An Interview in the Western Land of Dharma Nature — Shih Ming-te (Former Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan)

Interview by Chief Writer: Fa Ning

30 May 2026

Shih Ming-te:

Namo Amituofo, I am Shih Ming-te. When I was in the human world, I was a politician. Now, having spent a few days in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I would like to report a few things to everyone. My heart is now very peaceful; this sacred Buddha-name, 'Namo Amituofo', has completely calmed my heart, which was previously complex, painful, and twisted into a knot.

I have arrived at this place, the Western Land of Dharma Nature. I believe that my family or friends in the human world have likely never heard of this place, have they? I believe that is the case. I would like to tell everyone where this place is, and also share what changes have occurred within me. My life here is simply wonderful; let me begin by telling you all.

Just a few days ago, I was led from a place of great suffering—the hells—by a person named Practitioner Su, and brought to a Buddha-land. This Buddha-land is called the 'Western Land of Dharma Nature'. Although it is not as magnificent as the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, it is already a very beautiful Buddha-land. I say this because I have been here for three days now, and I clearly realise how important this place is to the human world.

Everyone might be shocked: how did I, Shih Ming-te, end up in the hells? Oh dear, when it comes to this matter, I must honestly confess it to everyone. Although it is difficult to speak of, it is, after all, the truth. This experience lasted for more than two years in my life. After my family hears of this, I hope you will not feel sad or shocked for me, because all of this has already passed. The place where I am now is truly wonderful, and I hope that you can come to know this place, so that in the future, you will know that returning to the Buddha's world is the right path.

First, let me tell you that my name is Shih Ming-te. I was once the Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party and was also one of the well-known decision-makers and planners of the Kaohsiung Incident. At that time, the Kaohsiung Incident was quite sensational in Taiwan. Many people who wanted to fight for the rights of the citizens stood up, hoping to overthrow the martial law system of that time, as well as many policies that deprived us of our freedom.

This sounds like a very good thing—allowing people to live better lives—but everything we did involved various strategies, plans, and methods. Politics is inherently a complex dye vat. I was immersed in it for decades, suffering greatly, yet I stubbornly hoped to do something for the people. At that time, my heart truly wished to secure a better life for the people, but in the process, my heart also became covered with layers of filth.

This is because, in the process of carrying out so many plans and fighting for rights, I was constantly walking on thin ice, trembling with fear. I had to devise many intricate strategies, hoping to find every possible way to make the other side listen to my opinions and reach a compromise. When many discriminations between 'me' and 'you' arose in my heart, and I tried every means to achieve my own goals—regardless of whether they were good or bad—all of this actually covered my heart in filth.

When there are many discriminations between 'me' and 'you' in this world, especially when there are various confrontations, that is when people begin to create karma. I did not know this at the time; I thought I was doing good things. Therefore, I felt very aggrieved and indignant because, while doing these things, I was often labelled a political prisoner and thrown into prison to suffer.

I lived for over eighty years, and I spent more than twenty years in prison; it can be said that a very long time was spent behind bars. Can everyone imagine that? I heard that people even called me the Mandela of Taiwan. Haha, that is truly ridiculous. Come to think of it, the time I spent in prison might be on par with his; I do not know. In any case, during this very long time, I sacrificed a great deal of my own freedom. For the freedom of the people, I sacrificed and forfeited my own. All of this looks like a very great deed, but it also became the root cause that led me to the hells.

At that time, my heart was filled with hatred and indignation. These mental notes were not the righteous path, and according to the universal principle and the Truth taught in the Buddha’s teachings, they should not have existed. Yet, I clung to them, and this heart of arrogance and stubbornness caused me to pay a painful price for everything I did. If people ask me, 'Hey, you did so many good deeds, did you not receive any reward at all?' There was, but from the perspective of the universal principle taught in the Buddha’s teachings, both good and bad deeds will naturally have corresponding results. If I truly did some good deeds, then after suffering the consequences of the wrongdoings I committed, there would naturally be a good reward.

Thinking about it now, could it be that because I once had a heart that cared for the people, I was chosen as one of the famous figures of Taiwan and led by Practitioner Su to this Western Land of Dharma Nature? Perhaps it is possible! Or perhaps I truly have a deep affinity with the Buddha, and in this life or throughout my many lives, I had previously formed a good connection with the Buddha, which is why I am now able to avoid further suffering.

This suffering was truly too heavy, too heavy. I spent more than two years in the hells, living in constant suffering. Now, I cannot imagine that if Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su were not in the human world today, and if Practitioner Su had not attained the state of an awakened being to save us beings, how much longer would I have had to suffer in the hells? All of this is truly unimaginable; this is the real, immense suffering!

