Teachings from Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva: Growing Roots of Goodness and Achieving the Fruit of Bodhi

The Eternal Presence of Compassion

Venerable HaiZe: I invite the caretaker of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, to accept this interview.

Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva: My child, I have never left the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. From the past until this very moment, I have remained here. I have come to this temple alongside Namo Amituofo. As long as the Buddha is present, I am present. My child, I, along with all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and the Dharma protectors, stand by your side, never leaving you for even a single step as we protect all the disciples.

You must learn to recognise your blessings, cherish them, and create new ones. You must accumulate merit and virtue. Do not let a single minute or second pass by in vain. You should understand that every moment you spend in this Buddha-land is an opportunity for the roots of goodness, blessings, and Causal Conditions—accumulated over countless past lifetimes—to manifest.

The Choice Between Samsara and Awakening

My child, after this present moment passes, countless other moments will follow. In each of these moments, where does your heart truly reside? If your heart is governed by every thought and intention, you will find that your mind is a mixture of karma and purity, good and evil. This leads to birth, aging, sickness, and death, trapping you within the cycle of reincarnation. Alternatively, you can choose to realise your true nature and affirm yourself. By doing so, you will be free from birth, aging, sickness, and death, liberated from fear and trembling, and you will be able to attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss with ease.

The disciples at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre have been granted the precious opportunity to manage their own practice. You are supported by:

• The constant, day-and-night protection of Practitioner Su.The profound guidance and teachings of Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju.The unceasing light of Namo Amituofo, which shines upon you at every moment.

Within this environment, you have the chance to resolve your karmic conflicts. You have the affinity to be personally guided by the Buddha into the Western Pure Land. You have the potential to achieve Buddhahood in this very lifetime, dwelling within Infinite Life and Infinite Light.

The Urgency of the One-Snap Moment

My disciples, Namo Amituofo and I have been standing for ten kalpas in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, waiting to lead all beings from the ten directions and the vastness of the Dharma Realm into the Western Pure Land. If you keep the Buddha-name in your heart without interruption, even for a single snap of the fingers or a fraction of a second, you will have the opportunity to enter the West. Namo Amituofo, myself, and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva have been standing for ten kalpas, waiting to lead beings home.

This single snap of the fingers is incredibly precious and unique. You must not let it pass by in vain. It is the critical key to:

• Transforming from an ordinary being into a practitioner of the Buddha's path.Escaping the cycle of reincarnation and entering the Western Pure Land.Transforming your karmic consciousness into the Dharma Body.

I do not dare to be lax for even a microsecond, because within that very fraction of a second, there may be a sentient being who, by chanting the Buddha's name, attains the opportunity to enter the Western Pure Land.

The Compassionate Mission of Salvation

My disciples, the Buddha's compassionate grace, along with the tireless protection provided by Practitioner Su for you and all earthly creatures, is a sincerity and compassion that words cannot fully describe. Can you truly comprehend this? At this very moment, how many beings are suffering in the depths of fire and water? How many of your past ancestors and relatives are waiting for you to succeed in your practice so that you may save them?

There are countless beings in the vastness of space, dwelling in darkness, caught in the swirling currents of the ocean of suffering. They have been tossed about for thousands of lifetimes, unable to escape. They are waiting for you to see them, hear them, and reach out your hand to pull them ashore. Even if we, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, see and hear them, if these beings are not within the scope of our vows and karmic affinity, or if they are so attached to their current state that they refuse to be saved, they must rely on your vows and your karmic connection to be saved. Do you understand this? Can you grasp the depth of this responsibility?

The Power of the Thrice Yearning Ceremony

During the Thrice Yearning Ceremonies, under the light of Namo Amituofo and the leadership of Practitioner Su, we break through traditional rituals. Through the chanting of the Buddha's praises and the sincere, unified voices of the fourfold assembly, we infuse every chant with the great vow of rebirth in the Western Pure Land and the compassionate heart that wishes for our karmic creditors to leave suffering behind. This power and this heart can shake the countless karmic creditors and attached spirits, causing them to leave your body, enter the Buddha-light, and go directly to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This is a rare and inconceivable event.

Furthermore, when we circumambulate the Buddha, the spirits present join us in chanting the holy name of Namo Amituofo. In every sound of the Buddha-name, they enter the great ocean of Namo Amituofo's vows. An immeasurable number of beings are thus able to enter the Western Pure Land. This is truly the compassion of the Buddha. Practitioner Su, bearing the Buddha's great vows, is able to perform the actual work of saving beings through Chao Du. With a heart of infinite sincerity, one can wash away karma and remove filth.

Awakening and the Path Ahead

A true child of the Buddha knows that the world is an illusion. By letting go of attachments to external states and delusions, one is no longer controlled or restricted by them, and one can fulfil their vows to leave the illusion behind. With the Buddha's heart of infinite wisdom, one can discern the teachings within The Infinite Sutra (The Buddha Speaks the Mahayana, Infinite Life, Adornment, Purity, Impartiality, and Enlightenment Sutra). By taking the water of Dharma—to give rise to all roots of goodness and achieve the fruit of Bodhi—one can wash away the dust and filth accumulated over countless lifetimes. You will then be able to see the precious fruit of the Dharma and achieve the Dharma Body of an awakened being.

The new disciples, as well as the Bodhisattvas of the Milky Way and the universe, who are now able to join Practitioner Su's salvation team, have not arrived here by chance. This is the manifestation of the karmic affinity between you and Practitioner Su, the fruit of this lifetime. The cause began in some past life, countless kalpas ago. Since there is a beginning to this affinity, there will also be an end. If that time comes and you have not met the right conditions, the fruit will not manifest, and you will have to wait for Practitioner Su to return to the human world in a future life to find liberation. In the meantime, how many beings will wait in illusion for the day they can be saved? How many will fall into confusion and ignorance, suffering without end?

My disciples, every sight and sound at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre is so profound and inconceivable. You must realise how many unknown, unmet, and unclarified phenomena are waiting for you to explore and uncover. Only then can you expand your mind-capacity, open the door to great vows, truly enter the ocean of Namo Amituofo's heart, and receive the transmission of the Buddha's Dharma. The act of realising your true nature is urgent, and the work of saving beings cannot be delayed for even a moment.

The current pandemic is a way for you to see the reality that you have not yet understood. It is also a wonderful opportunity for new disciples to repent and correct their past mistakes. The Buddha's compassion, through Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su, leads all new disciples to spread the teaching to give rise to all roots of goodness and achieve the fruit of Bodhi within the hearts and bodies of all beings on Earth. In spreading this, the greatest beneficiaries are the new disciples themselves. Only after your hearts are transformed can you produce good fruit that aligns with the Truth. Only then can you plant this pure fruit of goodness into the hearts of others, accompanied by the Buddha-light and the Buddha-name, purifying their roots into roots of goodness. When these roots of goodness eventually lead beings to achieve Buddhahood, the one who sowed these seeds becomes the benefactor of their enlightenment. If not for the beginning, there would be no later result; this is the natural law of cause and effect. Helping one person achieve Buddhahood is a supreme act of goodness; helping countless beings is an immeasurable merit.

The new disciples of Hsiang Kuang will develop a new atmosphere and become a source of new life for the human world. Each new disciple, having received this transformative affinity at a time when evil consequences were approaching, possesses great blessings. You must express your deepest gratitude for the Buddha's grace. Namo Amituofo.

This message was recorded by the Buddha's disciple, Venerable HaiZe.