Interview with Sam Backo (Legendary Australian Rugby League Player)

Interview with Sam Backo in the Western Land of Dharma Nature

A legendary Australian Rugby League player. He played for the Canberra Raiders and the Brisbane Broncos, and represented the national team. He passed away at Cairns Hospital due to melioidosis.

Interviewer: Venerable Fa Hui

June 3, 2026

The Buddha expounds the Dharma with a single sound, and sentient beings understand according to their own kind.

Sam Backo:

"Ah!!!" I let out a huge scream because I was enduring immense pain. It was too cruel; my head was being constantly gouged open. It hurt so much, and then it would heal, only to be gouged open again. I did not know what I had done wrong, but I knew that when facing problems, I could not complain, as that would not solve anything. Staying calm and rational was the key to overcoming difficulties. However, as my head was gouged open time and time again, I found my consciousness becoming increasingly unclear, and I became less and less capable of thinking. My brain seemed to function worse and worse, and I became increasingly dull. I was powerless to resist this process and could only accept it all.

It was so bitter. In my final days in the hells, I only had one thought: it was truly, truly bitter. Later, I met my noble person, Practitioner Su of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Goombungee, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. It was she who saved me from the hells. Practitioner Su appears as a kind Eastern woman. One can see from Practitioner Su's countenance that she is a person filled with inner light and power. Anyone who has met Practitioner Su would have this realisation. However, many people probably do not know that this is because Practitioner Su's body emits a tremendous golden light. Although people's eyes cannot see it, from the perspective of a spirit, one can see the golden light emitted from Practitioner Su from far away. The golden light is the highest quality energy in the spiritual realms. Those who are illuminated by the golden light, whether people or spirits, will receive immense benefits.

The reason people are easily drawn to Practitioner Su and have a good impression of her is actually because the countless spirits within people are illuminated by the golden light emitted from Practitioner Su. These spirits are grateful for the help the golden light gives them, which in turn influences people to have a favourable impression of Practitioner Su.

Within the human body, there are actually countless spirits existing. This is a new discovery for me, and one that particularly shocked me. After all, isn't the body just a body? I used this body every day to dress, eat, work, and so on; how could there be so many spirits inside?

I only learned this after I was reborn in the Western Land of Dharma Nature in Goombungee, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. In the Land of Dharma Nature, I can see things happening in the world. However, as a spirit, I can now see much more than when I was a human. I realised that the human body is actually like a vessel, containing many spirits.

In my own body, there were countless spirits of lives I had harmed or killed in past lives. Usually, they stayed peacefully inside the body, but if my thoughts or actions were deviant, they would appear to teach me a lesson. Therefore, keeping this heart pure and good is truly a very important matter.

The days on the field were actually relatively simple times for me. I am grateful for everything my professional career brought me. As an Australian Aboriginal, influenced by my mother, I spent a lot of time and energy after retiring working for the welfare of Australian Aboriginals. My original intention was good, but in the process, in order to achieve my goals, I spent a lot of effort thinking about how to cooperate and formulating relevant strategies. After all, it involved many levels, and pushing for the changes I hoped for within the existing system was not an easy task.

To ensure better welfare for Australian Aboriginals, many plans or considerations often swirled in my mind. Gradually, I developed the habit of calculating and scheming when dealing with these matters. The mental activity, which was no longer simple, actually went against the universal principle and the Truth and the righteous path. It seems that once things become complicated, various evils are inevitably derived. Simplicity is indeed better; this is a principle I have learned now.

However, if one wants to avoid complicated methods and always choose the simple path, it actually means that one must have no sense of gain or loss in the process. Regardless of whether the result is good or bad, or whether the plan succeeds, one must be able to accept it calmly and not let it generate various emotions. This was indeed difficult for me at the time. After all, after retiring, speaking up for Australian Aboriginals and fighting for their rights became my main work. Although I truly hoped to help more people live better lives, I still had some selfishness in it. It was not that I wanted to get any benefits from it, but there was still some attachment, which was wanting to gain a "sense of achievement" from these things.

I was not unaware of this in the past, but I did not think it was a big problem. After all, it is inevitable for people to have gains and losses. But how could I know that as long as a person has gains and losses, it means they are considering their own body? And as long as one considers their own body, it falls into the category of selfishness. The universal principle and the Truth and the righteous path are without a shred of selfishness. Any behaviour or thought that considers oneself, or even self-protection, is actually deviant. I must admit this; after all, entering the brain-gouging hell after death proves that I did something wrong in the past.

