Are You a Person of Value?

This is a record of an interview with Venerable Chang Ren, who resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This account reflects upon the nature of human existence and the path to true liberation. It was recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on September 19, 2017.

Venerable Chang Ren speaks:

"Today, Practitioner Su spoke of 'not being a person without value.' Are you a person without value? Perhaps most people have never considered such a question. What kind of person are you, really? Have you ever thought about it?

In the span of your entire life, have you truly achieved what you were meant to achieve? Or have you simply drifted through, becoming what people call a 'half-baked' person? You may not clearly see how difficult it is to obtain a human body. If you miss this opportunity, how great a pity it would be! You should examine whether you have wasted your life. Regardless of your age, this kind of self-reflection is of absolute benefit to you. You should do this. Take control of your own life—not for the sake of gain or loss, but to ensure that in the end, there are no regrets. Surely, no one would want to leave this human world with regrets.

The Urgency of Self-Mastery

As I just said, no matter how old you are, you should do this. If you are still young, that is wonderful; it will help you in your future prospects. If you manage your life well, you will reap inconceivable rewards. But if you are already past fifty, you should do this even more. The impermanence of life means we do not know how many days we have left. There is no need to explore how much time remains; what you truly need to do is understand yourself. Do not be attached to the past that cannot be recalled. Simply understand what you can still do, and calmly accept the arrival of life's final moment with full confidence in your rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. If you can achieve this, your life will have been worth it—a truly perfect finale, ending the cycle of birth and death, and transcending the three realms.

If you fear the arrival of this final moment, you are truly pitiful. You have walked through life and left nothing behind, ending up only with the result of clinging to life and fearing death. Do you want to seize the opportunity to change your failed life now? Do not dwell on the past; just grasp the present and do something meaningful. Quickly refill your life with strength and brilliance. Do not seek anything else; just seek a good ending. If you stop living only for yourself, you can achieve this.

The Power of Every Breath

I believe many people have already been diagnosed with terminal illnesses, or they know in their hearts that their lives are nearing an end. But I want to ask you: 'Have you stopped breathing yet?' If you are still breathing and can still move, even if you have little strength, do not overthink it. Cherish every day, every minute you live in this world. Do you believe that once you change, you can obtain a very special, inconceivable, and brand-new situation?

Giving up on oneself is the most ignorant behaviour, and wanting to entrust one's life to others for help is the most irresponsible mindset. If you do not use your own strength to solve the dilemmas of your life, you are truly useless. Or perhaps you think you are very useful, but in reality, you have not exerted any function at all. You falsely elevate yourself and deceive yourself within a false appearance. How many monastics are like this? Do not deceive yourself any longer. When you eventually walk on the path to the underworld, do not regret your past stupidity when you find yourself unable to walk the path to the West. At that time, you cannot blame anyone else; it is all self-inflicted.

The Reality of Spiritual Attachment

Let us start with practitioners. Without even looking at great contributions, just look at yourself: Are you sick? Have you aged? Are you still yourself? Do not rush to answer these questions; look more closely. Have you lost your soul? Television media often exaggerates, but this is indeed a very serious matter. Which person today has not encountered this? You cannot even master your own body; you cannot even take care of yourself. Do you not find it pathetic? Even this body, which seems to belong to you most, is not under your control. Is your life still of any use? I only want you to see the facts clearly. If you become hysterical or panicked because of this, then your problem is very large. You should immediately seek a solution. While you do not have a clear direction, it is best not to wander blindly. After all, some bodhimandas are a bit chaotic nowadays. Without a familiar channel, I suggest you come here to investigate—that is, first understand your current situation. You can explore for yourself how to walk the path of the future. Your life is in your own hands. You should decide how to live out your own brilliance; it is not something others can tell you, nor should it be controlled by others. You must have autonomy. If you cannot achieve autonomy, alas, it is a great pity.

