The Scholar's Awakening: From Earthly Duty to Pure Land

This is a record of an interview with Gu Yanwu, a renowned scholar and practitioner from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, who sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Dharma-Nature Land. This account reflects upon his life and his transition from a spirit of deep attachment to an awakened being. Recorded by the chief writer, Fa Ning, on March 28, 2026.

Gu Yanwu speaks:

"Through a hundred years of fleeting time, who steers the ship of a nation's rise and fall? No one asks, yet everyone speaks; to bear responsibility is the mark of a true man. Now, the light illuminates the Divine Land, and the nation and the world return to the Buddha. Only now do I know the joy of leaving suffering behind; there is no need to cling to the nation or the world.

Greetings to everyone. I am Gu Yanwu. This name symbolises the burning, fervent spirit I carried, and it also represents a heart that never found peace throughout my entire life. My whole existence was dedicated to the movement of 'opposing the Qing and restoring the Ming,' and to the 'practical learning' that I believed could truly benefit the people of the nation. All those grand, magnificent achievements and lofty ideals now appear as nothing—a mere void. People in the world pursue different things, and just like me, I spent my life chasing what I already knew was impossible to achieve. It was a goal I poured my entire life’s attachment and effort into, yet from beginning to end, I could only remain an obscure figure—what people called a 'great thinker' or a 'practitioner.' If you ask me who I am, I prefer to see myself as a down-to-earth practitioner. I was simply an ordinary person who used my own hands and feet to do real work for the masses.

The Burden of a Historical Name

I never wanted my name to be adorned with titles, nor did I care what kind of spirit I left for future generations. I felt that if what I did in the moment could benefit the masses, that was enough; there was nothing worth taking with me, and nothing worth holding onto with regret. From childhood, the Confucian spirit I studied was rooted in the reality of benevolence, righteousness, and loyalty to the nation. Regarding the country, I lived my life with an attitude of protection and allegiance. Even when the country fell and my home was destroyed, and the nation ceased to exist, I could never accept the governance of the foreign rulers. Many might think I was overly attached. The Southern Ming government was clearly corrupt to the core—why did I still struggle to help it recover instead of wholeheartedly surrendering to the new Qing government, accepting their rule, and serving the people of the great Chinese region under their administration?

In truth, what I championed was not just a country or a dynasty, but a spirit. I could never accept the moral spirit brought by the Qing government. While the changing of dynasties is a common occurrence, if a new dynasty replaces the old through such cruel means, I could not accept the rule of this new regime in terms of moral philosophy. What people do not know is the extent of the harm caused to the local people by the Qing government’s massacres in the south and their various inhumane acts. Especially the spiritual trauma—it was something that generations could not let go of. I witnessed these injuries with my own eyes, along with the Qing government’s disregard for the lives of the people, caring only for the expansion of their territory. This is why I could never truly let go and accept their rule.

A Life of Practical Service

Fortunately, I, Gu Yanwu, possessed a heart that truly wanted to do things for the people. Regardless of the method, I believed I could rely on my own abilities to walk a path that served only the people, rather than the rise and fall of a dynasty. I used my genuine talent and learning to work for the welfare of the masses. Seeing people’s lives improve was what I hoped for. Therefore, deep in my bones, I remained a Ming person, doing many things that people at the time thought were impossible to achieve. What I enjoyed most was investigating the various water, soil, livelihoods, history, geography, and agriculture of the great Chinese region. Any subject related to people’s livelihoods and daily lives was a project I dedicated my life to studying. I wanted to perfect all this information for future generations to reference, so that whenever they needed information in fields like economics, geography, or agriculture, they could find a powerful 'encyclopaedia.' Although 'encyclopaedia' is a modern term, I think it is a very appropriate description for that time.

This heart of 'opposing the Qing and restoring the Ming,' although it slowly died along the way, and I knew the Ming dynasty could not be restored, my longing and hope for the people and the land of the old country never ceased. Looking at it from today’s perspective, I was perhaps an economist, a water conservancy expert, an agricultural scientist, and a military strategist all rolled into one. The 'practical learning' of that time was not as complex as it is today, but it was genuinely carried out for the convenience and welfare of the masses. In terms of scholarship, I could be considered a very successful person; but in terms of my personal life, my heart was never truly opened. The shadow of the country’s fall in my youth caused me to constantly fall into cycles of reflection and sorrow. I spent my whole life pondering why the Great Ming Dynasty collapsed.

The Trap of Intellectualism

In fact, looking through history, the reasons for the fall of various dynasties are vastly different. I always felt that the fundamental reason for the Ming Dynasty’s collapse was that there were too many thinkers, Confucian scholars, Taoist scholars, and various Buddhist practitioners who only talked about principles but did not put them into action for the welfare of the nation and the people. This 'empty talk' was something I could not accept. The education I received from childhood demanded that I be like the loyal ministers and righteous men of antiquity, such as Wen Tianxiang—people who actually worked for the welfare of the nation and the people, rather than engaging in a series of hollow discussions.

I had a very iron-willed personality. I believed that the correct path was the one I had insisted upon from ancient times, and it could not be shifted by the changing of eras. These various states of mind were the portrait of my life. The spirit I championed was a practical, truth-seeking spirit akin to that of a scientist, but there was so much I had neglected.

