The Poet Immortal's Reflection on Samsara

This is a record of an interview with the spirit of Li Bai, the renowned 'Poet Immortal' of the Tang Dynasty, who now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. He reflects on his past life, the vanity of his poetic legacy, and his journey to deliverance through the guidance of Practitioner Su at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. Recorded by the chief writer, Fa Ning, on April 5, 2026.

Li Bai speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. Drinking the eight-merit water of the Western Pure Land, I suddenly heard a voice calling from the human world. I have been away from the human realm for ten years, yet it feels like a mere instant. Sitting beneath the throne of Namo Amituofo, listening to the Buddha’s words, the grand passions of my past no longer exist. Now, my only reality is chanting Namo Amituofo and contemplating Namo Amituofo.

I am deeply grateful to Namo Amituofo for calling my name, and to Practitioner Su for the grace of her guidance back then. Only today did I recall that I was once called Li Bai, a famous poet in Chinese history, known to the world as the 'Poet Immortal.' I have spent ten years in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. To be honest, as I accept this interview now, the excitement I once felt in my heart has long since vanished. I remember when I was still in the human world; if I received an imperial edict, I would have been filled with the joy of 'laughing aloud as I walked out the door.' How could I have possibly possessed the calm, auspicious, and tranquil state of mind I have here in the Western Pure Land today?

From Poet Immortal to Miaoyin

Can I still be called Li Bai at this very moment? The one being interviewed is the spirit of Li Bai. My name was Li Bai then, but now it is Miaoyin. Here, everyone is called 'Miaoyin Tathagata.' This was once the greatest realisation I had upon arriving in the Western Pure Land, and now, it has become something I am entirely familiar with.

In my past life, what I loved most was living a life that stood apart from the crowd. I looked down upon those whose characters were not on the same path as mine, or those who were petty, hypocritical, or insincere. I yearned for a life of genuine passion, romance, and freedom. My unconventional nature was well known to all.

The Illusion of Romanticism and the Reality of Samsara

Back then, because of an imperial edict, I would set out in high spirits, longing for the Emperor to appreciate my talent and hoping for a day when I would rise above others. Looking back at myself then, I was truly just an ordinary person caught in the mundane world. People painted me as if I were an immortal from the heavens, but that was only because they did not understand the realm of celestial beings. They did not know that to reach the level of a celestial being, one must possess a certain degree of meditative concentration and a pure heart. As for my own nature, I loved to indulge in all the pleasures of the human world—eating, drinking, and lusting after women. I lacked nothing in these pursuits. The five desires of wealth, lust, fame, food, and sleep, which the Buddha speaks of, were all fully satisfied in my life. Therefore, I was truly far removed from the immortals of the heavens. People simply mistook my romanticism for something interesting and misconstrued my self-serving actions as the pinnacle of artistic achievement.

Of course, perhaps my poems have some merit, but when I look back at the verses I wrote, I find that most of them were merely expressions of my personal emotions and feelings. There were very few poems that truly held the nation, the world, and the people in my heart.

A Life Driven by the Five Desires

In this sense, I lived my entire life within my own world, never truly having departed from it. Looking back now, that is indeed the case. Because I was born into a very wealthy environment and was a young master who dominated his local region, I had no deep understanding of the suffering in the world, nor did I have the opportunity to receive the kind of education that would have transformed my character. Therefore, my life seemed to have 'seeking pleasure' as its greatest goal. Although I initially harboured dreams of participating in the government and had studied the classics and mastered Confucian teachings with a heart to save the nation, my status did not allow me to take the imperial examinations. Once I was liberated from that path, I seemed to have gained the freedom I had long craved. I lived my life as a wandering knight-errant, travelling the world, forming connections, and promoting my own ideals.

If we were to judge my merits and demerits now, my life was a mixture of good and evil. But to speak of 'good' is not necessarily true goodness, and what I call 'evil' is not necessarily true evil. If we judge by the standards of the Buddha, if we consider the elimination of the 'self' as true goodness, then my life was one of madness. My joys and my pleasures were known to all, but while I displayed a grand spirit and helped others with a carefree attitude, I was still trapped.

