The Journey of Lay Practitioner Huang Zhongchang: Lessons on Rebirth

Namo Amituofo. I am Huang Zhongchang. Through the introduction of the venerable Master Chin Kung, many fellow practitioners in the Pure Land school came to know me. For a long time, it was widely believed that after my two years and ten months of closed-door retreat, I had successfully attained rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. I feel deeply ashamed to admit the truth: I did not reach the Western Pure Land. Instead, I entered the twenty-eighth heaven of the celestial realm.

A Vow to Test the Path of Liberation

I was merely an ordinary person with an indescribable reverence for the Buddha’s teachings and the Pure Land. While volunteering at a library in Shenzhen, Guangdong, I heard the venerable Master Chin Kung speak of ancient masters who attained rebirth after three years of Buddha-recitation. I approached the librarian, Xiang Xiaoli, and expressed my desire to test this teaching. She compassionately agreed to support my retreat, and thus began my life of closed-door Buddha-recitation and silence.

My journey was not without its challenges. At the beginning, I struggled with restlessness and anxiety. I focused on:

• Chanting the Buddha-name
• Repenting for my past transgressions
• Purifying my heart and mind

Eventually, my mind became as still as water. I once felt anxious, wondering why, despite such diligent practice, I had not yet achieved the state where the Buddha-name flows continuously without interruption. It was then that I realised my own intense desire for success was the very obstacle preventing the pure and perfect Buddha-name from flowing naturally. Once I had this realisation, I let go of all my thoughts. Every word that left my lips was the name of Namo Amituofo. Everything my eyes beheld was the Buddha. Whether sentient or insentient, all were the Buddha. My heart was filled with nothing but the Buddha. It was a state of unity, purity, and untainted serenity.

The Mirage of Light and the Test of Faith

However, one must not become attached to these states. Even this sense of purity must be released. To let go means not to linger, not to look back, and to continue chanting the Buddha-name straight ahead. I chanted until there was no self, no outside, and no inside. My body and mind seemed to shatter and merge into one. I lost all physical sensation and felt no constraints. The Buddha-name flowed through my entire being, transcending all concepts of time and space. This was the state of my practice toward the end of my retreat.

As the days passed, I suddenly saw a brilliant golden light filling my room. The sound of Buddha-recitation echoed constantly in my ears. I did not dare to act rashly. Yet, a powerful force compelled me to enter the light to investigate. To my surprise, the golden light carried me away to the twenty-eighth heaven. I had failed the test of entering the Western Pure Land. I had not seen the Buddha, nor had I seen the lotus throne before I was swept into that golden light. I knew that to attain rebirth, one must see Namo Amituofo, who comes with a lotus throne to lead the practitioner to the West. Why, then, did I enter the golden light so easily? All the knowledge I had acquired in my daily life proved useless at that critical moment. As soon as my spirit left my body, I was taken to the twenty-eighth heaven.

Guided by Compassion to the Western Land

Time passed until one day, I suddenly heard a voice calling, "Huang Zhongchang, Huang Zhongchang, where are you?" It was the voice of Practitioner Su, which pierced through the dimensions and reached me in the celestial realm. A beam of golden light then transported me to the Hsiang Kuang room of Practitioner Su. The truth was revealed: I had not reached the Western Pure Land. I remained in the Dharma-Nature Land of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre to listen to the teachings. Finally, during the Thrice Yearning Ceremony, Practitioner Su helped me reach the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. I am only now sharing this account of what happened after my passing. Regardless of the path taken, I am now in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and this message is transmitted from the West and recorded by the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre.

A Mirror for the Journey Home

This process may have been shocking to those who believed I had already reached the Western Pure Land, but I believe it was the compassion of the Buddha that allowed me to provide this demonstration. I was an ordinary person with a stubborn personality and heavy ego-attachment. After nearly two years and ten months of retreat, listening to the teachings, repenting, and changing my ways, I was able to wash away the dust from my character. Reaching the twenty-eighth heaven was already a great fortune, but it was also a result of my own carelessness in following the golden light without hesitation.

I urge everyone to remember: seeing golden light is not enough to attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land. You must see Namo Amituofo come to lead you before you follow. Otherwise, even if the lifespan of the celestial realm is long, you will still be trapped within the six realms of rebirth. I am deeply grateful to Namo Amituofo, to Practitioner Su, to the librarian Xiang Xiaoli for her care, and to the venerable Master Chin Kung for his nomination, which allowed Practitioner Su to know my name and gave me this true opportunity to reach the Western Pure Land.

My journey can serve as a mirror for all of you. Only when you see Namo Amituofo can you follow. Even if one has cultivation and virtue, or if one's physical body is cremated and produces relics, it does not necessarily mean one has truly attained rebirth in the Western Pure Land. Even those in the celestial realms can have their bodies cremated and produce relics.

The Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre is now preparing to build the Mituo Village, where Practitioner Su can help those who reside there attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Practitioner Su truly possesses this ability; he is a rare treasure in this world. I hope you will all cherish this opportunity. In this human world, how many people truly understand the Pure Land, truly chant the Buddha-name, and truly let go of all worldly attachments? Even if one sincerely makes the vow to be reborn in the Western Pure Land, how many can actually succeed when the critical moment arrives? It is not easy. Now that you have this opportunity to be guided by Practitioner Su, you must have faith. I, Huang Zhongchang, am a living example. I hope that all your great vows to be reborn in the Western Pure Land will come true. Namo Amituofo.