The Poet's Awakening: A Spirit's Journey from the Battlefield

This is a record of an interview with the spirit of Lu You, the renowned patriotic poet of the Southern Song Dynasty, who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Land of Dharma Nature. This account reflects upon his life approximately 816 years ago. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on May 10, 2026.

Lu You speaks:

"The years have turned grey, reflecting in my hair; the poet and his wine could not fulfil the ambitions I held dear. The iron horses of the frozen rivers remain etched in my heart; even at my final breath, my thoughts were bound to the fate of our mountains and rivers. I spent a lifetime drifting through the sea of officialdom, never waking from the dream of the imperial army marching north. I once lamented the state policy of 'No War,' but now I understand that peace, even at the cost of tribute, spared the people from the fires of hell. The golden light of Namo Amituofo pierces through the dimensions, and I see now that the rise and fall of nations are but natural occurrences. Hearing the Dharma in the Dharma-Nature Land and meeting Practitioner Su, I realise that the desire to save the world and serve the country was, in truth, a heavy burden. The cycles of history are endless, and the rise and fall of nations are beyond the control of any single will. Having let go of all attachments to propagate the teachings of Namo Amituofo, I see that the entire Song Dynasty has been guided into the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss."

A Lifetime of Unfulfilled Ambition

"I have been waiting here in the Western Land of Dharma Nature for quite some time to share my story. To be guided by Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su to this magnificent, luminous realm is a blessing beyond words. I never imagined that after passing away, a mere spirit like me would have the opportunity to arrive at such a sublime and radiant place. For centuries, I drifted through the ghost realm, watching as my country slowly withered and foreign powers took control of the Central Plains to establish their own dynasties. At the time, my heart was filled with such bitter resentment. As a spirit wandering in the ghost realm, I saw everything, yet I was utterly powerless to change it. That sense of helplessness was multiplied a thousand times over compared to the frustration I felt while I was alive.

Yet, looking beyond the grand political stage, I realise now that for the common people, what truly matters is not the name of the nation or the ethnicity of the ruler. What matters is whether they can lead a stable and peaceful life in their respective eras. This is a truth I had long ignored. Back then, I was genuinely convinced that the Song Dynasty should remain a unified territory, rather than a regime clinging to the south in a state of precarious peace. Looking back, I can see how incredibly foolish I was. I understand now that the rise and fall of a nation is the collective karma of all the people of the Great Song. The prosperity and decline of a country follow the natural Law of Cause and Effect. It was not merely the result of a single emperor's poor decision, nor was it solely due to the invasion of northern tribes; it was the natural progression of the nation's destiny reaching its inevitable conclusion."

The Illusion of Patriotism

"It is a great pity that I did not study the Buddha’s teachings at that time. Seeing the decline of my country, I did not understand the principles of natural law; I was obsessed with displaying my talents, hoping to use my literary and military skills to help the Southern Song recover its lost territories. As for pouring my emotions into poetry, that came later. My perspective at the time was far from complete. I was desperate to perform meritorious service for the country and recover the lost lands, but I was constantly thwarted and suppressed by various factions in the imperial court. I drifted in and out of office, rising and falling in rank, never able to find a stable position where I could truly apply my abilities. Even when I was sent to the provinces or near the front lines, the central government’s policy was not to engage in direct warfare with the northern regimes. Thus, I could only entrust my longing for the lost homeland to my poems.

I wrote countless poems throughout my life, each one expressing my true thoughts and desires. My poetry focused on describing the reality I saw, without excessive ornamentation, because I believed such truthful themes should be accessible and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. That was my philosophy of creation at the time. Later, after learning the Buddha’s teachings, I realised that poetry itself is an illusion, impermanent and fleeting. Entrusting one's emotions to verse cannot truly help others. The content of my poems, filled with sorrow for the nation and visions of recovering lost territory, possessed great emotional tension and power. However, for the people, if they are to let go of their attachments and entanglements regarding their homeland, these poems offer little real help."

The Clarity of the Dharma-Nature Land

"After studying the Buddha’s teachings in the Dharma-Nature Land, I understood that using poetry to incite the people to focus on the loss of their homeland was not in accordance with the Dharma. From the perspective of the Buddha’s teachings, if others have taken what you possess, there is no reason to fight over it. After all, the coming and going of material things, and the ability to let go, are all part of the natural order. When viewed on the scale of a nation, the same principle applies. When northern territories were occupied, the focus should have been on governing internal affairs, stabilising the foundation of the country, and ensuring the people could live in peace and prosperity, rather than continuing to wage war out of nationalistic sentiment or attachment to northern lands.

