The Lesson of the Question

This is a record of an interview with the spirit of Venerable Master Chin Kung, who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Dharma-Nature Land. This account reflects upon his transition and the lessons learned after his passing. Recorded by the chief writer, Venerable HaiZe, on August 31, 2022.

Venerable Master Chin Kung speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. Today, the Buddha has given me a topic: 'Question.' It is a truly magnificent topic! In the past, whenever I travelled to any place, I would always respond to the requests of the faithful, offering a few words to uplift their spirits. I would often tell them that if they had questions, they could ask, and I would provide answers on the spot. That is how several volumes of 'Questions and Answers on Buddhism' were compiled—they were simply the questions posed by others and my responses to them.

In my daily life, whenever I had a question, I could always find the answer within the Dharma Jewels. The Dharma Jewels of everyone else were, of course, my own as well. I merely had the advantage of being able to read the original texts, the sutras, and the commentaries of the ancestral masters. If one could integrate these teachings, draw parallels, and suddenly achieve an 'Aha!' moment—a moment of true awakening—the joy would be boundless. That is what we call being filled with Dharma joy! However, the Chin Kung of today is a spirit that does not die. I am but a single soul here in this Western Dharma-Nature Land. Looking around, I see a world of pure light, but there are no books to read. Now, with this topic 'Question' given to me by Namo Amituofo, I must rely entirely on myself to find the answers! And indeed, one should always rely on oneself. Our true nature is inherently complete; why would one need to search for topics or answers? There is no need. That is the way of the world, and it is what those who have not yet awakened require. It is truly necessary, and we call those the Dharma Jewels—the precious legacy left to us by the ancestral masters. But once you have become an awakened being, you yourself can leave behind Dharma Jewels for those who come after you!"

The Flexibility of the True Nature

"The process of awakening for every practitioner is different because our Causal Conditions from accumulated lifetimes are different. It is perfectly reasonable for Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to manifest in different eras, speaking different words, wearing different clothes, and appearing either as monastics or as lay practitioners and volunteers to demonstrate awakening and attain Buddhahood.

In truth, all Buddhas walk the same path. Everyone's heart is, in reality, 'no-mind'—it is the Buddha nature within you, a vast treasury of light where everything is clearly understood. But if one wishes to manifest this light to save sentient beings, one must have a form that others can see, feel, and grasp. We must use language or text to express it, providing a point of reliance for the hearts of others. These situations have differences within their similarities, and similarities within their differences. This is the flexibility of our true nature.

How does one express awakening? You have whatever you need. As I have often said, Prajna wisdom is 'knowing nothing, yet knowing everything and being capable of everything.' If you want to know something, it is there; if you do not wish to know, there is nothing. It is so free and easy! Just like Practitioner Su, who can explain any passage of scripture or any phrase at will—that is the true nature. He has been like this for a long time; he is a treasure. It was I who did not cherish this treasure properly. Fortunately, this treasure is still in the human world, and everyone can go and seek it. Furthermore, Namo Amituofo is also present at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. This is truly a treasure upon a treasure!"

The Arrogance of the 'Humble'

"So, how should I develop this topic of 'Question'? Should I ask and answer myself? Or should someone else ask, and I answer? Either way is fine. I shall ask and answer myself.

Question: 'Did you ever think you would end up in this situation?'

Honestly, I answer: 'I never thought so, because I was far too self-satisfied!'

It was the ignorance and arrogance of the five poisons—Greed, Anger, Ignorance, Arrogance, and Doubt. I was foolish to the extreme! One must not have arrogance. Having said that, I always thought of myself as a humble person. It turns out I was an arrogant one. Without the lessons of these universal principles and the Truth, I truly could not see my own arrogance; I could not see my own real problems. Otherwise, how could I have fallen into the hells? The suffering in the hells is unbearable! It is too bitter! Whether we call them the reality of the universe or universal principles, they are just names to help everyone understand. Do not become attached to the names, or you will fail to learn the true meaning. This true meaning cannot be contained by names alone.

I never wanted anyone to fall into the hells. Long ago, I did not want people to fall into the hells, so I explained the 'Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Fundamental Vow Sutra' very thoroughly. I put in a great deal of effort, hoping to share what I had learned to make everyone feel fear and awe, to be vigilant in their speech and actions, and to make the vow to be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. I hoped they would not fail to reach the Western Land and instead fall into the cycle of rebirth, or worse, the hells. I never expected that I would take such a massive tumble myself. It is truly shameful to speak of it!"

