Navigating the Perilous Paths of the World

This is a record of an interview with the spirit of Venerable Master Chin Kung, who now resides in the Western Dharma-Nature Land. This account reflects upon his teachings regarding the perilous paths of the world. Recorded by the chief writer, Venerable HaiZe, on October 6, 2022.

Venerable Master Chin Kung speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. Today, we shall continue with the topic that Namo Amituofo has set for me: 'The Perilous Paths of the World.'

The Treacherous Roads of Samsara

The paths of this world are filled with many diverging ways. The karma of the human realm turns without pause. Where can the people of this world find their true home? Fortunately, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas manifest to guide us. Where is life headed, and what is its destination? In this age of the Dharma’s decline, the Pure Land path must come first! Go straight ahead and do not look back; that is the path where the light can be seen. The Western Pure Land is right before your eyes, for Namo Amituofo resides at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. It is the bright lamp of the world and the navigation system for the entire universe. Go straight ahead to the West.

These words are simply some of my reflections. To be honest, in this Five Turbidities and Evil World of the Saha realm, maintaining a pure heart is truly not an easy task. Even the slightest deviation leads to the creation of karma! The spirit of every being has already tumbled through the ocean of karma countless times. Now, it is truly, truly difficult to have the opportunity to learn the Buddha’s teachings—especially the Great Dharma of the Pure Land—and to encounter Namo Amituofo manifesting in the human world. This is an extraordinary event! Everyone must understand: to return to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, how can you go without Namo Amituofo leading the way? You must have Namo Amituofo to guide you. If you see Namo Amituofo and your spirit steps onto a lotus pedestal, in the blink of an eye, you will arrive in the West! However, Practitioner Su is currently coming and going from the West freely, returning every single day. This is incredibly rare! Generally speaking, if you have not seen the Buddha and are not on a lotus pedestal, you are in a very dangerous situation, because you do not know where you will end up in the next instant! At that moment, you are no longer the master of your own fate. Who is in charge? The universal principles are in charge.

The Record of Your Intentions

Everything you have done, and every thought and intention you have harboured, is clearly and precisely recorded within your Alaya consciousness. Any being can see it; this is a terrifying reality. Your karmic creditors can see it too, and they will say, 'Ha! I have found you. Let’s see where you can run now!' If your karmic creditors find you first, will your days be easy? Certainly not. Where there is a grievance, they will seek retribution; where there is a debt, they will collect. At that point, your spirit will suffer greatly. Now, if the Impermanence ghosts arrive before your karmic creditors do, you will surely be taken to the Ten Kings of Hell to be interrogated one by one. There, every accusation made against you by other beings is clearly and precisely documented. If you have committed transgressions, you will naturally have to taste the evil consequences; if you have accumulated merit, the laws of karma and cause and effect will not treat you unfairly. At that time, do not try to defend yourself, for it will only bring you shame. If you admit your mistakes, there may still be a chance for leniency. However, there are some things you truly cannot remember, but the King of Hell always has a way to make you see the crimes you have committed in the past. You might say, 'What are we supposed to do about the past? It is not something I can control in this lifetime.' Very well, but you cannot deny what you have done in this current life, can you? When the time comes, every single action will be calculated, and how you must suffer the consequences of your good and evil karma is recorded with absolute clarity. If the result is that you must go to the animal realm to repay your debts, that is the retribution of ignorance. Even if you were considered very clever or wise while alive, the result remains the same. This is because your heart is invisible to people in the world, but in the spiritual realms, it is recorded clearly and precisely; you cannot escape it. Calculating it bit by bit is truly not worth it, but that is the reality of the situation.

