The Pure Body: An Interview with Sangharama Bodhisattva

The Essence of the Pure Body

At the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, Practitioner Su frequently teaches that the Pure Land Dharma Gate requires a pure heart and a pure body. To be truly pure, one must be free from any trace of defilement. This purity elevates our spiritual sensitivity and awareness, allowing us to save immeasurable and boundless sentient beings while ensuring the Pure Land Dharma Gate is widely propagated. Practitioner Su uses his own physical body to take on the suffering of sentient beings. Through this physical sacrifice, he saves them, and through this manifestation, he promotes the practice of chanting Namo Amituofo. By finding those who can carry on this lineage, he ensures that the True Teachings of the Pure Land are passed down forever.

Practitioner Su’s pure body, by enduring the suffering of others, enables sentient beings to chant the Buddha’s name and achieve rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, or to listen to the sutras in the Western Land of Dharma Nature. He teaches the essential methods of Dharma-Body Visualisation Deliverance to the fourfold assembly of disciples, and he is supported by the compassionate presence of Namo Amituofo, who truly abides here. The mind-capacity of Practitioner Su is vast and boundless; just as the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is infinite, so too is the work of saving beings. The Buddhist work performed by Practitioner Su and the countless spirits he saves are identical to the work of the Buddhas. Naturally, Namo Amituofo manifests in response. When Practitioner Su’s physical body is fully utilised to save beings, the Buddha naturally appears to provide the necessary solutions.

The Power of Compassionate Deliverance

Sangharama Bodhisattva observed that during this recent effort to seek rain, Practitioner Su performed Chao Du for immeasurable and boundless sentient beings, reaching every Dharma Realm. Through continuous Dharma-Body Visualisation, he taught the very earth, the insects, the birds, the flowers, and the trees to diligently chant the name of Namo Amituofo without interruption. Never in history has such a teaching been seen. As the spirits of the earth and the crawling creatures were awakened, they began to chant the Buddha’s name, seeking rebirth in the Western Pure Land. As more were awakened, those who had heard little of the Buddha’s teachings became disoriented, flying and colliding in their confusion. They did not know where to go, but they were drawn to the light radiating from Practitioner Su’s body, which unfortunately led to his physical form being invaded by these spirits.

Practitioner Su remains compassionate, taking on the suffering of these beings, and in the process, his Wisdom manifests. These spirits are often selfish, having been hidden in darkness for hundreds or thousands of years, yet their desire to leave suffering behind is urgent. Because of the Buddha’s compassion, these spirits were invited to reside within memorial tablets. The Buddha provided five memorial tablets to assist Practitioner Su in his Chao Du work and to alleviate the suffering of these spirits, which also protected his physical body from further invasion. Practitioner Su does not need to use external tools; he simply visualises the spirits entering the tablets, and they are immediately settled and at peace. In every Dharma assembly, I see Practitioner Su saving more and more spirits, an immeasurable and boundless number. It is clear that his pure heart is focused entirely on saving others, without a single delusion. His pure body is dedicated to taking on the suffering of beings, with no thought of self, and his function is the manifestation of the Buddha’s teachings, salvation, and Wisdom. This purity of body, appearance, and function paves the way for even greater and clearer salvation of beings in the future.

The Manifestation of the Elements

The rain-seeking efforts were also successful because of the Dharma assemblies held over these past few days. The spirits of earth, water, fire, and wind—the gods of wind, rain, and thunder—all gathered to accomplish this great task of saving the world. The thunder god, in particular, took this opportunity to display his power, with lightning flashing continuously across the sky, astonishing those who had never seen such a sight. While people in this worldly realm might interpret this as a mere weather anomaly, they do not realise it is the result of the power of Practitioner Su’s Dharma-Body Visualisation Deliverance. The miraculous manifestations of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and the gods of the elements have deeply moved the fourfold assembly of disciples at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. If a practitioner wishes to truly attain such skills, they must begin by adjusting their own heart. As Practitioner Su often mentions during his Dharma talks, what the mind thinks is what manifests externally. One must reach a state of no-thought and no-delusion, maintaining purity, with only the Buddha’s name in mind. Alternatively, as Practitioner Su suggests, one should constantly recall and recite the sutras to reduce messy thoughts. It is through this selfless state that Practitioner Su is able to perform Dharma-Body Visualisation Deliverance and guide spirits into the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Namo Amituofo.

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