An Interview in the Western Land of Dharma Nature — Fan Chih-chiang (Former Chairman of Yuanta Bank, Taiwan)

Interview by Chief Writer: Fa Ning

June 4, 2026

Fan Chih-chiang:

Namo Amituofo, this Buddha-name truly possesses such high Wisdom. All the profound knowledge and learning I acquired in my life cannot compare to this six-character name, 'Namo Amituofo'. Here, I have begun to learn to chant Buddha's name, and I have also begun to realise that everything I managed in the past has long since passed, no longer exists, and was merely an illusion. All the good and bad deeds I did in the past have now become empty, yet the laws of karma and cause and effect are not empty.

I have actually learned a lot here; this place is called the Western Land of Dharma Nature, and I am formally reporting this to everyone. The Western Land of Dharma Nature—I had never heard of this place before, and I believe my family and friends have not heard of it either, but one year after I passed away, I truly arrived in this very bright, dignified, and pure place. The Buddha before me is Namo Amituofo, the very Buddha whose name I have been chanting.

I am here because of the guidance of the Buddha, which allowed me to come to this place from being a very pitiful ghost at that time. Although I am still in the status of a spirit, it is no longer the situation I was in when I was a ghost in the dark world. Beside Namo Amituofo, there is another Buddha called Practitioner Su. I had indeed never heard of this name when I was in the human world. It was only here that I learned that Practitioner Su was also once a Taiwanese person, but he is currently at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, where he has built a temple that is not very large in scale, yet this place is very special.

I am now in the Western Land of Dharma Nature; in fact, this space is connected to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. From this place, I can see what the people at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre are doing, and I can see it clearly. When Practitioner Su was in Taiwan, he attained Awakening and Buddhahood while in a human body. Although he looks like a human on the outside, Practitioner Su is actually a Buddha. In other words, his spirit has been elevated to the same level as that of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and the things he can do are the same as what a Buddha does; there is no difference.

However, this human body is very precious in the world, because with this human body in the world, one can exert great power to save sentient beings in the human world, or deceased spirits like me, who can be guided up to be reborn in the Western Land of Dharma Nature. All of this is thanks to Practitioner Su that I was able to connect with Namo Amituofo.

I can now explain all of this very clearly; these were things I had never known before. My mind was only filled with many plans, many numbers, and everything I was involved in across various fields was about striving to turn a deficit situation into a profitable one. I have managed many different businesses and have been invited to participate and assist in various groups or fields. People called me the 'Corporate Firefighter'; haha, that name really elevated me too much. Indeed, what I am most proud of is the high-speed rail from back then. When the high-speed rail was in a very bleak period, my team and I, through everyone's joint efforts, put Taiwan's high-speed rail on the right track, moving from losses to subsequent good development. This is something I feel I did right, at least, as it could benefit many Taiwanese people and make it more convenient for everyone to travel everywhere.

Speaking of which, before I was guided to the Western Land of Dharma Nature by Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su, I was still a pitiful ghost in a grey, dim world. Because I was attached to everything in my life, I could not let go. I thought of the things I did in the past, how it was when I was old and sick, I thought of my beloved wife, and I also thought of my children, which caused me so much worry.

At the moment after I died, I became this ghost who had no one to rely on. All the beautiful scenes of the past no longer existed; my heart was very painful and sad, but I could not return to the life of that time. Because it was already over, and without this body, it was impossible for me to go back. I was still clear and aware of this point, but there was always a feeling of unwillingness in my heart; I really wanted to return to those happy times in the past.

After being this pitiful ghost for about a year, I suddenly received the illumination of light; this was the first time I had seen light in a year. I followed the light and walked forward naturally, and I arrived at the Western Land of Dharma Nature. Everything was very natural, and I did not have the slightest hesitation, because I believe that a place with light is always better than a place without light; this is also something generally recognised by everyone. Therefore, after struggling for a year, I arrived in this pure Buddha-land.

I want to share my life with everyone. Although I have experienced a lot in my life, and everyone saw me as very capable—I could save many enterprises, whether it was securities companies, airlines, or high-speed rail, these were all within my management scope. But after I died, in terms of my spirit, these really had nothing to do with me anymore. I was no longer the Fan Chih-chiang of the past; that was just a name I had when I had a human body.

