The Long Journey Home: A Message of Returning
The Twenty-Seventh Letter of President Zhao Puchu
August 19, 2017
President Zhao Puchu of the Buddhist Association of China
August 19, 2017
President Zhao Puchu:
The Forgotten Home
Do you believe that you have been to the of Ultimate Bliss? Do not doubt it for a moment; you have absolutely been there. That magnificent realm was once your true home. You have been away for such a long time that you have become lost in the confusion of this world. You are spinning in circles, dizzy and disoriented, unable to find the path that leads back to your original home. One must ask: what is it about this worldly realm that possesses such a powerful charm, causing people to become so mesmerised that they forget their way home?
As I observe the world, I realise that everyone is deeply homesick. Everyone wishes to return home as quickly as possible, yet they have forgotten that they even have a home to return to. You may be experiencing a profound sense of urgency, pain, loneliness, anxiety, and emptiness. Do these resonate within you? They exist deep inside your heart, yet you do not understand the true reason for their presence. The reason is simple: you are longing to go home, but you cannot find the way, and you have forgotten that a home still awaits you.
The Anatomy of Spiritual Emptiness
We were once a family. You are my family, and I, too, was once lost in this world. Now, I see things clearly. This feeling of being unable to return home is constantly at work within everyone’s heart. In truth, the more empty and anxious a person feels, the more their storehouse longs to return home. To suppress these emotional fluctuations and to fill the void within their hearts, people are forced to borrow things from the worldly realm to provide temporary relief. However, once you borrow these things, you become trapped, unable to extricate yourself.
Consider the nature of this emptiness and how we attempt to fill it:
- The Illusion of Material Gain:
- We seek wealth and fame to numb the pain of our spiritual void.The Trap of Emotional Attachment:
- We use romantic love to fill the silence, only to find ourselves more deeply entangled.The Cycle of Addiction: Like a person addicted to substances, the more we try to satisfy our emptiness with worldly things, the greater the dosage we require, and the more desperate our situation becomes.
The Path of Practice and the Danger of Deviation
Let me provide an example. When you feel empty to the point of despair, you might choose to become a monastic. At that moment, the path back home seems closer. When you first enter the monastic life, you are filled with . Your life finds a new centre of gravity, and hope is ignited. This is because monastic practice truly brings you closer to your home in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss; you are walking on the path of return.
However, after some time in the monastic life, the emptiness within your heart may begin to stir again. To fill this void once more, you might start borrowing worldly materials again. You might choose to pursue fame, status, or material possessions. You are using the greed of the world to fill your emptiness. You were walking straight on the path home, but suddenly, you veer off into a side road. Where did your home go? Your heart becomes filled with even greater anxiety and agitation. You are forced to borrow even more worldly things to fill the gap, much like someone caught in the grip of an addiction, where the demand becomes stronger and the required dosage grows larger.
The Collective Longing
Those who have not left the secular life are still wandering in the dust of the world. Everyone shares this same deep-seated anxiety. When a person or a group starts a trend, everyone rushes to follow it. This scene is as desperate and urgent as a moth flying into a flame. People who have been empty for a long time will grasp at any temptation they see, holding onto it tightly. The most terrifying aspect of this is the attempt to use emotion to fill the void. When two equally empty people are drawn to each other, all their anxiety, loneliness, and restlessness are momentarily filled by this attachment. The deeper the emptiness, the deeper the attachment, and the deeper the confusion. Under such conditions, how can one possibly return home?
Finding the Way Back
Now, I tell you all: you who are empty, you do not need to borrow anything from the worldly realm to fill your heart. There is a place called the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. It can truly heal your emptiness and cut through the anxiety in your heart. It allows you to see the ray of hope for returning home once again. It offers a path to true and ultimate liberation. The gate to your home is here. Come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, return everything you have borrowed from the world, and you will find the path back home once again.
Namo Amituofo
This message was transcribed by the Buddhist disciple Shi Fajing.
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About the Author
Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre
Contributed to Pure Land Buddhism knowledge library