The Necessity of Listening

"If I had not gone through the experience of falling into the hells, I would never have seen the deep-seated problems within my own heart. Is this not often the case for people? We often receive a lesson, feel the pain in our very marrow, and only after a profound realisation can we accept our own flaws and truly learn to listen and chant the Buddha's name. As I have often told you, you must listen! Yes, we must listen to the words of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. At the end of the sutras, the compassionate Shakyamuni Buddha always hopes that everyone will 'believe, accept, and practise.' This means everyone must listen and act according to what is mentioned in the sutras, using them as the standard for living in this world to avoid taking the wrong path and suffering. I would repeat these teachings—repeating means following and learning to say the same thing—telling everyone to listen. Yet, I myself did not listen in this regard, because my awareness was insufficient.

What I mean by 'not listening' is that this arrogance and self-importance must not exist. Arrogance must not exist; the 'slow' mind must not exist; the 'proud' heart must not exist. No matter how you phrase it, the meaning is the same. I knew it should not exist; I knew I should be humble and modest. Yet, I did not realise that I had not actually achieved it. Perhaps I had achieved 'believing, accepting, and practising' in some aspects, but in the deepest, most profound parts, I had not, because my purification was insufficient.

At this moment, an image surfaces in my mind. Recently, while listening to Practitioner Su teach the Dharma in the Dharma-Nature Land, he sighed and said, 'The Venerable Master is a good person, an honest person, but he was just too big. No one dared to speak to him. When he said something, no one dared to say a second word, which is why things ended up this way.' He was right. When a person finally learns from the basics, moves forward step by step, and overcomes various obstacles on the path of practice—whether they are tests from the Buddha, tests from demons, tests from sentient beings, tests from lay practitioners, or tests from monastics—and continues to move forward after breaking through, they eventually reach a stage where they are in a position... I dare not say high, but at least a position where everyone is willing to accept what I say and do what I want to do. Truly, no one dared to criticise me, so I could not see this deep-seated problem within myself. The person who can say such things must have seen my problems. They must have been brave enough to speak, but either they had no opportunity, or when they did speak, they were not accepted. Oh! I have suffered a great loss! And this is not a small loss; it is not one I could save myself from. This is a massive loss! If Namo Amituofo had not come to save me, I could not have been saved. Who could save someone who has entered the hells? If the Buddha had not come, how could it be possible?"

The Warning Ignored

"Question: Ask again, 'Did you ever think you would fall into the hells?'

Answer: 'I was warned, but I did not accept it.'

During those days before I passed away, when my three souls were united and I could be the master of myself, my primary soul would go to the temple every day to listen to the teachings of Namo Amituofo and the explanations of Practitioner Su. At that time, Practitioner Su would remind me almost every time: 'So many people believe in you, the Master, yet you have not led them to rebirth. And now that you know Namo Amituofo is here, you have not come to find the Buddha, nor have you told everyone. The karmic retribution for this will be the hells!' He said it many times; it is not that he did not speak.

The situation at that time was that Practitioner Su was speaking to my spirit while in his human body. One should believe if one can; if not, do not slander, because there is too much we do not know. It is like the vastness of space; you take a plastic bag, grab a handful of air, and think that is the extent of space. Therefore, one must never be arrogant. I never thought I would commit such a mistake. Practitioner Su had warned me, but I listened only with my ears. In my heart, I thought: 'I have lectured on the sutras for sixty years; even if I have no merit, I have at least put in the hard work. How could I end up in the hells?' He had explained it to me; it was not that he did not say it, but that I did not take it to heart. If I had truly taken it to heart, I would not be where I am today.

Before that, Namo Amituofo had already mentioned it to me. The Buddha mentioned that since Namo Amituofo had descended to the world, and I represented the Pure Land school and was a person trusted by everyone, he hoped I would work with Namo Amituofo to lead sentient beings to the West. I heard these words. Of course, one must remember the words of the Buddha, so occasionally these words would surface in my mind. I asked myself: 'Is this true?' I raised a question, a question mark, which covered up the truth. This was truly inexcusable, and I created heavy karma. If I had believed in the Buddha without any doubt, I would have certainly come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre to find Namo Amituofo and told everyone about this long ago. It was because I raised doubts, and also to protect the Pure Land system from being shaken, that I kept delaying and delaying, day after day. I never came to find the Buddha, never contacted the temple, and never told anyone. I delayed until the moment of my passing arrived."

