Little Lives, Grand Dreams

This is a record of an interview with the Venerable Yang Tian, who sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This account reflects upon his life approximately 1,720 years ago. It was recorded on October 4, 2018.

Yang Tian speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Yang Tian. My brother, Yang Guang, and I were twins. The Yang family had been praying for children, and our arrival was a double blessing. Someone had once read the family's astrological chart and predicted that the Yang family line would end with that generation. No one expected that two golden grandsons would suddenly appear. Our grandmother was so happy she could not stop smiling.

A Mother's Beauty and the Weight of Karma

Our mother was the greatest beauty in the village at that time, and our father was a dashing, handsome man. The line of men pursuing my mother stretched across the village, and women who admired my father were like people under a spell, thinking of him day and night, hoping to be by his side. My parents met only twice before they were married. In their hearts, they were deeply convinced that the other was the person meant to accompany them for a lifetime.

My mother’s work would be called the beauty industry in modern society. Every day, she collected many herbs and various precious biological materials, extracting their essence to create beauty products. Her own face and figure were her best advertisements. Many women looked up to her as a model, seeking to achieve her beauty, and they actively came to her for her secret formulas. My mother helped many women restore their beauty, allowing them to rekindle old flames with the men who had previously abandoned them. My mother did not realise that this work had already begun to create heavy karma. She not only harmed many living creatures but also fueled the emotional attachments between men and women. The karma my mother carried was so heavy that she was destined to be unable to bear children in that life. The scenes of her suffering in the hells were clearly seen by our grandmother.

A Grandmother's Faith and the Hope for Salvation

Our grandmother was a practitioner of the Buddha’s teachings. Having practised for many years, she possessed a pure body. Her eyes could see into other spaces, and she could perceive the endless sentient beings wandering there. She donated all her life savings to the Buddha’s teachings, hoping to help spread the Dharma in the world and save these pitiful beings. Initially, Grandmother had placed her hopes on my father, wishing he would join the ranks of those spreading the Dharma and learn to save the world together. However, my father was always surrounded by countless women, and it was only later that he finally belonged to my mother alone. Seeing that it was difficult for my father to turn back and that his chances of learning the Buddha’s teachings were slim, Grandmother turned her hopes toward the next generation. Yet, after many years of marriage, my parents had not produced a single child. Grandmother sighed, feeling that there was no good fortune and that the Yang family had no descendants who could contribute to the Buddha’s teachings.

Seeing my mother constantly suffering the consequences of her actions, Grandmother spoke the Dharma to her every day to save her soul. Sometimes, she would simply share a small story, hoping my mother would benefit from it. My mother also possessed good roots. Originally uninterested in the Buddha’s teachings, she began to be moved by the compassion of the Buddha. She decided to give up her work and follow Grandmother in practising the Buddha’s teachings. My mother actively volunteered at the temple. With her dignified appearance and excellent eloquence, she successfully guided many people to learn the Buddha’s teachings. Seeing many young children practising in the temple from a young age, with the lifelong ambition of inheriting the Dharma lineage, my mother thought: 'If I could give birth to a son, I would certainly send him into the Buddha’s gate, letting him come into contact with the Buddha’s teachings from childhood, so that when he grows up, he can become a monk to save the world.'

The Birth of Two Little Monks

My mother had always been a person of broad mind-capacity. She never argued with anyone over anything and often donated her labour and money to society. If she could give birth to a son, she would definitely contribute him to the Buddha’s gate; this was something my mother could absolutely do. Unexpectedly, my mother’s wish was fulfilled within a few weeks. As soon as news of her pregnancy spread, it was revealed that she was carrying two little monks destined to save the world. My mother was both surprised and overjoyed, praising the efficacy of the Buddha. Not only was my mother happy, but Grandmother was even more joyful for all sentient beings, grateful for the Buddha’s compassion in allowing the Yang family to contribute a little effort to the Buddha’s teachings. These twins were destined to follow the Buddha’s footsteps and, in the future, follow the masters to spread the Dharma and benefit beings.

On the day my mother went into labour, the cries of Yang Tian and Yang Guang shook the heavens. The entire Yang household was invigorated by these cries! Everyone in the family was overjoyed, busy cooking sweet rice balls to send to every household to share the joy. For the Yang family, this was a great event; the family line would flourish from then on. The most important task now was to cultivate these two little monks, allowing Yang Tian and Yang Guang to be nurtured by the Buddha’s teachings from an early age.