The Illusion of Worldly Success

Therefore, even if a person’s wealth, fame, and status are the envy of others while they are alive, once they are interrogated before the King of Hell, the result might be a notation that they must be reborn as an animal in the next life to repay their debts. This is the result of weighing every action and every thought while alive—whether you will become an ox, a horse, or a donkey to repay what you owe. We have often seen stories of cause and effect; there are so many who become chickens, ducks, pigs, or fish. Everyone should know that these animals, insects, and plants are all transformations of spirits. There is a spirit within each of them, and these spirits might be your own family members from the past. Is this not a case of 'continuing to grow and consume beings without pause'? Yet, people do not know! This, too, is a part of the laws of karma and cause and effect.

As for monastics practising in the world, no matter how much they practise, if they have not adjusted their hearts, can they escape these laws of karma? Where there is a heart and consciousness, there is karma. Karma can be good, evil, or neutral. Good karma is at least better than suffering, but evil karma, regardless of its form, is always suffering. The greatest suffering is to endure retribution in hell, especially the Avici Hell, from which one cannot escape. Alas, the great achievements one makes while alive are the side that people see and praise, but the state of one’s inner heart also follows the laws of karma. Of course, if your actions benefit beings and are in accordance with universal principles and the righteous path of Truth, that is a good reward. If you have caused harm to others, even the slightest evil consequence cannot be avoided, because you have a heart and consciousness, and therefore, you have karma.

The Path of No-Mind

If you can reach the state of 'no-mind,' then there are no thoughts or intentions arising. In this way, karma cannot grasp you, and nothing can be recorded. It truly leaves the forces of karma with no way to deal with you; your karmic creditors cannot find you, and the Impermanence ghosts cannot catch you. But this requires true attainment. It is a wonderful thing. If you can achieve no-mind, you have realised your true nature! Every Buddha has realised their true nature and is in a state of no-mind. How wonderful, how free, how carefree! This state of no-mind is something I, Chin Kung, truly envy. Having said that, there is a person of no-mind right before your eyes. Does everyone know who it is? It is Practitioner Su, who is right there in front of you. Those who understand the value of this treasure know to draw close and learn; those who do not understand will turn and walk away even when the treasure is right before them. I, Chin Kung, feel very ashamed, for I was once one of those people. It is like the example I often give: the story of Mrs. Zhou Bangdao meeting Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva manifested as a monastic and entered her home without knocking to ask for five catties of sesame oil, but Mrs. Zhou did not give it to him. After the Bodhisattva left without a trace, it was only after she asked Master Li Bingnan that she learned, 'That was a manifestation of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.' She regretted deeply that she had not seized the opportunity, but it was too late! However, it did lead to her conversion, and she became a devout practitioner thereafter.

It is just like Practitioner Su, who manifests in a human body, yet his spirit is the spirit of a Buddha. In the past, this was considered a secret, a heavenly mystery that could not be revealed, but at this time, there seems to be nothing left to hide. In the spiritual realms, even if things are not spoken, everyone knows. At this moment, I, Chin Kung, am not in a human body; I have no physical form. I am a spirit, and the words spoken by this spirit may not be believed by everyone, but those who believe are truly blessed. Practitioner Su is a Buddha who has manifested in a human body to seek the Way, and having realised his true nature and attained Buddhahood, he has recovered his Dharma Body and now uses it to save beings. I am fortunate to have been born in the human world at this time, and because of past karmic affinities, I have had the opportunity to be called his 'master,' which is my own tremendous blessing. Yet, during my lifetime, my actions led me to hell!

A Personal Debt of Gratitude

Fortunately, Practitioner Su did not hold a grudge, even though I had previously blocked him from the Pure Land school. It is only because of his rescue that I was able to rise from hell and be settled in the Western Dharma-Nature Land. This is an opportunity not everyone gets! Thus, I, Chin Kung, also walked the perilous paths of the world. Even though everyone called me 'Master,' or even 'Venerable Master,' I still walked the perilous path and committed errors. The error was not seeing the truth of the facts clearly; I did not see clearly that Namo Amituofo had come to the human world. Practitioner Su at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre told me this, and Namo Amituofo also told me in the Buddha’s words, but I did not believe it. That was at the beginning of this matter. Later, I believed it, but because of my own selfishness, I did not tell everyone. This 'selfishness' was the fear of affecting the Pure Land school. This was truly foolish to the extreme! I should have been saving everyone. Namo Amituofo is here and can save everyone; why would I be concerned with personal matters? This was truly inexcusable, and I deserved to suffer retribution in hell.