The Truth Behind the Poetry

If people want to say my life was good or bad, I have no way to evaluate it. If I look at the judgment record from before the throne of King Yama, my life was indeed centered on myself. I lived for myself and did not truly achieve the goal of benefiting the world. In many instances, I left behind poor examples for the world, leaving behind poems that should not have been, yet they have been passed down for thousands of years. All of this has only added a deeper layer of sin to my karmic retribution. Thus, even though I once exhausted my family fortune to socialise with the heroes of the world, and helped others with a carefree spirit, in the end, I was only living for this 'body.' I never once escaped the shackles and sensations of this physical form.

People’s image of Li Bai is mostly fixed on his love for wine and his wandering, immortal-like appearance. This is true, but what people did not see was the deep sorrow hidden within my heart. Without sorrow, how could there be such wild drinking? Without the emptiness in the depths of my heart, how could there be such arrogance? These were the sources of my various personality traits. The layers of personality hidden from the world included my competitiveness, my longing to be understood, and my unwillingness to humble myself before others.

This was the regret that could never be satisfied: although I longed to become a great official who could work for the people, I never truly put in the effort in that direction. Because my thoughts and ideas could not truly be compared with the scholars, literati, and Confucian masters of that time, I used this method to amuse myself, eventually forming a personality that was both arrogant, romantic, and carefree. Namo Amituofo."

"Every poem I wrote was indeed of a high literary standard, appearing quite unique and pioneering a style all my own. Yet, all this inspiration and the depth of my writing—the sensations and perceptions I experienced—were not merely the accumulation of my past lives; they were the result of the beings within my body participating in the process. Many of these thoughts were not truly those of Li Bai himself. To say it this way is not an exaggeration at all. In this world, how many people can truly be the master of their own minds? Of course, there were many scholars and men of virtue in ancient times who truly understood the Confucian classics and implemented them in their daily lives. Such people, who strictly adhered to moral foundations, might have been able to be their own masters.

The Illusion of Autonomy

However, like me, Li Bai was someone who did not care for minor details from a young age, possessing a personality that was arrogant—'I am the greatest,' 'I am the only one worthy of respect,' and 'I do as I please.' In reality, this way of being meant that I had long ago ceased to be the master of my own life. This is crystal clear according to the Buddha’s teachings. It is just that the Buddha’s teachings I understood at the time were limited to the doctrines of the Chan school and a world of Zen-like sentiments; I had not truly delved into the Buddha’s teachings as taught to everyone at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre.

With such a temperament, people might think Li Bai's death was romantic, but that is far from the truth. In my later years, I truly walked step by step toward poverty and destitution. My body deteriorated day by day, and the circumstances I encountered became increasingly difficult. This was the result of the karma I had accumulated since my early years, which led to my decline in old age. The suffering before and after my death was agonizing, especially the hundreds of years I spent suffering in the hells. I do not even know how long it was; I simply could not find a way out. It took a very long time before I finally emerged from the hells. Even after I came out, the life I led was not a good one. Instead, I became a lonely, miserable spirit, trapped in a dark space for several hundred years, unable to escape the various forms of suffering.

The Weight of Karmic Retribution

Li Bai knew in his heart the causes he had sown, especially since the influence of his poetry on future generations was so immense. Therefore, the karma in this regard could not be repaid in a short time. Even today, the chanting and recitation of Li Bai's poetry in the world has not ceased. Some people may benefit from it, while others may develop a heart of degradation because of it. All these forms of Goodness and evil are the laws of karma and cause and effect that Li Bai must bear.

Because of this, my suffering in the hells never ceased until I came to Practitioner Su’s small bodhimanda in Taiwan to seek Spiritual Deliverance. Only then was Li Bai’s destiny rewritten, and the gates to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss opened for me. All these changes are truly inconceivable! Recalling the various Causal Conditions now, I realize that I was truly guided by noble people, which allowed me to escape my predicament in such a confused space and come directly to Practitioner Su’s door. Perhaps this was the Buddhist affinity I had planted in the past, finally blossoming and bearing fruit at this moment.

