The Daily Deliverance of the Pure Land

Venerable Chang Gao, a dedicated monastic who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, currently resides at the centre in Australia. This interview was recorded on April 5, 2019, to document the profound daily work of salvation performed under the guidance of Practitioner Su.

Venerable Chang Gao speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Venerable Chang Gao. As I look out upon the landscape today, the sun is high and brilliant, casting its warmth across the earth. In the vast blue sky, soft white clouds drift lazily, while in the corner of the lush green fields surrounding us, herds of cattle graze in peaceful contentment. To the casual observer, the white building that serves as our Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre might appear to be nothing more than a warm, ordinary home. Yet, how could they possibly know the truth? This is the sacred ground where Namo Amituofo abides. It is the dwelling place of Practitioner Su and the fourfold assembly of disciples, a sanctuary to which the entire universe and the vast emptiness of space turn in reverence and longing."

The Sanctuary of Namo Amituofo

"Every single day, in the quiet hours before dawn, the Dharma Body of Practitioner Su leads our dedicated Chao Du team on a mission of infinite compassion. We begin our work right here, delivering the spirits of the land, the beings inhabiting the surrounding space, and the indigenous spirits of the thousands of acres that make up the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. Once this sacred ground is purified, we depart from this centre, following the path of deliverance across the globe. Our journey takes us to the great rivers of Taiwan and mainland China—the Yangtze and the Yellow River—and across the majestic landscapes of the Four Great Mountains. We visit temples, traverse arid deserts, and reach into the corners of Hong Kong, Japan, Southeast Asia, and even the frozen expanses of the North and South Poles. Everywhere we go, the footprints of Practitioner Su’s compassion are left behind, marking the path of salvation for countless beings."

Traversing the Realms of Suffering

"The hells and the ghost realms are places we visit daily, for the suffering there is profound and constant. From those depths, we break through the barriers of space, ascending through the twenty-eight heavens and the Four Sacred Realms, all the way to the reaches of the Milky Way. Along this arduous journey, wherever Practitioner Su passes, the light of the Buddha and the holy name of Namo Amituofo are brought to the forefront. Any being with the karmic affinity to receive this light—whether they are spirits of this world or life forms from distant corners of the cosmos—is granted the opportunity for deliverance."

From Demon Realm to Bodhisattva

"Practitioner Su also opens the hidden spaces that are connected to us by karmic affinity, allowing us to enter these realms and guide those beings to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Among those we encounter are the thirteen ancestral masters of the Pure Land school. I have witnessed them assisting Practitioner Su in healing the leg injuries she sustained while bearing the suffering of sentient beings. We are joined by one thousand, two hundred and twenty-one venerable ones from the Western Pure Land, as well as many great sages and historical figures whom Practitioner Su has previously delivered. Perhaps most remarkably, there is a vast group of beings from the demon realms outside our universe. Through the teachings of Practitioner Su, they have surrendered, their hearts have been transformed, and their very nature has been purified. They have become thousands upon thousands of Bodhisattvas of the cosmos, possessing a capacity for compassion that is truly immeasurable. These beings now serve as the primary members of our Chao Du team. This work is carried out every single morning without fail. We are all busy, each of us focused on delivering the karmic creditors who share a connection with us. Every day, an immeasurable and boundless number of spirits are guided by Practitioner Su to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss or to the realms of humans and heavens."

The Headquarters of the Pure Land School

"The Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre is not merely a temple; it is the headquarters of the Pure Land school, bearing the heavy responsibility of upholding and transmitting the Pure Land teachings. As I practise here, I am constantly able to see into the spaces that Practitioner Su opens. In those realms, I see countless practitioners, monastics, and lay devotees who have been trapped for centuries, or even millennia, finally being released and delivered to the Western Pure Land. If Practitioner Su had not opened these spaces, they would have remained trapped in the darkness, forever unable to receive deliverance. This scene of salvation is one that we witness every single day, a testament to the boundless power of Namo Amituofo’s compassion. Namo Amituofo."