Interview with Estelle Asmodelle (Australian polymath and transgender activist, physicist, abstract artist)

Interview with Estelle Asmodelle in the Western Land of Dharma Nature

An Australian multidisciplinary artist and astrophysicist, she was also one of the most representative pioneers for transgender rights in Australian history. Her life spanned fashion, art, science, and human rights, and she was renowned for her courage in breaking conventions and her versatile achievements.

Interviewer: Venerable Fa Hui

June 2, 2026

Estelle Asmodelle:

As a transgender woman, I was born with male physiological structures, yet after surgery, I came to possess female physiological structures.

The reason I decided to undergo gender reassignment surgery was that I had always considered myself a woman. Regarding what I believed to be right, I would strive to do it, and I was not afraid of the gaze of others; I fought for my rights, and I did not feel there was anything wrong with that.

In this life, my sexual orientation was also towards women; that is, I liked women rather than men. As a transgender woman who was also a lesbian, I certainly received much criticism and disapproval. However, I did not care about the gaze of others, nor would I pay any heed to it. I believed that my own body should be directed by me; why should I be swayed by the gaze and comments of others? Therefore, I have always strode forward on the path I felt was right.

In this life, I lived to be sixty-one years old. I am very grateful to have met my partner, and in the final period of my life, I am also grateful that she was able to accompany me through it. I know that my death has made those who care about me very sad, but I want to tell everyone now that you should feel happy for me. Although my body has died, my spirit is now doing very well; I can say that I have never felt this good, feeling very peaceful, serene, and full of joy.

I am now in the Western Land of Dharma Nature at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Goombungee, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, and these messages are what I am sending from the Western Land of Dharma Nature. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to be interviewed and to tell everyone what I want to say; I hope to let everyone know about my experiences after death.

After death, my spirit actually went to the hells, specifically the heart-gouging hell and the iron-bed hell. In the heart-gouging hell, my heart was relentlessly gouged open; while in the iron-bed hell, my lower body was subjected to cruel torture. This process of punishment was repeated continuously, because in the hells, once the organ being punished is destroyed, it naturally recovers and is subjected to the punishment again.

This process was extremely painful, and I wailed incessantly. While being punished, I actually harboured much resentment in my heart, because I did not know what I had done wrong to deserve such treatment.

After listening to the sutras and hearing the Dharma in the Land of Dharma Nature, I realised that everything operates according to the laws of karma and cause and effect. The core concept of the Law of Cause and Effect is actually very simple: everything is a result of one's own actions. So, what exactly did I do to end up in the heart-gouging hell and the iron-bed hell?

Actually, at first I did not understand, but as the Buddha-light shone continuously upon me in the Land of Dharma Nature, I felt my wisdom slowly being awakened, and my heart becoming increasingly soft. By listening to Practitioner Su give teachings, I learned that one should abide by the universal principle and the Truth and the righteous path throughout one's life. If one violates the universal principle and the Truth and the righteous path, one will cause harm to oneself.

When I was alive, I often had negative thoughts and mental notes in my heart, which led me to enter the heart-gouging hell to suffer retribution. Entering the iron-bed hell was because I had been addicted to the satisfaction of bodily desires for many years—more accurately, I was addicted to the lust of the body.

In terms of lust, whether it is man for man, man for woman, woman for man, or woman for woman, regardless of the form, if one's every thought and intention, or even one's speech and actions, are based on considerations of lust, then no matter how it is beautified, or how beautiful or pleasant the reasoning may be, it ultimately creates sins according to the laws of karma and cause and effect, and one will suffer evil retribution.

I never understood these principles before, so all along, the decisions I made in my thoughts and actions were actually revolving around my own body.

Now, having listened to the lectures given by Practitioner Su, I know that if one considers the body, or even is attached to one's own body, it is actually contrary to the universal principle and the Truth and the righteous path. My attachment in this regard could be seen as very strong from my insistence on undergoing gender reassignment surgery. The stronger the attachment, the greater the degree of my deviation, and the greater the degree of my deviation from the universal principle.

When I was alive, in the Land of Dharma Nature, I could clearly see that as a transgender woman, I had been working very hard to fight for the rights of our community. In the past, I felt that what I was doing was correct; however, now in the Land of Dharma Nature, I have realised that any struggle for the rights and interests of this body is not worth encouraging, because it will cause tremendous harm to our spirits.

