This interview was recorded on September 5, 2018, at the Hsiang Kuang Buddhist Centre in Australia. The speaker is the late Chang Yung-fa, founder of the Evergreen Group, who shares his reflections on the hidden fears of his life and the ultimate peace he discovered in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Chang Yung-fa speaks:
"My heart has been constantly rising and falling, tossed about like a ship in a storm. I have told myself to settle down, to find meditative concentration, but it simply refuses to be still. I point to my own heart and ask it: 'What are you doing? Why are you in such a state?' My heart whispers back to me that it is afraid. Throughout my life, I have walked with integrity. I have lived uprightly, never wishing to bicker or compete with others. If there was something I could provide for my employees, I was always willing to give. Yet, why does this fear still emerge from the depths of my being? I do not want to face it, and I do not want to listen to its voice.
The Shadow of Impermanence
This fear becomes particularly acute whenever I attend a funeral. I see people who were younger than me, people who were vibrant and full of life, suddenly gone. Some suffered from long illnesses; others departed in an instant. Facing such impermanence, I once thought that because I had seen so much of the world, I could remain unmoved. I thought I had an unmoved mind. How wrong I was. I never imagined that the fear buried at the bottom of my heart was so profound, so deeply rooted.
I am, at my core, an ordinary person. I came from a humble family and built everything I had through my own hard work and determination. Yet, in the end, I had to walk the same path as everyone else. I believe in the laws of and cause and effect, and I believe in destiny. I spent my life searching for the ultimate truth, hoping that I could overcome this fear. This is something that many people never knew about me; I never spoke of it while I was alive. No matter how hard I worked, this fear continued to spread until it manifested in my own illness. At that moment, no one could help me. In the end, I could not overcome this fear on my own. Death, as it is destined for all, finally came for me.
The Legacy of a Mortal Life
When I look back, I suppose my life was enough. Once my photograph is placed on an altar to be worshipped, how many people will truly remember Chang Yung-fa? I suspect there is no one left who will continue the specific style and spirit of my business operations. Once a person dies, they are no longer of value in the eyes of the world. Any desire to accomplish more becomes impossible. It is a sorrowful realisation.
I have already written many letters, and I am still waiting for someone with true Wisdom to uncover them. You must believe that this letter from Chang Yung-fa, written from the Western Pure Land and transmitted through the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, is not some trivial game. It is because this place—and only this place—is capable of receiving messages from the Western Land. The Western Land has resolved my fear; it has resolved the problem of death itself.
A Path to Transformation
When a person has reached the end of their road, when there is nowhere left to turn, this path to the Western Pure Land is the only way forward. I am walking this path now, and I am walking it with great . Everyone who spends the money for a plane ticket to come here will find that their life undergoes a profound change. Take note of this—this is something that everyone in society should learn and embrace."
This message was recorded by the Buddhist disciple Shi Faxin.
