The Scholar's Awakening: From Worldly Pride to Pure Land

This is a record of an interview with Qian Xuantong, a renowned scholar of the New Culture Movement in China, who sought Spiritual Deliverance 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 approximately eighty years ago. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa Hui, on March 31, 2026.

Qian Xuantong speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Qian Xuantong. As a scholar of linguistics and literature, I spent my life advocating for the New Culture Movement. In my youth, while studying abroad in Japan, I met my teacher, Zhang Taiyan, and became acquainted with many of his disciples. I was a pioneer of the literary revolution, leading the charge for change. I invested an immense amount of effort into sparking the debates between traditional and modern literature. My primary achievement in this life was in the field of phonology, where I authored the 'Textual Phonology Studies'. Looking back, I lived a life that felt quite substantial, filled with various events that seemed quite brilliant at the time. However, after death, as a spirit, there is not much left to say. It is clear now that a human life is merely like a dream, a bubble, or a shadow. While living, we are filled with attachments and worries, but from the perspective of the spiritual realms, these things are truly unimportant—one might even say they are completely meaningless. To possess a human body for only a few decades, in the context of a long spiritual life, is but a fleeting moment; it is truly illusory and impermanent. This is the reflection of Qian Xuantong, now residing in the Western Dharma-Nature Land, looking back at my life as a spirit. I cannot help but sigh: if one does not learn the Buddha’s teachings to escape the cycle of reincarnated, or if one does not elevate their spiritual state, then life is truly devoid of meaning."

The Agony of a Final Chapter

"In my lifetime, I held firm to my own thoughts and insights. In my later years, when the Japanese forces occupied Beiping, my health was failing. I was unable to follow the school as it moved south, so I was forced to remain in the occupied territory, where life was incredibly arduous. Not long after, I passed away due to a stroke. I had already been suffering from severe hypertension and asthma; in my final moments, I was subjected to the dual torment of physical and mental agony, and I departed this world in a state of deep depression and sorrow.

After I died, I fell directly into the hells. The King of Yama allowed me to see clearly that the hypertension, asthma, and the stroke that ended my life were all caused by karmic creditors who had found me, forcing my body to suffer the bitter fruits of my past actions. The King of Yama was compassionate; he listed my sins one by one before me, and even brought my karmic creditors to confront me right there in the hall. I was speechless. Although I had never understood these things while alive, I finally realised that it was my own fault. I suffered in the hells for nearly eighty years. The days there were unimaginably bitter. Perhaps it was because of the repentance that finally stirred in my heart that I was eventually able to leave. When my spirit emerged from the hells and appeared in Beiping—what is now known as Beijing—I drifted aimlessly, looking at this land that was once so familiar to me. I wondered what had changed, only to discover that everything had become unrecognisable; the people and the scenes were all different."

The Golden Light of Deliverance

"I drifted for several years until, recently, I encountered a massive golden light descending directly from the sky over Beijing. Within that golden light, I was transported to the Western Dharma-Nature Land at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Goombungee, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia—a Buddha-land achieved through the vow power of Practitioner Su. Here in the Western Dharma-Nature Land, I become clearer and more awake with each passing day. I have gained an increasingly clear understanding of the laws of karma and cause and effect that I did not understand before, as well as the Buddha’s teachings, the universal principles, the Truth, and the Right Way. If I had not heard the sutras expounded by Practitioner Su, I might never have truly understood where I had gone wrong. Throughout my life, I acted solely based on my own convictions, living a straightforward and open life, exhausting all my efforts, yet I never knew the cause of my own faults.

I now realise that it was all due to my own strong personality and temperament, as well as the various discriminations and attachments I held toward people and things. I have come to know that one cannot afford to have even a shred of an attached personality, because such a personality harms not only others but oneself as well. My subtle personality traits were actually the manifestations of the countless beings I had harmed in the past. It was precisely because of this personality that I caused them such great harm, and thus, even the slightest thought or intention in this lifetime would cause me to suffer the bitter fruits of karmic retribution. This is the reality of life in the human world that I have witnessed from the Western Dharma-Nature Land—it is a very serious and realistic situation that one must truly face. This can only be changed by accepting the education of the Buddha’s teachings, understanding the laws of karma and cause and effect, and truly changing from the heart, settling into a state of purity and goodness. One must realise that one cannot have any 'personality' at all to change this situation. If one cannot do this, one's life is merely controlled by karma; as Practitioner Su says, one is nothing but a puppet."