Of course, every person should actually be respected. Knowing how to respect others and tolerate the differences between others and oneself is a basic quality that everyone should have. However, this does not mean that all actions taken for the rights of one's own body, or out of planning for this body, are correct.

Regarding what is right and what is wrong, I know that many people in the world have their own unique set of views. In most cases, I think most people believe they are correct, and no one will accept the accusations of others.

As for the question of who is right and who is wrong, I think there is no need to argue, as it simply comes down to everyone's different perspectives and subjective consciousness. However, looking at it from the perspective of the Buddhist education I have received at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, it could be said that everyone is right, but everyone is also wrong.

Why? Because everyone has their own subjectivity, views, positions, and angles of approach, so everyone can actually be said to be right; however, everyone can also be said to be wrong, because when what one thinks, says, and does cannot produce real benefit or help for oneself or others' spirits, then it is equivalent to being wrong.

Speaking of this, I think some people may still not be able to understand. This is because everyone is not clear about the concepts of the laws of karma and cause and effect and that spirits will be reincarnated. If everyone knew that spirits could go to various different places after death—some good, some bad—they would understand: if one's thoughts, speech, and actions while alive are contrary to the universal principle and the Truth and the righteous path, it will cause the spirit to be polluted.

The originally pure spirit will thus become tainted and become increasingly dim and lightless. The more severely polluted the spirit, the more likely it is to go to a bad place after death; while the more bright and translucent the spirit, the more likely it is to go to a more beautiful place. This is all determined by everyone's thoughts, speech, and actions while alive; that is to say, it is all in one's own hands, and everyone should be responsible for their own spirit.

In the Land of Dharma Nature, I can clearly see the process of this life. I was surprised to find that when I was a baby, my spirit emitted a very bright, clean, and translucent white light. As I grew older, my thoughts had more and more deviations, that is, they were contrary to the universal principle and the Truth and the righteous path; the longer this process continued, the more turbid and dim the originally pure white light of the spirit became. After I underwent gender reassignment surgery, I could see very clearly at that time that my spiritual state had become very turbid because of it.

Therefore, if I were to comment on whether what I did in the past was right or wrong, I would not say I was right, nor would I say I was wrong. I can only say that the facts prove that from a spiritual perspective, my actions did indeed cause great harm and burden to my own spirit.

What happens when the spirit becomes tainted? I clearly learned this from the changes in my spirit over the few days since I arrived at the Land of Dharma Nature. When I first arrived, my spirit had just left the heart-gouging hell and the iron-bed hell to come to the Western Land of Dharma Nature; at that time, my spirit was very weak and painful, and the light it emitted was extremely turbid and dim.

After resting and recuperating in the Land of Dharma Nature for these few days, under the illumination and shining of the Buddha-light, my spirit slowly recovered. By now, I have observed that the state of my spirit has become increasingly bright and translucent. Although there is still a distance from the spiritual state I had when I was born, it is already much better than when I first arrived at the Land of Dharma Nature.

These two different spiritual states have a very big difference in the feeling of the spirit. In the turbid spiritual state, I could feel that my spirit was very dull, depressed, and painful, as if it were bound by something, feeling heavy pressure and burden, as if the entire spirit were being suppressed.

However, by now, my spirit is becoming more and more bright and translucent. The most intuitive feeling is that I feel my whole heart has been opened, as if some invisible bondage had been cut off layer by layer. The things that were originally wrapped around me layer by layer seem to have been peeled away layer by layer, making me feel very relaxed. This kind of relaxation makes me emit a natural joy from the depths of my spirit.

I am very grateful for these changes; I know this is brought to me by the magical power of the Land of Dharma Nature. After some understanding, I realised that the magical power possessed by the Western Land of Dharma Nature has its root in the music that is transmitted anytime and anywhere in the air of the Land of Dharma Nature.

This music is very simple, and the content is only six characters, which is "Namo Amituofo". The reason I think this is the source of the magical power of the Land of Dharma Nature is that when I tried to recite this "Namo Amituofo", it actually made my spirit clearly feel a very subtle purification effect. That is, under the power and efficacy of this Buddha-name, I felt my spirit become a little more translucent and bright. Although the degree is very subtle, it is a real change that occurred.

