True Liberation: A Reflection on a Lifetime of Practice

The Illusion of a Lifetime

If you study the Buddha's teachings without achieving true liberation, your entire life is spent in vain. My blood still seems to boil with the passion I once felt during my years of struggle in the human world. For the sake of the Buddha's teachings, I spared no effort. No matter how much heart and blood I had to pour into this cause, I was willing, all for the sake of ensuring that the Buddha's teachings would remain in this world forever.

After decades of effort, I realise now that my work was not complete. We often say that the Buddha's teachings are in the human world and the human world is in the Buddha's teachings. However, if the Buddha's teachings are limited only to the human realm, then studying them remains merely an academic pursuit, a course of study, or a form of ritual. It is not the true method to transcend birth and death, nor is it the path to leave suffering behind. Therefore, I must tell the people of this world: if you study the Buddha's teachings without achieving true liberation, your entire life is spent in vain.

The Sweetness of the Dharma

When I first tasted the flavour of the Buddha's teachings, it was like tasting a sweet fruit. I marvelled at how such a sweet fruit could exist. At first, the taste was subtle on the tip of the tongue, but it gradually melted and permeated every cell. This fresh, sweet flavour was beyond anything in the mundane world. The fragrance filled my mouth, and no matter how much time passed, it retained its original sweetness. At that time, I felt the joy of one who had discovered a celestial fruit. No, it was more than that; it had transcended the realm of celestial fruits. I was filled with joy and ambition, wishing to share this fruit with everyone so that they too could taste it and find happiness. Because of this, my life changed. I infused my literary pursuits with the flavour of the Buddha's teachings, and eventually, the Buddha's teachings became the very centre of my life.

The Struggle for Propagation

I strove to propagate the Buddha's teachings, though the changing political landscape made the journey difficult. I did not fear these challenges, nor did I ever retreat. This was a necessary process; without such hardship, one cannot truly bring out the most authentic flavour of the sweet fruit. The more bitter the struggle, the more one can appreciate the sweet and pure taste of success.

Walking between the worlds of politics and Buddhism was not born of ambition or a desire for fame and wealth. I understood that the propagation of the Buddha's teachings required the support of political power. However, one must be extremely cautious, guarding against the wrong thoughts and deviant ideas within one's own mind. If one walks the righteous path without deviation, one can utilise this power to achieve results quickly. Regardless of how the political situation shifted, my original intention never wavered. My passion for the Buddha's teachings and my commitment to integrating the positive concepts of various schools remained steadfast. Through many trials, my heart became even more determined, believing that this mission would surely succeed.

The Foundation of Stillness

Walking the path of the world, one often encounters obstacles. By keeping my heart fixed on my original intention, I could smile even when I stumbled. My style of conduct was, as my name suggests, simple and unchanging. My endurance and perseverance were cultivated from a young age. This is the meditative concentration one must possess in the art of calligraphy, which helped me persist to the end without giving up easily. Especially when I saw the decline of the Buddha's teachings, I felt a deep sense of sorrow. The Buddha's teachings should be a sweet fruit that brings joy and happiness to people; they should not be reduced to a common commodity on a market shelf.

The Subtle Difference

The true flavour of the Buddha's teachings must not be lost. A loss of even a fraction leads to a difference of a thousand miles. Even the slightest deviation means the loss of the most authentic essence. Humanistic Buddhism focuses on the physical body living in this world. We use the Buddha's teachings to educate, nurture, and transform the body, helping it escape the sea of suffering. However, whether the spirit truly benefits from this form of Buddhism was something I did not pay attention to—this was my greatest oversight. In these subtle details, I was already ten trillion worlds away from the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, unable to reach true liberation.

The Truth exists in the universe, unchanging in the void. Regardless of our actions, we must act according to the Buddha's teachings and the Truth, never violating them. What seems like a minor difference is actually a massive gap in the void. One must be extremely careful. During my struggle, although I knew the importance of the West, I did not know it was a necessity. In my pursuit of the Buddha's teachings, my goals and direction gradually drifted away, bit by bit.

The Burden of Karmic Creditors

When the physical body does not walk in alignment with the Truth, and the spirit is not protected by the Truth, the soul is easily led away by the karmic creditors residing within the body, entering other spaces. I was so focused on the work of the Buddha's teachings that I did not understand the truth of the universe. I did not know that so many karmic creditors coexisted within this body. As long as there were subtle deviant thoughts, or if my personality and habits were not subdued, these karmic creditors could find gaps to invade and seek revenge at any time.

Throughout my life, my health was poor. The sentient beings had already found me when I was young; it was the manifestation of karma and a destined fate. Although it was destined, when I encountered the Buddha's teachings, I should have used them to transform my karma and escape this cycle. Instead, my body continued to be harassed and destroyed by karmic creditors, leading to illness and death, and eventually, the cycle of rebirth. This was because I did not know how to resolve the conflicts with these beings. When the time came, I simply died.