Such actions may be called 'patriotism,' but the foundation of a nation lies in its people. If one constantly forces the people to bleed and sacrifice their lives just to bring more land under one's rule or to claim more resources for the state, that is not true patriotism. It is merely the result of being influenced by the concept of a 'nation.' Under the influence of early concepts regarding the integrity of the northern homeland, the recovery of that land became my personal mission. Because I had fled to the south during the chaos of war, I held a deep, obsessive attachment to the recovery of the north. But from the perspective of the Buddha’s teachings, these things are entirely meaningless. Life is precious, and the human body is a rare vessel. To sacrifice lives and force people onto the battlefield for the sake of a nation’s destiny—which was destined to be divided and occupied anyway—solves absolutely nothing in this human world."

"I spent my entire life obsessed with warfare, which is the true reflection of why I could never fully realise my potential. Perhaps, in some mysterious way, I was protected by the Buddha, preventing me from ever truly engaging in the slaughter of enemies. Otherwise, I would not have merely entered the ghost realm; I would surely have ended up like many of the great generals and emperors here in the Dharma-Nature Land, who fell into the hells to suffer extreme punishment, only to be sent to some minuscule space to endure further retribution. Therefore, in hindsight, I am very fortunate that I never truly engaged in combat with the Jin Dynasty. I understand now that no matter the dynasty, no matter the regime, or even the Mongol regimes further north, we are all one. We are all people living on this vast land. Although different regions have different languages, cultures, and lifestyles, this does not mean we should be divided.

True patriotism means having a heart of gratitude toward one's country, being loyal, and not betraying it. It does not mean using one's national identity to attack, destroy, or rule over others. That is not true patriotism. True patriotism is allowing the people to live in peace and prosperity, and allowing the nation to stand in the world as a virtuous state, rather than being branded a warlike nation or tribe. I spent most of my life in the dark, only encountering the Buddha’s teachings in my twilight years. Compared to the teachings of Namo Amituofo I have learned here in the Dharma-Nature Land, the Chan and 'emptiness' teachings I encountered back then—while they gave me a direction to let go of my attachments—did not truly allow me to understand what true patriotism was. I forced myself to study those teachings, accepting my failures and turning to the Chan concept that 'all things are empty and illusory.' Yet, I could never truly reach that state of mind. Only after learning the Buddha’s teachings from Namo Amituofo did I understand the 'actively engage with the world to save all beings' mentality. This is not the approach I once championed—using war to liberate people from suffering. That understanding of the Buddha’s teachings was neither complete nor thorough."

"The contradiction lies here: while watching the people suffer, how could I determine when the northern expedition would succeed in recovering the land? It could take years or even decades, and the casualties caused in the process would be contrary to the Dharma and lack true compassion for the people. The Buddha’s gate teaches 'no killing,' yet how can there be war without killing? There may be many sophistries to justify it, but in my heart, I knew the contradiction existed. If one truly follows the compassion of the Buddha, accepts what comes, and lets everything follow its natural course, where would the attachment to external conditions come from? Where would the inability to let go of the nation come from? If the Buddha’s teachings emphasise 'no-self,' then if there is no self, where does the concept of 'my country' or 'my homeland' come from? I knew these contradictions in my heart, but I had not yet reached that level of practice, and I resisted accepting the truth. After all, I truly hoped to save the people of the north by recovering the land. In my later years, I suffered from some illnesses, but my body remained relatively strong.

After I passed away at the age of eighty-five, I entered the space of the battlefield. I was still thinking about whether the homeland could be recovered, so I wandered the northern borders after death. I watched the changes in the world, still yearning to complete the recovery of the north. To my surprise, not long after, the fierce Mongol army unified all of China. I felt a deep sense of emotion, but then I thought, this has brought unity and stability to the country, so why must I be so obsessed with the Southern Song ruling it? Once this thought arose, I no longer felt such deep sorrow for the fall of the nation, nor did I pay attention to subsequent developments. Long after, one day, golden light illuminated the space of the battlefield. I was still there, but suddenly, the golden light shone down, and I was instantly released from that space. I saw that the world was entirely different from the environment I knew. There were buildings and scenes I had never seen before. Although the mountains and rivers remained similar, the people, the nation, and the architecture were vastly different. Before I could investigate further, I was guided by the golden light into a much brighter place. This is the Western Dharma-Nature Land, with the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia as its background."

