The Precious Rarity of the Human Body

The Long Journey of the Spirit

At this very moment, you are blessed with the possession of a human body. Do you realise how incredibly precious this is? Your spirit, which has existed for countless eons, has wandered through the six realms of rebirth, enduring immeasurable suffering along the way. Contemplate the arduous paths your spirit has traversed throughout the vast expanse of time:

• You have descended into the depths of the hells, enduring the most extreme forms of suffering and retribution for your past deeds.You have existed as a hungry ghost, wandering through the dim, grey shadows of a miserable and hollow existence.You have taken the forms of animals—snakes, cats, dogs, pigs, chickens, ducks, fish, and cattle—trapped in a cycle of instinct, fear, and pain.You have lived as a human, experiencing the complex tapestry of joys and sorrows that define this world.You have even ascended to the celestial realms, enjoying the fleeting, temporary pleasures of a heavenly being.You may have possessed great blessings, yet due to an angry and volatile nature, you fell into the realm of the Asuras.

How many can truly grasp the weight of this journey? Your spirit has been tossed about by the relentless waves of karma for lifetimes beyond counting, drifting aimlessly in the darkness of ignorance.

The Human Body as a Vessel for Awakening

It is profoundly rare to obtain a human body. Yet, in this very life, you have been granted this form once again. This human body is not merely a physical shell; it is a sacred vessel that allows you to experience the fruits of your past karmic deeds—both good and evil. More importantly, your precious spirit now has the rare opportunity to learn the Buddha’s teachings, to calm the mind, and to make the great vow to transform your karma.

You have the chance to change your destiny, to elevate your spirit, and to realise your true nature and attain Buddhahood. You must understand that this body is a temporary, illusory form created by impermanent karmic forces. To realise your true nature, you must use this illusory body to cultivate the Truth. You must use this phantom form to find your way back to your original, true self. Do not let yourself fall back into the cycle of rebirth. You must return to your true home—the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Understanding the Karmic Map of the Body

Your physical body is composed of the four elements: earth, water, fire, and wind. Each person’s unique constitution is a manifestation of the fruits of their past karma:

• Earth:
• Represented by your bones, muscles, and physical structure.Water:
• Represented by the fluids, blood, and moisture within you.Fire:
• Represented by your body temperature and metabolic warmth.Wind: Represented by your breath and the circulation of gases within your system.

Furthermore, your internal organs and systems are all part of this karmic map. Your current state of health, whether you suffer from illness, whether you have physical or mental limitations, your capacity for learning, your memory, your intelligence, and how you interact with your environment—all of these are the results of causes you planted in past lives. They are the fruits manifesting in this present life, serving as a mirror to your past actions.

The Necessity of the Human Form for Deliverance

Your body is also the dwelling place for your karmic creditors and attached spirits. It is only because you have a body that they have the opportunity to manifest, to seek balance for past debts, to repay kindness, or to exact revenge. This is how you experience the consequences of your past actions. When your spirit awakens and you desire to perform good deeds, to study the Buddha’s teachings, to draw close to a true spiritual friend, or to serve as a volunteer at a temple, these shifts in your mental state require the body to be carried out.

If you did not have this body, even if your spirit had the vow to do so, you would have no way to complete the tasks your spirit wishes to achieve. You would have no opportunity to transform your karma, to realise your true nature, to save yourself and others, or to chant Namo Amituofo and be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This is the true value of the human body. Even the celestial beings in the twenty-eight layers of the heavens and those in the Four Sacred Realms, despite having the vow to be reborn in the Western Pure Land, cannot rely on their own power alone. They must invite those in the human realm to perform Chao Du for them to have a chance at rebirth. At the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, Practitioner Su has not only opened the space of the celestial realms to interview celestial beings and sages, but has also performed Chao Du for countless beings, helping them be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

The Unique Path of Purification

Only by possessing a human body can one practise and have the opportunity to realise one's true nature and attain Buddhahood. All Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and ancestral masters who have manifested in this world to attain Buddhahood had to be born into the human realm. They had to go through the process of growth, learning, and diligent practice before they could attain Buddhahood to save the world and deliver beings. Whether it is your daily practice, rising early, working in the temple, reciting the Sutras, making prostrations, chanting Namo Amituofo, or accumulating merits and virtues—every single act of practice requires the use of your body and the functions of your Six Roots. This is the result of the interaction between your spirit and your body. This is a unique opportunity that only the human realm can provide.

People in the world often believe that birth, aging, sickness, and death are inevitable processes of life. However, at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, we follow a path of dedicated practice. By listening to the Sutras and hearing the Dharma, we understand the true reality of all phenomena. We invite the karmic creditors and attached spirits residing within our bodies to come forward, resolve their grievances, and perform Chao Du to help them be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Through these methods, the body and spirit are purified, leading to cells that are pure and good. With the Six Roots purified, one is no longer controlled by karma, karmic creditors, or attached spirits, and one can transcend aging and sickness. When the spirit makes a vow to be reborn in the Western Pure Land, and through the practice of the body, one can chant Namo Amituofo and even know the time of one’s passing in advance, achieving rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss—attaining immortality. At the same time, when the body’s karmic conditions in this world are exhausted, it returns to nature. This magnificent benefit of the Pure Land path, which leads to a state beyond aging, sickness, and death, also requires the human body to be completed.

A Final Call to Cherish This Life

While beings in the animal realm have bodies, they can only suffer the consequences of their past actions; their spirits are too obscured to have the opportunity to transform their karma or make vows. The beings in the other four realms are also limited; whether they are in the celestial realms or the realm of the Asuras, they can only enjoy the fruits of their past good deeds, without the opportunity to transform their karma or vow to be reborn in the Western Pure Land. From this, you can see how precious it is to have obtained a human body.

When Shakyamuni Buddha was in the world, He warned everyone that the chance to obtain a human body in this age of the Dharma’s decline is as rare as the sand remaining on one’s fingertips after a handful of sand has been dropped. It is as rare as a blind turtle in the vast ocean, which only once every hundred years surfaces to breathe, happening to poke its head through a hole in a piece of floating wood. Practitioner Su, in giving Dharma talks, constantly reminds all disciples that you only have one life as a human. This is the heartfelt advice of Practitioner Su, based on thirty years of personal experience in studying the Buddha’s teachings and observing the laws of karma and cause and effect.

In the current polluted state of the world, those who can perform the Five Good Deeds during their lifetime, maintain right mindfulness at the moment of death, and be reborn in the human realm in their next life are truly few and far between. They are as rare as those who successfully chant Namo Amituofo and achieve rebirth in the Western Pure Land. Therefore, the chance of obtaining a human body in your next life is extremely slim. You must cherish this life as a human. You have encountered Namo Amituofo and have the chance to follow the Buddha to save the world and deliver beings. You must make good use of this body, fully utilising its potential. Make a sincere vow to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Vow to dedicate this body, mind, and spirit to the service of all beings throughout the Dharma Realm. You must move forward with true practice, and when you encounter tests, be brave enough to break through them without retreating.

The path to practice and rebirth in the Western Pure Land requires a vow and action. Even if you have not yet made a vow, you must still act. Why not bring forth a sincere heart and make that vow? That is the mark of a wise person. Once this vow is made, you will surely receive the blessings of the Buddha and the protection of the Dharma protectors, allowing you to realise your true nature, attain Buddhahood, and reach the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss sooner.

This message was recorded by the Buddha's disciple, Shi Haiyuan.

Namo Amituofo