Spreading Goodness to Fifty Trillion Cells: An Interview with Venerable Hangzhou

This is a record of an interview with Venerable Hangzhou, who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, serving as a member of the salvation team. This account reflects upon his transformation and his current mission, recorded by the chief writer, Venerable HaiZe, on May 12, 2020.

Venerable Hangzhou speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Hangzhou. This is the name I was given after my rebirth. It signifies that I am a great ship, sailing across the vast ocean, carrying sentient beings who have a karmic affinity with Namo Amituofo and myself. We are leaving behind the ocean of suffering and sailing into the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This is the expectation that the Buddha has for me.

I never imagined that I would become one of the leaders for this new mission. The 'Bodhisattva Lay Practitioner' is the person I am currently tasked with protecting. I must lead my disciples in working together to 'give rise to all roots of goodness and achieve the fruit of Bodhi.' My disciples, who were previously transformed by the mutated viruses, were once filled with the nature of struggle and mutation after being oppressed. However, thanks to the transformation by Practitioner Su, each of them has now become a monastic. It is fortunate that they have taken on the identity of monastics, for they are now constantly protected by the Buddha-light, which allows them to resist external negative forces."

The Reality of the Pandemic

"The Bodhisattva Lay Practitioner understands that this pandemic spread from a localised outbreak to other regions, travelling through international aviation and transportation to neighbouring countries, and eventually reaching many nations across the world. He also wishes for this pandemic to be quelled as soon as possible. In truth, many situations have been covered up, left unreported, or simply remain undiscovered; therefore, the actual situation is far more severe than the data and information we see. As for whether the current momentum has eased, both my disciples and I possess a certain sensitivity in this regard. I can already smell that the concentration of the mutated viruses has significantly decreased. I anticipate that if we continue our efforts, the resolution of this pandemic is within reach.

In fact, long ago, when Practitioner Su was successively subduing the Plague Gods, the demon crowds, and even my own previous form as the mutated virus, I had an intuition that the resolution of the pandemic would be the work of Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su. Now, my disciples and I are fortunate to have become members of the salvation team working to resolve this pandemic. Furthermore, the benefits extend even to those who are not infected. We aim to plant the seeds of 'give rise to all roots of goodness and achieve the fruit of Bodhi' within people's hearts. By using the power of great goodness, we can purify the body from the outside in, effectively shrinking the development of the pandemic. This is a highly sophisticated strategy: using the great power of goodness to counteract the smaller power of the virus. When the power is great, it is easier to resolve the small. The distinction between 'large' and 'small' refers not only to the scope of influence but also to the Universal Principles. We use the energy of goodness to counteract the negative energy of the pandemic, especially those of us who are leaders in the Dharma-Nature Land. Since the Buddha and Practitioner Su could transform our originally extremely negative energy into the extremely new and powerful positive energy we possess today, I believe that after our rebirth, we can surely make good use of 'give rise to all roots of goodness and achieve the fruit of Bodhi' to transform the current pandemic. Moreover, we can transform the mental notes of sentient beings and help in the construction of the temple."

Purifying the Fifty Trillion Cells

"This Bodhisattva Lay Practitioner is a leader in the business world. Every thought and intention he has, even the most subtle spark of goodness, is a blessing for his employees; conversely, if it is evil, it becomes a disaster for them. We now know, and we can see, that whether it is good or evil, it is all the work of the fifty trillion cells within his body. Therefore, if we want to ensure that all the thoughts he generates are good, the only fundamental method is to perform the 'give rise to all roots of goodness and achieve the fruit of Bodhi' for the fifty trillion cells within his body. Practitioner Su, who originally taught us to follow this method to transform our karma and cultivate blessings, is truly a person of great wisdom. For us spirits in the process of purification, how to spread goodness to these fifty trillion cells while remaining outside the lay practitioner's body is a true test. We were accustomed to invading the body, causing the internal organs to mutate and leading to the manifestation of illness. Now, remaining outside the body, I rely on the methods I have learned: first, I plant the seed of goodness into his heart.

When we first began doing this, the sentient beings within his heart formed an isolation wall that bounced back the goodness we tried to plant. It left us stunned! Why were the beings in his heart so resistant to goodness? And how could we make the spirits within him accept it? I led my disciples to join our palms and respectfully chant 'Namo Amituofo.' I taught them to visualise using the power of the Buddha-light and the Buddha-name to plant the seeds of goodness into his heart. This time, we finally succeeded in planting the goodness into his heart, and it was not repelled by the isolation wall. The Buddha's power is infinite, and the Buddha's teachings are boundless. After doing this, that isolation wall was resolved."

The Power of Listening to the Dharma

"I am fortunate to have met Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su, who have saved and taught me. Every moment is a new beginning. We can listen to Practitioner Su giving Dharma talks from here; as soon as Practitioner Su begins to speak, we can hear it. By the same logic, could we also ask Practitioner Su to open the space within the fifty trillion cells of the Bodhisattva Lay Practitioner, so that they, too, can listen to Practitioner Su's Dharma talks just as we do? It would be even better if the beings within him could listen to sutras and hear the Dharma, and also 'give rise to all roots of goodness and achieve the fruit of Bodhi'! Listening to the Dharma is the energy that drives our goodness; it is extremely important.

Practitioner Su is currently in Goombungee, Australia, which is an eight-to-nine-hour flight away from where we are now. In reality, however, there is no difference in time or distance between us. We do not need to rely on technological media like televisions or computers, nor do we need to wait. The moment Practitioner Su speaks, we can hear it here simultaneously. This is truly the technology of technology, and we are right in the midst of it.

Namo Amituofo."