Healing the Heart, Healing the Illness

This is a record of an interview with the Venerable Morita, who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Dharma-Nature Land. This account reflects upon his life approximately 1,635 years ago. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa Jing, on September 26, 2018.

Venerable Morita speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Morita. I was born in India, and from my earliest memories, I was raised by my grandmother. In those days, she was known as a divine healer. She possessed a profound mastery of various medicinal herbs, using them to treat all manner of ailments. Yet, she was called a divine healer not merely for her knowledge of plants, but because she could also apply supernatural powers to her craft. The efficacy of her healing was nearly one hundred percent.

The skills she possessed were passed down from her own grandmother, and she was also born with innate supernatural abilities. These two aspects—her learned knowledge and her natural gifts—complemented each other perfectly. Throughout her youth, she travelled extensively, treating countless people. She never once accepted a single coin for her services; her motivation was entirely rooted in a heart that genuinely wished to alleviate the suffering of others. Whether it was a disaster area, a region ravaged by war, or a place where infectious diseases were rampant, my grandmother would always appear wherever she was needed. She possessed the healing capacity of ten physicians combined, and to save lives as quickly as possible, she would endure any distance or hardship to reach those in need."

A Legacy of Compassion

"I, too, was born with innate supernatural powers. Many people assumed that I would follow in my grandmother's footsteps and learn her medical techniques. However, I chose not to study her specific methods of healing. While I could see that she was saving a life in the physical realm, I could also clearly perceive how many spirits in the unseen space were being harmed in the process. I saw this with absolute clarity. Although I did not learn her medical arts, I did inherit her spirit of service—the willingness to dedicate oneself entirely to the salvation of others, even at the cost of one's own comfort.

At the age of thirteen, I bid farewell to my grandmother and left my hometown, determined to seek out the true, ultimate method for saving beings. Along the way, many spirits approached me, begging for deliverance. It was heart-wrenching, but I did not yet have the capacity to help them. I had to remain steadfast and continue my journey, knowing that I could only return to save them once I had attained the true power to do so."

The Search for the True Path

"There are countless ways to save people, and every culture and custom has its own unique approach. I travelled to many places to observe these methods. Some practitioners used guided imagery to transport you into another space to treat your illness. Others used mantras to drive away the pain from one's body. Some employed energy infusion, injecting a form of divine, powerful gas into the body to accelerate recovery. Others would make an incision to draw out the impurities from within, then stitch the wound; one only had to endure that momentary pain to achieve complete healing.

I also saw methods involving blood-sucking insects to drain toxic blood, allowing the body to regenerate fresh, clean blood. In some places, they used divination to determine which elements were missing from your life. If you were lacking the element of metal, for instance, you would be instructed to place a metal object in a specific location in your home to slow the progression of your illness or speed up your recovery. I observed all these different techniques, but none of them were what I was truly seeking."

The Master's Silent Test

"Through the recommendation of a traveller, I arrived at a high mountain where it was said a master resided who could heal the sick. I believed that if I could learn his techniques, I would surely be able to save many people. When I reached the gate of the temple, I had not even stepped inside before I was immediately driven away with a broom. I did not understand why they would treat me this way. Yet, I did not give up. I knocked again, hoping for a response. This time, there was no broom, but there was not even the sound of a mosquito. I waited patiently.

For three days and three nights, I received no response. My mind began to churn with questions: 'What exactly is this temple doing? Why can they not open the door for three days?' All sorts of thoughts flooded my brain. Finally, on the seventh day, the temple gate opened. A little novice opened the door and told me, 'You may enter now.' I followed him into the temple and arrived at a pavilion, where an old monk in a kasaya stood with his back to me. The novice informed him that he had brought me in. The master turned around and invited me to sit.

He said to me, 'I knew you would come three days ago. To save sentient beings, one must possess a heart of compassion. No matter how the beings before you treat you, you have no other choice but to embody compassion. When you first arrived, I drove you away with a broom to test you. I wanted to see if you would develop arrogance if beings treated you with harsh words or actions. I saw that you did not give rise to hatred, but instead waited patiently outside. Furthermore, when you knocked again and the door remained closed, it was to teach you that not every being is ready to be saved. This is a matter of Causal Conditions not yet being ripe. If you had continued to pound on the door, you would not have been following the Law of Cause and Effect; fruit picked prematurely is never sweet.

Finally, when the door remained closed for so long, you began to have doubts, wondering what this temple was doing. When you give rise to suspicion toward sentient beings, it becomes difficult to be one with them. You develop unnecessary worries and thoughts, and you cannot maintain a pure heart. I was waiting to see if you had the patience to continue. By the seventh day, I saw your heart gradually calm down, and you were still waiting outside for the gate to open. To deliver beings, one needs exactly this kind of patience—waiting for the Causal Conditions to ripen, at which point the beings will naturally be saved.' I nodded, finally understanding."

