The Pure Vessel: A Journey of Awakening

This is a record of an interview with the 132nd Venerable, Su Di, who lived approximately three hundred years ago. He now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This account was recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa Jing, on April 20, 2019.

Venerable Su Di speaks:

"Hurry! Hurry! Bring another bucket! There is another hole leaking water over here!" My mother shouted to my father and my two elder sisters while pressing her hands against her belly. For days, the heavy rain had been relentless. Our dilapidated house could not withstand the storm, and water began seeping through places that had never leaked before. We had to place buckets of all sizes everywhere to catch the water. Our home was small, housing my father, mother, and two sisters, while I, Su Di, lay safely inside my mother’s womb. My father looked at my mother’s large belly with deep concern. The rain was so heavy that no midwife would venture out, yet it was clear that my birth was imminent. If he did not find a way, it would be too late.

A Birth Amidst the Storm

My father tried to open the front door, but the gale-force winds immediately lashed rain into the house, and he nearly failed to close it again. He told my mother and sisters, "It is impossible! We cannot go out in such a storm. Besides, we are so remote that a midwife would be half-dead by the time she reached us. We cannot take such a risk." My father and sisters racked their brains for a solution and finally decided that my father would deliver me himself. My mother appeared to be in labour several times, but I, Su Di, simply refused to emerge. The next day, the rain suddenly stopped. The sky cleared, and for the first time in weeks, sunlight bathed the earth. My father rushed out to fetch a midwife. Unexpectedly, the moment the midwife stepped into our home, I was born. My father exclaimed, "This child is truly blessed!"

The Mystery of the Lotus Cave

"I have heard that a lotus flower, descended from the heavens, nourishes the Lotus Cave, but no one in this world has ever seen it," my father said to my mother one day. I spoke up and told him, "I have seen it!" My father asked in astonishment, "When did you see it?" I replied, "Yesterday, while my sister and I were playing with a ball outside the Lotus Cave, it accidentally rolled inside. When I entered the cave, I saw a purple-gold lotus flower. It was so large, so beautiful, and so radiant. When I reached out to touch it, it vanished! Only my ball remained by the stone." My mother remarked, "They say only those who descend from the Western Pure Land can see the lotus in that cave. Could it be that Su Di is a being from the West?"

The Boy Who Walked Through Rain

One day, I was playing outside alone. My parents were at home, anxiously waiting for my return. After a long time, they were shocked to see me walk through the door, looking perfectly happy. My mother asked, "The rain is so heavy, why didn't you come back sooner?" I asked in surprise, "Rain?" My mother said, "Yes! Look outside!" I ran to the window and looked out; it was indeed pouring with rain! I looked at myself and saw that I was completely dry. I had been playing under the bright sun just moments ago; how had it suddenly turned into a storm? My parents looked at me in confusion, and I, too, was bewildered, not knowing what had happened.

A Heart Larger Than the World

My father ran a small grocery stall in the city, which was our family’s only source of income. Business had always been poor, and my father had considered closing it to find other work. However, ever since I was born, business began to flourish. Customers came in an endless stream, and my mother no longer had to worry about our daily meals. One day, my father took me to the stall. Every customer would say to him, "Your son is so handsome; look at his face—he is truly a blessed child!" My father would smile and nod. That day, he earned a lot of money. When he went to count the earnings in the money bucket under the table, he found it empty! He thought a thief had stolen it and was about to shout for help when he saw me walking back from a distance, looking cheerful. My father yelled, "Su Di! Come here!" I ran back to the stall. He asked, "Did you take the money from under my table?" I replied, "Yes, I did!" He asked, "Is the money still there?" I said, "Of course it is! It’s just in other people’s pockets." My father shouted in panic, "How could you put our money in other people’s pockets?" I answered, "Isn't money meant for those who need it most? I saw people who were poor and in need, so I gave some to them. I didn't realize that by the time I walked down the street, the money would be all gone!" My father was both angry and helpless, saying, "That was the money I earned for the entire day!" I told him, "Our family cannot spend all this money in one day anyway. Instead of letting it sit in our rice jar, it is better to give it to those in need so they can have a full meal." The owner of the fruit stall next to us heard this and told my father, "Look at this child. He is blessed precisely because his mind-capacity is so vast! Don't scold him; he has accumulated a great deal of blessings for your family today!" My father was still a bit reluctant, but he realized the fruit seller was right. It was because I was silently accumulating merit for everyone that our business thrived. My father said to me, "I have lived for nearly forty years, yet my mind-capacity has not grown at all. You have only been in this world for five years, and your mind is already larger than mine. I must learn from you!"

