From the Limelight to the Pure Land: The Journey of Venerable Miao Zhen

The Fragile Mask of Fame

Namo Amituofo. I am Venerable Miao Zhen, known in my worldly life as Chen Xiaoxu. Many of you may not recognise the name Venerable Miao Zhen, but you likely remember the Chen Xiaoxu who was a household name in mainland China. During my time in the entertainment industry, I was fortunate enough to portray the character Lin Daiyu. I did not merely act the part; I brought her to life, embodying her spirit with such authenticity that the audience felt her very soul.

In truth, this was not merely a coincidence, but a profound arrangement of karmic affinity. Deep within my bones, I possessed the same nature as Lin Daiyu: a fragile exterior masking a core of rigidity, stubbornness, and an unyielding spirit that refused to admit defeat. This hidden intensity, which I often suppressed in my daily life, found its perfect outlet through the character of Daiyu. However, when the curtain fell and the play concluded, that role became the catalyst that propelled me into an entirely different life.

The Unfolding of Karmic Destiny

While the role of Lin Daiyu brought me great fame, life does not offer a permanent peak. As time passed, subsequent roles in the entertainment industry failed to meet expectations. Many people had typecast me, and the invitations ceased. Consequently, I gradually withdrew from the limelight to forge a new path in advertising design. During this period, my emotional life was also filled with ups and downs. After marriage, I realised that it was not that we were bad people, but that we chose to separate to bless each other with the possibility of finding more suitable life partners. I filled my days with work, hoping to forget the past and start anew. My eventual remarriage was a choice made because we were both willing to accompany one another through the remaining years of our lives.

Destiny, however, often presents us with a profound lesson when we least expect it. My physical strength began to decline steadily. In truth, I had noticed changes in my chest, but I chose to ignore them, unwilling to alter the beautiful image I had cultivated. By the time I confirmed it was breast cancer, my life had suddenly plunged into a dark abyss. I refused all medical treatment, chose to take refuge in the Buddha’s gate, and shaved my head to become a nun. I faced the final chapter of my life as a Venerable, and it was then that I took the Dharma name Miao Zhen. Yes, the short and beautiful life of Chen Xiaoxu was like a fleeting flower, and in its final stages, Venerable Miao Zhen continued the journey.

The Descent into the Abyss

I felt powerless, unable to eat, frail, and wracked with pain. I suffered from fevers and could not sleep. This physical body was consuming my spirit. Finally, my physical strength was exhausted; I could no longer struggle against the passage of time. My heartbeat and breathing gradually accelerated, then slowed down. I thought of my parents and knew that many of my fellow practitioners and friends were by my side. I wanted to bid them farewell, but I lacked the strength to speak. My vision, half-blurred, slowly faded until I closed my eyes. With one final 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 existence. By this point, I had tasted the full bitterness of illness—it was truly unbearable. I had assumed 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 consciousness had already entered the hells to be judged and punished. Once the verdict was delivered, my life ended, and my intermediate state consciousness went directly into the hells to continue serving my sentence.

The Golden Light of Salvation

Alas, this past experience is too painful to recall, yet it must be told. I was sent to 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 good 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 suffering! Without a physical body, one cannot die, yet the pain is so intense that one faints, only to be revived by cold water to endure the same agony again. This cycle repeats endlessly, serving as the only way to repay the sins I had committed.

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 Fragrant Light Chamber 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, I was delivered by Practitioner Su and sent to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

A Path to the Pure Land

This transformation was more dramatic than any play I had ever performed. The physical bodies of Chen Xiaoxu and Venerable Miao Zhen 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 deliverance. I thank you all! However, that alone could not reverse the heavy karmic debts I had accumulated. My cancer was the severe retribution for harming the lives of other women in past lifetimes, and I received that retribution in this life. My suffering in the hells was the retribution for the sins I committed in this human world. These laws of karma and cause and effect were clearly visible in my own experience. I hope everyone will take this as a warning! Do not commit evil deeds, for there will be painful retribution. In truth, people have been suffering in this whirlpool of the six realms of existence for a very long time.

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! Beyond the skills and virtues of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, how else could one rescue beings from the hells, guide them to repent, listen to the Dharma, chant the Buddha’s name, and send them to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss? Now, the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre is building the Amitabha Village. Practitioner Su can truly help everyone; he can send you to the Western Pure Land. As long as you are willing to believe in Namo Amituofo and are willing to believe in Practitioner Su, you can be saved. The ultimate dream of every person who chants the Buddha’s name is to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre can help you fulfil that dream. I, Chen Xiaoxu and Venerable Miao Zhen, bless you all to be reborn together in the Western Pure Land! Namo Amituofo.

This interview was recorded by the Buddha's disciple, Venerable HaiZe.