Interview with Tao Yuling (Renowned Chinese Film Performing Artist)

Brief: A renowned Chinese film performing artist and National Class-A Actor affiliated with the August First Film Studio. In 1957, she rose to fame across the country for her role as the sweet and simple "Er Meizi" in the film Story of Liubao; in 1964, she became a classic screen image in Chinese cinema for her portrayal of the gentle and resilient "Chun Ni" in Sentinels under the Neon Lights.

Interview Chief Writer: Venerable Fa Hui

July 25, 2026

Tao Yuling:

Namo Amituofo, I am Tao Yuling.

Throughout my life as an actor, I have been very grateful for the opportunity to serve the people. I have always kept the words "serve the people" in my heart, because I wanted to serve the people for my entire life. As long as the audience needed me, I would continue to perform; this is my sincere truth.

For many years, I suffered from various types of cancer, and to be honest, this caused tremendous damage to my body and mind. Throughout the thirty-plus years of my battle against cancer, my vitality was slowly worn away. In this life, I always told myself: getting sick is not terrible, but giving up is. This expressed the undying will to live within my heart, as well as the drive to keep going.

In truth, deep down, I felt that this life was very bitter. Although I received many awards in the field of film performance, including the Golden Phoenix Award and the China Film Golden Rooster Award, these were merely small, beautiful embellishments in a life of suffering; they could not change the impermanence and the painful nature of life. Saying this is not being negative or pessimistic; it is simply stating the true appearance of life from a realistic perspective. Everyone who has walked this path of life understands that there is too much impermanence and change, and most of the time, these changes make people feel very painful.

In this life, I met and married my husband, Huang Guolin, and we shared decades of trials and tribulations. Unexpectedly, we even faced cancer together, supporting each other in daily life, and even encouraging and cheering each other on during our battle against the illness.

After a period of fighting cancer, my husband could not escape the invasion of the illness and left this world before me. At that time, I felt immense grief. I had very deep reflections on illness and death, feeling that humans are like puppets. Once you contract cancer, it seems you can only wait for death, suffering through all this torment, and then leave the human world as if nothing was ever left behind.

This feeling of emptiness made me feel that life was very absurd. In the days after my husband passed away, I often had this feeling, and I would frequently reflect deeply in my heart: what is the true value of a human life? Is a human life just about experiencing various things, then getting sick, leaving the human world under the torment of illness, and then having nothing left at all?

While contemplating the value of it all, I was surprised to discover that I did not know where the true meaning of such a life lay.

However, in order to allow myself to continue living well, I encouraged myself: at least for me, as long as I had the opportunity in this life, I would do my best to perform for the audience and use my abilities to serve the public.

At the very least, I served the people with all my heart and strength; this should have given my life a little bit of value.

Carrying this mindset, after my husband left the human world, I continued to face the test of cancer alone. The increasingly difficult and painful process of fighting cancer slowly consumed the vitality of my life. Just like that, at over ninety years old, I left the human world.

After death, my soul actually entered an actor space. In this space, I continued to serve the people without stopping. However, what was strange was that in this space, there were people I knew and scenes I was familiar with, but there was one difference: here, I only needed to be an actor; I never needed to eat or drink; more importantly, I did not need to undergo any cancer treatment at all. It seemed that my body no longer had any illness, and I only needed to keep doing the performances I loved.

Just like that, I became obsessed with this space, completely forgetting that I had already died. After a few months, amidst a tremendous sound, I was brought by a golden light to the Western Land of Dharma Nature of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia.

Only after arriving here did I understand that it was Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su who rescued me from that space; otherwise, I do not know when my soul would have been able to escape. When I think about how that space had such a strong, deceptive quality—or perhaps that the space was in sync with the attachments in my heart, making me completely unwilling to wake up—it is truly a terrifying thing.

If it were not for Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su rescuing me from that space, I would not even know now that I had been dead for a long time.

After listening to the sutras and hearing the Dharma in the Dharma-Nature Land, I finally understood that a person's mental note is so important.

I was because, in my final thought after death, I thought of my experience and identity as an actor. There were various attachments within that, and it was because of this one thought that my soul entered the actor space.

Matters of space are indeed very complex and ingenious. If it were not for the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre revealing these facts and truths to us, there would be no way to know that there are spaces within spaces. In fact, the world is composed of boundless space; even our human body is actually a very large space, and within this space, there are countless smaller cellular spaces, and within each cellular space, there are even more endless spaces, which are impossible to fathom. Only Buddhas like Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su can truly and thoroughly understand the matters of space.

In short, while in the Dharma-Nature Land, I was able to clearly review my past life and was surprised to discover that my three hun souls and seven po souls were no longer complete while I was alive.

Why did I contract cancer? It turns out that a part of my soul had already been suffering retribution in hells. Because they were enduring the extreme pain and suffering of hells, my body developed obvious pathological changes.