The Silent Elder

The annual autumn festival arrived. It had been cancelled for several years due to floods, so this was the first one I had attended since my birth. Every household was joyful, as the festival featured various performances and delicious food. However, I was not accustomed to such noisy activities. As I wandered through the crowd, I suddenly saw a figure who seemed completely out of place in such a chaotic environment; he appeared remarkably calm. I followed him wherever he went. Suddenly, he stopped and turned to look at me. He was an old man. He asked, "How much longer do you intend to follow me?" I smiled at him, feeling that he looked very kind. I asked, "Who are you? I have never seen you before. You look so special, like a statue that does not move!" The old man laughed and said, "My body is clearly moving, so why do you say I am like a statue?" I replied, "Everyone here is happily participating in the activities, but your heart is so calm, as if you have stepped out of this space." The old man nodded and told me, "That is indeed true. My heart is not moved by this dusty world. Even as I walk through this noisy crowd, my heart remains in a state of stillness. It does not break the purity within me just because the environment changes." I had never seen such a person; everyone around me was always in a state of mental flux. This old man felt so unique that I decided to follow him, wanting to learn how to be as still as he was.

The Lesson of Compassion

I followed the old man, mimicking his every movement. He walked barefoot on the stony road, so I took off my shoes and carried them in my hands, walking on the stones as well. The soles of my feet throbbed with pain, and I felt quite miserable, but seeing the old man’s relaxed figure moving further and further away, I gritted my teeth and endured the pain to catch up. He stopped in front of a dilapidated house, which was likely where he lived. He put down the loads he was carrying, and I was surprised to see that they contained a group of chicks. He placed them in a fenced-off grassy area so they could move around. He said, "When these chicks grow a little larger, I will release them all." Then, he opened the bucket of water he had been carrying; it was filled with live fish he had just bought from the river. He released them back into the flowing water. He said, "Do you know? I have just saved my father from ten lifetimes ago." I asked in confusion, "Your father from ten lifetimes ago?" He replied, "Yes! Just now, among those fish. I have chanted the Buddha-name for him, taken refuge for him, and released him into the river. I can see that he has been liberated, ending his fate of being a fish for nine lifetimes." Then, he began to loosen the soil with a hoe to plant vegetable seedlings. The insects in the soil emerged during the process. He chanted for them, took refuge for them, and called me over: "Look! That worm crawling there was once a fellow practitioner of mine in a past life. Although he studied the Buddha’s teachings, he still indulged in worldly pleasures and left the human world at a young age. Not only did he fall into the hells, but he also spent countless lifetimes as an insect. Only now have we met again." I found it inconceivable; I never imagined that all things possessed spirituality and that every spirit could be someone we once knew.

The Purity of the Vessel

After finishing his work, the old man went inside, and I followed. The house was silent; there was no one else there. He knelt before the Buddha, bowed, and began to recite the scriptures, not caring that I was standing beside him. I knelt with him until he finished the entire sutra. I told him, "I just thought of my late grandmother. She loved eating roasted insects when she was alive. No wonder her throat was so painful and swollen when she was dying, and she couldn't speak a word. Her stomach kept swelling up. Now I understand—she had eaten too many lives, and those vengeful spirits came to seek revenge, which is why she died so painfully. Also, I thought of my father. Although he sells groceries, he loves fishing. No wonder he often feels itchy skin and pain in his mouth; he is also suffering the consequences. And my neighbor, Brother Younan—he is fifteen, but he still cannot speak clearly. It turns out he ate too many living creatures, and they are all coming to seek revenge. And..." The old man gestured for me to stop. He told me, "During the time I was reciting the sutra, I entered the world of the Buddha and felt its purity and light. Yet you knelt here, thinking of worldly matters. As soon as you finished thinking of one, you immediately thought of another. The sutra is so long, yet your mind never stopped wandering. When will your heart ever be still? However, you do have one redeeming quality: you have realized the laws of karma and cause and effect through the process of releasing life. People think killing is normal, not knowing that they are unknowingly creating sins and will have to suffer the karmic retribution of killing in the future. The laws of karma and cause and effect are an unchanging rule from ancient times to the present."

