Beyond the Heavens: A Journey to the Pure Land

This interview was recorded on May 30, 2018, at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. The speaker is the spirit of Li Zanlun, a Venerable from the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss who currently serves as a protector of Practitioner Su. In this account, he details his experience of witnessing Practitioner Su’s Dharma Body deliverance, ranging from the realms of the Four Sacred to the rescue of a dying extraterrestrial civilization.

Venerable Li Zanlun speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. The Buddha is compassionate. Today, the fellow virtuous Venerables have arranged for me to come forward and report on the deliverance that took place. I am Venerable Li Zanlun, the 386th in our group. I was born during the Western Han Dynasty in China. At that time, our Emperor respected the monks who arrived from the Western Regions, which allowed the Buddha’s teachings to flourish. Originally, I was a teacher in a private Confucian school. However, after reading the Buddhist sutras, my heart and vision expanded significantly. In particular, when I read the Infinite Life Sutra, I felt a deep yearning for the scenes of the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss described within it.

"Later, I sought guidance from a master and began to learn the practice of chanting Namo Amituofo. As the days and months accumulated, I was filled with Dharma joy. As I had never married or had children, I truly had fewer attachments and worries. In my later years, I stayed by my master’s side. When I sent him off as he passed away, the room was filled with the fragrance of lotus flowers and the sound of the Buddha’s name. My heart was filled with admiration. I hoped that I, too, would have such a day. The more I thought of this, the more diligently I applied myself. I converted my school classroom into a hall for chanting. I studied and chanted with several close friends and fellow practitioners. When I reached the age of fifty-eight, one week before my passing, I knew the time of my departure. I asked my friends to chant with me to send me off. It was truly a great blessing; I received the Buddha’s guidance, obtained a golden lotus, and went to the Western Pure Land together with the Buddha."

The Illusion of Time and Space

"Today, nearly two thousand years have passed. Recently, during a deliverance, I saw the place where I once lived, and there was absolutely no trace left. I could not let my mind dwell on it; everything is an illusion, and by nature, all is impermanence—let alone after a thousand years! Just as I was thinking this, in the blink of an eye, Practitioner Su and the senior Venerables had already flown ahead. I quickly hurried to catch up. Our figures streaked across the dark sky. Ahead, there was a vast radiance emitted by Practitioner Su. This light is the very opportunity for sentient beings with karmic affinity to awaken and be saved. As long as they have the heart to leave suffering behind and follow us into that light, Practitioner Su will send them all to the Western Pure Land. Along the way, although everyone followed Practitioner Su, occasionally someone would pause before catching up again.

"In the darkness, there was a place that possessed its own light. Looking ahead, I realised it was the heavenly realms inhabited by the celestial beings of the Twenty-Eight Heavens and the holy assembly of the Four Sacred Realms. The Bodhisattvas of the Four Sacred Realms and the Buddha-Dharma realm were a world of pure brilliance. For ordinary people, the heavenly realms and the realms beyond the heavens are already very high states of existence, existing in different layers of space. Their spiritual lives have already surpassed the cultivation of ordinary practitioners. Especially in the Four Sacred Buddha-Dharma realms, I had originally thought these were already extremely high levels of cultivation. However, after Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su appeared in the human world, the difference between life in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss and life in the six realms and ten Dharma realms of the human world was clearly and plainly placed before our eyes."

The Radiance of the Sacred Realms

"The life in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is far superior to the original worlds of those sages. Even for beings like those in the Twenty-Eight Heavens and the Four Sacred Realms—which is to say, as the cultivation ability of the holy beings of the ten Dharma realms increases, the light on their bodies and in their environments also increases—even if they possess magnificent Precepts, Concentration, and Wisdom, they have not yet awakened to their true nature. Even if they make vows to enter the Western Pure Land, and even if they chant the Buddha’s name very well, they have no way to enter the Western Pure Land by their own power. Looking around, who else in the Dharma realm of emptiness can help them fulfil their wishes? They still must rely on the help of Practitioner Su. Practitioner Su exists in the human world with a physical body, yet possesses the ability of Dharma Body deliverance, entering the Four Sacred Realms to lead them to rebirth in the Western Pure Land. This is truly an encounter difficult to find in millions of years. Otherwise, even with the highest spiritual life of the ten Dharma realms, they could only remain as they are. Today, the celestial and holy beings are waiting for Practitioner Su to lead them to the West. As we passed by, many celestial and holy beings were already kneeling, waiting for the arrival of Practitioner Su. The opportunity is so precious; I hope that those celestial beings and holy ones who wish to enter the West can successfully enter Practitioner Su’s light and be sent to the Western Pure Land."

A Dying World in the Void

"Without lingering, I hurried to catch up and move forward. I saw a luminous body, flickering on and off. It was an extraterrestrial planet, and it seemed to be running out of energy. On the periphery of that sphere, I saw a small boy. His entire body was wrapped in what appeared to be a silver-white outer garment, with only his two eyes visible. Looking closer, I saw two lines of tears streaming down the boy’s face. I couldn't help but tilt my head to look at him and ask why he was weeping.

"He transmitted a mental note: 'We are all about to be extinguished!'

"I asked: 'What do you mean by extinguished?'

"The boy replied: 'Our energy is almost exhausted. The adults are searching everywhere for energy to survive, but they cannot find any. Many sources are not suitable for us! Because there is not enough energy, some have already fallen ill, and some cannot even get up.'

"Upon hearing this, I immediately told him: 'In the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, there is immeasurable and boundless energy available. Do you want to go there?'

"The boy said: 'Really! I will go and tell everyone.'

"I saw the boy turn his head in a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree circle. After transmitting the thought, he turned his head back in an instant and faced me, saying: 'Okay, we will go with you.'

"I said: 'Hurry and head toward that radiance ahead.'

"No sooner had I finished speaking than I saw the boy vanish in an instant, entering the extraterrestrial planet. Then, that planet flew toward the light of Practitioner Su. The speed of flight was very fast—saving lives was of the utmost urgency!

"The Venerable beside me gestured for me to hurry and follow. Looking ahead, I saw that extraterrestrial planet approach Practitioner Su and then vanish into the sleeves of Practitioner Su as he waved them. Practitioner Su had already sent that planet and those extraterrestrial beings into the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Our team of deliverance continued to fly forward until we returned to the human world, reuniting with the external Bodhisattvas from the cosmos led by Venerable Changren at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. Namo Amituofo."