The Hidden Reality of Spiritual Attachment

This is a record of an interview with Venerable Changren, who shares his insights on the nature of spiritual attachment and the path to liberation. He now resides in the Western Pure Land. This account was recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on September 8, 2017.

Venerable Changren speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. Goodness of heart and goodness of thought—these are principles that everyone understands in theory. However, putting them into practice is an entirely different matter. Most people today possess a complex, contradictory nature where good and evil are inextricably intertwined. We are all human, sharing the same physical form, but it is the heart that causes all the trouble. It is uncertain whether one will lean toward the side of goodness or the side of evil at any given moment. If someone were to provide timely guidance on these psychological techniques, it is highly likely that many opportunities for error could be avoided. Ultimately, it all comes down to the importance of education, especially the education of our children.

In today's society, the pace of life is frantic. Parents are overwhelmed by work, and children are burdened by endless academic pressures. The air we breathe is thick with a suffocating atmosphere—an invisible pressure, constant tension, and relentless competition. This is the reality of our modern metropolises. There is not a shred of joy to be seen; instead, people resemble tightly wound robots, carrying an infinite workload, overexerting themselves without any chance for adequate rest. They are constantly compressing their own lives. In such a world, I see only darkness, not a glimmer of light. The lamp that once existed within the hearts of people has long since been quietly extinguished.

The Modern Crisis of the Mind

Many people, when faced with obstacles they cannot overcome, choose to end their own lives. Others suffer from depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, or panic attacks. Some face such immense work pressure that they suffer from chronic insomnia, acid reflux, gastric ulcers, or liver dysfunction. These are the diseases created by modern life. People in the past did not suffer from these specific illnesses or emotional states. Today, technology is so advanced, and our medical care and environmental hygiene are far superior to the past, yet we have somehow lost more of our happiness. Life hardly feels like living anymore. From many perspectives, technology is truly not a blessing; it has replaced many human functions, and while it brings convenience, it also brings a host of physical and mental illnesses. Have you ever stopped to examine the vast difference between the past and the present?

The seasons are erratic, natural disasters occur frequently across the globe, and impermanence strikes constantly. How did the concept of 'favourable weather and peaceful harvests' become nothing more than a hollow phrase? Even the heads of state, who should be the first to prioritise these changes, do not seem to grasp the gravity of the situation. In ancient times, although there were few truly enlightened rulers, they at least understood the basics. When faced with droughts or floods, they would issue decrees for the national preceptor to pray for the mitigation of disasters, ordering all citizens to join in prayer. Often, their sincerity would move the heavens, and calamities would be averted. People today cannot achieve this because the purity of their hearts has been lost. Most are already spinning in circles, preoccupied with their own affairs; it is difficult for them to shift their focus to others, let alone cultivate the grand mind-capacity required to care for the nation or the world. This gradually shrinking mindset has morphed into what we call selfishness.

The Truth About Spiritual Attachment

How could a selfish heart ever lead to a good result? When you do anything while harbouring selfishness and various evil thoughts—fearing that you will suffer a loss, fearing that you will be cheated, or living in constant fear—it makes your personality suspicious, panicked, anxious, and stressed. To survive, many people have no choice but to keep struggling. Some are willing to seek medical or psychiatric help, but they do not necessarily recover. Instead, they find themselves in a cycle of repeated visits, and due to the over-prescription of psychiatric medication, their bodies and minds become increasingly neurotic. They carry layers of unresolved knots in their hearts, untold grievances, and the sorrow of not being understood. Insomnia occurs at irregular intervals, heart palpitations appear occasionally, and the erosion of stomach acid feels like the burning pain of a heart on fire. A chain reaction of events drags them down completely, leaving only fleeting moments of joy. Most of the time, it is truly terrifying. Whether you study Buddhism or not, I want to tell you: you have a spiritual attachment! If you have doubts, I will continue to explain, and I ask that you continue to read. This is a very important truth.

There are so many indescribable emotions and pains, and while you cannot see the reasons behind them, they create a chaotic mess. Imagine that in your daily life, there are people with different personalities around you, making a huge noise, crying and laughing. You do not understand why they are acting this way, but you can clearly feel their emotions. You can imagine this analogy: someone is laughing, and the person standing next to them is crying, or someone is experiencing an emotional outburst. You can see it clearly. Now, if you bring this analogy into your own body, it is called 'spiritual attachment'. If these people are not human, but are the spirits we are all familiar with, and they enter your body simultaneously, their emotions will cause a ruckus within you. Because you cannot know that it is their interference, it manifests as inexplicable emotions. How many people today suffer from such emotional disorders? Let me continue.

