The Legacy of the Sacred Sound Tribe

This is a record of an interview with the 720th Venerable, Weiqin, who lived approximately 3,721 years ago. He sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia and now resides in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. This interview was recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on August 26, 2018.

Venerable Weiqin speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. In our Sacred Sound Tribe, we had a unique tradition: whenever a man felt affection for a woman, he would play a clay flute to express his love. If the woman accepted his pursuit, she would keep the flute as a token of their commitment.

A man would only ever possess one clay flute in his lifetime, upon which he would carve his own name. Once he gave this flute away, he could not pursue another. Because of this, there were no complicated romantic entanglements in our tribe. We knew and cherished one another; there was absolutely no such thing as having multiple wives, nor was there any room for infidelity or fickle hearts.

A Tribe United in Faith

The greatest characteristic of our tribe was that everyone believed in the Buddha. Many men would even carve the holy name of Namo Amituofo onto their clay flutes, dedicating their entire lives to this faith.

In this deeply faithful community, the residents were all devout Buddhists who worshipped only one Buddha—Namo Amituofo. We had many rules, one of which was: if a family did not believe in the Buddha, they could not have descendants. This was because children raised without the teachings of the Dharma would inevitably fall back into the six realms of rebirth. Our great elder did not permit this. Every spirit has already suffered enough in the cycle of rebirth; to finally obtain a human body in this life, only to fail to hear the Buddha's teachings and continue the cycle of samsara, would be a tragedy. It would be better not to come into this world to suffer at all.

From Chaos to Community

I was the great elder of this Sacred Sound Tribe. At the time, the environment was plagued by war, and many people were fleeing for their lives. Seeing everyone displaced and homeless, I gathered them all together, found this land with a water source, and slowly began to build our tribe here.

Not long after the tribe was established, a monk came to teach the Dharma. I was not familiar with the Buddha's teachings at the time, but I remembered the single phrase that monk taught me: 'Namo Amituofo.'

A Vision of Compassion

One day, I dreamt that I had fallen into the vast ocean. In that moment of life-and-death crisis, I found myself chanting 'Namo Amituofo.' I chanted it clearly, word by word. Just then, a pair of compassionate hands reached out and pulled me from the sea. I saw with my own eyes that those hands were the hands of the Buddha—the very same Buddha the monk had shown me: Namo Amituofo.

The Buddha compassionately saved me, hoping that I, too, would use a compassionate heart to save others. In the dream, after being rescued, I was taken by a group of people to another tribe. When I awoke, I was lying on a luxurious bed. A king wearing a crown welcomed me with a smile, saying that I was an envoy sent by the Buddha to bring the Dharma to his nation. Although they lived in wealth, their hearts were filled with suffering, and they needed the Buddha to help them leave suffering behind.

I did not understand the Dharma well, but I was fortunate to remember 'Namo Amituofo.' So, I taught them to chant this Buddha-name, believing that as long as they chanted with sincerity, they could leave suffering behind. Before long, the entire nation was truly saved. Their hearts were simple, and they firmly believed that the Buddha could save them. They chanted every day with joy, completely different from their previous state of sorrow. This changed the entire nation, which had once been grey and dim, into a place of light.

The Great Sacred Kingdom

I did not have only this one dream. The very next day, I had another. In this dream, I visited a beautiful land, home to a magnificent nation of Buddhist practitioners called the Great Sacred Kingdom. The citizens of the Great Sacred Kingdom were all devout followers of the Buddha's teachings. They were not merely infatuated with the Dharma; they truly followed the teachings in their daily lives. Every citizen was able to return to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss at the end of their lives.

The Great Sacred Kingdom was filled with the fragrance of lotus flowers, which was the scent of the pure, undefiled hearts of the people—a fragrance earned through true practice. I admired this Buddhist kingdom and decided to learn from them. I resolved to transform my own tribe into a Buddhist tribe, allowing the residents to be nurtured by the Dharma. I encouraged every couple to use the Buddha's teachings to raise their children, believing that under the guidance of the Dharma, the human heart could return to its original purity. Everywhere would be the sound of the Buddha's teachings, and everywhere would be pure and peaceful.

The Transformation of the Tribe

In my childhood, I grew up in extreme poverty, in a place where good and evil were mixed. My parents were scavengers, and our home was built of dilapidated wooden boards. It was not only unstable but constantly leaked rain and let in the cold wind. In such an environment, no villager was happy. Every day was spent in depression and anxiety, and the sky over the village was always grey and dark. The villagers had never known what a bright sun looked like; the darkness in their hearts had long since covered all light.

Now that I had built this tribe, many of the villagers from my past were here. To help them leave suffering behind, I decided to follow the example of the Great Sacred Kingdom and make this a Buddhist tribe.

I sought the Dharma everywhere, brought it into the tribe, and renamed it the 'Amitabha Tribe.' I established new tribal regulations, one of which was: the residents of the Amitabha Tribe are all people of tremendous blessing, for in this life, they have come to know the preciousness of the Buddha's teachings. From this day forward, there is no suffering in our lives, only peace and joy, and the single phrase: Namo Amituofo. The purpose of these rules was to use the Dharma to foster a spirit of Goodness throughout the tribe, to cultivate pure hearts, and to unite the strength of the entire tribe to chant the Buddha's name and save beings.

A Life Dedicated to the Dharma

After the tribe became stable, I decided to become a monk and study the Buddha's teachings, becoming the first bhikshu of the tribe. Many young people also decided to follow me into monastic life. We were single-minded in our devotion to the Buddha, dedicating the rest of our lives to the Dharma.

There is no suffering in the world; suffering comes from the human heart. When the heart has the Buddha, how can there be suffering? When the residents of the Amitabha Tribe understood that all suffering is born from the heart, everyone's heart rested securely in the Buddha-name. Every place we lived, every inch of ground we stepped upon, was forever a pure, peaceful, and joyful land. The Dharma brings peace to the human heart, and contentment brings all joy. When the heart has the Buddha, the Buddha is everywhere; the Western Land is right before our eyes.

The residents of the Amitabha Tribe emerged from their original darkness into the light. Every household took on the role of passing down the Buddha's teachings. Every generation of descendants was born for the sake of this transmission. Although the Amitabha Tribe was materially poor, it was spiritually like a wealthy nation. The joy brought by the Dharma was inexhaustible. Every resident's goal was the Western Land, and we all made a pact to meet again in the West. We pledged to create not just an Amitabha Tribe, but an Amitabha Nation, leading every citizen to believe in Amitabha, chant Amitabha, and meet Amitabha, so that the sound of the Buddha's teachings would be passed down through the generations forever.

Practitioner Su's Dharma Body Chao Du

Practitioner Su's Dharma Body enters the universe to perform Chao Du for the entire cosmic world, leading the cosmic Bodhisattvas around her to participate as well. These cosmic Bodhisattvas were originally demon crowds, but after being transformed by Practitioner Su, they became cosmic Bodhisattvas, following her daily to perform Chao Du. Their power is immense. Each one originally held a place of influence in the universe, and now, returning to the universe to perform Chao Du, they do so within their own spheres of influence, proclaiming the holy name of Namo Amituofo.

All the cosmic Bodhisattvas exert their power throughout the universe, turning evil into Goodness. As good thoughts gather and the good Dharma flows, the golden light in the universe will never be extinguished, and the holy name of Namo Amituofo will be passed down forever. Namo Amituofo."