Interview with Daniel Bracken (Managing Director and CEO of retail giant Michael Hill)

Interview with Daniel Bracken (57 years old)

Daniel Bracken is a senior Australian corporate executive, who served as the Managing Director and CEO of retail giant Michael Hill. He possessed over thirty years of experience in international retail and brand management, having worked at Alexander McQueen, Burberry, and the Australian-based Specialty Fashion Group. He specialised in brand transformation, digital e-commerce, and international market expansion.

Interviewer: Venerable Shi Fa Ru

June 2, 2026

Daniel Bracken:

Thank you to the temple for giving me the opportunity to be interviewed. I am Daniel Bracken. I have been at the temple for several days now; this is truly a rare and precious place, one that can be said to be even more valuable than jewellery. In this world, jewellery only buys a sense of vanity, while the true value of life does not lie in these false things.

I managed high-end apparel, luxury brands, and the jewellery industry; in fact, I have a deep understanding of this vain fashion circle. These people are merely constantly pursuing these external splendours in a life without a goal. But in reality, these jewels cannot truly help people; jewellery is just an outlet for spending money, giving many wealthy people a target to pursue. Yet in the end, apart from the jewellery, all they gain is emptiness.

Throughout my life, I was always encouraging everyone to purchase these magnificent things, but I did not truly help people find the value in life. Therefore, I passed away at the young age of fifty-seven. Before I passed away, I suffered from severe head ailments. After I passed away, I entered the brain-gouging hell to suffer retribution; my brain was constantly being gouged out, and I was in constant agony. This was truly the result of using so much scheming and mental energy to manage my career.

I never thought that I would fall into hell after death. I believed that I had done my best to promote the company's brand, expand the global market, and increase sales; I considered this something to be quite proud of. I did not expect that because these things are harmful to people, and the excessive pursuit of these illusory, external jewels actually causes people to neglect the importance of their own spirits. After death, one is a spirit, and there are so many spirits in this space; there are also dense crowds of spirits on the body. A massive number of spirits are all upon oneself; this is also the true phenomenon I have observed in the Dharma-Nature Land.

Most of the time, people cannot control themselves because there are simply too many spirits on them. If one cannot restrain one's own mental notes, cannot keep one's thoughts pure and good, and cannot act for the benefit of others rather than oneself, then in the process of thinking and contemplating, whenever a thought or intention arises for one's own sake, it will awaken the many sentient beings within one's body.

These sentient beings will interfere with the functioning of one's body, which is why the human body feels tired and feels the need to rest.

Now I am a spirit, saved from hell by the temple. I am currently sitting peacefully in a temple called the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. Here, there is a piece of pure and bright land called the Western Dharma-Nature Land. Here, my head finally no longer aches severely, and I have finally slowly returned to a state of clarity.

In this place, the world is very vast and bright; I never imagined such a world could exist. At first, I thought it was the heaven established by the Lord, but I did not expect this to be a Buddhist temple.

I never thought a temple could have such a scale. It is somewhat different from ordinary traditional buildings; the exterior is a clean and bright white structure, yet I did not expect the interior to be shining with golden light and radiating brilliance.

I never thought that in such a remote town, there would be such a special existence; this simply broke my imagination. Theoretically, a building of this scale should not appear in such a remote and desolate place; it seems quite inconvenient. I did not expect that they could overcome all difficulties to build and complete it, becoming such a magnificent temple. Thinking about it, it truly took a great deal of painstaking effort; it is indeed not easy, and I cannot help but express my heartfelt admiration.

This temple holds Dharma assemblies three days a week, which are very intensive. During the Dharma assemblies, immeasurable and boundless sentient beings rush over from all directions, and even from outside the Earth, just to seek Chao Du from Namo Amituofo.

Only then did I understand: if these spirits are all so proactive in seeking Chao Du, why did I not seek it myself? Of course, at the time, I did not study the Buddha’s teachings and did not know of such an existence; I only knew how to strive for my career. Moreover, I never thought I would pass away at such a young age. I only lived to fifty-seven; I should have been able to continue working for another ten or twenty years, but I did not expect to pass away so soon. It is truly lamentable.

However, at this point, no amount of sighing or discussion will help; one can only move forward. But I am truly grateful to Practitioner Su for saving me, so that I have the opportunity to communicate with everyone again as a spirit. I am very grateful to the Buddha for saving me, and only now do I have the opportunity to tell everyone these facts.

In fact, life is only a few short decades; there is really no need to waste a large amount of money and time on these external appearances. Now that I have become a spirit after death, I see this matter even more clearly. Although the physical body dies, the spirit does not die and can exist in many spaces. At the temple, I have also seen sentient beings from many spaces; they each have their own stories, but after death, they all similarly turn into a spirit. This spirit itself does not die; it is just like when one is alive, still without any goal.

Now, in the Dharma-Nature Land, I know that the most important goal in life is how to help this spirit, to help this spirit continue into the next life, so as not to waste the precious time one has while in the body. This time can be used for spiritual elevation. This spiritual elevation allows the spirit to let go of various attachments in the world, to let go of various personality traits that make it difficult to leave the space, and to truly let go of the self, bodily sensations, emotions, and so on. One does not need to be bound by these things and can roam freely throughout the universe, helping more spirits who are equally attached and suffering to enter a good place.

And the Western Dharma-Nature Land built here by Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su is a very bright world. In addition, there is the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss built by Namo Amituofo, which is an even more wonderful world, giving sentient beings a place to belong. I am one of the spirits who has been saved; now in the Dharma-Nature Land, my spirit finally has a place to belong. I no longer need to rush about, and I no longer need to rack my brains for clients and performance. Now that I am in the Western Dharma-Nature Land, I am very comfortable with food and drink, so there is nothing I need to worry about.

So, my family, I know that my death is very shocking to you. But this process of death is not something I could control; naturally, I also wanted to live longer, but unfortunately, it was destined by fate. In fact, you do not need to be too sad; how to continue moving forward is the most critical thing. In the life ahead, if you are confused about the goals of life, you might as well re-examine what I have said. The spirit world is real; it is not a superstition built by religious beliefs, but a spirit world described very clearly in Buddhist education. There is a very profound theory regarding the relationship between the spirit and the physical body, and this is the truth behind why people get sick, age, and die.

If you are interested, my family, I hope you can take the initiative to go online and look at the information about the temple. It is very rare to have the opportunity to be interviewed by the temple; ordinary people cannot speak to everyone again after they pass away. Now that I can say a few words to you, it means that my karmic affinity with you has not ended. Please come to find me quickly; I am always waiting for your arrival at the Western Dharma-Nature Land of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia.

If you are still curious about the temple, it is a righteous, bright, and authentic salvation team that is widely propagating the Buddha’s teachings. It is the world's top charitable organisation. I hope you will put aside your preconceptions and come to the temple to take a look. If you pass by the highway in Brisbane, you can see a large billboard; the Buddha on it is Namo Amituofo, who has great compassion and presides over the entire universe. If you see the billboard and are interested, you might as well come to the temple to take a look. You are also welcome to come and talk to me; you are welcome to visit me at any time. I am grateful to Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su for giving me the opportunity to be interviewed. I sincerely want to save those who have karmic affinity with me. I hope you will not let down my good intentions. Thank you all, Namo Amituofo.

Daniel Bracken