Interview with David Argue (Renowned Character Actor)

Interview with David Argue in the Western Land of Dharma Nature

David Argue, a renowned Australian character actor, was born in Melbourne. At 16, he was admitted to the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) due to his exceptional acting talent. His career peaked in the 1980s, and he was known for his vibrant, rebellious, and dark-humoured screen presence. His most famous works include playing the young soldier Snowy alongside Mel Gibson in Gallipoli, the villain Whitey alongside a young Nicole Kidman in BMX Bandits, as well as the classics Razorback (1984) and Hercules Returns (1993).

Interviewer: Venerable Fa Hui

2 June 2026

David Argue:

In this lifetime, I possessed unique acting talent, yet I also had obvious flaws: my maverick and unrestrained personality. I disliked being constrained by Practitioner Su and hated being within established frameworks.

If talent was my strength and personality my weakness, I must now admit that the harm and damage my personality caused me far outweighed the help and benefits my talent provided.

Regarding "changing personality traits," I had never heard of any school that placed such importance on it until I arrived at the school established by Namo Amituofo—the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Goombungee, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. Only then did I realise how important changing one's personality traits truly is.

I also never knew that people truly have the ability to turn their fate around. In life, there is no need for arguments or disputes, nor for resentment or dissatisfaction. Everything can be controlled and led by oneself; it all depends on whether one can truly understand the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way. These profound truths were things I had never heard of before. I am very grateful that at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, I have had the opportunity to understand these ultimate truths of life.

At this point, I believe some have already deduced that the key to turning one's fate and abilities around lies in whether one can truly change their personality traits.

What exactly is a personality trait? Specifically, it is the particular tendencies, thoughts, or types of thinking that habitually arise in one's mind when encountering specific situations. This is what is called a personality trait.

For example, when someone hears others being praised while they are not, the thought "Why was he praised and not me?" easily arises. This is a type of personality trait. When someone is told where they went wrong and a feeling of anger habitually arises, this is also a type of personality trait.

Therefore, the concrete manifestation of personality traits, fundamentally, lies in a person's mental notes and thinking. From this perspective, there are as many personality traits as there are mental notes and thoughts. And how many mental notes and thoughts can a person have? They can be said to be ever-changing.

Thus, a person's personality is actually very complex. It is conceivable that completely changing one's personality traits is not an easy task. However, I hope everyone understands that this is not impossible; as long as one uses the right method and has good guidance, it can truly be achieved.

There is now a saviour in the world who has truly achieved this. He has completely and thoroughly changed his personality traits, transforming them into being entirely selfless and no-self. He is Practitioner Su, the head of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, and he is my benefactor.

If Practitioner Su had not rescued me from the Copper Pillar Hell, I would still be suffering there, experiencing the agony of my lower body being incinerated. That was truly an indescribable, excruciating pain; even now, I still feel a lingering fear when I think about it.

However, with the help of Practitioner Su, I have now arrived at the Western Land of Dharma Nature at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. I am now a completely different spirit, without my past eccentric temper, and my heart is filled with peace and serenity. I deeply cherish my current state of mind and hope that my heart can always remain in this peaceful and gentle state.

I am David Argue. At a very young age, I displayed and expressed high talent. I played many roles, and the more famous ones were those with obvious personality flaws, some of which were even chilling villains.

I think that as an actor, the roles one plays also reflect certain true characteristics of one's own personality to some extent; and the personality and characteristics of the role, in turn, affect the actor's own psychological state and temperament. This is a phenomenon I have observed after many years as an actor.

So I wonder, as an actor, does one choose the role, or does the role choose the actor? If we think about this from a more philosophical perspective, I think it is quite interesting. After all, if one says that a person chooses a role, it is difficult to interpret the role well if one does not have such characteristics or traits in one's own personality.