The Illusion of Knowing the Time of Death

"Question: Some people might ask, 'Did the Venerable Master know the time of his passing in advance?'

Honestly, it was not that clear. I always felt the time was near, very near; but I did not expect that I would just pass away at that very moment. Although I was constantly chanting the Buddha's name, there was a moment of blankness. The Buddha-name stopped, and I entered the hells. That moment of blankness is something you cannot control. It turns out that knowing the time of your passing does not necessarily mean you will go to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. This is another issue entirely.

Question: The question is, 'Does knowing the time of your passing guarantee you will reach the West?'

The answer is: 'Not necessarily.'"

The Critical Moment of Transition

"In everyone's understanding, they think, 'Of course! If you can receive notice from Namo Amituofo about when he will come to receive you, how could you not reach the West?' Knowing the time of your passing is not something that can be achieved by ordinary practice. That is to say, if your practice has not reached a certain stage, if you cannot be in sync with the Buddha through your chanting, even if the Buddha comes to tell you, you might not be able to receive the message, right? If you can receive this message from the Buddha, you should already have true attainment. In that case, is knowing the time of your passing not a sign that you are fully prepared, just waiting for that moment to be received by the Buddha?

Yes, in principle, that is so, and that is everyone's understanding. But in reality, one part is overlooked, and this is also what I overlooked. That is, from the moment your spirit leaves your body—or even before it leaves, as you are about to depart from this world—until you enter the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, if even the slightest mistake occurs, it will not work! You will not be able to enter the West.

Everyone knows that thoughts are extremely fast. In a single snap of the fingers, there are thirty-two hundred million thoughts. Who can grasp this one thought? The Buddha can. Because the Buddha has no thoughts and no waves, he can clearly know even the most subtle thoughts. That is why he is called 'all-knowing and all-capable.' But even a practitioner who has the ability to know the time of their passing may not be able to grasp their own thoughts. If your chanting is distracted and your thoughts are pulled away, you will not be able to reach the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. This is what I learned after paying a painful price.

Telling everyone this might seem unbelievable, but at this time, I must speak clearly. It is not that I was not honest before, but that I had not yet been taught the lesson, so I could not make myself believe it. Now that I have been taught, I know that if everything were so smooth and easy, the number of people entering the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss would not be so small. If you can smoothly see the Buddha and step onto the lotus pedestal, the moment you step on it, you arrive in the West in an instant. But the problem is, can you get on the lotus pedestal? Can you see the Buddha? It is very likely that, just like me, even if you are confident in your chanting, at that very moment, in an instant, the Buddha-name becomes blank, and you go to the hells. In that split second, you cannot see the Buddha, let alone get on the lotus pedestal. Is this not terrifying? My experience should serve as a warning to everyone!"

The Importance of Resolving Karmic Debts

"Are there not those who have successfully reached the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss? Of course there are. Our thirteen patriarchs, from the first to the thirteenth, are all currently in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. My two teachers—Great Master Zhangjia and Teacher Li Bingnan—also went to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Another teacher, Professor Fang Dongmei, as far as I know, was in the ghost realm because of his attachment to literature. Later, the Buddha saved him to the Hsiang Kuang Centre, and he was guided by Practitioner Su at that time to be sent into the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. So, many patriarchs and venerable masters whom everyone knows are in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, including Teacher Xia Lianju. Of course, there are some whom everyone thought had gone to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, but they did not make it. They were also saved by Namo Amituofo, who brought their spirits to the Hsiang Kuang Centre, where they were sent to the Western Land by Practitioner Su.

'Faith is the source of the path and the mother of all merit.' Since this problem has been uncovered, it is a blessing for everyone, as it allows for vigilance and prevention. Perhaps you chant the Buddha's name very well in your daily life, and you even act as a lecturer, teaching the Dharma, and it seems you are steadily on your way to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. But be careful! If you are truly free from aging and illness before you pass, then you might get your wish. If you are old and ill, even if you have lectured on the Dharma, going to the West might still be problematic.