A New Perspective from the Western Land

Haha! Now that I have shed my former personality and temperament, Li Bai can finally say that my eyes have truly been opened. The world I see after opening them is completely different. Regarding the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, what I see is myself. In terms of my own existence, I see all my past lives, all the Goodness and evil I have experienced, and only then do I understand why my life turned out the way it did. Furthermore, I can see all the Buddha-lands in the Dharma realm of emptiness. By observing the various situations of beings, from the Buddha-lands above to the hells below, I have come to realize that a human body is hard to obtain. I have realized that reincarnation is the norm of life, yet it is also the source of all suffering.

In the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, we see all this suffering clearly, yet there is nothing we can do about it. Li Bai’s skills are currently not sufficient; I cannot descend to the human world to help people leave suffering behind. At this moment, in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, I must put in a great deal of effort to cultivate my skills.

Speaking of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in the human world, it is truly a most magnificent place. Just as Li Bai looks at the Earth from a distant place, I know that this spot is shining brightly, emitting golden light; it is a place where the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are truly gathered together.

The Astonishing Progress of Practitioner Su

The speed at which Practitioner Su’s skills have progressed is something that truly leaves Li Bai in great awe. Ten years ago, when Practitioner Su sent Li Bai to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, compared to the skills she had then, she has truly ascended to a much higher level now. She improves every single day. Such speed makes one feel that 'not seeing someone for a day is like waiting for three autumns,' let alone not seeing her for ten years. It is truly worthy of great praise.

What amazes me most at present is the massive Chao Du that Practitioner Su is conducting in mainland China. Li Bai once traveled to every corner of the vast land of China, and in every corner, there are immeasurable and countless beings, and of course, demon crowds. Practitioner Su, with her countless manifestations, has arrived at these places and can very quickly send layer upon layer of beings into the Western Land of Dharma Nature. This speed and high level of accuracy are truly unprecedented!

This so-called 'carpet-style' Chao Du is like truly turning the entire earth over. The beings beneath the ground are even more numerous. Many beings—whether human or animal—have been buried in the soil for ten, a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand years, all suffering within. Only with the current Chao Du skills is it possible to truly save these beings.

Therefore, Li Bai, who used to live in his own world, now looks at everything happening in the real world and sighs that there is actually someone in the real world doing the work of the Buddha, and doing it so thoroughly. Li Bai is truly moved again and again, filled with admiration again and again. There are simply too many things I could not have imagined. In the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, everything can be done; as long as I have a thought, everything Li Bai desires can appear before my eyes. But what Practitioner Su does is even beyond our imagination; it is an achievement attained by realizing one's true nature and attaining Buddhahood in a physical body.

A Poetic Reflection

Seeing Practitioner Su today, it feels as if a lifetime has passed.

Practitioner Su’s power is not what it was then, and the beings she saves are advancing even further.

Like a carpet rolling over the sand, the Chao Du covers the land, and the suffering beings echo my words from back then:

Like a waterfall flying down three thousand feet, they enter the Dharma-Nature Land and see the light.

How many beings are lost in the space of confusion, layered upon layers, beyond counting,

Not knowing what the Buddha-body is, not knowing how to hold the holy name,

But once they arrive at the Western Land of Dharma Nature, they are suddenly enlightened and return to their original nature.

When the Buddha-nature manifests, the truth is revealed, and the Buddhist affinity of the past is continued.

Ah! Li Bai, watching all these changes from the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, feels a joy in his heart that cannot be expressed in words. I am much more composed now, completely reborn. I am no longer the Li Bai of those years, but the 'Miaoyin Tathagata' of today. I cherish being a part of this place very much. Although I have experienced the suffering of the hells and the ghost realm, my state of mind now is vastly different from the past. What I have realized is not only the suffering of the human world but the suffering of the six realms of rebirth. It is precisely because of this that I cherish this magnificent Dharma affinity so much.

I am grateful for the compassion of Namo Amituofo and the compassion of Practitioner Su. Li Bai bows three times to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to express his gratitude.

Li Bai