The teachings of the Buddha are vast and profound. Without a qualified guide to explain them, even the most intelligent among us cannot truly grasp their essence. Countless sentient beings wander in the darkness, lost and without salvation, like lonely spirits drifting through the vast expanse of the sky. We know clearly that these beings suffer immensely, yet through the magnificent power of , these karmic knots can be untied.
When suffers, no one can truly alleviate that pain; when the mind is burdened by illness, no one can bear that suffering in our stead. However, the Buddha feels deep for the suffering of all beings. Practitioner Su, through his profound practice, acts as a vessel to save these beings. We know that the laws of and cause and effect are difficult to untangle, but by listening to the sutras and hearing the Dharma, one can find the way. When a heart of pure Goodness arises, the power of Chao Du becomes boundless. Through the Lion’s Roar of teaching the Dharma, we awaken the spirits of all beings, encouraging them to let go of their resentment and hatred, and to seek rebirth in the of Ultimate Bliss. Through the power of the , all who chant the name of can be reborn.
The Rare and Precious Practitioner
Although I, Yinguang, was born with an eye ailment, after I began to study the Buddha’s teachings, my inner eyes opened, allowing me to see clearly the nature of Goodness and evil. My karmic affinity with Practitioner Su is the deepest of all. Many have noted that in my own hand-copied manuscripts, I mentioned that the Buddha’s teachings generally advise against the casual invitation of spirits. However, to bear witness to the work of Practitioner Su—to see how he saves sentient beings and helps everyone resolve their conflicts with —I came to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Shiding. Only then did I understand that in this age of the Dharma’s decline, there exists such a precious individual.
Practitioner Su, though a lay practitioner, acts with a compassion that transcends that of many monastics and even surpasses that of the great ancestral masters. This is because he possesses the Dharma Body. Through my understanding, I have come to realise that in his past lives, he cultivated tremendous through Generosity and offerings, including providing for thousands of monastics year after year. He advocated for the Buddha’s teachings, encouraging all the people of his time to study the Dharma and ultimately to chant the name of Namo Amituofo to seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
The Path to
Practitioner Su’s current achievements are not born of attachment to his actions, for if one seeks only merit, one gains nothing. Instead, he engages in diligent practice. Because his blessings were full, after his rebirth, he was guided by virtuous teachers. A master of the , seeing his superior capacity, taught him the Dharma accordingly. Though he did not understand at first, he eventually found the truth within the Treatise on -Only. He realised that all Dharmas are as they are; by chanting the name of Namo Amituofo, one sees the Buddha and seeks rebirth in the Pure Land. Just as Great Master Xuanzang studied the theory of Consciousness-Only and became the founder of the Consciousness-Only school in the Tang Dynasty, and his brilliant student, Great Master Kuiji, broke through the common attachments to and the Dharma, Practitioner Su continues to cultivate until he achieves the fruit of Buddhahood.
The Honour of the
During every Thrice Yearning Ceremony, we are deeply honoured to be invited to participate. The fourfold assembly of disciples offers us prostrations, a gesture we feel unworthy of, for the true Buddha is here at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, where Namo Amituofo truly abides. Being invited to this bodhimanda is a magnificent honour. We are especially grateful that the Centre has erected memorial plaques for every ancestral master, allowing the spirits of our ancestors and past practitioners the opportunity to be saved.
In my own time, my teachings were mostly directed at disciples and lay practitioners who came to visit and ask for the Dharma. That is why I once said, "Practitioners should cultivate well at home; do not come to the bodhimanda just to see me." My intention was to tell my followers that I had already explained everything clearly in my books. It is not enough to know; one must act. The common failing of all is that knowledge is easy, but practice is difficult. Whether in my collected letters, the Anshi Quanshu, the Taishang Ganying Pian, or the Di Zi Gui, all were written to remind practitioners of the importance of the Right Way. They serve to correct wrong views and guide one back to the right path.
The Power of Respect
I have often mentioned that when learning the Buddha’s teachings, one must understand the importance of a heart of respect. One part of respect brings one part of benefit; ten parts of respect bring ten parts of benefit. I remind everyone that to truly achieve success in one’s practice, one must maintain a heart of respect in all things. The Buddha’s teachings are sought through respect, and only then can one receive the Buddha’s blessing. One must learn with a humble, modest, and respectful attitude to truly let the Dharma enter the heart. True respect is not merely an external appearance; it is the heart itself. It is through that heart of respect that one’s practice and Awakening can be achieved.