The Puppet of Karma

"It is laughable that in the final period of my life, I displayed such strong national integrity, preferring death over submission to the Japanese. At the time, many people—myself included—thought I had fulfilled my sense of integrity. But after dying and entering the hells, and now being so fortunate to be saved by Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su, I have seen the true karmic events of my life played out in the Western Dharma-Nature Land. I finally understand that there was no 'integrity' or 'national consciousness' to speak of; in reality, I was just a puppet being led by my karmic creditors and the spirits within me because I had not changed my personality. If one can truly see this phenomenon, I believe that any person of true ambition would never allow their temperament to run wild, turning themselves into a marionette. Such behaviour is not the way of a great person; it is merely a waste of life.

My greatest gain in the Western Dharma-Nature Land has been meeting the two great Buddhas, Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su. I am filled with deep admiration; I never knew that the Buddha was so compassionate. I have seen Practitioner Su use the power of an awakened being to manifest hundreds of billions of bodies—that is, Practitioner Su's spirit can leave the body and transform into countless, boundless spiritual manifestations. Each of these manifestations radiates a brilliant golden light, covering every corner of the Chinese land from every direction. Practitioner Su, accompanied by Namo Amituofo, radiates the Twelve Lights, and the immeasurable, boundless golden light flows across all of China like an ocean. I, Qian Xuantong, watched from the Western Dharma-Nature Land, dumbfounded, seeing so many sentient beings emerging from all kinds of spaces. Whether from the physical world, the clouds, historical spaces, war zones, or even many who were demon crowds—all these beings were being saved by Practitioner Su, sent into the Western Dharma-Nature Land by the golden light."

A Heart of Gratitude

"So many sentient beings have obtained deliverance through Practitioner Su's Chao Du. Especially now, as a being of the spiritual realms, I can clearly see that there are so many demon crowds throughout China. The spiritual state of these demon crowds mostly appears as a dark colour; the older the demon, the more powerful the black light they radiate, and the less friendly they appear, even causing one to feel fear. Such demon crowds are distributed throughout every space in China, and their numbers are immeasurable and boundless—as vast as the ocean. Yet, all these demon crowds have nowhere to hide under Practitioner Su's deliverance; they are revealed one by one and, unable to resist, are led into the Western Dharma-Nature Land by the Buddha-light.

One day of listening to the sutras in the Western Dharma-Nature Land is better than decades in the human world. The Dharma-water of Namo Amituofo nourishes us, and the sudden realisation that this floating life is but a fleeting illusion is like a cool drink on a hot day. I, Qian Xuantong, feel that listening to the Dharma on a lotus seat, even for one day, surpasses the entire life journey of a human. Why is this? I now believe it is because, at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, one can receive the teachings of Namo Amituofo and hear the guidance given to us by the Buddha. The scriptures truly help the listener to have an awakening, to understand the pain of the cycle of reincarnated, the illusory nature of the human body, and the importance of seeking to realise one's true nature while helping other beings. It turns out that there is a vast difference between what people pursue in this life and what is truly real.

When I was alive, I was very much defined by my 'personality'—I was into literature, movements, and ideologies. After listening to the sutras, I now understand that I was only obsessed with one thing: 'personality', or perhaps 'opposition'. Where was the true benefit to the nation or society in that? In the world, I once thought I had left something behind for humanity. But now, after listening to the Dharma, I understand that one truly 'cannot take anything with them; only karma follows.' Everything in the world is illusory, and the only thing that followed me, Qian Xuantong, was the karma I had created.

What people in the world need today is not complex theories; they only need a kind heart that helps others, and this phrase, 'Namo Amituofo'. This is the great Dharma I have learned at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre; it is truly a gift from Namo Amituofo to the people of the world. It is a pity that many intellectuals like me are still spinning in circles of discrimination and attachment, unable to see clearly in the moment that the essence of life is suffering. The world does not need more knowledge, discrimination, attachment, or opposition; it needs us to truly let go of everything and fully generate a heart to help all beings escape the sea of suffering, which is also a heart to help oneself escape. Give everything to the Buddha, trust the Buddha, and chant this 'Namo Amituofo'—that is what people in the world truly need.

This is exactly what Practitioner Su is doing now: spreading the education of the Buddha’s teachings from the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre to the world, letting everyone know that Namo Amituofo resides right here at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Goombungee, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, in this pure and sacred land. I hope this allows more people to see the truth amidst the dream-like bubbles, and in a life where one cannot be the master, to have a glimmer of hope to take control and even attain Buddhahood.

I am deeply grateful to have met Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su, and to have the opportunity for a rebirth and a complete transformation in the Western Dharma-Nature Land. This is a supreme beauty I never imagined could happen to me, Qian Xuantong. Now, every day, I chant 'Namo Amituofo' with the most grateful heart, hoping to bring a little more light to the world, and I have vowed to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. I hope that one day, I can be like Practitioner Su and help all beings. Gratitude to Namo Amituofo, gratitude to Practitioner Su.

Namo Amituofo.

Qian Xuantong"