Now, in the Land of Dharma Nature, I often attend Practitioner Su's classes. The content of the classes is the universal principle and the Truth and the righteous path. In class, one can learn the wisdom of Namo Amituofo, which is very precious. Those who come to class include not only humans from the world but also ghosts from the ghost realm, or residents of the heavens, and so on. Too many sentient beings from all over come to listen to the lectures, and I am one of them.

At first, I was a bit surprised and did not understand why so many spirits and people wanted to attend Practitioner Su's classes. Later, I slowly understood that all life has a spirit, and all spirits are suffering. Everyone is looking for a way to leave suffering behind. The knowledge taught at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre can help everyone escape suffering and resolve the doubts in their hearts. More importantly, the wisdom of Namo Amituofo can help all spirits attain eternal peace and happiness.

In the past, I had never heard of the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. It turns out that Namo Amituofo created such a beautiful world, allowing spirits to go there and possess infinite life and infinite energy. I once suffered in the hells, and I know that is definitely not where I want to go. So now, I have also vowed to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Many of the spirits who come to listen to Practitioner Su's classes have also vowed to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. However, if we spirits want to go to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, we need the help of Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su. Therefore, many spirits, after listening to Practitioner Su's lectures, come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre seeking Chao Du.

I see the number of spirits coming to seek Chao Du is so many, so many that I cannot count them. It is like the ocean, perhaps even more than the ocean. They are all suffering greatly. Some are worried about wandering elsewhere later, some have no energy, just like people who are starving, and some have injured spirits that cannot recover. All kinds of spirits come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre to beg Namo Amituofo to save them.

Practitioner Su is very compassionate. Using the ability she attained after becoming a Buddha, which is a super manifestation technique, she can transform her own spirit into countless manifestations. These manifestations can be large or small. They recite "Namo Amituofo" to summon Namo Amituofo. Namo Amituofo is very compassionate and immediately emits great light, saving these spirits who come to seek help.

I had never considered what happens after death. Now I know that everyone should be responsible for their own spirit. This indeed requires receiving education in the Buddha's teachings to understand how to protect one's own spirit.

Knowing how to view all people, things, and objects from the perspective of the spirit is very important. It is no longer starting from the feelings and interests of the body, but considering the feelings and interests of one's own spirit. This will prevent people from committing wrong actions and will also prevent people from having wrong thoughts and concepts.

Any behaviour based on the feelings and interests of the body actually violates the universal principle, which will cause one's own spirit to suffer and may also lead to being punished in the hells after death. If one starts from the interests of the spirit, one must keep one's heart in a state of kindness, gentleness, tolerance, consideration for others, and selflessness. In fact, this means being in sync with the universal principle.

I want to tell the people of the world here that if you see this, deviating from the universal principle and the Truth and the righteous path will not only make your spirit suffer but will also cause you to become ill. I am speaking very bluntly. In the Land of Dharma Nature, I can see it clearly. This is a very clear conclusion because when people violate the universal principle, it awakens many spirits existing in the body. Many spirits will become angry, and in serious cases, it will lead to physical illness.

Being ill is very bitter. No one wants to be ill, but everyone gets ill. However, once you know the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, you do not have to be ill, because the knowledge taught here, if learned well, can exempt you from the threat of illness. My noble person, Practitioner Su, does not get ill. I admire her very much; she is truly remarkable.

One point that moves me very much is that Practitioner Su, in order to help the lonely wandering spirits and suffering spirits in Australia, set up Namo Amituofo billboards on the Brisbane highway. These billboards can emit tremendous golden light, and many Australian spirits have been saved because of this. I see that they are all very joyful because they can finally stop suffering.

I want to say to my wife and daughter that people do not have to be ill. As long as you can practise the teachings of Namo Amituofo, you really do not have to be ill. I do not want you to be ill, and I even less want you to one day suffer in the hells like I did.

I hope you will come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre once. Every Australian should know about this place. The Prime Minister should designate the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre as a national treasure of Australia, because with the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, everyone can be saved.

I have now vowed to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. I do not know if you also want to go to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss? I am still in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, preparing for immigration to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Come here quickly to see me; I am waiting in the Land of Dharma Nature to talk to you.

Sam Backo