The vow to save beings must be genuine. If one merely shouts slogans without real power, one is not truly saving beings. I have dedicated my life to using the written word to help those who came after me. Because of my heavy regional accent, many could not understand me when I spoke, so I used the method of printing sutras to help beings understand the magnificence of the Buddha’s teachings. To encourage those of different traditions to take an interest in the Dharma, I even printed the Taoist text Taishang Ganying Pian, so that Taoists could understand the laws of karma and cause and effect, and thus begin to learn the Buddha’s teachings.
The Vast Scope of Deliverance
At the Thrice Yearning Ceremony held at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, the scope of the deliverance is vast: it includes spirits from the underworld, celestial beings from the heavenly realms, beings in the hells, beings in the six realms of existence, spirits in space, demon crowds, and even beings from outer space and the Milky Way. Such a vast deliverance can truly only be accomplished by Namo Amituofo. I did not expect that Practitioner Su, alone, would overcome all difficulties to establish this Centre, leading the monastics and the fourfold assembly of disciples in diligent practice. Because he understands the suffering of beings, he never rests, teaching the sutras so that all may hear the Dharma, resolve their inner grievances, understand the magnificence of the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and willingly chant the name of Namo Amituofo to be reborn.
Practitioner Su’s Dharma Body visualisation allows beings to be bathed in the Buddha-light. By chanting the name of Namo Amituofo, they are able to let go of all resentment, truly resolve their conflicts with their karmic creditors, and be reborn. During the ceremony, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, the Pure Ocean-Wide Assembly, and ancestral masters all chant together to help these beings. When the Buddha-name resounds, Practitioner Su’s fifty trillion cells instantly emerge from the crown of his head, manifesting in countless billions of forms, leading countless beings directly to the West.
The Eyes of Heaven and Earth
When the deliverance reaches our own land, I see it even more clearly. In every temple, I see the Dharma Body of Practitioner Su. Whether standing in the library of sutras, the bell tower, the drum tower, or the main hall, I see him everywhere. It turns out that every place, including the very ground, is filled with his Dharma Body. As we chant the name of Namo Amituofo with utmost sincerity, his Dharma Body manifests in countless billions of forms, rising upward with the sound of the chanting. When I looked beyond the temple, I saw that even in the bell and drum towers, spirits were being saved. Practitioner Su strikes the great bell within the space of the temple, chanting loudly, saving all the spirits within the entire complex. Such a method of deliverance is unprecedented.
When I looked closely, I saw a group of monastics appear in the space of the temple. Each was searching for themselves and their own gifts—the offerings they had received—which were the very things causing them pain and preventing them from going to the West. Though they appeared as dignified monastics, their greed for offerings kept them from rebirth. And why did they have a large group of generals and soldiers following them? Because their personalities had not changed; they were arrogant and inconsistent. Even as monastics, they remained highly subjective, so their past karmic creditors followed them. This is what we call the Eyes of Heaven and Earth; nothing can be hidden.
The Universal Saint
The spirits see the Dharma Body of Practitioner Su chanting and emitting light. When he strikes the great bell, the spirits are awakened. The sound of the bell travels for thousands of miles, summoning all beings who seek deliverance. How many ancient temples are there in the provinces of China? Why are there so many spirits in these temples? It is because, during their lives, they came to these temples to repent, to seek the resolution of karmic creditors, and to pray for blessings. When the one leading the ceremony in the temple lacks the Dharma Body, they cannot save these beings, so the spirits remain, layered upon one another in the space, squeezed and swaying. Some spirits, lacking patience, directly attach themselves to monastics or lay practitioners. Others find those with habits similar to their own—whether they are volunteers or devotees—and attach to them.
The compassion of Namo Amituofo is manifest in the Thrice Yearning Ceremony. In each session, Practitioner Su explains the teachings of Namo Amituofo and Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju, allowing all the monastics, volunteers, lay practitioners, and spirits present to hear the Dharma. This gradual process helps the fourfold assembly of disciples purify themselves and save the karmic creditors attached to them. Only those who possess the Dharma Body have the ability to save others; this is a fact. Practitioner Su is a holy treasure of the universe. Today, in the entire universe, only Practitioner Su possesses the Dharma Body. To save beings, he opens all fifty trillion cells, chanting the name of Namo Amituofo with unwavering focus. His Dharma Body manifests in every province of China, using his countless billions of manifestations to save beings. This is something I have never seen before. I, who usually speak little, must speak clearly and plainly about this.
