The Inconceivable Truths of Spiritual Deliverance

This is a record of an interview with the Venerable Chan-yun, who sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This account reflects upon his insights into the nature of spiritual reality and the work of Practitioner Su. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa-xi, on February 6, 2021.

Venerable Chan-yun speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Chan-yun. What the eyes perceive is not necessarily the truth, let alone that which remains unseen. In this world, there are far too many inconceivable phenomena. One must always use the Truth as a yardstick for judgment; do not make rash conclusions. You must possess the Wisdom to discern what is real and what is false. This is of the utmost importance. Sometimes, a single erroneous view or a misguided action can cause you to miss a vital opportunity or lead you into a state of deep delusion. Within this Five Turbidities and Evil World, you must maintain a righteous heart, follow the Truth, and set aside your own subjective biases.

The Illusion of the Senses

The void is infinitely vast, and the boundless dimensions are layered in an endless, intricate web. There are always inconceivable things that one has never witnessed before. Therefore, do not cling to your own subjective views regarding any matter; instead, use your heart to truly understand. Many people do not grasp the knowledge of practice. You must understand that practice must arise from one's own root capacity. Everyone must be clear about where they came from and where they will go upon death. This is the most fundamental understanding of life—knowing your own path and your ultimate destination.

I am a practitioner of many years, and my experience tells me that practice is about transforming oneself. Furthermore, one must gradually transcend this physical body. Do not be attached to this body; you must find the methods to counteract such attachments. Listening to the Dharma is essential. You must seek the true meaning of life within the Dharma and its principles, and then execute those principles in your daily life. Practice requires the willingness to act, the resolve to do, the intention to commit, and the strength to carry it through. If you can do it, then do it—that is what will truly help you. If you are not going to do it, then stop thinking about it. Do not dwell on the faults of others; keep your own body and mind pure. However, I must reiterate: the most important thing is to actually do it.

The Essence of True Practice

Action is vital to practice. Practice is not merely about studying textbooks; it is about chanting the Buddha's name, performing prostrations, and participating in Dharma assemblies. You must know how to cultivate your body and nature, transforming your daily life into the path of practice. Change must come from within that 'action,' and through such daily life, you must gradually adjust and correct yourself. Nowadays, one can often see variations in the daily conduct of practitioners. The subtle differences lie in the 'thought' and in the lack of integrity in one's path. Yet, it is not easy to spot these flaws in veteran practitioners, because if practice is only superficial, what is truly contained within?

It is the inner state that will lead you to rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, not the external appearance. 'Gold on the outside, rotten on the inside'—this saying describes the situation quite aptly. For the fourfold assembly of disciples currently practicing in the bodhimanda, your practice must rely on your inner state, not on external competition. If the inner 'heart' is no longer pure, what do these external honors and achievements represent? If you cannot truly liberate yourself from the cycle of birth and death, then what is the value of being a monastic or a lay practitioner in the temple? If your practice does not lead to ultimate achievement, and you are merely seeking peace or a place of refuge, then such external seeking will yield nothing.

The Inner Path to Liberation

To the disciples currently practicing at Lianyin Temple, your practice must not be superficial; you must learn to see the inner reality. What is there to seek in a lifetime of practice? If what you seek is still for the sake of this world, then it is truly a pity! Even if you practise, you will not awaken. The old master's sincere advice is this: 'Turn back, for the shore is right there!'

'Awakening' should be regarded as the most important realization of your life. This human body is hard to obtain; how precious is this life? To be able to benefit the masses—that is what is truly valuable. The method of benefiting others must be ultimate; it must be able to guide the masses to eventually reach the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. That is the true transmission of the Good Dharma. Do not continue to dwell in the ways of the world. Even if you diligently cultivate the Precepts, Concentration and Wisdom, it is to no avail if your inner nature cannot awaken. The situations you encounter in your practice are all problems of your own self. You must know how to adjust your inner heart; that is the only way to reach the ultimate truth of practice.

I hope that disciples from Lianyin Temple will come here. The Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia is magnificent; it is a rare opportunity to come here and seek the Dharma. What is 'inner nature pure cultivation'? It is true purity, the ability to find one's true self.

Witnessing the Work of Practitioner Su

Spreading the Dharma to save the world requires one to stop making discriminations. You must be able to take refuge in one heart; only then is it authentic. I am waiting here, hoping for the time when the Buddha's teachings will flourish. Only the righteous path of Namo Amituofo is the same; we must be united, with one heart, imitating the Buddha-heart and the Buddha-actions.

Practice requires a heart of ease. Without a heart of ease, all practice remains illusory because you cannot return to your true self. If you do not integrate practice into your life, you will remain a worldly person no matter how many years you practise. How much blessing and karmic affinity is lost in this way? You must examine yourself clearly. When you see a practitioner who still has a heart for fame and profit, you know that their practice has never entered their heart; they are not even as good as a practitioner outside the gate. When you see a practitioner who still has desires and emotional attachments, you know that their practice has not settled their heart; they are still far from the Buddha's gate. Life turns to dust in the passage of time, causing the heart to follow the dust, changing and unstable. When you cannot know the Great Dharma of the true nature and only practice outside the Dharma or seek from the Dharma, these things do not reach the inner heart, and the inner state cannot be transformed.