The Truth of Karmic Creditors

Most people are no longer themselves. Can you be that rare one who is? It is unlikely, because everyone has too many thoughts, and without true deliverance and the good roots of right faith, eight or nine out of ten thoughts are selfish or evil. Everyone underestimates the power of this emptiness. Even for a single deviant thought, you must suffer the retribution, let alone these bundles of afflictions and wild thoughts, tainted with the seven emotions and six desires. The human heart is abnormal, impure, and not good, so it is very difficult for you to master yourself, because all your thoughts will be subject to spiritual attachment. I do not know if you believe this, but it is a fact. See if you have the good roots to believe all of this. Those with innate, sensitive awareness should be able to agree with what I say, because the bodies of these people are sensitive. They understand, to some extent, all the changes in the spiritual realms and the flow of spirits. If you cannot believe this, it is a great pity for you.

No one wants to tell you these things. Perhaps there are some bodhimandas or some psychic workers in this world who can understand a part of it. If someone really tells you, they mostly want to sell their skills. They explain this to you, and of course, they hope you will give them a chance to solve it for you. Those who have the ability but use it to sell benefits will not have a good result. The reason is very frank: worldly people spend money to eliminate disasters, and you have to solve the disaster for them. If you take the money, do you not have to block it for them? If you cannot block it, you will only suffer it yourself. What is a disaster? It is actually a situation arranged by karmic creditors—a hard-won revenge plan. Is it possible to let you interfere so easily? Even if you spend a great deal of wealth, it is not necessarily solvable. Do not be foolish anymore. Many times, what karmic creditors want is not money; they want your life. They have hated you for thousands of years, and they are spirits. What do they want your money for? The one who wants your money should be the 'famous master' you are currently looking for. No matter how famous or capable they are, can they interfere with the laws of karma? If karmic retribution could be bought with money, do you think there would still be heavenly principles in this Dharma realm of emptiness? Without a shred of repentance, how could karmic creditors let you go? The Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre does not take your money and is willing to help you resolve your karma, only requiring that your heart be sincere. Because standing on the bridge of communication between yin and yang, only fairness can resolve karma, and only then will karmic creditors truly be willing to let go of their hatred and allow the beings to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, allowing them to truly obtain liberation and leave suffering behind to gain happiness. Once they reach the West, why would they come back to the turbid and evil world to seek revenge on you? They are cool and refreshed in the West; naturally, they will not return to seek revenge. This is the truly perfect resolution of karma, without any aftereffects.

The True Meaning of Practice

This is the skill. Karmic creditors will not want your money or compensation. Even if some really want your compensation, your treasury must be deep enough, because they might be as greedy as humans. They have not left the underworld; once they spend the money, they will come back to find you, and you will need to pay the price again to ask them to leave, and it might even become more stubborn than before. They are also spirits manifested after death; many times, their thoughts and behaviours are no different from humans.

Everyone should have seen social news. When you encounter such demanding people, you give them a sweet taste; they leave today, but in less than a few days, they might spend the money and come to your door to ask for more. Each time will be more greedy than the last. As long as they are still in the world, the causal conditions between you will never end. Therefore, this way of handling things does not work, let alone handling karma. The same principle applies to both humans and the underworld; they have such greed and the same human-like thinking. Looking at karma from this perspective, what do you think of this way of handling it? If you were the creditor today, what would it take for you to be willing to leave?

Do these famous masters who handle these matters have sincerity, or should I say, a conscience? The eyes of heaven and earth are watching. If you are greedy for money that should not be taken, you will only suffer from indigestion; it is very terrifying. Do not ever get involved in these things. Be honest. I see this very clearly; there is karma for everything. Today, you want to help others resolve karma, and everyone sincerely wants to resolve karma, but you mislead them and collect large sums of money after the work is done. Perhaps you understand, or perhaps you do not, but you must know that the underworld is not that simple. You will never finish paying it back. I kindly advise everyone; this is also personal karma. Choose carefully for yourself.