The Body as a Gateway to Other Spaces

How many people do not understand the significance of the night? Perhaps some of the older generation still clearly understand the principle of not wandering around late at night, for fear of encountering spirits. But this concept needs to be adjusted. The truth is that spirits are already everywhere in space; they simply exist in a different dimension from humans, yet they live in the same way. One belongs to the yin, and the other to the yang. Yang exists in the day, and yin represents the night. In the simple society of ancient times, this distinction was quite clear, but society today has become completely distorted. Both day and night are now filled with the invisible world. Why do these deceased spirits not go to the underworld for questioning? Because most of them have too much attachment. They are not necessarily brought back by the jailers of hell. They may linger in the environments they were attached to, or beside the matters they cannot let go of. The space they exist in does not interfere with our lives—that is what we call a 'space'. They enter our space for only one reason: because they want to.

I believe humans have often experienced the act of 'entering a space'. Some might say they just had a daydream. People with active minds easily enter such scenarios while thinking, and in that moment, it is as if they have entered another world, completely disconnected from reality. Often, when they wake up, they are shocked to realise they seemed to have had a dream. Some people are aware of entering these spaces; this is something that comes from thought. If we speak of the final thought at the moment of death—the subconscious thought that manifests before passing—that is the thought, person, or thing you are most attached to and cannot let go of. Once this thought arises, it will completely lead you into that space. No one can open that space for you, and you will find it difficult to leave. From the past to the present, how many people have entered these spaces for this reason? It is immeasurable, filling the void. You cannot see it, but it is real.

The Path of True Deliverance

Many people acknowledge the existence of magnetic fields, and science has even partially verified them, but it is not deep enough because there is still too much that technology cannot see. Humans rely on all kinds of technological research and scientific exploration, yet there are still great limitations in breaking through space. However, no one dares to say that these things do not exist. Everyone is just deceiving themselves, only willing to believe after seeing evidence. Scientists rarely believe in Buddhism, and even less in human instinct. Most only believe when evidence is presented before their eyes, not knowing that the true evidence can be seen through the body's own instincts. These external inventions find it difficult to break through these inexplicable spaces. Only the instinct of the true self can break through space without any obstacles. This is an innate skill that everyone possesses. As long as you are completely purified, it will appear naturally. Everyone now acknowledges the 'yin-yang eye', and many are born with it. No one denies the reality of the invisible world seen by these people. It is the same principle: when all obstacles are removed, your instincts in every part of your body—when the Six Roots come into contact with the Six Dusts—will be clear and bright. You will be able to connect with these infinitely layered spaces. That is true skill; it is natural and easy. This is practice—true practice. It is only a matter of whether you want to find it again; there is no such thing as 'I cannot do it'.

The human body is so inconceivable and difficult to describe. These external worlds are filled with so many spaces. The 'multi-dimensional space' that everyone talks about now is the same concept. Now, I want to tell you: the human body also has equally complex spaces. Why do humans have such complex emotions, thoughts, and personalities? Why do we need sleep? The more sentimental and mentally chaotic a person is, the more easily they become exhausted or physically unwell, because these people's bodies are also attached to more spirits. Some explain this as a form of karma, which is indeed correct. Because of this interference, it is like receiving retribution, and the body and mind find it difficult to be cool and at ease. Isn't it painful to have such complex and lingering thoughts that you cannot let go of?

A Call for Compassion and Unity

In the streets and alleys today, how many people have lost their autonomy, manipulated by these external forces to the point where they are no longer themselves? What does this mean? Everyone has heard of 'spiritual attachment'. In folk customs, it is also called 'being possessed by yin'. It is indeed being possessed—stuck between layers of cells, stuck between the layers of the brain, stuck between layers of cavities. If you have the blessings to believe this, you should awaken. A human life is meant for receiving retribution and repaying debts. The more attached you are, the more these beings will look down on us, because would you respect someone who is greedy for life and afraid of death? Moreover, those who come knocking are the spirits we have harmed in the past—what we call 'karmic creditors'. Many people know that the laws of karma and cause and effect are not empty, and they know that they are born with karma, but most still do not understand how karma seeks revenge. I wonder how much you understand now? Of course, how much you can take in depends on your own karmic affinity, because your body is currently in this very process. If you know how to wake up and then resolve it, you have a chance to be saved. If you would rather choose not to believe, that is fine, because you will simply continue like the masses around you, following your original destiny, and in the end, you will end up exactly as you were meant to: when the time comes, you will encounter the inescapable laws of karma. Whether you believe this or change your path depends entirely on you.

These layered spaces must be resolved through Chao Du. Only true deliverance can solve this. They are also sentient beings, but because of their attachments and their desire for revenge, they have no way to be reborn and no body of their own. When they receive true deliverance, let go of their grievances and attachments, and return to the place they should go to start anew—or better yet, reach the Western Pure Land—that is the best result. I have seen the deliverance here; it can send them to the Three Good Realms. Some who truly lack blessings may fall into the heavenly or human realms, but at least they have gone where they should go, and it is impossible for them to come back to seek revenge. It is not about forcing them away; this is the best way to reconcile. If there are no more of these karmic creditors seeking revenge, wouldn't many of the retributions in the body also disappear?

