(Note: Below are ten true stories of monks who were successfully reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.)
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#16 – Liu Song Dynasty — Huitong
Huitong was a native of Guanzhong (present-day Shaanxi). He left home at a young age and became a monk at Taihou Monastery in Chang’an. He lived simply, ate frugal meals, diligently upheld and recited mantras, and frequently recited the Ekottarika Agama (Zeng Yi Ahan Jing).
He studied meditation under Dhyana Master Huishao of Liangzhou, Gansu, receiving instruction in the practice of meditative concentration. He devoted particular attention to the methods of samatha (calm abiding) and vipasyana (insight), while constantly aspiring to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.
One day, when he became slightly ill, he entered meditative concentration and saw a dignified and majestic person appear before him, who said:
“The proper time has arrived.”
A little later, he saw Amitabha Buddha radiating immense light that shone brilliantly everywhere.
After emerging from meditation, Huitong related everything he had experienced to his fellow practitioners. Having finished speaking, he recited the Buddha’s name and was reborn in the Pure Land.
At the time of his passing, a wondrous fragrance filled the air and lingered for three days before gradually fading away. He was fifty-nine years old.
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#17 – Qi Dynasty — Tanhong
Tanhong was a native of Huanglong (present-day Jilin). From a young age, he strictly upheld the precepts and devoted himself to mastering the Vinaya scriptures. He later traveled south to Jiaozhi (present-day northern Vietnam).
He recited the Visualization Sutra (The Sutra on the Visualization of Amitabha Buddha) countless times.
During the Yongchu era of Emperor Wu of the Liu Song Dynasty (420–422 CE), he propagated the Dharma at Zhitai Monastery in Panyu, Guangdong. In his later years, he moved to Xianshan Monastery in Jiaozhi.
His daily practice consisted of reciting the Visualization Sutra and the Universal Gate Chapter (Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra), while earnestly vowing to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.
In the 2nd year of Xiaojian during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of the Liu Song Dynasty (455 CE), he gathered firewood on the mountain and secretly set himself on fire within a pile of grass. When his disciples discovered what had happened, they hurried to rescue him, but half of his body had already been severely burned.
After more than a month, his injuries had partially healed. He then returned to the mountain valley and again burned his body. His disciples rushed to save him once more, but he had already passed away.
The disciples added more firewood and completed the cremation on the spot. The fire continued burning until dawn the following day.
On that day, the villagers all witnessed Tanhong’s body appear golden in color, riding upon a golden deer as he swiftly traveled westward.
Only then did both the monastic and lay communities realize how extraordinary and inconceivable Tanhong’s lifelong cultivation had been. They collected his remaining relics and buried them with reverence.
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#18 – Qi Dynasty — Huijin
Huijin’s lay surname was Yao, and he was a native of Wuxing, Zhejiang. In his youth, he was unruly by nature and enjoyed the life of a wandering swordsman who upheld justice. At the age of forty, he suddenly awakened to the truth and profoundly transformed himself. He then left home to become a monk.
Huijin studied at Gaozuo Monastery in the capital. He lived simply, eating coarse food and wearing plain clothing, and vowed to recite the Lotus Sutra.
However, because he practiced such severe austerities, whenever he took up the sutra to recite it, he would become ill. Therefore, he vowed to have one hundred copies of the Lotus Sutra produced to repent of the karmic obstacles he had created in the past.
Later, after receiving donations from faithful supporters, he completed all one hundred copies of the Lotus Sutra. As soon as the work was finished, his illness completely disappeared. This strengthened his resolve to maintain strict moral discipline even further.
Huijin constantly dedicated all the merit from his wholesome deeds, aspiring to be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.
One day, he suddenly heard a voice in the sky saying:
“Your practice and vows have now been fulfilled. You will certainly be reborn in the Western Pure Land!”
In the 3rd year of Yongming during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Qi Dynasty (485 CE), he passed away peacefully without illness. He was eighty-five years old.
