Beyond the Realm of Technology

This is a record of an interview with Steve Jobs, who sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, observing the truth of the universe under the guidance of Practitioner Su. This account reflects upon his life and his current spiritual transformation. Recorded by the chief writer, Venerable Haize, on September 1, 2017.

Steve Jobs speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. These recent sessions of Chao Du have truly taught me a profound and invaluable lesson. It is exactly as Practitioner Su has said: the number of beings is immeasurable and boundless; one can never finish saving them all!

In the human world, governments need to periodically calculate population statistics to control and understand the flow of human resources, as well as birth and death rates. However, the work of deliverance is truly beyond calculation. Just the fact that every single being carries within them an immeasurable and boundless number of attached spirits is enough to make one feel completely overwhelmed. I suppose it is because my current perspective is so much wider and broader that I can perceive this reality. In the past, when I looked at a person, I saw only one individual. Now, if I am to count 'people,' I see one; but if I am to count 'beings,' it is far more than just one person."

The Hidden Drivers of Human Desire

"I am not yet able to see what Practitioner Su describes—that within a single pore of the skin, there exists an entire family, a group of beings, or even an immeasurable and boundless number of spirits. However, I can now understand that a single pore is like a gateway; it can breathe, it can communicate with the outside world, and it can serve as a passage for countless beings to enter and exit. This is already far beyond anything I could have ever imagined in my previous life.

It is no wonder that all electronic products must be updated so rapidly to satisfy the needs of the consumer. It is because the beings attached to a person are constantly moving in and out. The human host has no autonomy; they are being manipulated by these spirits in their preferences, their speech, and their actions. Consequently, the preferences of these beings become the preferences of the human, and the habits of daily life—what they eat, wear, and how they live—become an extension of these spirits. Therefore, for a single person, a mobile phone must possess a vast array of functions just to satisfy the diverse and conflicting needs of the many beings attached to them."

A Legacy of Regret

"It is no wonder that people sometimes say, 'He has become a completely different person.' It is because they have been taken over by attached spirits. These spirits have altered their lifestyle habits, leaving only the physical shell of the original person. Over time, even the person's appearance and facial features will change! This is entirely predictable. Whether they change for the better or for the worse depends on the person's own karmic fortune. Perhaps they are transformed into someone kind, diligent, and hardworking—that would be a good thing, as at least they would not be creating further negative karma.

However, if they become violent, aggressive, argumentative, impatient, or intolerant, that is a disastrous outcome! Not only are they creating negative karma, but they are also dragging everyone around them into an endless abyss of confusion and suffering. This is something I must feel deeply ashamed of and repent for. One of the primary goals of the Apple iPhone was to satisfy the customer's constant craving for novelty and change. We were driven to release products that were more convenient, more attractive, and impossible to put down. At the time, everyone in the company, from the top down, was constantly being conditioned: 'Fast, new, convenient, irreplaceable.' We tracked the performance of every salesperson, every department, and every retail store. We held meetings, conducted reviews, made improvements, planned, and then reviewed again. Day after day, year after year—this was truly a cruel process. It not only exhausted the staff but also caused customers to become addicted, their bodies and minds controlled by the phone, losing their original nature of being natural, easy-going, flexible, and interactive."

The Virtual Abyss

"They stopped observing the changes in the people and things around them, causing their lives to become rigid, dull, and spiritually empty. They lost their friends and, in a vicious cycle, threw themselves into the illusory world of mobile phones and computers, growing further and further apart from their families and the people around them. Heavens! I dare not think about it any further. At the time, I was single-mindedly focused on achieving my goals. I worked incessantly, even when I was critically ill, dragging my body to the office. Now I know how foolish that was. I harmed others and myself; I harmed society. If that path had continued, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Alas, let us not dwell on that. The most important thing now is how to purify the human heart, to turn this heart that has lost its way back to its original, proper state. I no longer have a physical body. The soul I possess now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and every day I am led by Practitioner Su in the morning walking meditation and deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, saving an immeasurable and boundless number of beings. This is an inconceivable reality."

Beyond the Limits of Science

"Every day, there are new discoveries—an entirely new world that far transcends the human brain. It is truly a realm that surpasses technology and science. Given my own self-expectations and achievements when I was in the human world, and now, having shed the constraints of the physical body, I possess a much sharper observation and reaction. When I say these things, it is not because I am imagining them out of thin air. Imagining things out of thin air is what we call a 'virtual, illusory world.' Becoming addicted to that virtual world is a major problem for young people today, a problem that the education system must face and improve upon immediately.

What I am speaking of now is the morning deliverance, which is a truly existing scene. It is only because the physical eyes cannot see it that it needs to be described and explained so that people can believe and accept it. Yet, no matter how much I explain, it remains abstract and difficult for most to understand. For instance, there are many creatures constantly emerging from the ground, including heavy, dark ghosts, earthworms still wriggling their bodies, and soft insects still in the act of mating."

The Truth of Karmic Retribution

"Practitioner Su told me that if a person in the human world is fond of lust and promiscuity, and if they are still thinking of such things at the moment of death, their next life will be as a grub. They will spend their entire life constantly mating and producing, mating and producing, until they die. And because of their habits, they may very well be reborn as a grub again in the next life. What Practitioner Su says is the truth. Looking at it this way, it is truly a terrifying prospect. It turns out that if people are not taught, the things they do are precisely what create negative karma, and they are living in a miserable state without even knowing it.

People truly need education in the Buddha’s teachings and education on the laws of karma and cause and effect. This is an urgent necessity for our nation and society today. The return on investment for improving this is well worth the effort. Although it is not something that can be seen in the short term, it is absolutely something that any boss, supervisor, or teacher with a conscience—anyone willing to contribute to the virtuous atmosphere of human society—should do."

A Final Reflection

"In short, there are different spaces and different lessons; learning is endless. I am grateful for the guidance of Practitioner Su, which has given me the opportunity to see, witness, and learn these facts. These things should be written down and spoken of so that many people can know them. Only then can we help people curb their endless self-expansion and inflation. When they encounter the reality of their environment, because they lack actual, substantive skills, they only end up feeling frustrated, losing confidence, retreating, escaping, or giving in to depravity. In severe cases, they may even commit acts that harm themselves and others. This is also a tactic that the Demon Realm is good at using. Everyone, do not be deceived! You should return to reality, face it, improve, and learn. Technology products should only play a supporting and auxiliary role. Practitioner Su, thank you! Today has been another fulfilling and useful day."

Written by Steve Jobs

Namo Amituofo.