I was very pleasantly surprised, and from then on, I have been reciting this "Namo Amituofo" well at all times. And now, in the lectures given by Practitioner Su, I have discovered that reciting this "Namo Amituofo" can also lead to rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This is really such good news, because I heard that it is an even more beautiful world than the Western Land of Dharma Nature where I am now; it is a Buddha-land established by Namo Amituofo.

I am very grateful, very grateful to my benefactor, Practitioner Su of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, for it was He who saved my suffering spirit from the heart-gouging hell and the iron-bed hell to the Western Land of Dharma Nature. I am very grateful to Practitioner Su; for His kindness, I really do not know how to repay it.

But now I hear Practitioner Su say that His wish is to be able to save more spirits and help more human beings. So I think, since I want to repay His kindness, I should also take Practitioner Su's wish as my own wish.

So now, I have a goal that is completely different from when I was alive. This goal is no longer for my own body, no longer limited to a small scope, but extended to the whole of Australia, and even more countries, and even the whole earth, the whole world, and even the entire Dharma Realm; that is, to help the people and spirits within these ranges to obtain deliverance. More specifically, it should be said to help them all be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

I think this goal is very sacred and remarkable. In the past, I had never thought of such a great thing, but now, under the blessing of the Buddha's power, I do not know why a force suddenly surged from the depths of my heart. A compassionate voice came from the air and told me: "Child, that is the power of kindness and compassion that is inherent in your heart; that is the Buddha-nature in your heart that has never been extinguished."

I asked this voice: "May I ask who you are?"

This voice answered me: "I am Namo Amituofo, and you can also be Namo Amituofo."

I, Estelle Asmodelle, after hearing the answer given by the Buddha, could not help but kneel and weep bitterly, prostrating to Namo Amituofo, and thanking Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su for saving my suffering spirit, and also letting me understand that I am also a Buddha. From now on, I vow to follow Namo Amituofo to save and help beings well.

My primary goal now is to diligently learn the wisdom taught to us by Namo Amituofo. The specific method is to attend the courses established by Namo Amituofo, where the compassionate Practitioner Su explains the teachings to us. The reason Practitioner Su is qualified to explain the wisdom of Namo Amituofo is that Practitioner Su was a student of Namo Amituofo in the past. It is precisely because Practitioner Su followed the teachings of Namo Amituofo that they were able to attain Buddhahood and are now a Buddha in this world.

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to attend classes at the school established by Namo Amituofo. The content of these courses is not something one can hear elsewhere; rather, it tells everyone how to truly ensure the safety of their soul. The timeframe considered is absolutely not just the short few decades or one or two hundred years of a human life, but the one thousand, ten thousand, or even one hundred million years that a spiritual life must experience.

Such precious courses are unique in this world and can only be encountered at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Goombungee, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.

I heard Practitioner Su say that the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre has also set up Namo Amituofo billboards on the highways in Brisbane. In the Dharma-Nature Land, my mental note was triggered, and I immediately saw the situation at the location of the Namo Amituofo billboard.

I did not know until I looked, and after seeing it, I was greatly astonished. Because at the location of the billboard, a massive golden light was actually emanating from it, and many, many suffering souls in Australia were saved because they were illuminated by the Buddha-light.

I was very moved after seeing this, and I felt that being an Australian is truly so fortunate, to be able to be so close to Namo Amituofo and have the opportunity to receive the help of Namo Amituofo.

I want to tell my beloved, I hope you will not be sad for me. I am grateful that we were able to meet in this lifetime. I must now admit that many of my past concepts were actually too narrow, and I considered too much for myself. I do not blame my past self, because I know that at that time, I was just an ignorant child who took the wrong path because I did not have the opportunity to receive Buddhist education. However, being able to meet you on this mistaken journey, I still feel that it was a beautiful thing.

Now I hope that this beauty can continue, and I hope you can feel happy that I am now able to be saved in the Dharma-Nature Land. I hope you can come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre to meet me, and I also hope that you can be helped by Namo Amituofo just as I have been.

Most importantly, Namo Amituofo can help our souls achieve purification and teach us how to let our souls return to the pure, pristine, and good state, free from pollution, as they were when they were first born. Regarding many things in the world, I think I do not need to say much more to you, but I only hope that you can come here once and give your soul a possibility; this will astonish you.

I am different now from the past; the joy, happiness, and sense of peace from the bottom of my heart make me very grateful and content. I hope you can also live as happily as I do. Whether it is calling the temple or searching for information about the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre online, in short, I am waiting for you here.

Estelle Asmodelle