Interview with John Flanagan (Renowned Australian Fantasy Novelist, Author of Ranger's Apprentice)

A renowned Australian fantasy novelist, his representative work Ranger's Apprentice is widely popular internationally, with works translated into many languages.

John Flanagan:

Hello everyone, I am John Flanagan. I wonder if you still remember what you were like as a child? Comparing that to who you are now, how much difference is there? Can you see the differences? Beyond appearance and physique, more importantly, there are differences in character, temperament, as well as principles of conduct and values. The meaning behind this represents the state of the soul; this is the most appropriate way I can think of to describe it now.

The soul of an infant is always purer, while the state of the soul in old age is often dim and murky. The reason is that in the process of growing up, one commits mistakes, and committing mistakes causes one's soul to be polluted. This is what I have observed now in the Western Land of Dharma Nature. Therefore, receiving Buddha’s teachings is truly very important, because only Buddha’s teachings can tell people how to maintain the purity and goodness of the soul, and even teach people how to allow a soul that has already been polluted to return to a state of purity and goodness. This is truly the Great Dharma.

I am now at Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Goombungee, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, and the Western Land of Dharma Nature is a pure and bright world located within Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. I am living very well here now. Originally, I hoped to live in this beautiful world forever, but unexpectedly, when Practitioner Su was giving a lecture, she said that the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss is even more beautiful than here. I immediately thought, if I have learned of such a wonderful place and do not go, would that not be a great pity!

I have always believed that good things and news should be shared with others. After all, one person's happiness is only of a limited degree, while the happiness of a group or even more people can elevate happiness. So now, I am also sharing this good news with everyone: the secret to "letting your soul go from old to young" is right here at Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. This is a school established by Namo Amituofo, and its purpose is to be free from aging and sickness, and to possess an eternal spirit. I know it sounds exaggerated, but it is true. I have already witnessed this here in the Land of Dharma Nature, because Practitioner Su here has personally verified this. She He is also a student of Namo Amituofo, and one could say she is a particularly outstanding one. Now she can be considered to have graduated; she has attained Buddhahood and is now a Buddha just like Namo Amituofo.

I have great respect for Practitioner Su because after I died, my soul entered the hells to suffer punishment, and it was Practitioner Su who saved me. At that time, in the hells, my heart was constantly being dug out. This is an extremely cruel torture, and in this hell, I had to repeatedly endure the process of my heart being gouged out. It was simply too cruel!!! I do not know why I had to be treated this way, but I think perhaps it was because I did something wrong, which is why I had to suffer such punishment? This was the question in my heart at that time.

Thanks to Practitioner Su’s compassion, she helped me, and I was led by her to the Western Land of Dharma Nature where I am now. I heard that this is a world established by Practitioner Su after she attained Buddhahood. It is indeed extraordinary and beyond my imagination. Who would have thought that a world where one's soul can be so at ease and peaceful is actually a world filled with lotuses?! This is something I could never have imagined. In short, the Land of Dharma Nature has too many magical aspects, which fill me with surprises.

When I first arrived in the Land of Dharma Nature, my heart was filled with repentance. I longed to know where I had gone wrong. Later, I learned that the reason was that the novels I wrote had harmed others. This was indeed quite surprising to me. After all, my original intention in writing novels was just to help my son, hoping he would get into the habit of reading books. Later, unexpectedly, the novels became very popular with people, and I felt quite good about it.

Since the original intention of creating the novels was not to make money, the content of the novels was relatively high-quality. But I did not expect that many people would have fluctuations in their mental notes after reading the novels I wrote. Among them, many mental notes were not good, kind, or positive, and I have to be responsible for all of this.

It seems that the bigger the impact or the wider the audience, the more incredibly careful you have to be. If there's even a hint of negativity in what you put out to the world, it ends up causing you a huge amount of harm. When you look at it that way, being a bestselling author isn't as easy as it seems.

Actually, this can also be said to be being deluded by "fame." If it were about money, the temptation would not have been that great for me, but when it comes to fame, it is not so simple to truly not be greedy for it. When I discovered that my works were actually very popular with readers, I forgot to be careful about the impact it had on the public. Instead, I felt very happy that I could create works that everyone liked to read.

Now, having listened to the courses offered by Namo Amituofo in the Land of Dharma Nature, I know how important the universal principle and the Truth and righteous path are. Now I know that a person's heart should be pure and good, and there should not be even a little bit of stain. Therefore, if one wants to publish books, it seems the only suitable ones are Buddhist books. After all, for the influence on people to be completely good and positive, the content of the book must be completely in sync with the universal principle, the Truth, and the righteous path. I’ve carefully evaluated all sorts of books, and it seems that nothing else quite compares to the Buddhist books from the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre.

I want to say to my son:

My son, I never thought that your father would end up in the hells after death because of the novels I wrote. This is the consequence I should bear, but I am very lucky to have been saved by Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su. This place is truly not an ordinary place, not only because Namo Amituofo is here, but also because Practitioner Su, a Buddha in the human world, is here. After all, although Namo Amituofo is extremely great, many people cannot see His form with their physical eyes, nor can they hear what He says. However, Practitioner Su has a human body, so she can convey Namo Amituofo’s teachings very directly and effectively.

Seeing that I went to the hells to suffer punishment after I died, you should know that the path of life is actually not so easy to walk. If you are not careful, you will end up in the hells, and that is truly very bitter. Only by understanding what the universal principle, the Truth, and the righteous path are can one avoid falling into the hells.

I hope you can learn more about Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. You can take a look at the Namo Amituofo billboard on the Brisbane highway; this billboard has already saved many suffering spirits. Besides that, Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia also has a website, and you can also look at the information on it.

The fact that the spirit never dies is indeed a concept unfamiliar to many people. I hope that what I have said can give you some understanding. The lifespan of the soul is infinitely long; the only difference is where this spirit ends up.

The Buddha’s teachings at Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre are truly remarkable. They can help us ensure the safety of our souls. If one truly succeeds in learning, one can even achieve no aging and no sickness.

I am waiting for you here in the Western Land of Dharma Nature.

John Flanagan