, "Behave yourself. We can soon leave this world of the ghost realm. We are going to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Be happy, and stop craving snacks. I heard from Elder Wang, who lives in the room opposite ours, that it is very easy to reach the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss from here. You only need to be sincere. Hurry, let us put in some effort. Look, we have arrived late, and it is already packed with people. Quickly, find a spot; it is about to begin."

As the drumbeats faded, Wu Caiwei saw the lead ceremony master, Namo Amituofo, enter to preside over the Dharma assembly. At that moment, the Buddha hall expanded to the size of the void itself. Beings from all directions and realms knelt down: the demons from outside the universe, the heavens of the Demon Realm, the Four Sacred Realms, the twenty-eight heavens, the underworld, the hells, the Asura realm, the ghost realm, the hungry ghost realm, and even those in the borderlands of doubt. The scene was truly magnificent.

Beside the lead master were the great protector Bodhisattvas, Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta. The pure ocean-wide assembly of Bodhisattvas had also arrived. Everyone knelt and wept. The more sincere their weeping, the closer they were to their true heart, and the more transparent and pure their sentient beings became. Soon after, they departed, achieving rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. The speed was incredible; one group followed another. Only those who still held onto attachments remained opaque and could not ascend.

The Boundless Compassion of Namo Amituofo

The ceremony acts as a gateway, leading immeasurable and boundless sentient beings back to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss with unimaginable speed. Some may be on their way to the heavenly or human realms, never to return. As the ceremony proceeds, Practitioner Su assists by using her power of visualization to bring forth immeasurable and boundless sentient beings for Chao Du. The entire event is beyond words in its magnificence.

The great Bodhisattvas and ancestral masters, dressed in solemn and orderly robes, first knelt to pay homage to Namo Amituofo before joining the work of Chao Du. I watched, unable to look away. A Bodhisattva tapped my shoulder and introduced himself as the Moonlight Bodhisattva. He suggested that I share my impressions and what I had seen with the people in the human world to accumulate merit. Having been a newspaper reporter in my previous life, I was well-suited for this, so I happily agreed. I stood in the best position to observe the entire ceremony.

After the drumbeats, the entire Dharma realm was in position. While the human world was not yet fully settled, the Dharma realm had already seen immeasurable numbers achieve rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. It is not that the human world is slow; several of the organizers were still busy with palms pressed together, diligently writing out memorial tablets. Whether they came from the Dharma realm, the hells, the Demon Realm, or the spaces in between, it was through your writing of these tablets that we had the opportunity to come here. Many did not come via tablets, but those tablets provided an extra chance for entry, as the number of sentient beings waiting for Chao Du is unimaginably vast. I am truly grateful to be standing here today.

The Role of the Dharma Protectors

Namo Amituofo waits with compassion for all beings to chant Buddha's name and achieve rebirth. Every week, He personally attends the ceremony. I have heard that His compassion is such that He leads everyone up one by one, for we are all His children. At the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, as Practitioner Su reads the names on the tablets, these sentient beings—many of whom are the karmic creditors of the fourfold assembly of disciples—are brought forth. They are required to sit upon lotus seats, where Bodhisattvas from all directions immediately surround and protect them.

I saw it with my own eyes; the speed was incredible. Those who sincerely sought Chao Du ascended to the West. Those who came seeking revenge never emerged. I heard that these Bodhisattvas are from the Demon Realm, serving as volunteers. I was shocked at first, but upon closer inspection, I saw them restored to their original appearance as monastics—solemn and great monks. It is a pity they once entered the Demon Realm, but now they serve as volunteers, helping with Chao Du to accumulate merit, hoping to reach the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss in the future. They are so afraid of not being able to face Namo Amituofo that they work very hard. I thought to myself, with this group of volunteers here, how could there be any danger? Their numbers are vast, and they are all formidable figures.

A Warning Against Laziness

The assembly knelt and picked up the spontaneously appearing sutra books to chant the Amitabha Sutra. If you possessed divine hearing, you would hear the volume of immeasurable and boundless voices chanting in unison. However, some in the human world seemed tired and fell asleep. I saw their protective lights dim and extinguish, followed by thin, black lines. I asked those nearby, and they told me these were thoughts, or perhaps the sleepers had entered dreams. These black lines were karmic creditors or connected beings. They moved with great speed into the bodies of the sleeping people, entering through the head, eyes, and ears. During the second session today, I saw several such cases. These sentient beings, who do not yet wish to go to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, attach themselves to you—this is called spiritual attachment. I saw this for the first time. You might wake up quickly, or be called by your neighbour or Practitioner Su, but your eyes are no longer your own, or your head has been obstructed. Even in a ceremony hall filled with so many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, these sentient beings dare to be rampant because they hold a token of revenge, and you are being lazy. They have a legitimate reason to approach you. I want to tell everyone, and counsel everyone: this ceremony is not a private matter. The world you cannot see is vast, and they are all waiting for Chao Du. When you are lazy, many cannot achieve rebirth, and they will naturally find the person who is sleeping. I saw this, and I am telling you out of kindness.

The Transformation of All Beings

Then came the famous Praise of the Buddha. I saw everyone standing in a full hall. Namo Amituofo stood at the centre of the void, leading the assembly toward the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Everyone chanted with all their might. Namo Amituofo compassionately emitted light to cleanse the assembly of their dust and filth. It was like watching a spectacular film. Beings from all realms—even the animal realm, the crawling and flying creatures—shed their animal skins. What emerged were solemn human forms. Everyone received true Chao Du. Unlike the scenes of rebirth in the hells, where one dons animal skins to receive retribution, this is a platform of rebirth where one completely sheds the skin to enter the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. So many people achieved rebirth at this moment by seeing the true Buddha. The great Bodhisattvas and ancestral masters stood above, solemn and magnificent, paying deep homage to the compassionate Great Holy One, Namo Amituofo.

I have not yet gone to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss because I have not finished my report. There is one more thing I wish to mention: the Buddha-recitation circumambulation. Following the designated route, chanting the name of Namo Amituofo, the path is circular. I witnessed two magnificent scenes. One was the scene of Practitioner Su using visualization for Chao Du; countless sentient beings arrived to achieve rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, or to ascend to the heavenly or human realms, or to stay and listen to the Dharma. During this time, the space was in flux. If you moved about randomly, leaving your post, you might bump into someone. I am telling you this out of kindness, as I saw many people going to the restroom, and some passed through each other. While it caused no harm, it was not entirely respectful. The other scene was the fourfold assembly of disciples chanting with all their hearts; the sentient beings within their bodies were naturally transformed and departed, hovering above before following the Buddha-light away.

I truly do not know how many were saved; there were simply too many. But the space, which was once densely packed, was instantly cleared. I believe the fourfold assembly of disciples participating in the ceremony must have felt this sense of ease and lightness. I am about to conclude my report. The magnificence of the ceremony is vast, but these are the points I have chosen to share. It is truly magnificent. If you could see everything in the void, you would no longer be attached to this world, just as I am no longer attached to the ghost realm after seeing this. It is wonderful. I am grateful to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who made this Chao Du possible, and to all of you in the human world. In the next session, it will be my turn and my brother's turn to go to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. My brother is young and does not understand the magnificence of the scene; he fell asleep. Namo Amituofo.

This interview message was recorded by the Buddha's disciple, Shi Faxi.