Reflections on the Amituofo Village: Teachings from Lay Practitioner Jiang Weinong

A Message from Beyond

Namo Amituofo. I am Jiang Weinong, and I wish to extend my greetings to all of you. It has been several decades since I departed from the human world—nearly eighty years since my passing in 1938. Today, through the profound kindness of Practitioner Su, whom you all respectfully call Practitioner Su, I have been granted the opportunity to speak. This is due to the construction of the Amituofo Village at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. I am deeply grateful to Practitioner Su for this precious chance to share my story. In truth, I am transmitting these words to you from the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Before I passed away, I experienced a brilliant golden light filling the room, and I believed that the Buddha had come to lead me. Because of this, many people assumed that I had successfully attained rebirth in the Western Pure Land. I feel a deep sense of shame as I say this, but I must clarify the truth. At that time, I saw the golden light and mistakenly believed the Buddha had arrived. I followed the light, expecting to be guided to the Pure Land. Instead, I arrived in a place that was bright, pure, and beautiful, yet I did not see Namo Amituofo. I later realised that I had entered the twenty-eighth heaven of the celestial realm, not the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

The Hidden Traps of the Mind

This realisation came only after my passing. Those who remain in the world can only judge one's rebirth by the auspicious signs observed at the time of death. Because I had been a practitioner who chanted Namo Amituofo throughout my life, I firmly believed that my mind was free of attachments and that I was ready for rebirth. However, I failed to see that my spiritual obstacles were manifesting. My karmic creditors were interfering, clouding my mind and causing me to mistake the golden light for the Buddha's arrival. I ignored the fact that the Buddha had not actually appeared before me, and in my confusion, I entered the light and was drawn into the celestial realm.

Illness itself is often a sign that one's karma is ripening and that karmic creditors from countless lifetimes are coming to seek balance. I neglected this reality. I was deeply focused on my lectures and writings on the Diamond Sutra, believing that I was contributing to the Buddha's gate. Yet, within my subtle thoughts, there remained traces of attachment and arrogance. I did not realise that I was still a being bound by karma. Consequently, the karmic debts I had accumulated over many lifetimes manifested at the very moment of my death, obstructing my golden opportunity to reach the Western Pure Land.

The Vital Importance of Resolving Karma

Although the twenty-eighth heaven is a beautiful place, I knew in my heart that I was still trapped within the cycle of rebirth. While I felt regret, I knew that dwelling on it was not helpful. Once a thought arises, it becomes a form of deluded attachment and a barrier to one's practice. Regardless of the time or place, this principle must be upheld: do not dwell on the past, the present, or the future; only the present moment is real. After an unknown duration in the celestial realm, I heard Practitioner Su calling my name. A golden light appeared, transporting me to the Fragrant Light Chamber of Practitioner Su. There, amidst the chanting of Practitioner Su and the community, I finally beheld Namo Amituofo and the Buddha-light, which guided me into the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This process is something that only those who have experienced it can truly understand. By sharing this now, I hope to serve as a warning to all of you.

Do not underestimate the influence of your karmic creditors. Whether you are a monastic or a lay practitioner, you may dedicate your time and energy to the Buddha's gate, performing dedications of merit, reciting sutras, making prostrations, and chanting Namo Amituofo. You may even feel that you have attained some level of skill and have made arrangements for support during your final moments. You might believe that rebirth is certain and that you will manifest auspicious signs. However, the truth is that at the final, subtle moment, the interference of karmic creditors can cause a single lapse in concentration. If you lose your focus on the Buddha-name, you may lose your chance to reach the Western Pure Land. Many ancestral masters whom people assumed had attained rebirth actually ended up in the celestial realms instead. I share my personal experience to remind you of how precious and rare this opportunity is. Do not be careless; you must recognise the importance of performing Chao Du for your own karmic creditors.

The Path to True Liberation

It is essential to participate in Dharma assemblies to perform Chao Du for your karmic creditors and to resolve your past grievances. Do not focus only on saving others while forgetting that you, too, are a being of karma. You also have karmic creditors waiting to seek balance, and you also need to resolve these debts. If you do not, you risk being disturbed at the moment of your death, missing the precious opportunity for rebirth. This is one of the primary reasons why, despite so many people chanting Namo Amituofo in this Dharma-ending age, so few successfully attain rebirth.

Practitioner Su understands these situations clearly. For those who are ill or for the monastics and volunteers who have karmic affinities, Practitioner Su is able to truly invite these sentient beings and karmic creditors to come forward. By resolving the grievances between them and performing Chao Du during the Thrice Yearning Ceremonies, these beings can be reborn in the Western Pure Land. This benefits both the living and the deceased. It prevents these beings from drifting in the ghost realm or re-entering the bodies of their debtors. Furthermore, it removes the obstacles that hinder the living from attaining rebirth, and it is of immense help in purifying the mind and rediscovering one's true nature while studying the Buddha's teachings.

A Call to the Pure Land

In my life, I dedicated myself to explaining and propagating the Diamond Sutra, hoping to help more people read, recite, and uphold it. I knew that because it met the needs of the people, it was widely accepted. Whenever I gained a subtle insight and was able to express the profound philosophy of the sutra in simple, everyday language that integrated the wonders of the Dharma, I would secretly applaud myself. When teaching the public, I could sense the doubts of the listeners and skilfully explain the positive, negative, and peripheral meanings. Yet, I did not realise that in this process, I had developed a subtle sense of arrogance. This attracted the manifestation of corresponding karmic debts, which became one of the reasons that hindered my own rebirth. I am being honest about my failure so that those who aspire to reach the Western Pure Land may be warned.

Within the Pure Land Dharma Gate, the six-character name of Namo Amituofo is something everyone knows how to chant. However, Practitioner Su is a master at manifesting the true power, profound compassion, and energy contained within this Buddha-name. The compassionate vow of Namo Amituofo—to save those at the highest level of attainment and those in the deepest hells—is fully manifested in Practitioner Su. This is evident when he gives lectures, when he performs Chao Du through his awakened Dharma Body, when he interacts with others in daily life, and when he guides juniors to study the Buddha's teachings and vow to save all beings. Although there may be misunderstandings and slander in the human world, those of us who have been led to the Western Pure Land by Practitioner Su feel only admiration, humility, and gratitude.

Now, at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, there is a plan to build the Amituofo Village in accordance with the compassionate vows of Namo Amituofo. This initiative, which benefits the world, propagates the Pure Land practice, and helps beings attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land, fills me with joy for all of you. Those who have the karmic affinity to reside in the Amituofo Village at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre will have the opportunity to be saved by Practitioner Su and reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This is not a dream; it is the truth. This sanctuary has already sent countless beings to the Western Pure Land. Now, it is expanding its benefits to all. The Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is not ten trillion Buddha-lands away; it is right here at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. I hope that all of you who share this aspiration will walk this path to the West together, enter the Lotus Land, and attain Buddhahood.

Namo Amituofo.