Namo Amituofo.

A Vision of the Great Buddha

"Upon arriving in the Dharma-Nature Land, I beheld a Buddha who felt incredibly familiar, a Great Buddha standing tall and majestic right before my eyes. Instinctively, I knelt to pay my respects. I bowed again and again, offering my deepest gratitude, for I was certain that it was the Buddha who had brought me to such a luminous realm. I surmised, even then, that this must be the Buddha's own Pure Land.

After listening to the teachings in the Dharma-Nature Land for some time, I finally realised that several hundred years had passed since the Southern Song Dynasty. The China of today is vastly different from the one I knew; it has undergone the rise and fall of numerous dynasties. This came as a great shock to me. It seems that the cycle of division and unification, of one dynasty replacing another, has continued unabated long after the Song era.

The Cycles of History and Karma

Even before the Song Dynasty, China was plagued by countless wars. Yet, after my time, the frequency of conflict became even more intense than in previous ages. In more recent times, I was astonished to learn that various foreign nations crossed vast oceans to invade and harass China—a situation I could never have anticipated.

However, I understand now that the rise and fall of any regime is simply a manifestation of the natural operation of the laws of karma and cause and effect. This is not something that any single individual can resist or reverse. It is only through the people of all China learning the Buddha’s teachings together that it is possible to alter the Collective Karma that dictates the rise and fall of every dynasty.

True Patriotism and the Dharma

It was only after I studied the true Buddha’s teachings that I understood: the true Dharma is actively engaged with the world. It teaches people to cultivate a heart of Goodness, to transform the human heart, and to let go of all attachments—including the attachment to one's home and country. Propagating the Buddhist education of Namo Amituofo is the only way to truly help all the people of China. This is true patriotism; this is what it means to be actively engaged with the world; this is the authentic face of propagating the Dharma.

In my past life, the passive, world-renouncing approach to liberation I pursued was merely a way to force myself to let go of my attachment to reclaiming my lost homeland. In reality, it did not solve my problems at all. I was still subject to birth, aging, sickness, and death, which proves that my character had not truly undergone a transformation.

A Regretful Realisation

It is truly a pity that I only encountered the true Dharma after I had already shed my physical body. If, during my time as an official, I had used my prime years to study the Dharma, and if I had known how to share the holy name of 'Namo Amituofo' with the common civilians, the Collective Karma of China would not have been so severe. From the Dharma-Nature Land, I have watched Practitioner Su vigorously save China, opening up various subtle spaces. Practitioner Su does not only save China; he also saves beings in the Ten Directions, as well as countless demon crowds and demon palaces within China and the Ten Directions, leading them all into the Western Land of Dharma Nature.

The scene is truly inconceivable and awe-inspiring. Practitioner Su’s countless billions of manifestations arrive instantaneously in every subtle universe of the Ten Directions, and Namo Amituofo follows him, radiating great light into every space. Beings who receive this Buddha-light instantly let go of their deep-seated resentment and attachments, and many become willing to enter the Western Land of Dharma Nature.

The Path of Compassionate Action

It was during such a process of deliverance that I was able to depart from the space of war I had been trapped in and enter the Western Land of Dharma Nature. Only then did I have the opportunity to accept this interview at the temple and share my reflections on this life with all of you. I am truly moved by the inconceivable nature of the Buddha’s teachings.

At first, I simply felt that the Dharma was about being indifferent to fame and wealth, letting go of everything, and living a carefree life, unconstrained by the world. However, the true Dharma is not like that at all.

By following Practitioner Su’s daily routine and witnessing the reality of how Namo Amituofo saves beings, I finally understood that it was because my own heart was still filled with selfishness that I held such self-centred, isolationist views. I wanted to remain untainted by the dust of the world; I wanted to avoid the pain, suffering, and criticism of others, which is why I harboured that desire to live in seclusion, cut off from the world. Having learned the Dharma and seen Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su tirelessly save the demon crowds and all beings—even while enduring great suffering and constant attacks from the demon crowds—I saw that their pace in saving beings never stopped, nor did it slow down in the slightest. They continue to actively and extensively save beings. I, too, hope to learn this true Dharma so that I may be of genuine help to others and to my country.

I make a vow to learn from the Buddha and to return to the worldly realm to assist in the development of the nation. I vow to learn how to eliminate competition, struggle, and opposition, and to use the purest and most virtuous steps to help all beings leave suffering behind.

I am deeply grateful to Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su for giving me the opportunity to be interviewed.

Namo Amituofo.

Lu You"