Venerable Imuda, a being who attained liberation through the practice of the holy name, sought deliverance through the compassionate guidance of Practitioner Su. This interview was recorded on June 13, 2018, at the Hsiang Kuang Buddhist Centre, where the Venerable now resides in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Venerable Imuda speaks:
". I am the Venerable Imuda, known as number 883. I was born during the era of ancient India. My family lived in extreme poverty, and we were constantly struggling just to have enough to eat. Our home was a humble structure my father had built by gathering bamboo from the surrounding area. Because of the gaps in the walls, fierce winds would howl through the house, leaving us shivering and unable to keep warm throughout the long, cold nights.
A Childhood of Scarcity and Loss
To sustain our lives, my parents would set out in the pitch black of three in the morning, walking to the city to perform manual labour. They would not return until late at night. I was left at home with my older sister, who was only five years old at the time, while I was a mere infant of just over a year. Before leaving, my parents would always instruct my sister to take good care of me. However, my sister had to venture out to find clean water. With her tiny, frail strength, she would carry water back home bucket by bucket. She had no energy left to carry me, so she would place me inside a wooden bucket. There I would sit, watching her make trip after trip, back and forth, to bring water to our home.
Though I was young, I clearly understood our situation. Even when I was starving, I dared not cry. Poverty was so pervasive that even a single small fruit was considered a precious treasure; it had to be divided into three portions to last us three days. After eating the flesh, we would suck the juice from the seeds, chew them thoroughly, and then swallow them to fill our bellies.
The Night the Villagers Vanished
When I reached the age of five, a great catastrophe struck our village. One night, the sky turned dark and ominous, and fierce winds began to howl incessantly. It looked as though our house would be blown away at any moment. My parents held my sister and me tightly, terrified that we would be harmed. They prayed fervently to the heavens, begging for the chaos to cease. We barely survived that harrowing night, but our home was left in ruins, and my father had to rebuild it from scratch.
Soon after, news spread through the village that many people were disappearing mysteriously. No one could find them anywhere. As the villagers vanished one by one, I lay awake on the fourth night, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind blew into our house, carrying a wisp of white smoke that quickly poured into my parents' ears. Instantly, they stood up. They looked as if they were still in a deep sleep, yet they moved as if being controlled. Their bodies were stiff, and they began walking out of the house.
I cried out to them, but they seemed unable to hear a thing. My sister was startled awake, but no matter how much we screamed and wept, we could not stop them from walking forward. Suddenly, a black vortex appeared before them, and a large talisman floated in front of it. In an instant, my parents were sucked into the vortex. Once they were pulled inside, the vortex vanished, as if nothing had ever happened.
A Quest for Deliverance
My sister and I knelt on the ground, weeping and begging the heavens to return our parents to us. An entire night passed, but they were nowhere to be seen. This continued for several days. My sister and I had to accept aid from the village, working for our keep. When my sister was fourteen, she fell ill from exhaustion and malnutrition and passed away, leaving me, a ten-year-old boy, all alone.
Ever since the villagers began to disappear, everything in our village went wrong. We suffered through droughts, floods, malaria, and sudden infestations of reptiles and locusts. There was not a single day of peace. Finally, it was discovered that this was the work of a shaman’s sorcery. I was heartbroken, wondering if my parents, now mere pawns in the shaman's game, were still safe.
Grief-stricken, I decided to leave the village to find a way to save them. As a ten-year-old boy, I sat hunched over on a city street, not knowing where to go. Suddenly, a warm, large hand patted my head. I looked up to see a kind-hearted monastic. I told him about the situation in my village and how I had lost my parents. I wanted to help, but I did not know where to turn.
The Path of the Buddha
The monastic took me on a long journey back to his temple. From that day on, I followed the masters and began to study the Buddha’s teachings. My master told me that if I could focus my heart entirely on the practice of the , I would one day have the ability and the opportunity to save my parents and the villagers. I was deeply grateful and dedicated myself wholeheartedly to diligent practice.
The masters were all dignified and possessed an awe-inspiring presence, which I deeply admired. I studied the sutras, medicine, and astronomy with great focus, never slacking for a moment. However, I felt a special affinity for the holy name of Namo Amituofo. Whenever I chanted these syllables, I felt a profound sense of peace. Often, within the sound of this name, I would see a faint golden light blooming, as if it were trying to tell me something. I held onto this Buddha-name tightly, never letting it leave my heart, 24/7.
The Golden Light of Salvation
My practice became increasingly pure. Within three years, my innate spiritual faculties began to awaken. One day, I suddenly saw the space where my parents were imprisoned—a dark, sealed chamber. I understood that this was a space created by evil sorcery. Aside from my parents, all the villagers were bound there by layers of talismans, transformed into insects.
I prayed to the compassionate Namo Amituofo, focusing my mind and chanting, "Namo Amituofo, Namo Amituofo, Namo Amituofo..." The bodies of the villagers, previously trapped, suddenly began to stir, as if they were responding to the sound of the Buddha-name. I continued to chant, requesting the Buddha’s . In an instant, a beam of golden light shot into the chamber, illuminating the darkness. Layer upon layer of talismans were shattered. The beings shed their insect forms and regained their original human bodies. The Western Land of Ultimate Bliss appeared before them, and the villagers and my parents followed the golden Buddha-light forward. I knew they had been saved. I had finally found the great Dharma to save beings, and I resolved to travel to the ends of the earth to save all those with karmic affinity.
From the age of thirteen until I passed away at sixty-five, I never ceased to propagate the Buddha’s teachings and the holy name of Namo Amituofo, hoping that every person in the world could attain liberation through this name.
The Cosmic Deliverance of Practitioner Su
I am overjoyed to be able to follow Practitioner Su in delivering beings throughout the universe using the . Watching Practitioner Su powerfully save planet after planet in the universe fills me with immense admiration. Practitioner Su is like a giant in the universe; with a wave of his sleeve, he can lift immeasurable and boundless planets and send them flying toward the Buddha-light. This is a level of space that ordinary people cannot imagine, a world invisible to the physical eyes. People do not know that in every space within the universe, there exist infinitely layered sentient beings waiting to be saved. They have been trapped in those spaces for thousands, tens of thousands, or even billions and trillions of years. Practitioner Su is the first to use the Dharma Body to unlock the codes of these infinite spaces, one by one. The universal golden key is this holy name: Namo Amituofo.
Now, throughout the entire universe, large Buddha-name chanting machines have been placed, broadcasting the name of Namo Amituofo. The extraterrestrial beings do not yet know what is happening. They gather in confusion around the chanting machines, surrounding them completely. They have never heard the melody of the six-character name, yet they listen with great , each wearing a satisfied smile. It is as if they have received a gift from beyond the heavens. They cherish this magical object and hum along to the melody of the six-character name. In an instant, these beings understand the meaning of the name. The black holes they could never enter are precisely the source of this six-character name. Since Practitioner Su began the deliverance of the universe, the black holes—the centres of the galaxies—have continuously emitted the sound of Namo Amituofo. In the very moment of delivering these spirits, the light shines brilliantly, with the utmost .
Practitioner Su’s Dharma Body moves freely through the universe, transforming and changing form to perform deliverance. Gradually, more and more beings in the universe have come to know the name of Practitioner Su. They understand that Practitioner Su is the savior who has come to rescue their planets. Whenever the sound of the Buddha-name rings out, countless beings wait in the space, waiting for the moment Practitioner Su waves his sleeve, so they may be freed from their trapped spaces and brought to the next beautiful realm: the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Namo Amituofo."