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#19 – Qi Dynasty — Falin
Falin’s lay surname was Le, and he was a native of Linqiong (present-day Qionglai County, Sichuan). He left home at a young age and became a monk at Pei Monastery in Shu Commandery.
He had a special love for the Vinaya and devoted himself to the study of the Sarvastivada Vinaya in Ten Recitations (Shisong Vinaya).
When Master Yin came to Sichuan, Falin became his disciple and studied the Buddha Dharma under him. During this period, he maintained strict discipline and unwavering determination, practicing diligently day and night without interruption.
When Master Yin later returned to Shaanxi, Falin accompanied him for several more years. As a result, he thoroughly mastered the essential principles of the various Vinaya traditions.
He later returned to Sichuan and resided at Lingjian Monastery, where he devoted himself exclusively to the Pure Land Dharma Door.
His daily practice consisted of reciting the Infinite Life Sutra and the Universal Gate Chapter (Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra). Whenever he circumambulated while reciting the scriptures, he frequently saw a monk of dignified appearance standing before him, whose body was extraordinarily majestic and towering.
In the 2nd year of Jianwu during the reign of Emperor Ming of the Qi Dynasty (495 CE), he became bedridden with illness.
He then concentrated even more deeply on recollecting the Western Pure Land, continuously bowing in repentance without interruption. Before long, he saw all the sages of the Land of Ultimate Bliss come to welcome him.
Falin described this vision to his disciples and instructed them to cremate his body after his death. Having finished speaking, he placed his palms together and was reborn in the Pure Land.
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#20 – Qi Dynasty — Sengrou
Sengrou’s lay surname was Tao, and he was a native of Danyang (present-day Dangtu County, Anhui). From an early age, he aspired to leave the worldly life.
After becoming a monk, he became a disciple of Master Hongcheng. He strictly upheld the precepts and monastic discipline while extensively studying the Buddhist scriptures.
Later, he entered Lingjiu Monastery on Baishan Mountain in Shan.
On the night before Sengrou’s arrival, the monk Sengxu dreamed that divine beings carrying colorful banners and wearing white armor filled the mountains and valleys. The divine beings proclaimed:
“The Dharma Master is about to arrive.”
The following day, Sengrou indeed arrived at the monastery.
During the reign of Xiao Daocheng, founder of the Qi Dynasty, Sengrou accepted the invitation of nobles and officials to leave the mountains and reside at Dinglin Monastery in the capital. There he personally served as the Chief Monk, instructing and guiding the monastic community. People from both near and far deeply respected and admired him.
Sengrou constantly vowed to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Every evening, when the sun hung in the western sky, he would compose himself, join his palms respectfully, concentrate his mind, and recollect Amitabha Buddha in the Western Pure Land.
Before his passing, he suffered from no illness. He simply told his disciples:
“The time has come for me to depart.”
He then spread a seat upon the ground, reverently bowed toward the west, and was reborn in the Pure Land.
At that moment, both inside and outside the room were filled with a marvelous, fragrant aroma. He was sixty-four years old.
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#21 – Qi Dynasty — Huijing
Huijing was a native of Nanhai, Guangdong. In his youth, he traveled throughout the regions of Jing and Chu (present-day Hubei and Hunan), where he extensively studied and mastered a wide range of Buddhist sutras and treatises.
He regarded cultivating merit and performing wholesome deeds as his highest priority. Wherever he traveled, he actively established and constructed stupas, monasteries, and Buddha images.
Later, he returned to his hometown and restored numerous monasteries, including Yuncen Monastery and Yong’an Monastery.
Huijing’s moral conduct was strict and pure, and he possessed profound mastery of the Vinaya. Because of his virtue and ability, the emperor appointed him as the Chief of the Sangha, under whose leadership and instruction the monastic community greatly flourished.
He dedicated all the merit from his virtuous deeds toward rebirth in the Western Pure Land. On the day of his passing, the room became filled with a wondrous fragrance that lingered for a long time before gradually fading away.
