The Light Finally Pierces the Depths of Changbai Mountain

This is a record of an interview with the Immortal of Changbai Mountain, who sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now reflects upon his eight-thousand-year vigil on the mountain and the miraculous intervention of Practitioner Su. This interview was recorded on November 16, 2020.

Venerable Fa-Jing: Practitioner Su has manifested the Dharma Body to perform Chao Du at Changbai Mountain. We have invited the spirits residing there to accept this interview.

The Immortal of the Peak speaks:

"I go by the name 'Miaochang,' so you may call me the Immortal Miaochang. Sitting here on Changbai Mountain, gazing out at the rolling mountain ranges, I have seen everything this world has to offer. The change inherent in the impermanence of the world is something I have observed for eight thousand years, through the spiritual wisdom I have cultivated while sitting on this mountain.

I am a practitioner who cultivated myself into an immortal through the power of Righteous Qi. My righteous energy is enough to shake the heavens and the earth, and my spiritual knowledge allows me to perceive the changes within the universe. The spiritual energy in Changbai Mountain is exceptionally high. I enjoy the silence of the mountains, sitting daily upon a giant boulder at the summit, practising and elevating my spiritual nature.

The Mountain of Trapped Souls

However, beneath the peak, throughout the entire body of Changbai Mountain, there exists a powerful, demonic energy. All the spirits trapped within are bound by this dark power. I have constantly used my righteous energy to try and transform these impure forces, but no matter how clear my spiritual perception is, I have remained confined to my own realm. I lacked the ability to save them one by one. They could only wait for Causal Conditions to align, hoping for a miracle to appear, perhaps then they would have a chance at salvation.

I follow the principles of the universe, practising on this mountain with which I share a karmic affinity. I remain in a state of meditative concentration within this space, watching the changes of the sky, the earth, and the mountain day after day. This mountain sits between two countries, serving as a border, and in the eyes of the world, it is merely a mountain. How could they know that the wailing sounds echoing through the forests are the cries of spirits trapped and suffering within? All the beautiful scenery is formed by the rebirth of these spirits. Even the very height of this mountain, with its layers upon layers of rock, is composed of countless spirits stacked upon one another.

The Demon King and the Lava

Changbai Mountain is an active volcano. For hundreds of millions of years, a vast number of spirits undergoing karmic retribution have been sucked into it. I have circulated my righteous energy at the summit, attempting to infuse it into the mountain so that the spirits within could be transformed by this righteous power and change their mental note. Yet, my power remained insufficient. Many of these spirits possess a high degree of arrogance; in their eyes, I am merely a smelly old man. The words I spoke could not reach their ears. I am truly ashamed; my practice has not yet reached the level where I can transform them.

Year after year, day after day, the number of spirits sucked into the mountain has increased, causing the entire mountain to grow taller, and the peak where I reside has risen higher as well. This is the change of the world: evil teachings spread everywhere, and the demon path occupies the heights. I asked one spirit, who was crushed between the rock layers, 'How many faces does the human heart have? Have you seen them clearly?' He remained silent and did not answer. I told him, 'I have been here for eight thousand years, and I have not yet seen them all. There are as many faces as there are layers of spirits pressed here. Now, the mountain continues to rise, and spirits are endlessly sucked into the bottom layers; of course, I have not seen them all.' The spirit I spoke to was crushed flat, having created immense sins, and was trapped in the crevice of the rock. He said, 'My spirit has been pressed here for over thirty thousand years. In all this time, I have not been willing to repent, because I have done nothing wrong! I would rather be pressed here for a million or ten million years than submit to the True Teachings. In my world, there is no such thing as True Teachings. In this universe, there is only hypocrisy and falsehood. Those who claim to follow the True Teachings are merely petty people wearing false masks. Demons should be the kings of the universe, ruling over everything—that is the only true path!' This spirit remained rigid and stubborn, even carrying a strong aura of evil. He did not fear the suffering of his retribution; he continued to display his extremely wicked nature.

The water monster in the Heavenly Lake at the summit appears from time to time. People have long had many legends about this water monster, but those are just stories. In reality, the true water monster is a demon sucked into this mountain to undergo retribution. Its form has been crushed and distorted, its appearance twisted, and it has been pressed at the bottom of the Heavenly Lake for tens of millions of years. The bottom of the entire Heavenly Lake is actually composed of magma. Within that magma, an immeasurable number of spirits from the demon path are undergoing retribution. When the volcano is dormant, the mountain appears safe and peaceful, but the spirits within the magma are suffering daily in the boiling heat, never seeing the light of day, with no hope of release. These spirits possess great demonic power; many times in the past, they have tried to escape from the magma, causing the volcano to erupt and lava to spew out. But they could not escape the righteous power of the universe; before they could break free, they were sucked back into the magma.

I asked a spirit in the magma, 'Do you regret your past actions?' He was a spirit who had become a demon, a king among demons, whose power could destroy the Earth and annihilate the world. Now, captured by the True Teachings and sucked into the magma according to the Universal Principles, the sins he created could only be repaid by entering the magma. This Demon King, named 'Mo Guan,' replied, 'Who are you talking about when you say "regret"? I, Mo Guan, have never known how to write the word "repent," nor do I know what "regret" means. Everything Mo Guan has done, I have never regretted; it was all done in accordance with the true path.' Hearing Mo Guan's words, I knew that many of the stubborn spirits in the mountain, no matter how long they suffered, remained just as rigid and difficult to subdue. It was not until recent years, when Practitioner Su began to perform Chao Du for Changbai Mountain, that a miracle finally appeared.