Another point is that I lectured on the sutras for sixty years. Thanks to the support of many Dharma protectors and lay practitioners, the Dharma affinity was very magnificent. Everyone supported the Dharma Jewel, television Dharma propagation, and so on, with the hope of being reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. They could have had their wishes fulfilled. Now that Namo Amituofo is right before our eyes, I actually blocked this path for everyone and did not tell them. This is truly a sin, a great sin. I truly deserve to be taught a lesson; I have nothing to say for myself. This is also a perilous path of the world—not seeing the truth, lacking true attainment, and being foolish. Otherwise, the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre would be bustling with activity by now! How many people need help? How many beings want to see the Buddha but cannot? The Buddha can help everyone heal their illnesses and can lead everyone to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Such a wonderful thing was sitting right here, and I deserve to be taught a lesson. I have revealed these things in previous interviews, and every time I mention them, I feel sorry for everyone. Therefore, in these interviews, I will say whatever I can. Sometimes I might drift away from the main topic, but I will speak anyway, because I do not know how much longer I will be able to speak. I hope to share what I know so that everyone can understand.

The Path of the Monastic

Furthermore, I want to speak to the monastics: you must be very careful on this perilous path of the world. Many monastics grow up in the world and then take the Precepts to become Bhikshus and Bhikshunis. Therefore, the personality, habits, and subjective views they bring from the world are very strong. One must be polished within the Buddha’s gate to grind away these sharp edges until they are removed and smoothed out; only then can one become a 'circle.' The true self is actually something we originally possess, but the various angles created by reincarnation—that is, personality, habits, and karma—prevent us from becoming a circle once these angles appear. And it is not just one angle; there are many, all kinds of angles. Now that you have become a monastic, your task is to grind these angles flat. When you grind them until there are no more angles, you become a circle, and you have realised your true nature! The process of travelling from the starting point around the circumference is the process of grinding away these angles, and then you return to the starting point. The end of the circle is equal to the starting point. When the circumference is drawn, one has travelled a full circle—and it is suffering! If you do not go through the process of removing these angles and changing your personality, you cannot see your original face.

The perilous paths of the world are primarily aimed at humans. Why? Because animals cannot make choices, nor do they have the ability to change their current situation. They can only be judged by the King of Hell according to their karma—how long they must be an animal, how they must repay, how much they owe, and how much they must pay back. They can only act according to their karma, listening and obeying. In hell, it is even more so. Unless you have the ability to call out 'Namo Amituofo' and chant this Buddha-name with the utmost sincerity and earnestness, the Buddha-light will not arrive to save you from hell. Or, you must be as lucky as I was—even though I could not chant the Buddha-name well and could not get out of hell, I was rescued by the compassion of Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su. But they must be in the human world for that to happen! If Practitioner Su were not in the human world, who would have the ability to save people like this? You would have to continue revolving in hell. It is suffering!

The Responsibility of the Three Jewels

Let us talk about the celestial realm. Whether celestial beings are in the Twenty-Eight Heavens or the Thirty-Third Heaven, they are always enjoying blessings. Once their blessings are exhausted, they must come down, and they may even enter the evil realms. Asuras also enjoy blessings, but the evil deeds they have committed must also be repaid. Therefore, the perilous paths of the world are aimed at humans. The word 'perilous' contains a mystery: it means one can turn danger into safety. People who are currently experiencing birth, aging, sickness, and death are all walking on a perilous path, because they have created negative causes, which is why they must suffer the bitter fruits of aging, sickness, death, and the separation of the four elements at the time of passing. The way to escape this perilous situation is to learn the Buddha’s teachings and chant the Buddha’s name. Especially when Shakyamuni Buddha told us that in the age of the Dharma’s decline, beings would achieve success through the Pure Land, it was very clearly explained that only Namo Amituofo can save the beings of this age. This is not something I, Chin Kung, am saying; it is what Shakyamuni Buddha said, and I am merely repeating it.