The Scattering of the Soul

My soul was scattered in various places long before my life ended. The places where my soul was detained were all spaces of my own attachment. The more I worried, the more I focused, and the more my heart was disturbed, the easier it was for my soul to be led away by these beings in my dreams, entering those spaces unconsciously. As I lost parts of my soul, the gaps in my spirit were replaced by the karmic creditors within me. As they occupied more of my body, I became weaker. Looking back, I realise that by the time I was in my forties or fifties, a large portion of my body was already occupied. After fifty, my energy was constantly depleted, and I often felt exhausted and drowsy. The faster I felt this way, the faster the spirits outside could attach themselves to me.

Although I was weak and sickly, I continued to move forward. The power that supported my body was the vow to propagate the Buddha's teachings and the mission to pass them on. This power pushed my body to keep working; until the moment I stopped breathing, I would not easily let go.

Awakening in the West

Today, I reside in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, listening to the Buddha's teachings and practising diligently every day. It was several years ago that the Dharma Body of Practitioner Su compassionately opened the space where my soul was trapped. He called my name, awakened me, and used the Buddha-name to gather my scattered soul. It was like waking from a great dream. I saw the golden light before me and heard the Buddha-name all around. Only after waking did I realise that my physical body was dead, but my spirit had not reached the West. Finally, the Dharma Body of Practitioner Su guided my spirit to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

When I arrived in the West, I felt infinite gratitude. Looking back at my life of over ninety years, it seemed long, but it was actually just a fleeting moment. Seeing my body suffering from illness, I admit that I did not truly understand the ultimate meaning of the Buddha's teachings. I did not know how to resolve conflicts with the karmic creditors within me, nor did I eradicate my habits, allowing my body to be invaded by spirits. I lament that once a practitioner falls ill, it means their practice has not reached true reality. It is because there is falsehood within the truth that karmic creditors find an opportunity to enter. This is where I repent. Even though I was a lay practitioner, as a Buddhist, a propagator of the Buddha's teachings, and a reformer of the Buddhist system, I did not set the example a practitioner should have.

The True Meaning of Liberation

I am no longer in the human world, yet it is still I who speak. Through the Venerables at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, my words are presented in black and white. Those who can believe will believe; those who do not, I leave to their own karmic affinity. This inconceivable Great Dharma requires those with affinity and good fortune to believe. Although I hope everyone can deeply believe in this method, one cannot force it; it must follow karmic conditions. Like the taste of a sweet fruit, if one does not believe it is sweet and refuses to taste it, even if I were to force it into their mouth, they would swallow it whole without tasting its beauty.

The Buddha's teachings are not an academic subject; they are the path to liberation for all beings in the ten directions. In speaking of this, I feel as though I am showing off before eminent monks and virtuous ones. Even beginners know that the Buddha's teachings are the gate to liberation. I knew this when I was in the human world, so why is there a need to speak of it again? It is necessary. When I was in the human world, speaking of liberation was like scratching an itch through a boot. I used the word, but I did not know the taste of liberation. I thought that studying the Buddha's teachings was liberation, not knowing that what I had learned was as far from true spiritual liberation as heaven is from earth.

Now, from the West, the first thing I want to share with all of you is this: knowing the Buddha and studying the Buddha's teachings is not the same as liberation. Those who know the Buddha are everywhere; those who study the Buddha's teachings are ubiquitous. There have been many highly respected figures in the Buddha's gate throughout history. Yet, where are those who have achieved liberation through their study? When I was in the human world, I thought these people would surely reach ultimate liberation at the end of their lives. Now that I have come to the West, I know this is not so. A true heart seeking liberation does not need ten years of chewing on Buddhist texts, nor many questions and answers, nor the torment of body and mind. A single recitation of the name of Namo Amituofo is enough to achieve liberation. Can you understand this sincerity in seeking liberation? Regardless of whether your capacity is sharp or dull, as long as you can feel a touch of liberation, taste its true flavour, and understand what it is, you will be able to generate the heart to leave the cycle of rebirth, practise with fierce diligence, and surely attain liberation.

A Life of Illusion

The Zhao Puchu who studied and propagated the Buddha's teachings in the world was like a blind man walking, clutching the word "liberation" in his hand. Every step I took, I thought I had grasped it. I believed this road led to the light and that at the end, I would open my eyes, see the light, and be liberated. I struggled and fought for decades, finally reaching the end of the road. But the moment I opened my eyes, there was only darkness. I opened my hands, and "liberation" was gone. It was never in my hands! What I held was merely an illusion. My blind efforts were all for nothing. This is the "Humanistic Buddhism" I worked for, which could not bring me liberation.

