The Tea Picker's Journey to the Western Pure Land

This is a record of an interview with Zhu Minsong, who sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. She now resides in the Western Land of Dharma Nature. This account reflects upon her life approximately three hundred years ago. Recorded by the chief writer, Fa Ning, on March 7, 2026.

Zhu Minsong speaks:

"Namo Amituofo! I, Zhu Minsong, have never witnessed such magnificent radiance; it is a symbol of rebirth and hope. It shines across the entire horizon, and countless spirits, as if seeing a saviour, rush frantically toward the golden light. This is a scene I can never forget, for I was one of them—a lonely, helpless soul yearning to be saved. Now, having encountered the compassionate Practitioner Su, I have finally been granted the opportunity for rebirth. I am so incredibly grateful!

The Wisdom of the Heart

In the Buddha’s teachings, it is said that 'all phenomena arise from the mind.' I never imagined that the Buddha’s teachings possessed such vast wisdom. This simple phrase reveals all the mysteries of existence. In the Dharma-Nature Land, I see immeasurable and boundless beings—especially the spirits who have suffered through the endless, layered hardships of China's five-thousand-year history—all being guided by Practitioner Su into the Western Land of Dharma Nature using the Twelve Lights of Namo Amituofo. So many spirits have been saved because of this. Everyone sits upon lotus seats in the Dharma-Nature Land, listening to the sutras and hearing the Dharma. They are all smiling so joyfully, chanting 'Namo Amituofo' together.

I do not know why I was granted such a wonderful opportunity to come here, but I know that I must diligently chant this 'Namo Amituofo.' I remember very clearly that when the golden light filled the sky and so many beings were being saved, I heard the Buddha-name 'Namo Amituofo' resounding from that light. Therefore, I believe it must be this 'Namo Amituofo' that saved me. In the Dharma-Nature Land, one can see Namo Amituofo standing upon the four hundred acres of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. He is so tall and so majestic! The Buddha wears a gentle smile, as if He is saying to us, 'My child, you have come home!'

A Long-Awaited Home

Indeed, the Dharma-Nature Land gives me the feeling of a long-awaited home. Here, I no longer have any worries or fears. Every day, I naturally elevate my spiritual life while being bathed in Buddha-light. I listen to the sutras, hear the Dharma, and slowly come to understand the philosophy of the Dharma. I realised, 'Wow! It turns out that as long as one simply and purely chants this "Namo Amituofo," maintains a kind heart, and acts as a good person, one can be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.' Moreover, one can save so many, many people, just as Practitioner Su is doing now. This is truly inconceivable! I knelt and prostrated before the Greatly Compassionate Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su to express my infinite gratitude.

Life Among the Ancient Trees

I, Zhu Minsong, was a tea picker in the Yunnan region of China. In the Yunnan of that time, tea picking was the focal point of everyone's life. Because the Yunnan region possessed abundant resources of ancient trees, the tea culture and economic benefits were very high. Many people would gather in groups to enter the deep mountains to pick tea. Everyone would divide these precious ancient trees into different areas and varieties; some people would even register them under their own names to facilitate regular harvesting.

These tea trees were different from ordinary ones: First, they had very thick trunks, completely unlike the small tea saplings planted on flat land or at lower altitudes. Second, the diameter of the trees could often reach a width that required four or five people to embrace. Such tea trees were very common in the Yunnan region.

Everyone held these tea trees in high regard. In that environment, people had a strong sense of awe toward the mountains and forests. Caring for the ancient trees became a natural consciousness, and no one would ever over-harvest them. Every year, people only entered the mountains during the months suitable for picking; afterwards, they would regularly patrol the mountains to maintain them and understand the growth situations of these ancient trees. After all, to us, they were like family. The people of the Yunnan region thus formed a balanced, interdependent relationship with the tea trees.

The Burden of a Historical Name

The era in which I lived was about three hundred years ago. During the Qing Dynasty, the Emperor was very fond of the Pu'er tea grown from the ancient trees of Yunnan and honoured it as 'tribute tea,' meaning it was tea specifically offered to the royal family to taste. Every year, we would select the finest tea varieties, and under the supervision of officials, send them to the Emperor. Because of the Emperor's preference, the ancient trees of Yunnan became very famous at that time. Many people began to enter Yunnan because of this, but consequently, there were also many who did not know how to cherish the environment of the ancient trees, and even influenced or harmed them.

