The Current State of My Spiritual Journey

This interview was recorded on October 25, 2022, at the Western Dharma-Nature Land of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. In this second part of the series, Venerable Master Chin Kung, who sought deliverance through the guidance of Practitioner Su, shares his reflections on his current state of existence and the ongoing importance of diligent practice for the fourfold assembly.

Venerable Master Chin Kung speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. Today, I wish to continue the topic that Namo Amituofo set for me yesterday: 'My Current State.' The current state of things is truly ever-changing! If I were to speak from the perspective of my human life, I spent sixty years lecturing on the Dharma and reached the age of ninety-six. That was the age of my physical body. However, the age of my spirit is far beyond that; it is without beginning or end. I do not know the true age of my spirit, as it can be seen as beginningless and endless, but the part that functions most actively is centered on my previous life and this current life as a spirit.

Clarity Beyond the Physical Form

Now that I am free from the constraints of the physical body, I feel much clearer. I see things more objectively and with greater insight. Yet, I did not expect that I would still experience fluctuations in my mind. Yesterday, when I spoke of certain matters, I found myself deeply moved. The purer one's spirit becomes, the more one experiences the state of meditative concentration, which is excellent. In this state, the spirit is even more lucid. However, when there are fluctuations or emotional stirrings, because the spirit is now more refined, these movements are felt much more acutely than they were when I was muddled and obscured. This is perfectly logical!

When I shared my feelings yesterday, Practitioner Su immediately understood. He is truly a person of deep realisation. He has been studying Buddhism for thirty years, and from the very moment he first encountered the Dharma, it was through the second series of lectures I gave on The Infinite Life Sutra. To this day, he remains incredibly humble and modest, still regarding me as his teacher, holding to the principle that 'once a teacher, always a father.'

A Student Who Surpasses the Master

In truth, I am deeply grateful to Practitioner Su for holding me in such high regard. He is a student who has truly 'surpassed his master.' It is simply that I was born earlier and encountered the Dharma sooner, which gave him the opportunity to hear my second series of lectures on The Infinite Life Sutra. It perfectly matched his needs at the time, which resonated with him and launched his journey of Buddhist practice. For these past thirty years, he has never faltered; he has been active and persistent, gaining new insights and progress at every stage. He is far purer than the average person!

Even though he has already realised his true nature, he continues to teach everyone. Even when people do not listen, fail to follow his guidance, or lose their tempers and raise their voices at him, he remains steadfast. Oh, I see it all here from the Western Dharma-Nature Land, and I often feel that these children are truly immature! Practitioner Su’s intentions are profound. Of course, for one who has realised their true nature, their actions and words do not enter the Storehouse Consciousness; his heart does not move. He observes the capacity of others to teach them. No matter how much he does, he acts with a sincere heart, yet internally, he remains completely unmoved. This is true attainment—everyone should learn from this!

The Lion’s Roar and the Loss of the Disciple

Sometimes, he uses the 'Lion’s Roar' to address the fourfold assembly, and at other times, he speaks gently, using different methods according to their individual capacities. Some disciples cannot comprehend Practitioner Su’s teachings, and when their personalities flare up, they shout at him. In reality, Practitioner Su is completely unmoved; it has no effect on him at all. But the loss for that disciple is immense! Do they not know that by acting this way, they are creating negative causes? The person they are shouting at is one who has realised their true nature and attained Buddhahood—not an ordinary person. This is adding sin upon sin. At the same time, such intense fluctuations in their own mind provide the perfect opportunity for their attached spirits and karmic creditors to manifest, or even for them to be exploited by demon crowds. I mention this only as an observation of what I have witnessed.

The Law of Cause and Effect

Yesterday, I mentioned that my heart felt a bit heavy. Practitioner Su understood my mood and asked me to write several letters to various leaders of Pure Land societies. That is fine; these letters have already expressed what I needed to say. If they do not come, at least they have seen the key points. If they do come, that would be even better. This is what I am waiting for—this is my current state, here and now.