Under this premise, the roles one can get are basically similar to oneself in some way. For example, it is impossible for a refined and elegant person to play a wild and unrestrained character, right? That would clearly be a mismatch. In this sense, saying that a person chooses a role does not seem to be the case.

Conversely, if one says that the role chooses the person, it is the same logic. If the actor arranged to play this role does not match the image and characteristics of the role, then the role cannot be well presented under the actor's interpretation; so if one says "the role chooses the person," it does not seem to be the case either.

I think a more appropriate way to put it is that the personality of the person and the role attract each other; it is like an arrangement in the dark. Now, after attending Practitioner Su's classes in the Dharma-Nature Land, I have understood that all of this operates within karma.

If everything in life flows according to karma, then it is actually proceeding according to one's original fate. If one wants to turn one's fate around, one must "change personality traits" to allow oneself to turn the page. This is a key point I have learned now.

Hearing this, I believe many people still feel very lost about how to change their personality traits. Yes, when I first heard this concept, my heart was also full of question marks. But later I learned that Namo Amituofo is very compassionate and gave people the Buddha-name "Namo Amituofo," which contains the wisdom, compassion, and all the power of Namo Amituofo.

This simple "Namo Amituofo" is so inconceivable. As long as one keeps reciting this Buddha-name, one's personality traits can be subdued and even transformed naturally. This is something I firmly believe in now.

After all, my benefactor, Practitioner Su, followed the teachings of Namo Amituofo and focused on "Namo Amituofo," and later he truly attained the Buddha's path. From my current observation, Practitioner Su has truly obtained the real benefits of the Buddha's teachings, which is to not grow old, not get sick, and the spirit does not die. This is what many people in the world dream of, and it has already been realised in Practitioner Su.

In the world, I have always been a person who does not like to live within frameworks and specific power structures, so some people often feel that I am very maverick, or even have very rebellious thoughts or behaviours. I will not deny such comments; perhaps I am indeed such a person. But what I want to tell everyone is, why did I have such reactions?

Actually, it is because I could never find anyone who could make my heart truly settled and make me feel a real sense of security, and now, after death, I have finally met this person.

Although it is a bit late, I think it is not too late. This person is Practitioner Su, who rescued me from the hells.

Practitioner Su is a Buddha who has realised his true nature and attained Buddhahood. In the spiritual realms, from the perspective of the soul, one can clearly see that Practitioner Su radiates huge golden light. Just like Namo Amituofo, who has never left the sky above the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia for 24 hours, huge golden light is emitted from Practitioner Su.

Of course, the light emitted by Namo Amituofo is indeed more vast than that of Practitioner Su. I must point this out, but from this, one can see that Practitioner Su is indeed a Buddha, just like Namo Amituofo, which is why he can also emit golden light of the highest quality.

When my soul came into contact with Practitioner Su, I felt very surprised, because naturally, there was not a bit of unease, nor a bit of affliction or worry in my heart. Practitioner Su before me is like my parents; no, to be precise, he makes me feel even more at ease than my parents.

That is a special feeling that my soul clearly felt from the bottom of its heart, as if my soul could naturally determine that Practitioner Su is a person who would not cause me any harm.

Under this premise, I feel that whatever Practitioner Su says to me, I can easily listen to. And if Practitioner Su teaches me what I should do, I seem to be willing to follow his words. This is unprecedented in my past life experience! Because I have never met anyone who could make me let go of all my defences.

After all, no matter how intimate a person is, even one's lover or parents, they cannot be completely integrated with oneself. Inadvertently, the other party may cause harm to oneself at some point, perhaps a small look, or an inadvertent word, or even a tone with a special meaning, all of which may cause estrangement between each other.

I really want to understand what the secret is that allows Practitioner Su to bring me this sense of security. After listening to Practitioner Su's lectures many times, I finally understood that it is because a Buddha is such an existence. Every Buddha has saved countless suffering souls, or helped many people in the process; the merits accumulated in this process can naturally allow humans with sensitive awareness, or spirits and souls in the spiritual realms, to naturally feel the compassion of the Buddha and the care for all beings, and then give birth to a sense of security from the bottom of their hearts.