This is my experience. Because as long as you are old and ill, it means your karmic creditors have manifested. Your karma has manifested. If you have not resolved this, if you have not delivered them, it is very likely that at the moment of your passing, you will not be able to pass the test of your karmic creditors and will be disturbed by them. Perhaps they will gently call your name. That sound is something you have buried deep in your heart. At that moment, as long as a thought arises and your Buddha-name is not solidified, and your karmic creditors manifest that sound, can you resist it? Can you chant the Buddha's name without being distracted? You cannot resist it, unless you have achieved meditative concentration. That meditative concentration is not just the ability to handle daily affairs, interpersonal relationships, or general problems of practice; it is the concentration of being 'unmoved'—the ability to remain unmoved no matter what scene appears before your eyes, knowing it is an illusion, so that you are not disturbed.

Because the problem buried deep in your heart—perhaps a person, an event, or a deep attachment and preference for a certain object—might have been forgotten by you, or you might be unwilling to touch it, and you have not truly 'seen through' and 'let go.' You do not know it, and you think your practice is quite good and stable. Perhaps you have done ninety-nine percent of it, but the one percent you cannot do means you have not transformed your karma. There is still something in your Alaya consciousness that has been grasped by your karmic creditors. At the moment of your passing, they will pick this out, present it before your eyes, or let you hear the sound. That is truly a great test to see if your concentration can hold or not. If it holds, everything in the world is illusory, and this thought does not even need to arise. You see it as if you do not see it, the Buddha-name remains uninterrupted, and you remain 'unmoved.' Then you pass the test, the Buddha appears before your eyes, and you smoothly step onto the lotus pedestal and enter the West. But if you do not pass the test, no matter how well you chanted the Buddha's name in your daily life, at that moment your Buddha-name stops, you are attracted by them, and that is the end. You cannot go to the West.

At this time, if you have accumulated merit and virtue, practised goodness, and accumulated blessings in your daily life, you might still be able to enter the Celestial Realm and enjoy blessings. Otherwise, you will likely be attracted by that scene, follow your karma, follow that scene, and follow your karmic creditors away. This is called 'entering space.' Your spirit leaves your body and enters space. It is still a departure from the world, but your spirit does not enter the West, nor does it enter the Celestial Realm; it enters space, and you do not know when you will be able to come out. Now, Practitioner Su can open up space. This is a great blessing for everyone. The Dharma Body can open up space. This is a major event. I have never heard of such a thing. This is a great blessing for the beings in space!

If I were not now a spirit without a body, and if I had not gone through such a great ordeal, I would not know this, and even if I did, I would put a question mark on it. Now, there is no need for a question mark; it is truly like this. The question mark has become a period. It is not easy to hear these words, because if you hear them and believe them, you have the blessing to avoid it, or you can come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, where Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su can help you.

However, if your practice and Buddha-name chanting skills are not yet effective, and you still cannot reach the West at the time of your passing, you truly need someone to save you. Currently, in the universe, only Practitioner Su has the ability to pull the spirit out, send it to the Dharma-Nature Land, and then into the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Therefore, this is a precious land, and Practitioner Su is also a treasure—a treasure of the Pure Land, and a treasure of Namo Amituofo! Because meeting Practitioner Su, who has come to the world to work with Namo Amituofo to save sentient beings, is a blessing for all—not just for those who chant the Buddha's name. As long as you can believe, accept, and come to the temple to find the Buddha, you can be saved, and you will have a share in rebirth in the West. Therefore, that I could be saved by Practitioner Su is also my great blessing!"

A Message to the Faithful

"Furthermore, recently, while in the Western Dharma-Nature Land of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, I have accepted interviews from the temple, and several interview articles have been published. Many of those who read or hear this may be my loyal followers or Dharma protectors. You must believe that these are my words. Although it is inevitable that your mood will be low after seeing this—I think it will be, as I did not smoothly reach the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss as everyone wished—but today, I am in the Western Dharma-Nature Land, so I will be able to enter the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Question: Readers might ask in their hearts: 'If even the Venerable Master cannot enter the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, then what are we to do?'

You should feel extremely fortunate. Since you can now see what I am saying, you have the opportunity to reach the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, because I am confessing honestly, point by point, without reservation, telling you about my experiences and what happened after my passing until now. Because you have seen this content, you have a way to avoid the mistakes I made. If this is not a great blessing, what is? This process is not something everyone can know. Even I did not know it while I was alive, or I knew it but did not believe it, let alone you, because you had no opportunity to know. If I did not speak now, you might not have the opportunity to hear it. Although I have no body to speak with now, fortunately, what I wish to express can be turned into text for you to see. Once you see it, you should quickly come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre to find Namo Amituofo.