The Value of a Life

Do you have the ability to distinguish right from wrong? I asked at the beginning: Are you a useful person? Or a useless person? If you need to seek assistance when you encounter problems, that is not bad. If you can learn, you should rely on yourself in the future and help others. But if you are completely manipulated by others without knowing it, then what value do you have? If you have walked through life and think you have great value, then what have you done to benefit the masses? If you have walked through life and are always revolving around yourself, you are a person without value. How much sincerity have you paid to the masses? There is a lack of such education now, which has created such a society. Everyone is selfish and self-interested; what they say and do puts their own interests first. What a terrifying reality. Everyone should wake up. Do not spend so much effort doing things for yourself, for this body that will eventually die. At the end of this life, you will only be a person without value, and you will eventually discover that the more you want to hold onto yourself, the more you cannot take care of yourself. I do not know how many years ago you were already controlled. You may not discover this, but we see it very clearly. I want to tell you, but that requires you to be willing to listen. How many times has everyone rejected these truths first, choosing to believe that they are right?

It is too terrifying. Everyone has strong self-centered thoughts. If you were always right, you would not need hospitals and such institutions. No one likes to go to the hospital to receive medical treatment, but many times when you encounter it, you have to go. In order to survive, you have to cut flesh and have surgery. No matter how painful or scared you are, you have to accept it all. Is this an expression of being able to master your own life? Everyone thinks this is a normal change in life. Wrong! You can actually master it. Let us just talk about practitioners. They are already on the path of practice, yet many who have become great monastics still cannot be autonomous. They are still old and sick, and they still cannot escape the established karma and destiny. Then what benefit have they gained from learning Buddhism? What should have changed has not changed. Is this in accordance with the Dharma?

No one likes the term 'selfish,' but you still put yourself first. Are you not selfish? Too many great monastics are old and sick because they still cannot let go of themselves. Most of them are not in accordance with the Dharma. In fact, it is not difficult to discover their mental notes. As long as you relax your infatuation with them a little, you will see that they still have deep attachments. This is not in accordance with the Dharma. Although they have lectured on sutras and treatises for a lifetime and have great principles, although they have performed Buddhist services for a lifetime and have great compassion, although they have made many donations and have a good heart, how pure and true can these hearts be in the depths? There is still something there. No matter how subtle, it should be faced. Every bit is unreal. These great monastics have such endings. Do you think you will be better than them? Everyone can talk about the great truth, but only those who can truly do it are real people.

The Path to True Practice

Daring to speak and daring to lecture is no longer the norm in society. Do you think there are so many good words to be said in society? The false society needs to be adjusted. You do not have to think that the Dharma transmission at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre is anything extraordinary, but you should first put down all suspicion and the unwillingness in your heart. Since everyone is manipulated by space, let space teach us these principles now. To become a useful person, what should you do? First, break through space and get along well with space. First, come and see how we teach here. We are also still learning here. The advantage here is that space can tell us the information, so that your practice has fair principles, and naturally, it can be much more convenient. Many times, you will not fall into the situation of 'thinking you are right,' which is too easy to deviate, because space can point out your mistakes most truthfully, and without any mercy. Space does not need any benefits from you; it is just based on principles and karma, presenting them truthfully.

Whether you are a useful person, you should be able to understand to some extent. Can you be autonomous? Ask yourself. At the moment before you die, can you face it completely at ease? You can actually do it. It depends on whether you want to give yourself a chance. The whole world says they have a way to understand all of this, but do you want to believe it? The Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre has truly opened up space. I am here to support it. I want to tell everyone: those who have karmic affinity will believe it, so come.

There is not enough time. You must grasp this body of yours. If you can practice, you should change quickly. It is hard to say when you will lose the opportunity to practice, and it is not certain how long you will have to wait next time. The six realms of existence are not that simple. Meeting the guidance of Buddha and Bodhisattvas now can really be very simple. It depends on whether you want to grasp the opportunity to practice with the Buddha. If you cut off your own path to life, you are truly foolish. Everyone can think about it carefully again. Should you come to Australia to take a look at what the propagation of truth is? Namo Amituofo."