The Path of Chanting

I thought my heart was very pure, but beside the old man, I realized it was still chaotic. He washed the mud-covered basin and told me, "If this basin is not washed clean, even if you fill it with water, the water will still be dirty. Only when the basin is washed thoroughly will the water inside be pure and unstained." I nodded, understanding, and said, "I have only been in this world for a few years, yet my eyes have already seen endless worldly affairs. Everything I see and hear is in my mind, and as soon as it enters, I begin to think about it. The more I think, the less pure my body becomes. My dirty basin will never hold clear water. Master, how can I wash my basin clean?" He asked, "Have you noticed what I have been doing since we met?" I understood: "The reason you were different from everyone else in the crowd at the festival was that you were the only one chanting the Buddha-name. You chant, and your heart is fixed on the Buddha. Even though everyone was singing and dancing, you were unmoved, and your mind was naturally silent within the Buddha-name!" He nodded: "It is indeed the power of chanting. If you can chant the Buddha-name well, in less than a year, your eyes will be able to see this world clearly."

A Lesson Beyond Space

"Wake up! Su Di!" my mother shouted. My sister asked, "Is he alright?" I slowly opened my eyes. My father cried out, "He’s awake! He’s awake!" I asked, "Where is the old man?" My mother asked nervously, "Are you okay? What old man?" My sister touched my head and said, "The stage suddenly collapsed just now. You were standing underneath it and were crushed by the entire stage and the performers. You fainted instantly. We called you several times before you woke up." I found this truly incredible. It turned out the old man had never appeared; he had simply taught me a lesson within that brief moment in space.

The Vajra Seed

I followed the old man’s advice and chanted the Buddha-name wholeheartedly every day, no matter what I was doing. Now, when I went to the market with my father, the noisy environment became peaceful because of the purification of my heart. I could even hear a distant leaf falling. I diligently recited the Buddha-name, hoping to encounter the Buddha’s teachings. My desire to learn grew stronger as my heart became purer. It seemed that as my heart became pure, I grew closer to the Buddha. After ten years of diligent practice, in the eleventh year, I met a monk at our stall. In a place where there had never been any Buddha-Dharma, this was the first time a monk had appeared, and I was the first person he delivered.

The monk told me, "My master told me to come here to deliver sentient beings. He said there were beings here waiting to be saved. Along the way, I have been chanting to deliver the spirits in the space and under the ground. You are the first human being to seek the Dharma from me." I followed the monk to the temple and learned that his master was the old man I had met in that space over ten years ago.

A Life of Service

I expressed my gratitude: "Thank you, Master, for planting the Vajra Seed of the Buddha in me over ten years ago. Now that the conditions are ripe, you have come to save me. Thank you for your compassion." The Master asked, "Is the basin washed clean yet?" I replied, "I have been using the Buddha’s water to purify this dirty basin every day, and it is being cleaned bit by bit. I vow to practice in the temple and keep the water clear, using this pure water to wash away the dirty, troubled, and sorrowful hearts of sentient beings. Please teach me, and I will surely follow."

I left my hometown and the secular world, practicing the Dharma tirelessly. After ten years of practice in the temple, I returned to the world to deliver sentient beings. Only then did I realize that the Buddha’s path is everywhere in life. The teachings are not separate from the most ordinary daily tasks like brushing teeth, cleaning, changing clothes, or using the restroom. Among the coming and going of people, there are endless causal conditions; every drink and every bite is predestined. After studying the Buddha’s teachings, there are no more strange or bizarre things in the world; the laws of karma and cause and effect are never empty. The temptations that once confused people are like wind—colorless, tasteless, formless, and bodiless—blowing gently past me without staining this body.

Rebirth in the Western Pure Land

Having reincarnated in this world, I will no longer return to the path of samsara. The purple-gold lotus petals are drifting before my eyes, following the sound of the Buddha-name, waiting for me to sit upon them. I let go of my eighty-plus years of life, stepped onto the purple-gold lotus with a pure body, and in an instant, I met Namo Amituofo in the West.

Sensations and feelings can drag a person’s soul into the six realms of rebirth. Few in this world can resist the various sensations brought about by this physical body. Practitioner Su bears the suffering of sentient beings with his own body. No matter how intense the physical sensations are, he feels nothing because of his heart for all beings; there is only compassion. Even when the pain is unbearable, he remains focused on all beings, without complaint or regret.

Selfishness is hidden in human nature. Only by being truly selfless and without-self, like Practitioner Su, can one recover the true self-nature inherent within. Only by being compassionate for all, viewing all beings in the entire Dharma Realm and empty space as one with oneself—with great compassion for those with whom one has no affinity and the same compassion for all—can one, like Practitioner Su, recover the Dharma Body to save all spirits. The world should learn from this. The true Buddha is right before your eyes; do not miss this opportunity. Namo Amituofo.

This interview was recorded by the Buddhist disciple, Shi Fa Jing.