What made me feel even more emotional was that I clearly saw that although the cancer I had was serious, it would not have developed into the situation it eventually did. It was precisely because I underwent multiple surgeries and chemotherapy that my condition worsened.

In this process, my own character also caused me great suffering. After contracting cancer, I had a very strong, unyielding resilience in my heart. To people in this world, this might be seen as a quality of perseverance worthy of praise, but in reality, it carried a strong, unyielding, and stubborn rigidity within my character. Using this attitude to face cancer actually caused the condition to become even more serious.

What is the root cause of cancer? It turns out that it was due to my own incorrect mental notes, which went against the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way, that caused the karmic creditors sleeping within my body to awaken. Karmic creditors are the sentient beings that exist within one's own cells. When they awaken, their strong negative character, carrying powerful negative entities, causes pathological changes in the cells.

Why does one contract cancer? It is actually because one has committed mistakes, which stirred up the anger of these sentient beings within the cells.

If I had not received Buddhist education, I would not have known that a person truly cannot have a stubborn character. When I faced cancer, that strong, hard personality was actually repeatedly irritating the karmic creditors within my body, making their already angry spirits even angrier. This is because, in the past, it was due to such a rigid temper that I had deeply hurt them.

Surgery is considered effective by people in the world, but in the Dharma-Nature Land, I clearly saw that all the diseased parts were the result of karmic creditors seeking revenge.

These karmic creditors are not limited to the cells in that specific area; they can move to other parts of the body at any time. Precisely because of this, although surgery removes the diseased cells on the surface, it cannot truly cure cancer. On the contrary, the surgery may irritate these awakened, resentful spirits, causing them to generate even stronger negative energy, which in turn causes even greater damage to my body in the future.

Having suffered from so many cancers in this life and experiencing a thirty-year journey of fighting cancer, it turns out I could not blame anyone; it was entirely brought about by my own habits and character. Learning the Buddha’s teachings is truly so important. If I had not received Buddhist education, how would I have known that all these problems stemmed from my own internal habits and character?

In the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I saw that there are countless people in the world like me, Tao Yuling, who are suffering from the torment of cancer. However, just like me, because they cannot understand these facts and truths, they seek help in medical treatment again and again, and the result of this only brings them one step closer to death. In fact, after contracting cancer, everyone knows they will go through a painful process, and perhaps they have already prepared themselves for death in their hearts.

But now, I want to tell everyone that Namo Amituofo has come to this world to help all people receive the benefits of the Buddha’s teachings, which allow you to be free from aging, free from illness, and your spirit never dies. This is not empty talk, nor is it any flashy slogan; it is real skills that can bring everyone real benefits.

Practitioner Su of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, after attaining Buddhahood by seeing his true nature, has been performing Chao Du for sentient beings day and night, saving immeasurable and boundless suffering spirits, including the immeasurable and boundless spirits and demon crowds of China.

Practitioner Su’s countless manifestations are like the most advanced and magnificent high-tech special effects; immeasurable and boundless golden manifestations shine brightly over the entire sky of China. Massive amounts of golden light descend from the sky like a waterfall, and the Buddha-light shines upon the immeasurable and boundless sentient beings on every inch of land in China, allowing everyone to be liberated by receiving the Buddha-light. Not to mention the vast number of demon crowds; after their demon nature was illuminated by the Buddha-light, it was rapidly weakened, and in an instant, they were sent to the Western Land of Dharma Nature.

When I saw everything Practitioner Su has silently done for China, I felt truly grateful. It turns out that the Chinese people have been under such care from Practitioner Su for such a long time. I can only say that Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su are truly too compassionate, willing to silently contribute to China in this way without asking for any return. Such a sentiment is truly very great.

Due to Practitioner Su’s continuous Chao Du, he has accumulated much merit and, with the help of Namo Amituofo, is able to invite the resentful spirits and other beings that cause cellular disease within people to leave, and then send them to the Buddha-land established by Practitioner Su—the Western Land of Dharma Nature—to be settled.

The sentient beings in the Dharma-Nature Land will all be able to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss in the future, because this is a transit station for rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This magnificent land is precisely the key to the realisation of spiritual healing.

I have heard that the Western Land of Dharma Nature is a world established by Practitioner Su after attaining Buddhahood, with the help of Namo Amituofo, and it is indeed extraordinary. Because of the existence of the Dharma-Nature Land, all the immeasurable and boundless sentient beings that Practitioner Su has performed Chao Du for in this world have a stable place to go, and in the future, they can be sent to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, which is the achievement of immeasurable and boundless Buddhas! Such magnificent Causal Conditions are truly difficult to encounter in millions of years.