The Discipline of the Pure Heart

"The master then took me on a tour of the temple. The architecture was extremely simple, with no elaborate carvings or decorations. He told me, 'Practice lies in gathering one's own heart. If one pursues comfort in the environment or satisfaction for the eyes, one will always be chasing external sensations and will never be able to sever the dust of defilement and gather the heart.' He showed me how the other monks practiced; each was focused on their own work, and none were seen chatting side-by-side. He told me, 'If practice is filled with scattered thoughts and idle chatter, one will never achieve anything. Speaking too much easily leads to creating verbal karma. To keep the three karmas of body, speech, and mind pure, one must speak little and keep the six roots focused on the Buddha-name.'

During the meal, the monastics were dignified and solemn. Each person ate only the amount they needed. They placed each mouthful into their mouths slowly. I thought the food must be incredibly delicious, so I quickly took a bite of my own meal, but it was tasteless. The master explained, 'Practitioners must cultivate the purity of the six roots. If the six roots are easily swayed by the six dusts, they become obscured, and you cannot see the true world before you. If this vegetable had too many seasonings, you would not taste its original sweetness; you would only taste the seasonings. If you ate bitter melon that had been heavily seasoned, you would not taste its original bitterness, nor would you be able to experience the sweetness that comes after the bitterness. The reason people in this world are lost in delusion is that they have too many delusions, attachments, and afflictions. Only by removing all false thoughts and messy thoughts can one break through delusion and attain enlightenment. Therefore, practitioners do not crave the enjoyment of taste, nor do they crave the quantity of food. Eating is merely to satisfy hunger; neither too much nor too little is appropriate. Thus, the monastics here eat only until they are satisfied and then stop, maintaining the purity of body and mind.'

The purity of this place was truly admirable. I requested to stay and practice, as I also wanted to learn the art of saving people. For thirty years, the master taught me only to chant this phrase: Namo Amituofo. Whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, there was only this Namo Amituofo. I brought Namo Amituofo into every pore of my body, chanting until every pore emitted golden light, chanting until my six roots were pure, and finally, chanting until I forgot the six roots entirely. I chanted until the Buddha-name existed naturally within my six roots—not needing to chant for the sake of chanting, but naturally chanting without chanting, and without chanting, yet chanting."

The Science of the Buddha-Name

"This Buddha-name purified every structure of my body, every hair, every pore. The structure of the human body appeared clearly before my eyes. I could see the illness of every person with absolute clarity. My eyes penetrated the barriers of flesh, seeing every meridian, every bone, and every blood vessel. The sentient beings within the body are immeasurable and boundless; within a single pore, there is a universe, and within that universe, there are even more universes. The root of all illness lies in the heart; the heart dictates all causes of disease. I understood then: if you want to heal an illness, you must first heal the heart. Keep this heart purely good and free of thoughts, and naturally, no illness can arise.

I began to use this Namo Amituofo to heal others. I brought this Buddha-name into their bodies, letting it flow from the heart. Every blood vessel became filled with Namo Amituofo, every molecule in their blood became Namo Amituofo, and every organ was enveloped by Namo Amituofo. Finally, it flowed out through every pore, carrying away vast amounts of black, toxic substances. Every part of the body was purified by Namo Amituofo, transforming the body from filth to clarity. Beyond this, I also gave lectures, using the Buddha's sutras to teach and transform the human heart, correcting the negative causes and effects within the body, and teaching people to have right knowledge and right thoughts. One must know that all illnesses arise from the heart. As long as you begin by adjusting the heart and purely chanting Namo Amituofo, removing all false thoughts and evil actions, the illness will naturally be healed.

In that lifetime, I used this Buddha-name to heal the sick and deliver sentient beings. After decades of practice, I attained a body of purity, free from defilement, and was reborn in the Western Pure Land by chanting Namo Amituofo."

A Mission Across the Universe

"Now, I follow Practitioner Su every day to travel through the universe to perform Chao Du for sentient beings. Every day is a fresh, wonderful day. Every day, I see spirits across the entire universe being saved, and every day, my heart is filled with joy. People in the world say that helping others is the foundation of happiness, and happiness is the enemy of all demonic illnesses. If you wish to attain true happiness, you should learn to possess a heart of compassion and a desire to help others. True help is to assist people in being reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss; that is the most ultimate form of liberation. The fundamental happiness that people seek is found in learning to be compassionate and saving sentient beings.

Practitioner Su sent me to the space that belongs to me. The space before me is vast and wide, consisting of many realms that I have karmic affinities with. Some of the planets are ones I have stepped upon before. One of them is a planet suffering from great illness; the beings there all harbor evil thoughts. There is not one among them who is not sick. Negative causes naturally bring about negative consequences, and this planet itself looks particularly ugly. Today, I brought the good thoughts of the Buddha-Dharma into this planet, spreading the name of Namo Amituofo to every corner, teaching the spirits there to chant and seek purity. Every time I travel through the universe, I visit this planet. Once, twice, three times—gradually, the spirits on this planet began to change their evil thoughts. They were delivered by Namo Amituofo, single-mindedly chanting Namo Amituofo. After one day, two days, three days, and up to seven days, gradually, spirits began to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. I am grateful to the great compassion of Namo Amituofo, and I am grateful to the compassion of Practitioner Su. Namo Amituofo."

Interview recorded by the disciple of the Buddha, Shi Fa Jing.