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#22 – Liang Dynasty — Daozhen
Daozhen’s place of origin is unknown. During the early Liang Dynasty, he lived on Mount Lu, where he practiced the Visualization of Amitabha Buddha taught in the Visualization Sutra. However, he still had doubts in his mind, and his resolve was not yet firm.
One night, he dreamed of a group of people sailing across the great ocean in a boat. They told him they were traveling to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Daozhen wished to board the boat and accompany them.
Those aboard replied:
“You have not yet built a bathhouse as an offering to the Sangha, nor have you recited the Amitabha Sutra. Your Pure Land practices are not yet complete, so you cannot come.”
After awakening from the dream, Daozhen built a bathhouse for the monks to use and began reciting the Amitabha Sutra, continuing this practice without interruption for several years.
Later, while contemplating in his room, he saw a man carrying a silver lotus throne, who said:
“Dharma Master, your karmic retribution has come to an end. You should now ascend this lotus throne.”
The man then added:
“According to your merit and cultivation, you should have received a golden lotus throne. However, because you hesitated when you first aroused the aspiration, you have obtained only this silver throne.”
Daozhen rejoiced inwardly. He quietly recorded the event on a piece of paper and concealed it inside a box containing his scriptures.
On the night of his passing, the mountainside above his residence shone with a radiance resembling thousands of burning torches arranged in rows.
The villagers, seeing the brilliant light from afar, thought that it was the ceremonial procession of a feudal lord going to pay homage to the emperor. At daybreak, however, they learned that Daozhen had already been reborn in the Pure Land.
Later, when his disciples sorted through his scripture box, they discovered the note he had written, and only then did they learn of the auspicious signs that had preceded his rebirth.
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#23 – Northern Wei Dynasty — Tanluan
Tanluan was a native of Yanmen, Shanxi. In his youth, he traveled to Mount Wutai, where he witnessed many miraculous and extraordinary events. Inspired by these experiences, he developed deep faith and left home to become a monk.
While studying the Mahavaipulya Mahasamnipata Sutra (Daji Sutra), he found its profound and subtle meaning so deep that he resolved to write a commentary on it.
After completing only half of the commentary, he developed a serious respiratory illness and traveled widely in search of a cure.
Eventually, he sighed and said:
“Human life is fragile and uncertain. Death may come at any moment. I have heard that there are immortals in the world who possess the art of longevity. If I could first obtain the secret of long life and then devote myself to propagating Buddhism, would that not be an excellent course?”
With this thought, he journeyed to the residence of the Taoist master Tao Hongjing in southern China to seek the teachings of immortality. Tao Hongjing gave him ten volumes of the Immortals’ Scriptures, and Tanluan joyfully began his return journey.
On his way back, he passed through Luoyang, where he met the Tripitaka Master Bodhiruci.
Tanluan asked him:
“Does the Buddha Dharma also contain a teaching of immortality that surpasses these Immortals’ Scriptures?”
Bodhiruci replied:
“Where in this eastern land is there any true method of immortality? Even if one prolongs life and avoids death for a time, one will eventually continue revolving within the Six Realms. What value is there in that? True deathlessness exists only in the Buddha Dharma.”
Bodhiruci then transmitted to Tanluan the Visualization Sutra and told him:
“If you study and practice this sutra, you will no longer be reborn within the Three Realms or continue revolving through the Six Realms. Prosperity and decline, gain and loss, the waxing and waning of yin and yang, fortune and misfortune, success and failure—all such worldly conditions will no longer disturb or harm you. Your lifespan will be as immeasurable as the sands of the Ganges through countless kalpas, beyond all comparison or analogy. This is the true method of immortality taught by our Buddha, the Great Enlightened Golden Sage.”