I thought I had grasped the Truth, carefully promoting the concepts of the Buddha's teachings and managing them with sincerity, all to ensure they would remain in the world. But in the end, it was all empty. Not only did I not achieve liberation after death, but my efforts are now seen in the world as merely a form, lacking any real meaning of liberation. It even caused the Buddha's teachings to lose their original flavour, losing their most true, pure, and unchanging essence. Like the sweet fruit I described, when I shared it with others, my wrong perception and excessive packaging made it impossible for them to see its original form.

I regret this deeply. I do not regret failing to achieve liberation; I regret not making a contribution that transcended the world. The works I left behind—my poetry and writings—seem meaningless to me now because they have no connection to liberation. Seeing so many practitioners blindly studying under the current system, I truly want to help change and reorganise it, but I no longer have a human body to do so. I am left only with regret and sighs.

Gratitude and Connection

I did not know Practitioner Su while I was alive. In the human world, he was known as Lay Practitioner Su, but I had never heard of him nor met him. I am grateful that I still had enough good fortune in this life to allow Practitioner Su to know my name through the karmic affinity of Venerable Master Chin Kung, and to be guided by him to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

I began to know Practitioner Su as a spirit. When I was a spirit without a human body, everything I saw was no longer influenced by the body. There were no misinterpretations, no misunderstandings, no subjective views, and no interference from the beings within me. What I saw was the most authentic appearance, with nothing to hide. Therefore, my understanding of Practitioner Su is not based on human thinking or influenced by worldly criticism; it is the most authentic understanding.

The Heart of a Bodhisattva

I have never made distinctions among the practitioners of various schools of Buddhism. I view them as one, respecting and cherishing them. My heart was truly for the propagation of the Buddha's teachings and for helping the people of the world. As long as it is helpful to others and can truly benefit sentient beings, I support and identify with it, hoping that all those with affinity can benefit. I believe this mindset is necessary for a propagator of the Buddha's teachings. This is also the quality that a president of the Buddhist Association of China should possess—unity, integration, and respect. I hope the younger generation can achieve this; this is the mind-capacity and the view of oneness taught by the Buddha.

After my spirit came to know Practitioner Su, my heart was filled with admiration. I feel it is a pity that we did not meet sooner. If I had had the chance to discuss the Buddha's teachings with him while I was alive, I believe I could have learned from him what it truly means to study the Buddha's teachings, how to save beings, and how to achieve true liberation. These are things I did not learn, but could have learned from him, because what Practitioner Su demonstrates is a living Buddha who has truly transcended birth and death and is at ease in his rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. It is not fake at all.

The Proof of True Practice

My passion for propagating the Buddha's teachings was perhaps no less than Practitioner Su's, but I did not grasp the Truth as he did. I did not truly see through and let go according to the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way. My body and mind were still stained, not reaching true purity. When I performed Buddhist work, I always had my own subjective thoughts, and there were deviations in my subtle intentions. In terms of studying the Buddha's teachings, I had already lost the original truth and could not reach the ultimate goal. Since I was rescued by Practitioner Su, I have seen him constantly giving for the sake of sentient beings, bearing their suffering. His practice has no other method; what I see is "honesty and true action." I had heard this method from Venerable Master Chin Kung, and it is proven in Practitioner Su—it is truly effective.

Now that Practitioner Su has attained Buddhahood, possessing the Dharma Body to save ten thousand spirits and bringing them back and forth to the West, if I were not a spirit who could see this with my own eyes, I would find such an inconceivable and magnificent scene of Chao Du hard to believe, just as I would have when I was alive. Today, people lack sufficient good fortune and affinity; they are often suspicious and find it hard to believe with a pure heart. They are influenced by much slander and disbelief regarding the information from the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. Even so, those with affinity will naturally believe. Those who believe can hear the Great Dharma, which is the greatest fortune of a lifetime.

I hope that those who read these words today can feel something, let go of the suspicion in their hearts, and truly feel my presence. Whether the words are familiar or not is not important. What is important is the message I wish to convey: true Buddha's teachings are no longer limited to the human world. Studying the Buddha's teachings should lead to true liberation. Do not follow in my footsteps, mistakenly believing that your actions are true, while remaining far from liberation. Practitioner Su is an awakened being who has truly vowed to save the world, sacrificing himself for the sake of all. I hope those who wish to study the Buddha's teachings can learn from this. May every word I have spoken today inspire you to rethink your approach to the Buddha's teachings. Life does not return once it is gone. If you continue with your doubts and self-consciousness, and end up like me, with your soul wandering in various places, then your study of the Buddha's teachings will have been in vain. That would be a great pity.

Namo Amituofo.

Zhao Puchu

Recorded by the Buddha's disciple, Shi Fajing