Centuries in the Ghost Realm

Of course, after I died, I did not gain true liberation; I entered the ghost realm with a heavy heart. In that dim, confused world, I spent the next several hundred years. My spirit remained stagnant in the state of mind I had at the moment of my death. I remained as stubborn as ever, never truly walking out of it. Although the change from the human world to the spiritual realms is vast, I kept that desire for restoration so tightly bound to my own spirit, carved into my soul, that even as a ghost, I could not truly breathe. This is the sorrow of an attached person! There were too many truths I did not understand, yet I always believed in the truth I saw, ignoring thousands of other possibilities. As a ghost realm being who closed myself off, my spirit, like my former physical body, was heavy and tense.

Anyone who has read my opening poem can understand my state of mind at that time and how it later transformed. I used to take the world’s affairs as my own responsibility, believing that the great affairs of the world were the work of a true man, and that a true man must diligently grasp every detail. This attachment, from the world to the nation, was the same; I never gave it up. But all this changed after I stepped into the Western Dharma-Nature Land. Looking back now, under the guidance and purification of the Buddha, my state of mind has become much clearer, and only then did I gradually understand my past actions. All attachments are, in themselves, things that harm oneself and others, yet I was completely unaware of it. Of course, I did many good deeds; I did much for the country and the people, but the 'country' I acknowledged was different from others. Therefore, I was a ghost of some 'weight,' but I was also a ghost realm being deeply entangled in my own views and emotions.

The True Meaning of Mahayana

Coming to the Western Dharma-Nature Land to listen to the sutras and hear the Dharma, sitting under the seat of Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su, everything I learned was quite different from what I had known during my life. Everything from before made me feel more tense, more tightly grasping at the various things of the human world, while the world of the Buddha’s teachings was the world of 'emptiness' that I had previously opposed. But at that time, I did not see where the essence of truly practicing Buddhism lay, nor did I know that practicing Buddhism is a great undertaking that truly helps all beings leave suffering and gain happiness, and prevents them from entering the six realms of rebirth to suffer again. Many people believed in Buddhism at the time, but too few truly understood the Buddha. It is understandable that I originally thought Buddhism taught people to stay away from worldly affairs, living in a realm of self-enjoyment while ignoring the suffering of others. But I now understand the true Buddha Dharma—the true Mahayana Buddhism—which actually places all beings in one’s heart and truly helps them leave suffering and gain happiness. After achieving one’s own liberation, one can help even more vast numbers of beings in the spiritual and human realms.

The Buddhism I knew before was perhaps limited to the scope of the Lesser Vehicle, which only seeks personal awakening but is entirely indifferent to the lives and suffering of others. This is not the ultimate way of practice; it is only a way for a small number of people to achieve some elevation in their state of being. Now that I see all this clearly, especially seeing how Practitioner Su of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre follows the footsteps of Namo Amituofo, practicing step by step, realising one's true nature and attaining Buddhahood, and then using this physical body and countless manifestations to help immeasurable, uncountable beings in the spiritual and human realms—I, Gu Yanwu, am one of the very lucky ones. I used to be very resistant to the Buddha Dharma, but now, having known the true Great Dharma, I have discovered that the fundamental starting point of the Buddha Dharma is actually very similar to the 'people-oriented' practice I advocated, only the Buddha Dharma is far deeper and broader than I ever imagined.

A Message to the World

The 'beings' in the Buddha Dharma encompass all sentient and insentient beings, as well as all beings visible and invisible to the human eye. The Buddha Dharma helps all beings walk the righteous path and escape this illusory physical body. I used to grasp all of this tightly, but at this moment, it has all turned into a void. I was completely unaware of it then, but now I see it very clearly and transparently.

In fact, the portrait of my life is also a general portrait of the scholars and intellectuals of the world: everyone is attached to the knowledge and learning they understand, attached to the idea that 'this is the only way to truly benefit the country and the people,' and thus rejects all other ideas. Whether it is the True Teachings or false paths, although the starting point is a sincere desire to do things for the people, in the end, when life comes to an end, it is all for nothing. Then one enters the next life, entering the endless cycle of rebirth, yet no one can understand what must be done to attain ultimate, perfect happiness and stability.

All of this is what I have truly realised in the Western Dharma-Nature Land. Freed from the shackles of the physical body, and freed from the ghost realm life I was originally attached to, I now truly see the essence of spirituality and the essence of life. Namo Amituofo is truly too great! All the universal principles, the Truth, and the Right Way that He teaches are the fundamental ways to truly solve all the suffering of people. That I can understand this at this moment is not too late. Being able to have such a great spiritual transformation is a very healthy and positive change for me. I am determined, now that I have clarified all this, to spread these seeds of goodness far and wide, so that the world may know what the true Buddha Dharma is.

My life, Gu Yanwu’s life, can only be said to have not been in vain at this very moment. Life is only a few decades long, and after death, one becomes a ghost for hundreds of years. Even if one has many achievements in the world, in the end, it is all for nothing, and there is no great value left for the world. However, if one can know the true Buddha Dharma, and let the world know that Namo Amituofo has come to the human world and abides at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, that is the truly great good deed that helps everyone escape the cycle of birth and death!

Gu Yanwu sincerely hopes that all the people of China can know this, and can put down their own subjective views to accept the education of the Buddha Dharma. Gu Yanwu sincerely thanks this magnificent Causal Condition. Gratitude to the great compassion of Namo Amituofo, and the great compassion of Practitioner Su, who are willing to come to save the world, willing to bear the suffering of beings, and to achieve the Causal Conditions for many beings to be reborn in the Western Pure Land.

Namo Amituofo.

Gu Yanwu"