A Global Mission of Salvation
Practitioner Su leads the chanting team in constant visualisation and recitation, even reaching Japan. In the Japanese temples, built with ancient techniques using red cedar and wooden pegs without a single nail, there is a faint, lingering fragrance. The temples are filled with spirits attached to these scents. Practitioner Su, in his countless billions of manifestations, leads all the spirits of these centuries-old trees and aromatic molecules toward the West. He also went to Okayama, Japan, where he taught the simple, kind-hearted locals to chant the name of Namo Amituofo. In an instant, his countless billions of manifestations led them all away, and a faint scent of lotus flowers drifted down from the sky. In the waters surrounding the Japanese islands, many deep-sea fish and pufferfish came seeking deliverance. With a single recitation of the Buddha-name, Practitioner Su freed them; I saw the deep-sea fish fly into the sky, transformed back into human form, bathed in Buddha-light, chanting Namo Amituofo as they flew toward the West.
The chanting team arrived in Singapore, amidst the bustling crowds and the rare car racing events. These races were not about speed, but about the beauty of the car models and the value of the antiques. When the great gong was struck twelve times, it was Practitioner Su’s Dharma Body manifesting to save the spirits attached to these cars. The roads in Singapore are not wide, yet they were packed. Practitioner Su, in his countless billions of manifestations, saved all these spirits; before they could even speak, they saw the light and were saved.
Compassion Across the World
Most remarkably, when he arrived in Kuching, Malaysia, he saw the beautiful golf courses on the hillsides. The spirits of the green grass saw Practitioner Su flying in the sky and said, "We know you!" and followed him in chanting. The great ancient trees of Kuching swayed and said, "He has come! Practitioner Su has come! The Practitioner Su who teaches us the Dharma has come! He has changed; he is filled with Buddha-light, even brighter and more luminous!" With a single recitation of the Buddha-name, the spirits of trees, both large and small, were led away. Practitioner Su’s countless billions of manifestations in Kuching, Malaysia, were just as compassionate.
Hong Kong has been in turmoil recently, experiencing many ups and downs since its return to the motherland. The most important thing is to stabilise the hearts of the people. The subways are still crowded, and the restaurants are full, for the people truly value their food. Practitioner Su is even more compassionate toward Hong Kong. His Buddha-light shines upon the harbour, and even into the undersea tunnels and Lantau Island. Practitioner Su uses his Dharma Body to save all beings, especially the seafood that the people of Hong Kong consume; the fish and shrimp in the sea are all objects of his deliverance. Standing high above the skyscrapers, Practitioner Su uses his Dharma Body to visualise all the spirits of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon chanting the name of Namo Amituofo to seek rebirth.
The Blessing of Australia
In Taiwan, Practitioner Su once led the fourfold assembly of disciples around the island. Whether in Taroko Gorge in Hualien or Pingtung and Kenting in the south, from the north to the south and throughout the Central Mountain Range, the Dharma Body of Practitioner Su is present. Even the Tamsui River, the Keelung River, and all the mountains and lands have been saved by Practitioner Su. His Dharma Body deliverance is so vast that it cannot be described.
The final stop is Australia. On this once-arid land, through the compassion of Practitioner Su, rain has been successfully requested. Now, even the hillsides and small mounds are covered with lush green grass, and the cattle and horses can eat fresh, tender grass. The entire regions of Brisbane, Toowoomba, and Goombungee are under the protection of the Buddha. Practitioner Su leads the chanting, saving the entire land—the spirits of the grass, the flowers, and all creeping and flying creatures. Never have I encountered such bright Buddha-light, where all who chant the name of Namo Amituofo are received by the Buddha. Many Australian residents are discussing how the weather in Australia has become increasingly pleasant, with four seasons like spring, and temperatures that are perfectly comfortable. All of this is due to the Dharma Body visualisation and deliverance of the compassionate Practitioner Su. Most moving of all is that, as the space continues to rotate, the Dharma Body of Practitioner Su continues to lead the ancestral masters and the Bodhisattvas of the universe in chanting the name of Namo Amituofo around the Earth. The Dharma Body visualisation and deliverance continue, for the sake of the Earth’s return to its proper orbit and for the cessation of the global pandemic.
Those who study the Pure Land method of chanting the name of Namo Amituofo should cherish their own hearts. Think well, see well, speak well, and act well, and make a firm vow to save all beings. The salvation team chants the name of Namo Amituofo, and in the future, they will surely seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Namo Amituofo.
This interview message was recorded by the Buddha’s disciple, Shi Haiyuan.
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