Hi, my name is Ging Loong. I am the translator of this book, Records of Pure Land Sages, into English. I am also the creator of gl-purelandbuddhism.com.
When I was 20 years old, I started to develop a mental illness called schizoaffective disorder, where I had mood problems and heard a voice talking to me, and I experienced hallucinations.
My sister brought me to meet many masters because we believed I was being disturbed by spirits, but no one could heal me. So, taking medicine every day was the best solution.
One of the masters I met was a Buddhist master who was skilled in reading a person’s destiny. If a person had problems stuck in life, that Buddhist master would recommend copying the Diamond Sutra, and then he would burn it for those people.
When I met this Buddhist master, he told me that because of being seriously ill in the past, one of the nerves in my brain had been damaged, and my “door” in my mind had opened. Because of this, my mind was very sensitive and able to hear spirits talking to me. However, he said that opening the door was easy, but closing it was extremely hard. He then told me to stay in his house for a few weeks for traditional treatment. And my parents and sister agreed.
During my time in his house, he gave me two Buddhist books and told me to read them. The first book was The Message of Buddha, and the second book was The Eightfold Path. At first, I could not really understand some of the concepts written in those books, especially why I could not find things that I should do and practice in the Eightfold Path. Instead, it mentioned things that I should not do and things I should practice mentally, and I did not understand what is the relationship between practicing the Eightfold Path and achieving the complete end of suffering from the cycle of birth and death. I could not understand it at first glance.
But the Second Noble Truth changed my entire life after reading it. I then sent a message to my sister telling her I no longer wanted to chase a luxurious life, because the more I craved, the more I would suffer from the cycle of working hard to get what I wanted, feeling happy for a short moment, and then repeating the cycle by craving new things again and again.
A few weeks before I left the Buddhist master’s house after finishing the traditional treatment, the Buddhist master asked me a few questions regarding the books I had read. I was able to answer all his questions because he emphasized that I should memorize the most important part, which is what dukkha is, and he mostly asked questions about this part.
Upon leaving his house, I was no longer the same person. I viewed the world as extremely suffering, and I believed that being reborn as a human is extremely rare. After losing our human life in this lifetime, we are mostly reborn in the animal realm, hungry ghost realm, or hell realm. It is extremely difficult to be reborn as a human again, or in the Asura realm or Heaven realm. Therefore, nothing in this life is more important than practicing according to the Buddha’s teachings to escape reincarnation.
When I was 24 years old, I started to practice meditation for 15 minutes per session because I had depression. After a few weeks of practicing meditation, strangely, the depression disappeared! Then I continued practicing until I could meditate for about 1 hour per session, and during weekends when I did not need to work, I could meditate for about 4–6 sessions per day. During that time, I lived a very peaceful life for about one year.
However, one day, my sister brought me to a Taoist temple, which caused me to stop practicing meditation because the deity of that temple, through a medium, scolded me and did not allow me to practice meditation. I slowly lost control of my tears and cried as if my mother had passed away! Attaining Nirvana was like an athlete who wants to win an Olympic gold medal, but the doctor tells him he can never practice the sport anymore. This is exactly how I felt.
Then the Taoist master told me that all religious scriptures were written by people who had experienced and heard the teachings and knew the stories of the founders of those religions, and then wrote them down in books. He said that all those religious scriptures are not based on true stories or true teachings. This caused me to stop practicing Dhamma for about 10 years.
However, about 3 years ago (as of 2026), I came across a YouTube video where a healing master with “heaven eyes” was able to see the seven lights of Buddhas when people performed smoke offerings to wandering ghosts. She also saw ghosts coming to accept offerings with gratitude. She shared that when Buddhist practitioners sprayed water from a bottle containing water blessed with the Great Compassion Mantra, there was a bright light in the water, and ghosts wanted that water to relieve their suffering. She also shared many other spiritual visions in her videos. And I started to believe that Buddhism was true again and developed the desire to practice.