Upon hearing these words, Tanluan was filled with great joy. He immediately burned the Immortals’ Scriptures and devoted himself exclusively to the contemplation practices of the Pure Land. He not only cultivated diligently himself but also taught countless others, and his influence spread widely throughout the land.
He composed twelve verses on reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha, paying homage, and aspiring for rebirth in the Pure Land, continuing the verses previously composed by Nagarjuna Bodhisattva. He also wrote the Commentary on the Treatise on Rebirth in the Pure Land in two volumes, which has been transmitted to later generations.
The ruler of the Northern Wei Dynasty held him in the highest esteem, bestowing upon him the honorary title “Divine Tanluan” and ordering that he reside at the Great Monastery of Bingzhou in Shanxi. In his later years, he moved to Xuanzhong Monastery in Fenzhou.
In the 4th year of Xinghe during the reign of Emperor Xiaojing of the Eastern Wei (542 CE), one night he saw a pure monk appear in his room and say:
“I am Nagarjuna. I have long since been reborn in the Pure Land. Because your aspiration is the same as mine, I have come especially to meet you.”
Tanluan immediately realized that the time of his rebirth had arrived. He then gathered the assembly and gave them this final exhortation:
“Life after life, we wander endlessly in toil and suffering, with no end in sight. We should deeply fear the immeasurable and boundless sufferings of the hell realms, and we must diligently cultivate the Pure Land Dharma Door so that we may be reborn within the nine grades of lotus flowers in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.”
After speaking, he instructed his disciples to recite the Buddha’s name aloud. He himself bowed toward the west and was reborn in the Pure Land.
At that time, everyone in the monastery saw banners, jeweled canopies, and celestial flowers descending from the west. Heavenly music filled the entire sky and continued for a long time before gradually fading away.
News of these auspicious signs reached the imperial court. The emperor therefore issued an edict ordering that Master Tanluan be buried at Wengu in Fenxi (present-day Pingyang, Shanxi), where a stupa, monastery, and commemorative stone monument were erected in his honor.
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#24 – Northern Qi – Huiguang
Huiguang lived in Luoyang. He wrote commentaries on the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the Ten Grounds Sutra, and other scriptures, thoroughly revealing the profound principles of the provisional and ultimate wisdoms.
One day, when he became ill, he saw a great assembly of heavenly beings coming to welcome him. Huiguang said, “What I seek is rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.”
Shortly afterward, transformation Buddhas from the Western Pure Land filled the entire sky. Huiguang said, “May my Buddha compassionately receive me and fulfill my vow to be reborn in the Pure Land and personally behold Amitabha Buddha.”
He then snapped his fingers once and peacefully passed away.
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#25 – Northern Qi – Daoping
Daoping, whose lay surname was Han, was a native of Ping’en, Shandong. He left the household life at the age of twelve. He mastered the various sutras and treatises and traveled extensively to study under many great Dharma masters. As a result, his understanding of the Buddhadharma became increasingly profound and subtle.
During the Northern Wei and Northern Zhao periods, he lectured on the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra, as well as various Vinaya texts and treatises. He could expound the essential meaning of the Buddhadharma thoroughly without even looking at the scriptures while reciting them.
In his daily life, he cultivated both merit and wisdom. He bared one shoulder, went barefoot, lived by begging for alms, and constantly dedicated all his merits toward rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
On the seventeenth day of the third month in the tenth year of Tianbao during the reign of Emperor Wenxuan of the Northern Qi (559 CE), he was reborn at Baoshan Monastery, southwest of Ye City in present-day Hebei, at the age of seventy-two.
At the time of his passing, the Buddha’s light filled the entire room, and a wondrous fragrance spread throughout the monastery courtyard.
(Note: If you want to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, get a prayer beads and diligently, persistently, and consistently chant Amitabha Buddha’s name every single day until the moment you pass away. You will surely attain liberation from the cycle of birth and death in the six realms of reincarnation! But your heart must always be with Amitabha Buddha. Keep him in your mind at all times, especially at the moment when you are about to pass away.)
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