I have mentioned before, and I just touched upon it, that coming to the temple allows you, with the help of Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su, to resolve conflicts with the karmic creditors within your body. What is owed must be repaid. If they come to collect debts from you in your daily life, making you old and ill, you can still have some psychological preparation to strengthen your practice. But if the debt collection happens at the very moment of your passing, that is not good! Not only will you be unable to repay it, but you may also be unable to reach the West. This debt has truly cost a painful price. So, what I am telling you now is the truth. Therefore, you must resolve conflicts with your karmic creditors in your daily life, and when you are old and ill, you must strengthen your diligent practice.

There are several ways to resolve this. The first is to invite the karmic creditors out. They are often on your body or around you. When you come to the temple, under the Buddha-light of Namo Amituofo, the hearts of the karmic creditors will often be more peaceful, making it easier to resolve conflicts with them. After inviting them out, Practitioner Su uses the power of his Dharma Body to restore sentient beings to the state they were in before they were injured. We always owe others, which is why they come to collect debts. If we can repay what we owe, we should repay it; at the very least, their hearts will be more peaceful. Then, we strike a large qing—this qing is not an ordinary one; it was given to him by Great Master Xuanzang, so it is very powerful. After striking the large qing, the sentient beings naturally enter the qing and are sent to the Western Dharma-Nature Land, which is where I am now. Practitioner Su's background is also quite significant; he was once a disciple of Great Master Xuanzang. Sometimes it is not convenient to say too much about these past-life matters.

Furthermore, you must also hold a deliverance Dharma assembly for your karmic creditors. A deliverance Dharma assembly is the 'Thrice Yearning Ceremony,' using the 'Complete Collection of the Thrice Yearning Ceremony,' with Namo Amituofo presiding to lead sentient beings into the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. This process is something I also mentioned in my reflections on yesterday's Thrice Yearning Ceremony; those interested can take a look. That is to say, you must do this part while you are alive, delivering your own karmic creditors so that they can go to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Then you can be at ease, because they will no longer come to collect debts from you. This is the most appropriate method!

So, everyone must not lose faith in rebirth in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss because of me! Instead, you should be glad that you are still in the human world and still have a breath left. Regardless of whether you are old or ill now, come and find Namo Amituofo. Since Namo Amituofo has come to the human world, it is to help everyone. The Buddha's heart is the heart of saving sentient beings. You should feel fortunate because of this, should you not? If you do not believe it, if you do not believe what I am saying now, or if you do not believe in the ability of Practitioner Su, or if you slander it, then you are the one who will suffer the loss.

You must know that throughout our many lives, we have owed others too much. Practice is about stopping evil thoughts; creating evil causes leads to evil consequences. However, for the karma we have created in past lives, we also need to use the methods of practice to prevent it from manifesting. Even if it does manifest, we hope to resolve it and deliver our karmic creditors so that this karma can be wiped out. Being able to do this is the most perfect way.

So, you use your whole life to practise, and it depends on how you practise. Perhaps it is in time; your lifespan may be enough for you to practise well and reach the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. But if it is too late, if your lifespan is not long enough, or even if it is long enough, you cannot find a true spiritual friend and have no opportunity to receive guidance from a true spiritual friend, then you still cannot go to the West. Therefore, for a practitioner who truly wants to seek the Truth, liberate themselves from birth and death, and be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, being able to meet a true spiritual friend or a true teacher who can provide guidance and point out your mistakes to help you stop evil quickly is very important. A true spiritual friend or teacher has the attainment to help you resolve conflicts with your karmic creditors and can even deliver sentient beings to be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, or at least to the Celestial Realm or the human realm—the good paths—so that they will not fall into the evil paths again. This is very important.

Today, Namo Amituofo, Practitioner Su, and even Teacher Xia Lianju are helping everyone practise at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. Everyone calls Teacher Xia Lianju 'Teacher,' and I also follow the conditions and call him Teacher. Yes, he is a teacher. Without the teacher helping us compile 'The Infinite Life Sutra,' we would not have such a good text to read and study now. This is very important! So everyone must not lose faith; instead, you should be more fortunate, more joyful, and have more faith that you can be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. This will not waste the many words I have spoken, nor will it waste the fact that Namo Amituofo has come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in the human world, nor will it waste the fact that Practitioner Su lectures on the Dharma every day. Only with successful attainment in awakening can he, with the help of Namo Amituofo, save me. Only then do you have the opportunity to see these articles. The greatest beneficiaries are you yourselves; you are saved, you have been delivered.

