Interview with Robyn Woodhouse (Renowned Australian Female Track and Field Athlete)

Interview with Robyn Woodhouse in the Western Land of Dharma Nature

A renowned Australian female track and field athlete, who won the gold medal in the women's high jump with a record-breaking performance at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (held in Perth, Australia), and subsequently won a bronze medal at the 1966 games. She also represented Australia at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Robyn Woodhouse:

I am Robyn Woodhouse. Compared to the fear and unease I felt when I first arrived in the Dharma-Nature Land, I now feel very settled and peaceful in my heart. I am deeply grateful to have arrived in this bright and beautiful world, and if possible, I wish to reside here forever.

However, I heard Practitioner Su mention in class that rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is a very important matter. Practitioner Su is the benefactor who saved me from the hells; I cannot ignore his words, so I now have a wish, which is to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

In class, I learned that one must diligently recite "Namo Amituofo" and also make a vow to save beings in order to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Regarding the matter of "saving beings," it is still relatively unfamiliar to me. If it means doing charity, making donations, or community service, I can understand it to some extent. But from what Practitioner Su said, saving beings is not that simple; it is about wishing from the heart to help humans and all beings in the spiritual realms to leave suffering and gain happiness, and the best way to do this is to help them be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

From this perspective, those who can be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss are only those who truly wish for all beings to be reborn there, and who are also willing to be reborn there themselves. One must satisfy both of these conditions to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

This is what I have understood so far. Regardless, I am very grateful that my spirit can now listen to Practitioner Su's teachings on the lotus seat in the Dharma-Nature Land and live a life without worries. The Dharma-Nature Land is truly a very special place; music is always playing in the air, and the content is only this "Namo Amituofo"; and in the Dharma-Nature Land, there is a huge golden light shining everywhere at any time; it is truly a beautiful light, and my spirit enjoys the feeling of being bathed in the Buddha-light.

Regarding the "Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way," this is a concept I only understood after coming to the Dharma-Nature Land. It turns out that everyone in the world, and even all life on more distant planets, no matter where they are in the universe or what their status is, must follow the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way. More precisely, no one can escape the influence of the Universal Principle, because this is the highest principle of the universe's operation.

The difference lies in whether a person understands these principles. For those who do not understand, they do not know how to follow them. If their words, actions, or even mental notes violate the Universal Principle, they must pay the price and suffer the evil consequences and bitter fruits. For those who understand, they are better able to regulate their mental notes, words, and actions. If one can be completely in sync with the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way, it means that this person has already achieved the Buddha's path, just like my benefactor, Practitioner Su.

At the Thrice Yearning Ceremonies at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, I could clearly see the magical abilities of Practitioner Su and the spirits. He manifested many emanations to various places in Australia and even other countries to perform Chao Du, and the method of Chao Du is to recite "Namo Amituofo".

I saw that when Practitioner Su recited the Buddha-name, Amitabha Buddha naturally appeared beside him. The light emitted by the Buddha was so vast, and many beings were overjoyed to see the golden light emitted by the Buddha and entered into the light. There were also many suffering beings trapped in space who were able to leave space because they were illuminated by the Buddha-light.

In short, throughout the day of the Dharma assembly, Practitioner Su was constantly using his ability to manifest emanations to perform Chao Du all over the world. The scope of the Chao Du was not only very wide, but the level was also very deep. Seeing that Practitioner Su has the ability to help so many suffering souls, I feel very moved.

If one can sacrifice oneself to achieve others, or even sacrifice oneself and dedicate oneself to help others, that belongs to the category of Goodness, which is in sync with the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way.

Education in the Buddha’s teachings is very important for everyone. Only by understanding the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way can one know what is right and what is wrong. Otherwise, it is very likely that, like me, one's spirit will report to the hells after death, and that is truly, truly painful!

But now I see in the Western Land of Dharma Nature that not everyone suffering in the hells is as lucky as I am to receive the compassionate rescue of Amitabha Buddha and Practitioner Su.

