Escaping the Cycle: A Journey to the Western Land

This is a record of an interview with the spirit of Rui Yilang, the father of Lay Practitioner Rui Jufang, who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. This account reflects upon his life and his transition to the Pure Land. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fajing, on July 12, 2024.

Lay Practitioner Rui Yilang speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I still find it hard to believe that I have truly arrived in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Now that my spirit is finally clear and awake, I feel such deep remorse. I repent for not having cherished my human body properly, allowing it to be lost so easily.

The Compassion of Practitioner Su

It was the great compassion of Practitioner Su that reached out to save my spirit. Only then did I have the opportunity to leave suffering behind and escape the cycle of rebirth. I knelt before the Buddha to practise prostrations; with every bow, I felt my mind becoming clearer and more awakened. My heart is filled with such profound gratitude, for I know, beyond any doubt, that I have truly been saved.

When I first received a human body and was born into this world, I was given the chance to live a life in the human realm. Yet, even before I was born, my spirit was already weeping. I could already sense the many spirits waiting for my body to appear in this world, ready to enter it and seek their revenge.

The Illusion of the Human Body

After I was born, my spirit was trapped within that physical form. Gradually, the power of the body overwhelmed me. I lost that sensitivity to space and spirit that I had possessed before I was born. My body was merely the body of an ordinary person, and I lived the life of an ordinary person.

My body was truly as Practitioner Su describes in her Dharma talks—I had no way to master it, not from the moment of birth until the moment of death. When I listened to the Dharma talks, I heard them very clearly. It was only then that I turned back to examine my own life, and I realised that everything was exactly as Practitioner Su had said.

The Truth of Karmic Creditors

Once I saw the truth of my existence clearly, I dared not cling to this world any longer. I hurried to tell the Master that I wanted to go to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. I did not want to suffer any longer; it was truly, truly painful.

During my life, I was fond of smoking, but that was not truly my own desire. At the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, I saw it very clearly: it was my karmic creditors controlling me, making me crave cigarettes every single day so that it would be easier for them to seek revenge against me. In the end, I truly smoked myself into illness.

A Final Plea to My Children

I want to tell my children: do not come back to this world again. It is absolutely terrifying. I have seen the many forces that interfere with us, leaving so many people unable to master their own lives. At the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, one can see these things very clearly. I hope my children can all wake up. We are all getting older, and there is not much time left. Do not desire to remain in this world; flee from it as quickly as you can. If you are careless and fall back into the cycle of rebirth, who knows how long you will have to wait before you have another chance at liberation?

Right now, the Buddha is truly in this world to save people. You must grasp this opportunity firmly and chant the Buddha's name to reach the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Rui Yilang bows in reverence. Namo Amituofo."