The process I have experienced is something I have never mentioned or experienced before. Now, I just have no body, but my spirit does not die. I hope everyone can believe what this spirit says. If you are not sure whether to believe that these are my words, or if you hear them and do not necessarily believe them because I have never said such things before, in short, it depends on each person's good roots, karmic fortune, and causal conditions. Those who believe are blessed. Those who do not believe, no matter what, will always reach the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss—if not in this lifetime, then wait for the next, when the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas return to the world to save sentient beings. As long as the Vajra Seed of the Buddha-name 'Namo Amituofo' has entered your ear, you have the opportunity to be saved. It is just that this spirit does not know how long it will have to suffer in the cycle of rebirth. It is very bitter! This is also the reason why the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have descended so urgently to save sentient beings, so that they do not have to suffer.

Question: I ask myself again, 'Will it continue like this for now?'

This is not up to me. As for me now, I leave it to Namo Amituofo to arrange! I am very willing for Namo Amituofo to take me back to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss whenever he wishes. I am now filled with joy and gratitude. So, as for what to do next, I leave it to Namo Amituofo. I do not need to think about it, and I do not need to worry about it. Whatever Namo Amituofo wants me to do, I will cooperate. Is this not very free and easy?

Question: If you have seen the dozen or so interviews with me recently, some people might think: 'Is this really said by the Venerable Master?'

This question must be asked of you. Based on your experience of listening to my lectures on the Dharma in the past as a practitioner of the Pure Land school, is this content said by me? I would very much like to hear your reply. In any case, the answer will always be: 'I do not believe it! How could the Venerable Master fall into the hells?' Or you might say: 'Even the Venerable Master has fallen into the hells, so what are we to do?' Or you might say: 'Sigh! This sounds somewhat similar; perhaps it really is the Venerable Master.' If you say: 'I believe this is what the Venerable Master said!'—if you truly believe these are the words of the Venerable Master, then this person is truly blessed! People always believe what their eyes see. The image of the Venerable Master has already been imprinted in everyone's heart. This voice represents the Venerable Master, and this body and appearance are the appearance of the Venerable Master. Now, the tone of what you see, write, and say is also that of the Venerable Master. You must identify with it before you can believe the content of what is said here.

If you say, 'The Venerable Master's body is no longer here, how can this spirit be saved from the hells? I have never heard the Venerable Master mention such things before,' so those who raise questions after seeing the content—I do not blame them, because they have indeed never encountered such things before, right?

Yes! Even I had never encountered it, so how could I ask everyone to believe it as soon as they heard it? But now, it is truly what I have said myself. This is truly inconceivable! I never thought there would be such a change. After passing away without a body, there are still so many changes. Is this my blessing? It is Namo Amituofo who has been taking care of me, and Practitioner Su has the attainment to save me together with Namo Amituofo, and the monastics at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre have the ability to receive my message. All these factors combined allow everyone to see this content. This is not an easy thing! If any part of the middle were missing, it is very likely that everyone would not be able to see this article!

So, one must say, 'What is the benefit of seeing this article?' People always hope not to waste a single second of their precious time. Yes! What I want to tell everyone is: after reading it, do not be anxious, and do not panic. The Venerable Master did not go to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss at that time; I am now in the Western Dharma-Nature Land. Except for not being able to come and go at will, everything else is about the same as the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Moreover, you can now hear my warning to everyone—that is, a warning to be vigilant and prepared, which can greatly increase your chances of being reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. You should feel happy and joyful!

No matter what, you must practise firmly, practise diligently, and change your personality. If your personality does not change, when your karmic creditors come to find you, you will suffer. If your karmic creditors come, and you are old and ill, you must be vigilant. Be vigilant early, resolve conflicts with your karmic creditors early, and deliver them so that you will not cause obstacles to your rebirth in the West at the time of your passing.

Alright, I will stop here for today.

Namo Amituofo.

Venerable Shi Jingkong, with palms joined.

At the Western Dharma-Nature Land of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, Australia.

The above content was completed in two sessions.

One was at 5:59 AM on August 31, 2022.

One was at 10:07 AM on August 31, 2022.