From the Limelight to the Pure Land: The Journey of Chen Xiaoxu

Namo Amituofo. I am Dharma Master Miaozhen, known in my worldly life as Chen Xiaoxu. Many of you may not recognise the name Miaozhen, but you likely remember Chen Xiaoxu from mainland China. In those years, I was a household name in the entertainment industry. I brought the character of Lin Daiyu to life, portraying her with such authenticity that the audience felt she was real. This was because, deep within my own nature, I possessed the same spirit as Lin Daiyu—a delicate, fragile exterior masking a core that was rigid, stubborn, and unyielding. I had a fierce, competitive nature that I usually kept hidden, but the role of Daiyu allowed that hidden intensity to emerge. It was both a coincidence and a subtle arrangement of fate. Yet, when the curtain fell and the play ended, that very role became the catalyst that led me into an entirely different life.

The Fading Echoes of a Worldly Stage

While the role of Lin Daiyu brought me great fame, life does not remain at a peak forever. The roles that followed did not always meet my expectations, and the public had already typecast me. As invitations dwindled, I gradually withdrew from the entertainment industry to forge a new path in advertising design. During this time, my personal life was also filled with ups and downs. After marriage, I discovered that it was not that we were bad people, but rather that we chose to separate and bless one another so that we could each find a better life partner. I kept myself busy, hoping to forget the past and start anew. My eventual remarriage was a choice made because we were both willing to accompany each other through the remaining years of our lives.

Fate, however, always presents us with profound lessons when we least expect them. My physical strength began to decline, and although I was aware of changes in my breast, I chose to ignore them because I did not want to tarnish the beautiful image I had cultivated. By the time I confirmed it was breast cancer, my life had plunged into a dark abyss. I refused all conventional medical treatment and instead took refuge in the Buddha’s gate, shaving my head to become a nun. I faced the final chapter of my life as a female monastic, and it was then that I received the Dharma name Miaozhen. Yes, the short, beautiful, and fleeting life of Chen Xiaoxu had reached its end, and it was Dharma Master Miaozhen who continued the journey of life that remained.

The Bitter Descent into the Shadows of Suffering

I felt powerless, unable to eat, frail, and wracked with pain. I suffered from fevers and could not sleep. This physical body was consuming the spirit of Miaozhen. Eventually, my physical strength was completely exhausted, and I could no longer struggle against the passage of time. My heartbeat and breathing grew rapid, then gradually slowed down. I thought of my parents and knew that many of my dear friends and fellow monastics were by my side. I wanted to bid them farewell, but I had no strength to speak. My half-opened eyes grew increasingly blurred until I finally closed them. With one last breath, I departed from the human world that had accompanied me through my growth.

What followed felt like a nightmare. After learning the Dharma, I understood the suffering of the six realms of rebirth. By that point, I had tasted the bitterness of illness—it was truly unbearable. I had thought that the suffering of illness would end with death, but I did not realise that it was merely the beginning of another nightmare. In truth, while I was still ill, my spirit had already entered the hells to be judged and punished. The moment my life ended, my intermediate state spirit was cast directly into the hells to continue serving my sentence. Alas, this past is too painful to recall, yet it must be told as a warning.

The Unveiling of Karmic Truths

I experienced the heart-gouging hell. In my pursuit of success in the entertainment industry, I had used various methods to get ahead, even harming my peers at the time to secure better roles. I thought no one knew, but after arriving in the hells, every single action was recorded with absolute clarity. The hells are filled with such immense suffering. Without a physical body, you cannot die, yet the pain is so intense that you lose consciousness, only to be revived by cold water to endure the same agony again. This cycle repeats endlessly, a process required to repay the sins I had created.

Until one day, I heard someone calling: "Chen Xiaoxu, Chen Xiaoxu, where are you? Please come out!" Before I could even respond, a golden light brought me to a bright, pure, and fragrant place. Where was I? It was the Hsiang Kuang room of Practitioner Su. In my dazed state, I awoke and was sent to the Western Land of Dharma Nature. After a period of repenting, chanting the Buddha's name, and purifying my heart, and through the Chao Du performed by Practitioner Su, I was finally sent to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

A Call to the Light of Infinite Compassion

This transition was more dramatic than any play I ever performed. The bodies of Chen Xiaoxu and Miaozhen died, but the spirit did not! It was only through the rescue of Practitioner Su that my spirit could reach the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. I know that after I passed away, my teacher and many friends and fellow practitioners helped me by chanting for my liberation. I am deeply grateful to you all! However, that alone could not reverse the heavy karmic debts and the retribution I had to face. My cancer was the severe retribution for harming the lives of other women in past lives, and I suffered the consequences in this lifetime. My suffering in the hells was the retribution for the sins I committed in this world. These laws of karma and cause and effect were clearly visible in my own experience. I hope you will all take this as a warning! Do not commit evil deeds, for there will be painful retribution. In truth, people are constantly suffering within this whirlpool of the six realms of rebirth. Today, thanks to the life-saving grace of Practitioner Su, I am able to share this story.

Practitioner Su is truly a Buddha or Bodhisattva who saves suffering spirits from the cycle of rebirth, which is why everyone respectfully calls him Su Fo. He is truly worthy of this title! Without the skills and virtues of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, how could one rescue beings from hell, guide them to repent, listen to the Dharma, chant the Buddha's name, and send them to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss? Today, the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre is building the Mituo Village. Practitioner Su can truly help you; he can send you to the Western Land if you are willing to believe in Amitabha Buddha and willing to believe in Practitioner Su. You can be saved! The ultimate dream of every practitioner is to reach the Western Pure Land, and the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre can help you fulfil that dream. I, Chen Xiaoxu and Miaozhen, bless you all to be reborn together in the Western Pure Land! Namo Amituofo.