The Solitary Path of Samsara

This is a record of an interview with Venerable Changgao, who serves at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. This account reflects upon the profound nature of the cycle of rebirth and the work of spiritual deliverance, recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fajing, on September 13, 2022.

Venerable Changgao speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. In the end, on the long and winding road of samsara, one is ultimately walking alone. Every single day, I, along with Venerable Changren, Venerable Yongning, and the spirit of Steve Jobs, assist Practitioner Su in the work of Chao Du. For many years, we have been working to save the 'animal wonders'—those spirits trapped in the cycle of rebirth within animal forms. These beings have never had the opportunity to escape their confined spaces. It is only through Practitioner Su’s use of his Dharma Body that we can reach into these dimensions, pull them out, and help them shed their animal bodies to finally find liberation.

The Mother Within the Sheep

Today, while assisting in this work, I witnessed a mother sheep. Within the space of that animal's body resided the spirit of a woman—a soul from China. I could see her clearly, huddled in the corner of that confined, animalistic space. She wore the same clothes she had worn during her life, and she remained trapped in the very environment she was most attached to before she passed away. Her face was etched with a profound, lingering sorrow.

When the Buddha-light shone upon her, helping her to shed the form of the sheep, she quickly regained her human form, returning to the appearance she had in life. Yet, even then, she kept looking back, her eyes searching frantically. I asked her, 'What are you looking for? Who are you waiting for?' She replied, 'I am waiting for my son.' I looked behind her, but there was no one there. I asked again, 'Where is your son?' She insisted, 'My son was just here by my side. Where did he go?'

A Lifetime of Separation

Observing her, I realised that she had been trapped in that cycle of attachment for so long that she had lost all sense of time and reality. Her son was long gone, yet her heart remained tethered to him, unable to let go. She began to share her story with me. In her past life, this son was her only child. They had relied on each other for survival, but fate was cruel. Her husband’s family had forcibly taken the boy away from her, and she never saw him again. She spent the rest of her days wandering, lost in grief. On the very day she decided to end her life, she was found by a family of sheep farmers, and she lived out her remaining time on their farm.

Every day, as she watched the mother sheep tending to their lambs, her heart would ache with memories of her own son. She knew deep down that she would never see him again in this life. Consumed by this longing, she fell ill and passed away. Because of that intense, unresolved attachment, her spirit was reborn into the body of a mother sheep. She had endured multiple lifetimes trapped in that animal form, unable to escape, until today, when she finally had the chance to be saved.

The Truth of Solitary Rebirth

As the Buddha’s light shone upon her and the power of the Buddha-name purified her spirit, she slowly began to wake up. She finally realised that her son had long since moved on to his own path of rebirth and was not by her side. Though her heart was filled with sorrow, she began to see the truth: the cycle of rebirth is a solitary journey. No one accompanies you; no one walks the path with you. Once she understood this, she decided to let go of her heavy attachment. She began chanting Namo Amituofo, following the golden light toward liberation.

Every spirit walks its own path through the cycle of rebirth. Even if you share the closest of bonds in this life, we are all born alone and we all die alone. We come into this world alone and we leave it alone. No one can truly accompany us on that journey. We must realise the importance of cherishing this human body, of practising the Dharma, and of ending the cycle of rebirth once and for all, so that we may leave suffering behind and attain eternal liberation.

Namo Amituofo."