The facts are indeed so. These matters must be conveyed to everyone by the Three Jewels—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—so that everyone can understand. This depends on the monastics. Monastics must strive to be worthy; you must be able to manifest a state that people are willing to learn from. If you speak, others will naturally believe you, and if they follow your words, they can be saved. After all, the Chinese people have deep good roots and have formed a very deep Dharma affinity with the Buddha’s teachings. Everyone still has a certain degree of respect for monastics in their hearts. Of course, some monastics in modern times have indeed had inappropriate words and deeds, causing people to lose confidence in them. These monastics are walking on a perilous path in this world; they have not left the perilous path and are still revolving in the six realms of rebirth. Of course, there are also those who are respected by believers, who lecture on the sutras, propagate the Dharma, and are affirmed by everyone. Ultimately, the great root and foundation of the Buddha’s teachings is to help everyone achieve liberation from birth and death, escape the cycle of rebirth, and return to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. These foundations must be mastered; this is the duty of a monastic. There are those who can do it, and those who cannot, as everyone’s capacity and Dharma affinity are different.

The Path to Liberation

There are many precepts in the Buddha’s gate that everyone must observe. These are not unattainable restrictions. If you feel that observing the precepts is suffering, then you must observe them even more, otherwise, you will not be able to escape the six realms. Every one of these precepts is helping everyone achieve liberation from birth and death and escape the six realms, so that they have the opportunity to enter the West. The precepts teach everyone not to have greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt, and not to be greedy for wealth, lust, fame, food, and sleep. If you can achieve all of these, you have a basic guarantee. Furthermore, when you are unable to achieve no-mind, how should you manage your heart? I will tell you the 'heart-method.' This heart-method is very subtle. The ancestral masters were compassionate and listed many precepts. Monastics should understand this and reflect on whether their thoughts and intentions are harming others. Sometimes you hurt others without even realising it. If this error continues, the karmic retribution you will have to suffer will be bitter. If you have awareness and stop it in time, you can stop the karma and the error. The Six Perfections—Generosity, Discipline, Patience, Diligence, Meditation, and Wisdom—are often repeated; have you achieved these obvious prerequisites? Furthermore, have you achieved the Three Learnings of Precepts, Samadhi, and Wisdom? The precept against lust is the first great precept for both monks and nuns in the Buddha’s gate; it must be observed. There are many other subtle points that I will not elaborate on here.

In short, Namo Amituofo is compassionate and knows that people’s hearts are like monkeys and horses—running and jumping in restlessness. Therefore, one must practice chanting the Buddha’s name—chanting 'Namo Amituofo.' Either the six-character or four-character Holy Name of Namo Amituofo will do, to soothe this heart and purify it. Naturally, the karmic creditors and spiritual attachments in your body, and even the demon crowds, can be pacified. Once everyone’s body and mind are calm, many things—illness and aging—will also stop. You can achieve a state of not aging and not being sick, or your condition can be alleviated. As for the spirit never dying, that is even more concrete. At the time of passing, chant the Holy Name 'Namo Amituofo'—one thought or ten thoughts—and you will be reborn in the Western Land. I mentioned this in previous interviews. This 'one thought' is not just chanting casually; you must chant with the utmost sincerity and earnestness. Otherwise, this world is truly a perilous path, truly a perilous journey.