The Arrival of Practitioner Su

Practitioner Su's Dharma Body arrived at Changbai Mountain, radiating golden light. When Practitioner Su first appeared, these demon crowds became agitated. I was quite puzzled: why did such a change occur the moment Practitioner Su appeared? I had been here for eight thousand years, and they had remained completely unmoved. What was the difference? Using my spiritual perception, I saw the past. It turns out that these demon crowds had all known Practitioner Su many eons ago. When Practitioner Su was an ancient Buddha in the past, he vowed to descend to the human world again to practise and to save the demon crowds with his Dharma Body. At that time, these demon crowds laughed wildly in front of Practitioner Su, not believing that anyone who returned to the human world could remain unaffected by demonic power, or that anyone could truly practise to become a Buddha. They told Practitioner Su not to waste his effort, but Practitioner Su's faith was firm, and his compassionate heart could not bear the suffering of beings. He still vowed to return to the human world to save beings and subdue demons. Now, Practitioner Su has truly attained the Buddha-fruit through practice in the human world and has come to Changbai Mountain with his Dharma Body to save these demon crowds. When the demon crowds saw Practitioner Su, they were all in disbelief. They felt deeply ashamed, realising that they were trapped between the rock layers and could only be liberated through the salvation of Practitioner Su.

Practitioner Su used the six-character name 'Namo Amituofo' to penetrate through layers of space. Even the spirits pressed in the deepest layers could be illuminated by the Buddha-light and transformed by the Buddha-name, softening their hard and rigid hearts. However, there were still many great demons who, out of pride, were unwilling to submit. They preferred to undergo retribution there, suffering endless torment, rather than bow their heads and admit their mistakes, or follow Practitioner Su. Practitioner Su saves those who have the affinity; those who are not yet willing to leave continue to wait, until the day they are willing to wake up and let go of their personalities, at which point they will naturally follow the Buddha-light.

A New Path of Liberation

The Dharma sound of Practitioner Su's teaching penetrated through space and reached the entire Changbai Mountain. This was the first time in eight thousand years that I had heard the Buddha's teachings. In fact, I had my own unique school of practice. If I had not seen with my own eyes that Practitioner Su, as a human, had cultivated the Dharma Body and proven that studying the Buddha's teachings could elevate one's spiritual nature, I would not have been willing to come into contact with the Buddha's teachings.

Now that Practitioner Su's Dharma Body has manifested before me, it has completely changed my view of the Buddha's teachings. I have never seen a human being capable of using the Dharma Body to save spirits. I have practised on Changbai Mountain for eight thousand years and still lacked the ability to save these suffering spirits. I never expected that a human would have such ability, and that it came from studying the Buddha's teachings—it is truly worthy of my admiration!

I observe Practitioner Su's Dharma Body daily. Practitioner Su's Dharma Body performs Chao Du for the entire Changbai Mountain. The spirits in the mountain each have their own personalities. Before they were subdued, they preferred to be crushed at the bottom of the mountain undergoing retribution rather than be liberated by the golden light brought by Practitioner Su. It was their personalities that made them demons, and it was their personalities that prevented them from escaping suffering. Practitioner Su is truly a compassionate person; even though the beings are stubborn, he does not give up on saving them, coming to Changbai Mountain daily to continuously perform Chao Du with the holy name 'Namo Amituofo.'

Since Practitioner Su began the Chao Du, these spirits have started to listen to Practitioner Su's Dharma talks. Practitioner Su's Dharma sound can be heard from the summit to the bottom of the mountain. It can even penetrate into the rock crevices and stone gaps, allowing all the spirits undergoing retribution in these spaces to listen to the Dharma equally. They all have the opportunity to wake up from hearing the Dharma and seek liberation.

After some time, I began to hear the sounds of weeping and repentance from between the rock layers. I had never heard such crying before, because they had never admitted their faults. I did not expect that after listening to Practitioner Su's Dharma talks, they would weep bitterly. It turns out that no one had ever enlightened them; their mental knots remained untied, and they did not know how to repent. Now that Practitioner Su has explained the truth of the universe clearly, they are reflecting on themselves, seeing their own true forms, and sincerely repenting for the immense sins they created in the past and the harm they caused to other spirits.

The Demon King I asked earlier, 'Do you regret your past actions?', after listening to Practitioner Su's Dharma talks, spoke to me and said, 'I truly regret my past!' He had the blessings to wake up after listening to only a few of Practitioner Su's talks. When Practitioner Su's golden light arrived, he followed along and chanted the Buddha's name loudly. His resonant chanting could be heard from within the magma, and he soon followed Practitioner Su's golden light, leaving the space of retribution in the magma.

Now, although the entire Changbai Mountain has been damaged by people in the world, the immeasurable and boundless spirits within the rock layers continue to listen to sutras and hear the Dharma daily. Every day, more spirits wake up and are liberated from their spaces of retribution. And as for me, after eight thousand years, I still lacked the ability to save a single being. Do I still need to remain attached to this mountain peak? I have decided to let go of my attachment. I will put down my insistence on my own unique school of practice, follow Practitioner Su, and learn the Buddha's teachings.

Namo Amituofo."