Growing Up with Namo Amituofo

From birth, we never had any hair on our heads. My mother told Yang Tian and Yang Guang that we were destined to be bald in this life. Monks are bald, so Yang Tian and Yang Guang were naturally bald too. Whenever my mother took us two brothers out on the street, we immediately attracted everyone’s attention because my mother had given us both a dignified appearance. Everyone who saw us could not help but love us. From a young age, my mother taught us about Generosity and forming broad Dharma affinities. The sweets we carried were never for ourselves; they were to be shared with the adults and children on the street. We would chant 'Namo Amituofo' and offer a sweet to form a Dharma affinity with them. Everyone loved to see us two brothers appear. As soon as they saw us, they would take the initiative to chant 'Namo Amituofo,' and we two brothers would laugh happily, which delighted the adults. Many newly married women hoped they could also give birth to such cute children. They would constantly chant 'Namo Amituofo,' praying for the Buddha to grant them a pair of lovely babies, though they were not yet willing to do as my mother did—sending two children into the temple at once. They would say one was fine, but two was too many, and my mother would laugh heartily at this.

Ever since Yang Tian and Yang Guang began learning to write, red papers with 'Namo Amituofo' could be seen everywhere in the Yang house. We two brothers would write them and paste them everywhere. Wherever we walked, we left the mark of 'Namo Amituofo,' covering the place with these red papers. Once, a guest came to visit. As soon as he entered the living room, a 'Namo Amituofo' paper fell right on his head. That was because my younger brother was being mischievous; he had climbed a ladder to paste it on the wall above, but it wasn't pasted firmly and fell off. When the guest saw us two brothers earnestly writing 'Namo Amituofo,' he also picked up a pen and started writing along with us. In the end, we gave him many 'Namo Amituofo' papers to take home and share with his relatives.

A Life of Pure Practice

We two brothers lived very happily every day, without any afflictions or unhappiness. We chanted 'Namo Amituofo' every day. We didn't play with any toys; we just loved following our mother to serve at the temple. We two loved helping to mop the floors. We would mop back and forth, using 'Namo Amituofo' to make every floor shine brightly.

At the age of seven, Yang Tian and Yang Guang bid farewell to our grandmother and parents, carrying simple luggage into the temple to practise. We carried full hearts of expectation and joy, preparing to complete our dream of saving the world in this life. As little novices, my brother and I had perseverance that surpassed everyone else. From a young age, my mother’s upbringing for us was to 'let go of the self.' To save the world, we naturally had to 'let go of the self' and be constantly diligent. We didn't need to eat much because chanting 'Namo Amituofo' made us feel full of energy. We didn't need to sleep much because chanting 'Namo Amituofo' made us feel full of vitality! We two brothers became little class leaders, leading everyone to chant the Buddha’s name together—and it was a happy chanting, a chanting filled with Dharma joy, where every pore on our bodies seemed to be smiling.

As we grew older year by year, we gained more and more insight. Learning the Buddha’s teachings is the most blissful thing; there is no pressure or burden. It is just 'emptiness.' Everything is empty. Being happy today is empty, and being sad is also empty. We lived in this present moment, which is empty. It is so free, so relaxed.

The Path of Deliverance

We became more and more mature and sensible. The more we knew, the more we learned to let go. It was inevitable that there would be gossip in the temple, but we learned to remain empty and pure. All the idle talk that reached us two brothers was immediately stopped; we would only respond with a single 'Namo Amituofo.' Gradually, those who liked to talk about right and wrong no longer appeared before us. Every day, we purely chanted the Buddha’s name and studied the sutras. Every snap of the fingers was precious; even blinking to think about something else felt like a waste.

By the time we began to receive and lead sentient beings, we were already two Bhikshus. My mother brought Grandmother and Father to hear us teach. They were so moved and happy. The descendants of the Yang family had truly realised the dreams of Grandmother and Mother, learning the Buddha’s teachings and saving immeasurable and boundless sentient beings. When we reached the last breath of this life, having finished saving beings, we were reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Yang Tian followed Practitioner Su into the universe to perform Chao Du. It turns out that there are 'Star Kings' in the universe. There is not just one; there are many. The aliens within these Star Kings have existed in the universe for hundreds of billions of years, existing for a much longer time than those on other planets. Unfortunately, the spirits in these planets had never heard the Buddha’s teachings. Yang Tian offered them the Buddha-name 'Namo Amituofo,' expounded the Buddha’s teachings to them, and led immeasurable and boundless spirits to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss."

Namo Amituofo.