A Call to the Fourfold Assembly

All in all, the way to turn danger into safety is to return to chanting the Buddha’s name. Chant it well. This is not just chanting with your mouth; your actions must be in sync with the Buddha, your vows must be in sync with the Buddha, and your heart must be even more in sync with the Buddha. All of this is clearly explained in the Infinite Life Sutra. We monastics are responsible for letting everyone know that this sutra exists. Moreover, when reciting the content of the sutra, do not try to understand it; we call this practising meditation. Just chant it straight through. Through the Three Learnings of Precepts, Samadhi, and Wisdom, if meditation is achieved, wisdom will naturally manifest. In your daily lectures on the sutras, you can explain the content of the sutra so that everyone can believe, further understand, and follow it. You must have understanding before you can practise, and only then can you attain proof! The four stages of faith, understanding, practice, and proof are the same in every school and sect of the Buddha’s gate. All of these are to help everyone turn danger into safety, escape the perilous situation, and help you achieve success. The so-called 'success' is the ability to realise your true nature. Once you have realised your true nature, you can truly be the master of your own fate, not be led by karma, not enter the cycle of rebirth, be able to achieve liberation from birth and death, be able to chant the Buddha’s name and be reborn in the West, and even be able to come and go from the West freely like Practitioner Su.

Monastics must set an example for the Dharma protectors and believers to see: learn from the Buddha, chant the Buddha’s name, and become a Buddha. Therefore, the Three Jewels are very important. The fourfold assembly of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, including the Bhikshus and Bhikshunis, you truly have tremendous blessings. You are learning from Namo Amituofo; you must cherish this Dharma affinity! Human life is very short. To be able to encounter the Buddha in this lifetime is something difficult to encounter in millions of years. Whether it is the teachings of Namo Amituofo or the teachings of Practitioner Xia Lianju, they are often reminding everyone of this. People hear it so often that sometimes they listen without really hearing. You must listen carefully, and you must keep it firmly in your heart, engraved in your heart! Only when you know how difficult it is to encounter your current situation and how magnificent it is, will you know how to cherish your blessings, cherish the opportunity, know not to commit errors or create karma, and know how to accumulate merit and virtue and be fiercely diligent. Everything is for yourself, for the sake of realising your true nature.

Truly, only by realising your true nature can you avoid the perilous paths of the world, and only then will you have the ability to lead others so they do not walk on perilous paths. Even if they are walking on a perilous path, you will have the ability to lead them away from it and onto the path to the West, so that they can turn danger into safety and have the opportunity to be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. If you talk about realising your true nature, achieving liberation from birth and death, or being reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss while walking on a perilous path, that is very far away. I cannot say it is impossible, but the chance is very slim. Therefore, the bright lamp of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre shines upon every being on the perilous paths of the world, every being in the six realms of rebirth, and even every being in this world, other worlds, and the Dharma realm of emptiness. I hope everyone can draw close to this bright lamp, escape the perilous paths, and find the path to the West.

In fact, the spiritual realms have long known about the situation of Practitioner Su’s Dharma Body deliverance, and they are very respectful and grateful. Moreover, every Thrice Yearning Ceremony is led by Namo Amituofo, and countless beings from the spiritual realms come to seek Spiritual Deliverance. However, people still do not know that Namo Amituofo is at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. This matter has not been opened up for everyone to know; only a few people know. I, Chin Kung, am to blame for this, and this is also the reason why I have no face to see Namo Amituofo. Now, I hope that the monastics, lay practitioners, and volunteers who have a Dharma affinity with me—you are the ones most directly walking on this path of the Pure Land—should be the ones most directly able to receive the teachings of Namo Amituofo. I hope that everything is still in time. As long as Namo Amituofo is still at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, as long as Practitioner Su is also at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, and as long as the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre is still in the human world, the headquarters of the Pure Land school can be built, and all of this can be continued and passed on. Everyone will have hope for rebirth in the West.

Alright, I, Chin Kung, will stop here for today. Namo Amituofo.

Venerable Chin Kung, with palms joined.

At the Western Dharma-Nature Land of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, Australia."