As an athlete, I understand very well that the core essence of sports is competition. Since there are so-called competitions, there are winners and losers; since there are wins and losses, there are naturally highs and lows. This is perfectly normal in sports.

And not just in the field of sports, but in every industry in the world today, there is intense competition; this is the trend of the whole world. It seems that for people living in this world, one must constantly compete to have space to survive.

If one does not compete with others, will one fall behind? Will one fail to get the resources one should have, or lose precious opportunities? Such thinking often appears in the children of our generation.

Now that I am in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I realize that so-called competition is actually the creation of sins. When we have many considerations, calculations, and plans for our own bodies, hoping to use various methods to ensure that our bodies can gain benefits and satisfy the needs of the body, such beliefs and even behaviors are actually contrary to the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way.

I believe the root cause of competition comes from the scarcity of resources that everyone pursues together. Because resources are scarce, competition is used to decide who gets the resources. If the resources everyone needs were inexhaustible, why would there be a need for competition?

After receiving the education of the Buddha’s teachings at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, I was surprised to find that perhaps the question we should ask is not "Should we compete?", but rather we should change our perspective and ask, "What are the resources we truly need?" or "What are the resources we should truly develop?"

Now I have the answer to this question, which is the immeasurable and boundless innate ability within our true self. That is, like my benefactor Practitioner Su, after practising and becoming a Buddha, he developed the magical power that was originally inherent in his spirit. These magical powers are not for showing off, but can be truly applied to help suffering souls and people in the world, producing practical help for people and beings in the spiritual realms. I think this is the resource that everyone should develop and that is truly valuable, not the money, fame, status, power, wealth, or job opportunities that people in the world fight and compete for.

Why is the innate ability within the true self the resource we should develop? Does it mean we don't need worldly resources? That is not what I mean. I hope everyone can take a longer-term view and understand that our bodies actually only last for a few decades at most, but our spiritual life can be a thousand, ten thousand, or even a trillion years long, or even longer. In fact, from what I understand now, spiritual life has no boundaries and will never be extinguished.

So from this perspective, if everyone has a sufficiently long-term view, they will understand that the resources that can have a positive impact on the soul and are truly useful are what everyone really needs, not worldly money, fame, status, power, wealth, or job opportunities.

Because in the spiritual realms, the most basic thing a soul needs to survive is energy. Therefore, many beings will attach themselves to humans, absorbing human vitality as their source of energy for survival. What Amitabha Buddha teaches everyone at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre is to develop the innate ability within one's own spirit through purification and practice. The best way is to recite "Namo Amituofo," which can generate pure and good energy. This energy, as I observe now in the Dharma-Nature Land, is the highest quality golden energy in the spiritual realms.

As more of the innate ability within one's spirit is developed, naturally, when all the abilities are manifested, that is the time of becoming a Buddha. At that time, one will be able to fully utilize the function of this "Namo Amituofo," not only to have infinite energy for oneself but also to share this infinite energy with other souls who need it, and to use this energy to help humans in the world. This is the work of saving the world that Practitioner Su is currently doing.

If you can understand what I have said above, you should clearly understand that what we should pursue is not everything in the world, but rather we should develop the precious innate ability within our own souls. In the Buddha’s teachings, this is called "Buddha-nature," which is the Buddha-like quality that is naturally possessed within every person's soul.

I want to say to my husband, I am very grateful to have been in sync with you in this life, and we have spent many wonderful times together. I am very sorry that I left before you, leaving this home for you to take care of, but I believe you can handle it very well. Now I am living a very wonderful life in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, and I hope you can come here to meet me and talk to me.

Before coming here, I hope you can go to Brisbane to see the three Namo Amituofo billboards there. I believe you will be very pleasantly surprised because these three billboards have already saved many suffering souls in Australia. If you want to call, that is also fine.

In short, come and meet me soon.

Robyn Woodhouse