So, I began cultivating according to Buddhism 3 years ago. I chanted a variety of Mahayana sutras and mantras while also practicing meditation. Later, I focused entirely on meditation with the goal of attaining Arhatship.
However, I eventually decided to give up the path of meditation after someone told me that attaining jhana while practicing at home is impossible, and that jhana is a necessary attainment before reaching Nirvana. If I could not attain jhana, it would mean that I could never become an Arhat who has escaped reincarnation and attained liberation.
Then, in June 2026, I began practicing the Pure Land Buddhism Dharma Door. I also started searching YouTube for real-life success stories of practitioners who had successfully been reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. During my search, I discovered the book Records of Pure Land Sages (淨土聖賢錄), which contains more than 1,000 true stories of successful rebirth in that blissful land.
Because I do not know Chinese but wanted to read the book, I came up with the idea of translating it into English using ChatGPT. This eventually led me to the idea of sharing this precious Pure Land Buddhism book on this website so that people like me, who do not know Chinese but wish to read it, can also benefit from it.
Happy reading. 😄
May all of us successfully be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
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This is my verse:
“Those of other religions,
Only focus on going to Heaven,
While according to the Buddha’s teachings,
Heavenly beings have limited lifespans,
When their time comes, they must all reincarnate again,
Within the six realms of reincarnation,
The higher realms: Heaven, Asura, and Human,
The lower realms: Animal, Hungry Ghost, and Hell,
Some ignorantly think humans will only be reborn as humans,
While others believe there is no rebirth after death,
They all continue to suffer endlessly in the cycle of reincarnation,
Some also think that as long as they do not harm others, they will be alright,
However, according to the Buddha’s words recorded in the sutras,
Those who are greedy, jealous, hot-tempered, dishonest, arrogant, disrespectful, or unfilial toward their parents,
Will surely receive heavy punishment upon reaching hell,
And then will be reborn as animals for many lifetimes,
The Buddha’s words will never be false,
The only way to attain permanent and perfect happiness,
Is by cultivating according to the Dharma,
So, which Dharma Door is the best?
Out of the 84,000 Dharma Doors,
The foremost and best Dharma Door is Pure Land Buddhism,
It is easy and practical, unlike the other Dharma Doors,
And is suitable for both monks and laypeople,
Other Dharma Doors require one to,
Rely entirely on one’s own efforts to reach the Pure Land,
While the Pure Land Buddhism Dharma Door,
Relies on both the practitioner’s own efforts,
And the power of Amitabha Buddha’s vows,
Amitabha Buddha promised to bring us to his land,
Through his 18th, 19th, and 20th Vows out of his 48 Great Vows,
These vows explain how to be reborn in his land,
Everyone should read and study them,
According to these three vows,
One should always keep Amitabha Buddha’s land in one’s mind,
That is why practitioners chant his name every day,
One must also be sincere, according to these three vows,
That is why I stayed away from entertainment and leisure activities,
And focus on chanting Amitabha Buddha’s name every day
This is why I am confident that I will be able to be reborn in that Blissful Land,
The beings there have no suffering,
The beings there experience only happiness,
The beings there have unlimited lifespans,
The beings there no longer need to be reborn again and again,
If you wish to put an end to suffering and attain true happiness,
Quickly begin practicing accordingly,
Or else you will suffer for countless lifetimes,
As animals, as hungry ghosts, and in hell,
After you pass away, you will surely regret it,
Because you did not practice the precious Pure Land Dharma Door.
According to the Buddha,
Obtaining a human body is extremely rare,
When you spend all your time indulging in sensual pleasures,
Yes, you do feel pleasure,
But it lasts only temporarily,
What is born must die,
And what dies must be reborn again,
Life is truly impermanent,
To seek eternal happiness,
The simplest way is to recite Amitabha Buddha’s name,
And dedicate the merit to,
The Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss every day,
Upon your death,
The Three Sages of the Western Pure Land,
Amitabha Buddha, Guan Yin Pusa, and Da Shi Zhi Pusa,
Will surely bring you to that Blissful Land!”
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