These outsiders sometimes clashed with the local tribal leaders, leading to many disputes and conflicts. As a local tea picker, I had a deep sense of identity and love for Yunnan, and I did not want such situations to continue. However, for these poachers or the influx of outsiders, we did not want to resolve the disputes with force or confrontation. Eventually, I thought of a solution: I, a local tea picker, would enter the tea mountains on their behalf to pick the tea. In this way, perhaps the conflicts could be reduced.

Regarding this, many of my fellow tribesmen did not agree at the time, but I hoped they would understand. This was already an inevitable trend; it was no longer possible for the tribal leaders of Yunnan to occupy all the precious ancient tree resources as they had in the past. Therefore, sharing the benefits or opening these ancient trees to the public so that more people could come to pick or obtain a certain percentage of the tea leaves became a necessity. After a process of trial and negotiation, a mutually beneficial model was finally formed between the local tribal residents and the outsiders, and the intense conflicts between them were thus calmed.

From Guardian Spirit to Rebirth

I spent my whole life picking tea, and I loved the precious natural environment of Yunnan from the bottom of my heart. I always believed these ancient trees were gifts bestowed upon our Yunnan tribes by Heaven, so I always held deep feelings for them. After I died, I became a guardian spirit beside these ancient trees in Yunnan, or one could say, a tree spirit. I would offer blessings and guidance to the local residents or the tea pickers who came to harvest. After three hundred years, my spiritual life finally entered a different stage—that is, rebirth in the Western Land of Dharma Nature at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. Here, I feel myself becoming younger and more vibrant, loudly chanting this "Namo Amituofo."

Heavens! Although I am in the Dharma-Nature Land, which does not have the natural environment of deep mountains, high altitudes, and thick ancient trees like our primitive tribes in Yunnan, I do not know why, but it makes me feel even more natural and pristine than the deep mountain environment of Yunnan. Wow! It is so fresh, so crisp, so comfortable, and so free! In our Yunnan ancient tree mountain environment, the most famous aspect was the abundance of phytoncides—that is the modern term; at the time, we felt this was the blessing of the spirits of the primeval forest. When entering that natural environment, one's body and mind would feel very relaxed, comfortable, and unburdened.

However, in the Dharma-Nature Land, under the illumination of the Buddha-light, I, Zhu Minsong, feel an unprecedented and unimaginable sense of freedom and peace. There is not the slightest bit of pressure. This is my home; I believe it is so. Listening to Practitioner Su give Dharma talks in the Dharma-Nature Land, I have come to understand that there is also a place called the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. That is the Buddha-land built by Namo Amituofo. Compared to the Dharma-Nature Land built by Practitioner Su, it is an even more beautiful and inconceivable world. I want to go there so much! I heard that by chanting this "Namo Amituofo," one can go there, so now I grasp this Buddha-name every day, chanting it loudly and happily. No matter what, every minute and every second in the Dharma-Nature Land, I feel that I am so valuable, so fulfilled, and so happy! Seeing Practitioner Su open up the entire space of China's five-thousand-year history, I truly feel so much admiration! What an inconceivable scene; so many spirits rushed into the golden light in an instant and were saved. Whether it is the joys and sorrows of life, or the various tastes of human experience, they are actually all manifestations of the combination of multiple karmic conditions, and all are subject to impermanence. Everything arises because of causal conditions and ceases because of causal conditions. So, what is truly indestructible? It turns out that only this spirit being reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, or realising one's true nature and attaining Buddhahood, is real. That is to be as free as Practitioner Su, able to travel to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, so that the spirit no longer needs to be reincarnated, and does not need to be a tree spirit like I was after death.

If I had not encountered the Buddha's salvation, I would not have known where my next stop would be. Wow, that would truly be an endless play of unspeakable dramas and a series of never-ending, spectacular stories. But in this story, is it sorrow or joy? Now, after listening to the sutras and hearing the Dharma, I know that reincarnation is actually half-bitter and half-sweet, and the bitterness outweighs the joy! It is not like the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, which is a world without suffering, only happiness.

Now that I, Zhu Minsong, have received such benefits, I hope that more and more Chinese people can receive these benefits of the Dharma. Now that Namo Amituofo is at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, I hope everyone can come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre to seek the Dharma; it will certainly be of great help to you.

Gratitude to Namo Amituofo, gratitude to Practitioner Su.

Namo Amituofo.

Zhu Minsong"