The laws of karma and cause and effect are an unchanging truth: the causes created in the past will eventually bear fruit. Beyond these laws, the heart is always changing. If they read these letters and a single good thought arises—a sense of filial piety—and they think, 'Well, we are all studying the Pure Land path. It wouldn't hurt to visit the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre,' then there is hope! Taking a walk and having a look is a very normal thing; don't we do that in our daily lives? If such a good thought can arise, then they can be saved! Karmic conditions are always shifting. I am waiting, and I am following the conditions. Whenever someone thinks this way and views the matter lightly—without taking it too seriously or becoming overly attached—they will be able to take that step. If you take it too seriously, you will be burdened by gains and losses, looking over your shoulder, and you will obstruct your own opportunity to see the truth. If you view it lightly—thinking, 'I am just going to another place to have a look'—that is truly acceptable. If they can think and act this way, they are saving themselves!

Expanding the Capacity of the Heart

Once they are saved, a practitioner will naturally extend this compassion to every being with whom they have a karmic connection. At that point, it depends on the capacity of their heart. Those with a large mind-capacity will extend this to a vast range of beings, immeasurable and boundless. Those with a smaller capacity may limit it to themselves or the monastics, lay practitioners, Dharma protectors, and volunteers around them. There is great flexibility here, depending entirely on the size of one's heart. Those who can contain and embrace more broadly will find that their merits and blessings, as well as their own purification and learning, are greatly enhanced.

I have been here for nearly three months, and in this time, over forty interview articles have been published. Seeing that there has been no response, I sent out a few more letters yesterday. Although the content of these letters comes from the bottom of my heart, and the recipients are people close to me, I have let go of how they might react. I am no longer in the human world, and I have no influence—or rather, I have had no influence at all so far. Forty-plus articles, and not a single message received. It seems to have had no effect. If one were to say it has had an effect, the greatest beneficiaries are the fourfold assembly at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, because Practitioner Su reads every one of my interviews to them. Those who are truly listening will certainly benefit, though to varying degrees. If they do not take it to heart, then of course there is no benefit, and it is a pity to have wasted the time sitting there. But this is a matter of individual learning and practice; everyone must be responsible for themselves. Practitioner Su has done everything he could; he has done everything that might help everyone. How much one gains depends on the individual. I must learn this attitude as well. In fact, I was the same in the past. In my sixty years of lecturing on the Dharma, I gave my all every time, but how much the listeners truly heard, and more importantly, whether they changed and what the impact was, depended on each person.

The Preciousness of the Dharma

Within the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, those who listen to these forty-plus articles have gained something. After all, some of them have heard me lecture before, and now being able to hear me again—perhaps they can treat this as a lecture, a report on my insights. This is not an easy thing to achieve; it is very precious! Who else has the ability to allow a master who spent sixty years lecturing to continue sharing his spiritual experiences after passing away, giving everyone a chance to hear and learn? Only Namo Amituofo has this ability! And I am certain that within these contents, there is much that everyone can use. This is the one thing I am confident about.

As for what happens after these letters are sent, I have let it go. This is also a matter of the beings' own blessings. Practitioner Su said that when he returns to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss in this lifetime, he will take me with him. When I heard this, I was deeply moved. I was originally one of the prisoners suffering in the hells. Now, not only can I come to the Western Dharma-Nature Land and have the opportunity to report my insights to everyone, but when Practitioner Su returns to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, he will take me along. What a tremendous grace this is! It is no less than the grace Namo Amituofo has bestowed upon us. Otherwise, would this lifetime of mine not have been in vain? If I could not return to the Western Pure Land, would it not have been in vain? Would suffering in the hells not have been in vain? Therefore, my current state is that I can still return to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. My days have not been wasted. I feel comforted, and I feel renewed energy and motivation to continue sharing my insights with everyone. Although my ability may be limited, I hope everyone can—(pauses)—in the past, I would have said 'I welcome your guidance,' but now I have no body, I am a spirit, so please just bear with me and listen.