Now I am in the status of a spirit. The Buddha tells us that everyone is a Buddha, and also tells everyone that they can be called 'Wonderful Sound'. This is an equal world, without any names or various different situations occurring. Only after these discriminations were gone did I truly recognise the profundity of Buddhist education. It is truly an education that can help people unlock the mysteries of the universe.

Here, in the status of a spirit, I can see clearly everything that happens in the universe. This is also the compassion of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, allowing all of us who have been reborn in the Western Land of Dharma Nature to see many things clearly. It turns out that the six realms of rebirth are real, and the hells, the hungry ghost realm, and the animal realm all truly exist. Therefore, every animal has a spirit within it, and every object we use also has a spirit within it; sentient and insentient beings fill our Earth. It turns out that all of this is real; it was just that there was no way to get very effective verification before.

So, listening to Practitioner Su give Dharma talks here, he always says that the Dharma is the ultimate 'high technology', and it is indeed not an exaggeration, because everything that science in the human world cannot explain can be seen very clearly in the Dharma. It does not need too much explanation; it just becomes clear so naturally. It turns out that having nothing is having everything. Just like Practitioner Su, he says he does not know many big characters, but he can have such profound ability to save us. Doesn't that just show that this knowledge is actually what hinders people from being able to attain Awakening and Buddhahood like Practitioner Su?

This is absolutely correct; the more you know, the more serious the obstacles in your practice become. Just like when I was a doctoral student at the University of Cambridge in the UK, I thought I was standing at the top of the world's academic institutions, and being a doctoral student, I was proud of it. But in fact, I did not know that all this learning was only limited to what is learned in the human world, and it could not penetrate the truth of life or the mysteries of the universe like the Dharma. Therefore, it is true that knowing more is not necessarily a good thing. People in the past, including myself, always thought that they could do more and understand more, and that if their heads were filled, they could do many things.

But Practitioner Su says his head is empty, yet he knows everything; isn't that a better thing? All the knowledge we learn is limited knowledge, but Practitioner Su has infinite Wisdom.

Namo Amituofo, the founder of the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, is truly a very, very great Buddha. I admire Namo Amituofo very much in my heart, and I also admire Practitioner Su very much. Here, I sincerely say thank you to the two Buddhas; thank you for saving me, and thank you for saving so many sentient beings around me. No matter where the sentient beings come from, the Buddha will not reject them, especially many sentient beings from the hells, or sentient beings from the Demon Realm; they are all objects of Practitioner Su's salvation. This matter is very special, and it also confirms that the Dharma is truly equal.

I am very satisfied in my heart to have the opportunity to come to this place; this is not something that ordinary people can come to just because they want to. This must be because I had established a connection with the Buddha in my lifetime, which is why I have this opportunity for Causal Conditions to mature now. I believe this so much, because when I saw the Buddha, I felt very close and warm, and I knew that all of this was truly what I was destined to encounter in my life. But I am still very, very grateful.

Finally, I also ask those who know me to be sure to come and understand the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. It can truly help you solve all the doubts in the human world, including various difficult problems of the Body-Mind-Spirit, and tell everyone what the Truth of the universe is. The teachings of the Buddha and the teachings of Teacher Hsia Lien-chu can both be conveyed in the status of a spirit. People here can receive these messages from people in the spiritual realms, just like I am doing now, in a heart-to-heart way, and then tell the world, so that people in the world have the opportunity to understand what true Buddhist education is.

I want to say a few words to my children here, hoping that you can give yourselves some time. Besides your busy work, you must also set aside some time to pay attention to the growth of your own spirit. And in this regard, there is really no place that can be more real and clear than everything that can be seen at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. Just search for 'Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia' online and you can understand all of this; this is real. Or, on the road, there are large billboards about 'Namo Amituofo is residing here at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia' in several places on Taiwan's highways.

Finally, once again, I sincerely say thank you to Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su. I also appeal to the people of the world, and those who know me, once again: you must come to understand the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia.

Gratitude to Namo Amituofo, gratitude to Practitioner Su, gratitude to everyone.

Namo Amituofo

Fan Chih-chiang