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FACE TO FACE | EASTERN HORIZON 33

Zhi Yi, who is from Kuala Kangsar,
Perak, is on the editorial team of
Eastern Horizon. He graduated and
qualified as a pharmacist. Currently,
he is pursuing my PhD in Molecular
and Cellular Medicine at University
of Oxford, UK. EH

What is Pure Land Practice?

By Jiawen

Jiawen (Dharma name) is a Pure Land Buddhist practitioner who practices in the
lineage of authentic traditional Chinese Pure Land Buddhism. She studies under the
guidance of Master Renshan, a renowned Pure Land Dharma Master in China. She
shares the Pure Land Dharma in English via her Youtube Channel and social media
platforms: https://youtube.com/c/PureLandBuddhism; Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/buddhamitabha/; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pure.land.
buddhism. Benny Liow was in contact with Jiawen about her interest in Pure Land
Buddhism which she has very kindly shared with the readers of Eastern Horizon.

Benny: Can you share with us how you became a cycle of reincarnation without the need to first realize
practitioner of Pure Land Buddhism, and why you enlightenment. This brought great comfort to my mind
chose this particular Buddhist tradition? as I had tried to realize enlightenment by relying on
self-effort, and this of course failed. It was extremely
Jiawen: My father passed away when I was 20 years old difficult. However, through my own Nianfo practice I
and this made me realize the impermanence of life at a was able to experience deep connection with Amitabha
relatively young age. My near-death experience at the Buddha and had no doubt therefore that this Dharma
age of 22 also taught me that death is not the end of life, is indeed true. It is a genuine teaching by the Buddha
but simply the beginning of another journey. I began and given that there have been many successful rebirth
walking the spiritual path when I was 25, having first cases in China and many eye-witnesses of Amituofo
studied yoga, then explored a wide range of spiritual since ancient time until now, I had no doubt that
paths, but in the end I found none could really help me Amitabha Buddha exists and so does His Pure Land.
liberate all my suffering in life, or to transcend the cycle
of reincarnation. I also encountered my own teacher, a great Pure Land
Dharma Master - Master Renshan in China and my study
It was “by chance” that I read the Diamond Sutra when with him again deepened my faith in the Dharma and
I knew Buddhism could provide me the answer that I help me grow on the Pure Land path.
have been seeking for a long time. By accident, I also
heard a great Dharma master expound the Pure Land (Relevant videos: My Journey: From Many Paths to
teachings online which really piqued my interest in the Buddhism https://youtu.be/UEkK6A1Se7A)
Pure Land Dharma – having heard that one can exit the