The Path of Diligent Practice

I am doing very well now, much better. If a master who lectures on the Dharma—or let us not even say a master, just anyone who acts as a teacher—can have such a student, he can be satisfied. Of course, I am also very grateful to the many monastics, Dharma protectors, lay practitioners, and volunteers who supported and helped me during my life. Without them, my journey of spreading the Dharma could not have unfolded and continued for sixty years. I am deeply grateful to them! This is my current state at this very moment. So, you see, every situation is different. If we bring the 'current state' down to the present moment, it is a very subtle thing.

In the Buddha’s teachings, you must find realisation within the subtle details to make further progress. Otherwise, you will become stagnant and trapped, because many things change within the subtle details, including thoughts, behaviours, and most directly, the laws of karma and cause and effect. Mahayana Buddhism focuses on the heart. As soon as a thought arises, the cause has already been created. If the thought is good, you create a good cause; if the thought is evil, you create a negative cause. Do you have the ability to grasp this subtle thought? That is very important. It depends on whether you have the awareness to catch it. I have often said that 'in a snap of the fingers, there are thirty-two billion hundred-thousand thoughts.' This is an extremely subtle matter, and it is also a very terrifying one. If you cannot find these subtle thoughts and let them continue to churn—thinking good thoughts is fine, but if you think bad ones, your karmic retribution will be painful! If you have awareness, you can stop the thought as soon as it arises, and you will not create negative karma. Stop both good and evil thoughts. Why stop good thoughts? Because before one has realised their true nature, before the selfish heart has been removed, if your good thoughts continue to develop, selfish thoughts will follow. Once selfishness and private motives arise, it is ruined. Selfishness is evil, and it becomes a mixture of good and evil. Why bother with such karma? The only good that can truly bring good results is pure and perfect goodness. That is fine; there is no suffering there. If your skills are not yet sufficient, then just honestly chant the Buddha’s name. Chanting 'Namo Amituofo' or 'Amituofo' is fine. Purify your own body, speech, and mind. Speak less, do more, and chanting one more Buddha-name is never wrong.

The Power of the Buddha-Name

Namo Amituofo is so compassionate. He knows the capacities of beings—that our delusions and messy thoughts are constant, that we are unable to control ourselves, and that our karma is too deep and heavy. That is why he teaches everyone to chant this name, to practice chanting the Buddha’s name, to purify these delusions and messy thoughts, and eventually to cut them off. A practitioner with true attainment can reach a state where they chant without chanting, and do not chant while chanting—chanting without a conscious mind. This is the most brilliant method of chanting. You do not need to specifically try to chant; the Buddha-name will emerge on its own.

Of course, when you begin chanting, you must be very serious, very focused, and very cautious not to be swayed by external situations. Do not forget to bring up the Buddha-name; you must carefully and cautiously hold onto it tightly. You must put in the work! This is not something you can achieve just by talking about it; you must put in the effort. If you do not care whether you are chanting or not, then of course you will not have this skill.