People in the human world find it hard to understand this kind of suffering because everyone lives in the world enjoying everything as if it were taken for granted. In fact, many times, people are creating karma without realising it, not knowing that they are accumulating a body of sins and will have to suffer the consequences in the hells later; it is truly a pity. We, who were like this in the past, did not understand the education of the Buddha’s teachings. We did not understand how to truly humble ourselves. No matter what we do—whether it is to save people or to help others—we must act in accordance with the universal principle, the Truth, and the righteous path.

If one blindly follows one's own personality and habits, and mixes them in, having various poor character traits for the sake of achieving one's own goals, then the evil thoughts and evil intentions behind these actions—even if they look like good deeds on the surface—are tainted. If there is such mixing, the heart is not pure, and everything done is not a truly pure act of Goodness. I was unable to understand this at the time; it was caused by my own stubbornness and arrogance.

If someone had advised me to slow down and handle everything with a calm heart, without letting my inner self have any fluctuations, I think I would have found it very difficult to do, and I would not have paid attention to such voices. This is why I ended up in the hells. In my later years, I suffered so much illness; I had cancer. The suffering of cancer is another kind of immense suffering. Because of this physical torture, my spirit suffered tremendous torment, and at the same time, my family suffered along with me. Thinking back on this experience, it is truly unbearable to look upon.

It was during this time that all my habits, my character, and so on, awakened many karmic creditors. These beings woke up, and naturally, they wanted to seek revenge on me! I owed them so much in the past, and now that I have woken them up, they naturally want to seek revenge.

People might not understand what this is all about. But now, having arrived at the Western Land of Dharma Nature and seeing all this Truth, I have seen with my own eyes that there are so many complex beings existing within the human body. In particular, karmic creditors account for a large portion. They were originally in a dormant state within us, but because of the many fluctuating and unsettled thoughts in my life, they woke up in batches, causing me to gradually age and fall into serious illness. The way they sought revenge on me was by making me ill and causing me to die in pain.

If they saw that my heart was not righteous enough and was selfish, would that not be the perfect time for them to strike? Honestly, that is exactly how it was. When I was ill, I could not see that these many beings were existing within me. I had cancer and suffered for a long time, constantly looking back on my life, and everything I had done in my life kept echoing in my mind. Whether good or bad, it had all passed, but I still had many attachments and could not let go. Regarding the future direction and development of Taiwan, I had many opinions and ideas that I wanted to propose, but I kept them in my heart and did not speak them out.

If I look back at the time when I was in the environment of Shih Ming-te, as the Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party, wanting to help people fight for freedom and do good things for the people, what should I have done? How could I have truly helped people without suffering the consequences of the hells?

Now that I have learned the Buddha’s teachings, I know that I should have been 'gentle and even more gentle', wholeheartedly doing things for others without any selfish motives, not clinging to my own feelings, and certainly not being selfish or acting for my own benefit.

If one truly possesses a heart that contains only the Buddha and only beings, and lets go of the 'self', no matter how many times you recite the Buddha-name, the Buddha will surely give you full blessings. Because you are using a sincere heart to save people, and you want to recite this Buddha-name; as long as this heart is sincere, everything will be fine. If I could have held a pure, sincere heart to save people at that time, without counting the rewards, and without caring whether the outcome was good or bad—if I had not taken anything to heart and just let things take their natural course—perhaps that would have been the way to achieve even greater results! Who knows!

If I could have accepted all the changes of the moment with a very peaceful heart, and when doing things for the people, I had also fought for them with a very calm heart, and checked whether this matter was in accordance with the universal principle and the righteous path before proceeding—in this way, I would not have created so many sins, causing everyone to suffer, and even leading to bloodshed. All of this was truly not worth it!

We did not understand this at the time; we only hoped to get more people to support the Democratic Progressive Party and walk this path, not knowing that every bit of this had already been marked in my book of karma. It also lets people know that the principle that the laws of karma and cause and effect are never wrong is exactly like this!

All these things have passed. I want to tell my family, please rest assured, I am no longer involved in politics. Politics is inherently a great whirlpool. I have now truly jumped out of it, and I have also jumped out of the suffering of the hells, and I am earnestly learning the Buddha’s teachings from Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su.

This is what I most want to do now. I see so much Truth and reality here that cannot be seen in the human world. The state of mind of Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su in saving people is very different from the state of mind I had when I wanted to help people. Their selflessness and compassion are something I can truly feel here, and I know that everything taught in the Buddha’s teachings is actually so simple. The pity is that most people find it hard to do, because we have stayed in this polluted world for too long; we do not know what a sincere heart is, and we do not know what a heart of pure Goodness, only for others and not for oneself, looks like.

If I can practise diligently here, and everyone can also practise diligently and find their original heart, then perhaps this world can have one or two more people like Practitioner Su; only then will there truly be salvation.

I would like to thank Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su with a sincere heart of gratitude. Thank you for bringing such a wonderful gift to the human world. I believe that those who know the temple will surely cherish it all the more.

Gratitude to Namo Amituofo, gratitude to Practitioner Su.

Namo Amituofo

Shih Ming-te