When I knew this, my soul was very excited. Because although I am a famous actor and have very good acting talent, deep down in my heart, I am very afraid of appearing in public places and very afraid of contacting strangers.

Perhaps it is because I am afraid of being hurt, or for some other reason; but no matter what the reason is, the root of it is that I have always lacked a sense of security in my heart. Conversely, it can also be said that I actually do not know how to make others feel a sense of security. Precisely because I do not know how to make others feel at ease, I naturally cannot get a sense of security from others.

This is my own realisation after suffering from loneliness for so many years. And now, when I see Practitioner Su, I finally understand what I should do, which is to do my best to help others, whether it is souls in the spiritual realms or humans in the human world. As long as it is something I can contribute to them, I should give my all and dedicate everything I have to all beings. This is what I should really do, because Practitioner Su does this, which is why he has accumulated immeasurable and boundless merits, making others feel at ease, and also keeping Practitioner Su's heart in total stability.

Listening to Practitioner Su, I learned that in the Buddha's teachings, this state is called "no-mind," which is to have no mind, or it can be said to be an unmoved mind. I yearn for Practitioner Su's ability to do this, so now I am very interested in helping all beings.

As for what to do specifically? After my close observation in the Dharma-Nature Land for these few days, I have understood: that is to be in sync with the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way. Because only those who are in sync with the Universal Principle truly have the ability to help others and themselves.

And the core of the courses taught at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre is to teach us how to make our mental notes, thoughts, and words and deeds all in sync with the Universal Principle and the Right Way. So now I am very focused on "changing personality traits," and I am very serious about reciting "Namo Amituofo" at all times.

Regarding the reason why my soul entered the Iron Bed Hell to suffer punishment after I died, I must be honest with everyone here: it is what is known as sexual desire. In Western countries, unless one is a Christian who strictly adheres to Christian doctrines, there is generally no rejection of premarital sexual behaviour.

As for me, David Argue, I was not a Christian, nor had I ever received such education from others or anywhere else. Therefore, I never knew that this was something wrong. For a long time, I had never truly let go of the pursuit of sexual desire. I always had an obsession with the pleasure of this body in my heart, which is why, after death, my soul entered the Iron Bed Hell to suffer punishment.

I would like to say to my beloved:

Thank you for being with me and for tolerating my personality. I think that for everyone at the end of life, the way of leaving this world will not be too magnificent, and I am no exception. I hope you will not be sad because of my departure, because I am now at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Goombungee, Queensland, Australia, and I am very peaceful and serene in the Western Land of Dharma Nature.

Most importantly, I have found the answer I have been seeking for a long time, which is to change personality traits and to help all people and spirits. It can also be said that the answer to saving the world that I have found is this phrase, "Namo Amituofo". Now I want to share it with you.

I hope you can go to the Brisbane highway, where there is an Amitabha Buddha billboard set up by the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. Besides the Buddha image, it is inscribed with the phrase, "Namo Amituofo". I hope you can go there and take a look; perhaps you will have a different realisation.

This billboard has already saved many souls in the spiritual realms; many of them are lonely wandering spirits and suffering souls in Australia. They have all been saved due to the golden light emitted by the billboard. If you have the opportunity, I hope you will go and see it, and also follow along by reciting this phrase, "Namo Amituofo".

Most importantly, I hope you can come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. This place can solve the problems of human illness, aging, and death. My benefactor, Practitioner Su, has truly achieved the state of not grow old, not get sick, and the spirit does not die; this is something I have witnessed with my own eyes in the Dharma-Nature Land. I hope you can come here and take a look; you will have a very different realisation.

Whether you choose to call first or contact the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre via the internet, it is fine. I am waiting for you in the Dharma-Nature Land.

David Argue