Recorded and transcribed by ’s disciple, Venerable HaiZe, these teachings were delivered by Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju during the first session of the on the eighteenth of May, 2025.
The Essence of Buddhahood
What is a Buddha? To understand this, one must look beyond the physical form and perceive the state of being that defines a Buddha. A Buddha is one who has achieved perfect self-, who awakens others, and whose practice of awakening is complete. A Buddha views all existence as a single, unified whole and embodies the nature of equality in all things.
A Buddha has fully awakened to the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way. They have awakened to the true reality of the universe. Because they have awakened themselves, they are naturally driven to help all sentient beings achieve the same awakening. Their actions are consistent with this realisation, making them perfect in both their awareness and their work to save all beings.
The Purity of the True Nature
A Buddha is one who has reached Awakening and realised their true nature. By realising this true nature, they have attained the state of emptiness. Therefore, a Buddha possesses all the qualities required of one who has truly awakened. As the Sixth Patriarch, Master Huineng, once profoundly stated:
How unexpected that the true nature is inherently pure.
How unexpected that the true nature is inherently unborn and undying.
How unexpected that the true nature is inherently complete.
How unexpected that the true nature is inherently immovable.
How unexpected that the true nature can manifest all phenomena.
Those who have reached Awakening are selfless. They have no sense of a separate self, no ego, and no attachment. Within their hearts, there is only the welfare of sentient beings; there is no room for personal desire. Everything they say, do, and think is for the sake of others. There is not the slightest trace of selfishness, nor is there the slightest trace of impurity or defilement.
The Infinite Qualities of the Awakened
Because they are a body of purity, they are transparent and clean through and through. Because they are eternally stable and immovable, they can transform their environment without being influenced by any external circumstances. They possess the and the wisdom of the . Consequently, they follow the teachings perfectly and are able to fulfil the wishes of all sentient beings.
A Buddha possesses infinite wisdom, infinite virtues, and infinite auspicious characteristics. They embody infinite , infinite , infinite willingness to let go, infinite merit, and infinite spiritual power. While it is often said that a Buddha has the thirty-two physical marks and eighty auspicious characteristics, this was merely a description based on the understanding of the people in ancient India during the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. In truth, a Buddha possesses infinite marks and infinite auspicious qualities.
The Three Bodies and the Great Physician
A Buddha is fully endowed with the six supernatural powers, which allow them to know the situations of sentient beings across countless aeons. These powers include:
Knowing past lives.
The heavenly eye, which sees all forms.
The divine hearing, which hears all sounds.
The ability to read the minds of others.
The divine foot, which allows for spiritual travel.
The extinction of outflows, representing the end of all afflictions.
Furthermore, a Buddha possesses the Three Bodies: the , the Reward Body, and the Transformation Body. These three are one in essence. The Body is fused with the vastness of the Dharma Realm. The Reward Body manifests the perfect form of Buddhahood, which is what we refer to when we speak of the thirty-two marks and eighty auspicious characteristics. The Transformation Body manifests according to the causal conditions of sentient beings, appearing in whatever form is necessary to teach and save them.
A Buddha is the Great Physician. They can heal the problems of , mind, and spirit, and they can cure the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death. They help sentient beings remain free from the decay of aging and sickness, ensuring that their spirits never die, and guiding them to be reborn in the of Ultimate Bliss.
Namo Amituofo’s Compassionate Presence
When a ’s vow is fulfilled, they attain Buddhahood and secure their own Buddha-land. Namo Amituofo possesses all the qualities described above. The Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, established through His Forty-eight Great Vows, is the Buddha-land of His own true nature. He leads all beings in the vastness of the Dharma Realm who hold fast to His Forty-eight Great Vows into the Western Pure Land, where they are free from all suffering and receive only happiness.
In that environment of infinite light and infinite life, beings can practise, reach Awakening, and attain Buddhahood. The Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is a pure and magnificent Buddha-land. At this very moment, Namo Amituofo is residing here at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Goombungee, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. He is teaching, leading, and performing for countless beings throughout the ten directions, helping them leave suffering behind and find happiness, so that they may be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