Everyone should have this concept: each of us, through countless cycles of rebirth, has encountered different conditions. We have followed goodness when meeting goodness, and followed evil when meeting evil. So-called killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and lying are all possible, but they are already in the past. It is impossible to change the facts of past lives, so there is no need to immerse yourself in the emotions of being miserable or sinful. Everyone has an unfathomable personality—very strong, and sometimes very bad. Perhaps you have already seen that you have such a personality. It is hard to guarantee that you did not create karma in some past life; you certainly did. If you have the courage to face these things, you can properly communicate with these karmic creditors who have been entangled with you for lifetimes in this life, truly resolving the conflict. This is also a compassionate act of helping them be liberated from hatred and suffering. This is a good thing, and it completely resolves karmic debts. As the opportunity arises, you can settle them one by one and communicate truly with your body. In modern psychology, there are related findings and research on talking to the body. In fact, this communication is meant for the karmic creditors stuck in certain parts or organs of your body to hear. When they are agitated and seeking revenge, that part of your body may ache. When you communicate with them and their mood improves, that pain will ease. If you take medication to control it, the pain will temporarily subside because they have hidden away, but when the effect of the medicine wears off, they will return. Many times, they are stubborn and bite down on their grievances, unwilling to let go. If you believe these facts, are you willing to compassionately invite them out from within your body, communicate with them properly, and sincerely repent to them to soothe their resentment? When they are willing to resolve the conflict with you, many diseases, perhaps even cancer, can be cured without medicine. This will be the most fundamental way to solve the problem.

At the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, I see what is called 'learning Buddhism without illness', because I can see all the spaces. The methods here are highly sophisticated. In fact, it cannot be called 'healing people with supernatural powers'; rather, it is that these karmic creditors are willing to open their hearts and let go of their grievances. In the middle of this, a bridge of communication is needed. I have seen many real phenomena here; I hear everyone call this 'inviting spirits'.

In my time, we did not have these things. When I practiced, I was also diligent in studying Buddhism, practicing Chan, and reciting the Sutras. But looking back now, some masters with great merit in their practice did indeed completely transform their karma through the power of their vows. However, the majority of people could not shake off their karma. For example, even after practicing, their bodies would eventually become weak, ill, short, or crooked. These various states, called 'aging' and 'sickness', are actually the appearance of receiving karmic retribution. But everyone has not yet been able to understand this. So, now that you can see these things, you should not be in a hurry to deny them. Instead, use your body to experience it. They will tell you the most truthful answer. It can only be attributed to those with enough blessings and karmic affinity who find it easier to believe.

Living in this world, karmic creditors and karma are always by our side. You may have heard of these things, but you do not necessarily take them seriously, which is why birth, aging, sickness, and death seem so universal. A method to liberate oneself from all of this has appeared, yet people think it is strange talk. Everything about human change is too self-centred. Today, the changes in the four seasons are hard to separate from the changes in the human heart and our collective karma. I currently exist in the void, and I can see all these causes, conditions, and fruits very clearly. The compassion and mind-capacity of Practitioner Su are truly vast. She breaks through layers of space, communicates with every molecule, spreads goodness, guides toward goodness, and turns all evil into all goodness. Now, it can be said that because of the mixture of good and evil, the turmoil in the magnetic fields and spaces has also affected the peace of nature. The seasons are so indistinct; is this any different from the human heart being unable to distinguish between good and evil?

Practitioner Su's compassion, her efforts in deliverance, and the magnificence of the scenes are truly moving. Although I am a person from a different space, or one could say a completely different era, seeing this intention in the human world gives me hope that there is still hope in the Dharma-Ending Age. I only hope that more powerful forces will appear soon. The power of unity can change all of this, and the power of unity is great; it will certainly be able to make the seasons distinct again. This is just a concept; in fact, what needs to be done is to restore the prosperous age of the True Teachings. Only in this way can the world be stable, and all turmoil can continue to be peaceful. All sentient beings with karmic affinity should be moved and come forward to join in; the power needs to be even stronger.

This is not an ordinary bodhimanda. Namo Amituofo is already residing in the world. The extent of the Dharma affinity here is the extent to which He can exert His influence. Changren is very moved. I am grateful to Practitioner Su for leading us in this. Every day, along with the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and all the ancestral masters, we work together to deliver sentient beings with karmic affinity. If the power of the human world becomes stronger, the True Teachings of the world will surely be achieved. I hope everyone will stop being selfish. Namo Amituofo.

Australia Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre

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