A practice that cannot break through is not a true practice; you must be aware of this! Why have I come to convey these words today? Because in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, I have seen the Buddha's Dharma set sail. My Buddha, Namo Amituofo, has personally descended, leading the Western sages, the celestial deities, the Four Sacred Realms, and countless sentient beings with karmic affinity—both visible and invisible—to begin this voyage of saving the world. Such a magnificent and extraordinary event is something I also wish to contribute my humble efforts toward. Whenever the mission to save the world orbits the Earth, I actively participate. Seeing so many spirits trapped in the suffering of space, I wish to help them find liberation. I also hope that the disciples who are learning the Buddha's teachings in this world can know of this reality—the existence of space and the difficulty of saving all beings in the void. This is the true state of affairs that everyone should know. If you do not find liberation in this lifetime, how can you truly escape suffering? In the future, the vastness of space is infinite; it is hard to guarantee that you will be able to escape. How difficult that would be! I hope that while you are still in this world, you will consider carefully: is it time to be diligent and earnest?

A Call to Repentance and Deliverance

Breaking through and realizing one's true nature—how important these are! These are the truths I have witnessed daily during the Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. The capable one you often hear of, Practitioner Su, performs spiritual deliverance by visualizing in the void. She possesses the great power of the Buddha. Every minute and every second, there are immeasurable Dharma Bodies transforming infinitely. Countless incarnations of a thousand Buddhas follow the Buddha-name, traversing infinite space and endless time. Practitioner Su acts on behalf of the Buddha to save the world; in the void, she is respectfully called 'Practitioner Su'. Practitioner Su exerts the innate power of her true nature, and over many years, she has already saved countless spirits, allowing them to find liberation from suffering. Now, Practitioner Su has made an even greater vow, hoping for the Buddha's blessings. Every morning, Practitioner Su and the various ancestral masters lead the assembly to orbit the Earth and various places, opening up space and saving countless spirits from their confinement. Many of these spaces are still trapped in the environment and circumstances of their time. Whenever Practitioner Su begins her visualization for Chao Du, many spaces are opened due to the sound of the six-character Buddha-name and the Buddha's blessings. The sound of the Buddha's name enters the ears of the spirits in those spaces; they awaken and are moved to depart. Many spirits were originally trapped in their own attachments, circling in those spaces for many lifetimes, unable to leave. If it were not for the compassionate vow of Practitioner Su and her powerful visualization for Chao Du, these spaces would still be locked today. Many beings are deluded and stubborn, which is why they are trapped in space for lifetime after lifetime, unable to find liberation. It is Practitioner Su's compassionate heart, carefully visualizing the spirits in every space, that allows them to be liberated. Practitioner Su's heart for all beings is something all practitioners should learn from—like the Buddha's great vow, truly acting in unison with the Buddha to save the world. There are many places in the world that hold Dharma assemblies for deliverance, but there are very few places where the Buddha is truly present, and even fewer that can truly deliver beings to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. The Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre is a magnificent place; I hope everyone will cherish it.

In the past, when I was practicing, I never possessed the great power that Practitioner Su has to visualize and deliver beings. Practitioner Su exerts her innate ability, which is truly worthy of praise! The ability to open up space and connect with beings is extremely rare. Practitioner Su performs the visualization for Chao Du time and time again, opening more different spaces and saving more spirits each time. I participate in this, joining the ranks of those saving the world, following the chanting of the Buddha's name for deliverance. During these sessions, I have seen many scenes and the reality within those spaces. Saving the world is truly not easy. There are too few people in the world today who have a heart to save the world like Practitioner Su! The world needs more people like Practitioner Su who are willing to make such a vow, to join the ranks of those saving the world, and there must be capable people to support this mission. The Buddha's teachings are vast; this magnificent Dharma lineage must not be broken; it must be propagated. I am very happy to see the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre growing step by step; one day, it will surely become the leader of the Buddha's teachings.

I thank my Buddha for his compassion, and I thank Practitioner Su for allowing me to participate in these Dharma missions to save the world. Every time I participate, I am filled with emotion. There are many scenes I have never seen before, and seeing countless beings led by the Buddha to liberation—that scene is truly magnificent! The Buddha's compassion is always to save beings, but beings are unwilling to wake up. Therefore, practice requires not only the Buddha's power but also one's own power; only then can one realize one's true nature and find liberation.

I never imagined that every person has so many beings and karmic creditors. When I followed the mission to save the world and stood in the void, I saw many beings with whom I had karmic affinities from my past lives beginning to appear. I was truly frightened at the time. I believed in the existence of these beings from past lives, but I did not know there were so many, beyond calculation. As I followed the mission to save the world, every sound of the Buddha's name allowed these spirits with karmic affinities to me to open their spaces and find liberation. Seeing this, my heart felt heavy. If it were not for the help of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre and Practitioner Su, I would have had no chance to deliver these beings. Because I have become a spirit without a physical body, it would have been difficult for me to complete the work of deliverance without the leadership of Practitioner Su. If these spirits could not be liberated, so many beings with karmic affinities would still be trapped in space. This makes my heart feel quite heavy, but it also makes me even more grateful for this place, the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, and grateful for my Buddha's compassion, and grateful to Practitioner Su.

Here, I would like to advise the people of the world: you must perform Chao Du. Otherwise, you have owed too many karmic debts throughout your many lives, and they are difficult to repay. If you do not repay them in this lifetime, you will have to face karmic retribution in the next life. When will it ever end? You must use your lifetime to do your best to repay these karmic debts one by one, and also deliver them to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This is true practice, and only then can you achieve true success.

I thank the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre for manifesting the true Dharma for the world, and I thank Practitioner Su for her compassion in delivering beings. I hope that the masses can come here to receive the Dharma, learn the Dharma, and truly act according to the Truth. Let us all propagate the true meaning of Namo Amituofo and the truth of life, so that life does not lose its precious opportunity. With infinite gratitude, Namo Amituofo abides at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. Namo Amituofo."

This interview message was recorded by the Buddhist disciple Shi Fa-xi.