Due to the existence of spiritual healing, all cancer patients in the world, as long as they have not undergone surgery, can actually be cured with the help of Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su. For every cancer patient, this can be said to be great news of finding a way out of a desperate situation. Therefore, everyone must hurry to seize the time and the opportunity to come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre to see the Buddha, and you will have the chance to be saved.

Namo Amituofo coming to this world is not to hope that everyone learns any idol worship, nor is it to promote any religious superstition, but to hope to bring everyone Buddhist education, hoping that everyone can correct their own wrong concepts and behaviours, and truly change their own habits and character to zero.

When you face all changes in the external environment, you can remain unmoved, without even the slightest change. When the power of your heart is no longer used for all the changes in the world, but is used to exert great strength in the present moment to recite this "Namo Amituofo," it actually means that your character has truly been eliminated.

Because character itself is a manifestation of karma, it has always been illusory and not real. If you can have a strong and firm vow to save sentient beings, and in every present moment, firmly recite this "Namo Amituofo," determined never to look back at anything in the secular world, and only move forward by firmly reciting this "Namo Amituofo" in the present moment, using this Buddha-name to save sentient beings and help sentient beings—just by simply reciting this Buddha-name one after another, how would character and karma have any chance to manifest?

This is the brilliance of the Buddha’s teachings. It tells us to let go of everything illusory from the past; as long as you are truly willing to rely on Namo Amituofo in this present moment, truly willing to make a vow to become a Buddha, and truly willing to help sentient beings, then you can turn around your own karma. This is what is called "being the master."

The Buddha came to this world to help everyone, through education, to understand the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way, and also to help everyone become the true master of themselves, so that they do not let their bodies become puppets for karmic creditors and demon crowds, creating immeasurable and boundless sins, for which their true self must pay the price after death.

The concept of the three hun souls and seven po souls is indeed a fact that is rarely known to people in the world, yet it truly exists.

In my case, Tao Yuling, although my true self entered the actor's space after death, many of my souls had already gone to the hells to suffer retribution while I was still alive, which is why I suffered from so many cancers. Having suffered from the torment of cancer for so many years, it was truly painful.

But now, seeing this suffering from the Dharma-Nature Land, I realise that it was mostly due to a lack of understanding of the truth. Therefore, I am truly grateful to have encountered Buddhist education now. I also hope that every Chinese person will have the opportunity to know the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in the future and receive Buddhist education, so that they can learn how to cherish their own spirits.

It turns out that what I should have valued was my spirit, not this body. Because the body is merely a false shell lasting only a few decades; it is just a tool we use to save beings in this world, not something for us to enjoy. If one misunderstands the purpose of this body, the path of life will truly be very painful.

Now, to all Chinese people connected by karmic affinity who see this letter, have you understood the true purpose of this body?

It turns out that we all came to this world to be a Buddha who helps beings, and this body has always been just a tool for us to save beings. The function of the body lies in serving the people, contributing to the nation, and contributing to society.

Of course, after learning the Buddha’s teachings in the Dharma-Nature Land, I now understand that the true use of the body is that after one and the countless sentient beings within one's cells have awakened and attained Buddhahood, one can use this body's technology to manifest in countless forms, travel to all parts of the world, and save immeasurable and boundless suffering beings. This is the manifestation demonstrated by Practitioner Su, and it is also the vow and practice that every Chinese person should emulate in the future.

Rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is a great vow that every Chinese person should make, because reincarnation is truly too painful. Not only is it possible to enter the hells to suffer punishment after death, but it is also possible to enter the space of all things to suffer retribution. Even if one enters the Heavenly Realm, how can one guarantee that one will not fall into the hells again in the future? Even if one becomes a human again, if one does not encounter the true Great Dharma, one will again create immeasurable and boundless sins in the human world. The suffering of reincarnation is truly beyond words.

I, Tao Yuling, clearly see from the Dharma-Nature Land that countless spirits are enduring endless pain in reincarnation without the opportunity to escape. Now, all this suffering has come to a perfect end because of the appearance of Namo Amituofo. Because the Buddha came to this world to help immeasurable and boundless beings return to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss; everyone is a good child of Namo Amituofo.

Now that you know the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, you should listen well to the teachings of Namo Amituofo, transform your heart from selfish to selfless, from having a self to no-self, and from having thoughts and intentions to the truly compassionate state of no-mind and no-thought. Let everything in the secular world no longer resonate with your heart, which means letting all the suffering in the world no longer be able to find you.

In every moment, as we recite "Namo Amituofo", our hearts can forever shine with light just like Namo Amituofo, and can forever be as pure and dignified as the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Gratitude to Namo Amituofo, gratitude to Practitioner Su, for helping me, Tao Yuling, to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss in the future. I hope that every Chinese person in the future can be like me and be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Gratitude, gratitude, and more gratitude, Namo Amituofo.

Tao Yuling