Always remember not to leave the Buddha-name. If you remember it for a long time, you will not need to try to chant; the Buddha-name will emerge on its own. There is no such thing as getting something for nothing in this world, and chanting is no different! So, is this Buddha-name easy to chant? Let me tell you: if you do not put in the work, you will not be able to grasp it. In theory, it sounds very simple—'Namo Amituofo'—there is nothing difficult about it. But you have to actually do it to know if it is difficult. People often cast it aside, thinking that the tasks in front of them are more important. How many times did you chant today? None, or at most a few times. You remembered it for two or three chants, and then it disappeared again. How can you chant well like that? If you hold onto the Buddha-name tightly, as your delusions and messy thoughts decrease and your thoughts are purified, you will certainly have insights that day, and your body and mind will become much fresher and more comfortable. If you work even harder to hold onto the Buddha-name, oh, it is incredible—it is all energy! Every time you chant with a pure heart, every single chant is energy. When Practitioner Su performed Chao Du for the Milky Way, besides the Buddha-light on his body, it was the Buddha-name. These two forces combined can save a planet. You can see that this power is very strong and the energy is very sufficient. It just depends on whether you have the ability to utilise it. The Buddha is fair and selfless, but how much each person receives depends on their own cultivation. Those who know how to use it will find it extremely effective; those who do not know how will find it very difficult and exhausting, and will not receive the benefits. In short, this Vajra Bodhi seed—the Buddha-name—enters your ear-consciousness and ear-root, and you have the opportunity to be saved. Whether in this lifetime or in some future life, one day you will also attain Buddhahood. This is the great compassion of Namo Amituofo for us.

A Final Reminder to Practitioners

At this moment, my heart is filled with gratitude. I am grateful to Namo Amituofo for saving me, and I am grateful to Practitioner Su for rescuing me, settling me, and still treating me as his teacher. In fact, he is also saving me, hoping to reduce the shortcomings I had while I was alive and to quickly fill them in, so that I have less karma to bear. Furthermore, every word I speak in this interview is being seen and heard by many beings at this very moment. Every being who hears it has a different reaction. Of course, this includes the beings who listened to my lectures when I was alive. You can feel the fluctuations in their hearts. This feeling is also a kind of vibration, and it also affects the surrounding atmosphere. Depending on the intensity of the energy, the influence varies. Those with strong energy can transmit it to save some beings, allowing them to have similar insights and feel these vibrations; those with weaker energy have less influence. This is also reasonable.

Furthermore, I want to remind everyone—the many monastics, lay practitioners, and volunteers of the Pure Land societies globally and the Australian Pure Land Learning College—that you must not slacken in your own practice. Whether you are currently comfortable with your practice or your duties, or even if you have slight attainment, you must not slacken. The Buddha’s teachings are vast and boundless, without limits. If you feel that your practice is quite good, you must be even less inclined to slacken. A human body is hard to obtain in this lifetime; you must grasp it well, purify yourself further, and elevate your spirit. If you are truly practising diligently—purifying and purifying again—you will certainly have different realisations and be filled with Dharma joy. This is the true way to study the Pure Land path; often, when you have a moment of realisation, you cannot help but smile. For the Dharma protectors, lay practitioners, and volunteers, because you have miscellaneous tasks or worldly affairs, you have to interact with people and things, or you have many roles—being a wife, a husband, a child, or caring for elders—no matter what, under these multiple roles, you must be able to keep your study and chanting of the Buddha’s name uninterrupted to purify this heart. If you do not transform your karma, you will still have to face the various sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death. It is very hard!

At this moment, I see these things more clearly than when I was alive. Suffering is truly the reality of the human world. Therefore, to the Dharma protectors, lay practitioners, and volunteers, I offer you one piece of advice: if you can make your life simple, that is excellent—that is the best. Use some of your energy and physical strength for your own purification. Of course, you must serve the public; if you do not serve the public, where will the blessings and merits to enter the Western Pure Land come from? In the present moment, when dealing with people, matters, and things, remember to change your personality. Many problems and spiritual obstacles manifest because you have not changed your personality; it gets stuck and obstructs your purification. So, you must remember to change your personality; having no personality is best. This is not easy—it is easy to say, but hard to do—but you cannot avoid it. If you do not do it, you will have no step toward purification.

If you want to know more about purification, you can watch the sutra lectures given by Practitioner Su. They are available online; you can click and listen, and you will gain a lot from them. Or, come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, have a look, and listen to a lecture, and you will know the difference.

Alright, I will stop here for today.

Namo Amituofo.

Shi Jingkong, with palms joined.

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