Interview with John Dalgleish Donaldson (Scottish-Australian Mathematician)

Interview with John Dalgleish Donaldson

Scottish-Australian Mathematician

John Dalgleish Donaldson:

I never expected my life to end just like this. Although I knew that this life would eventually come to an end, only after truly experiencing death and looking back at everything did I feel a sense of "real death." Before this, I truly could not comprehend such a state of mind.

Everything after death is not as planned; one cannot calculate everything precisely, nor can one keep life entirely in one's own hands. There are always uncertainties, and these unknowns are exactly what I worried about most.

In this life, whether I had achievements or not is debatable. Looking from the perspective of my current soul, all the achievements and honours in the human world no longer seem so important. While alive, I was indeed very concerned with these facts and believed that every problem should have a perfect "analytical solution." But looking at it now, all of this is actually very far from the truth.

I used to argue that there is no problem in the world that cannot be solved through science and mathematics. But now I understand that the complexity of the world, and even its "uniqueness," can be tested and shaken. If the problems of the world do not have a single solution but are composed of many "feasible solutions," would people's way of viewing the world still be the same as before? This is a test I truly faced after passing away, and it has had a huge impact on my life values.

I never thought life was so complex. I once believed that life and living were secondary issues, and that what was truly brilliant and complex were profound and abstract mathematical theories. However, I now understand that there are problems far more complex than mathematics. If every answer is what is called "destined," then what is the mechanism that forms this "fate"? To investigate this requires too precise a calculation, which is not an easy task.

It can be said that mathematics can only describe phenomena, much like adjectives, but it has not yet been able to describe the true essence of things. Regarding the "spirit" and the world after death, in a situation where it is difficult to measure and quantify, mathematics is of no use.

After I passed away, I first went to the "brain-gouging hell." After all, I did use this brain of mine, which could be called intelligent, in this life, doing both good and bad things. What I understand now is that the real reason I went to hell lies in using my own intelligence to scheme for myself and harming others for my own benefit.

Of course, how to distinguish "benefit" and define "harm" in this process cannot be quantified or formulated. It entirely depends on whether one's heart has selfishness, and whether the thought at that moment was for oneself or for others. This point made me ponder for a long time.

Now I have escaped from hell, having been rescued by a temple called the "Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia." After being rescued, I was placed in a very bright spiritual world within the temple; it is quite quiet and peaceful, and my heart is very calm. The sound of Namo Amituofo chanting comes from the air, and I am thinking about everything in the past here in this "Dharma-Nature Land." But what I do not understand is: how are my life, my destination after death, and the calculation of good and evil in between carried out? How can these good and evil actions, which involve a very long time and are so complex, be calculated quickly and finally lead to the allocation of my destination and my arrangement into hell? I have been pondering this without finding an answer, but now I am gradually realising that these are all the results of the natural operation of the laws of karma and cause and effect. There is no need for human calculation, nor is there a need to analyse it. It is a result that forms naturally; it does not involve excessive thinking. It is only this heart, and the spirits in this spiritual realm, a result collectively formed by these hearts.

On the Dharma-Nature Land, I am listening very earnestly to the sutras and principles explained by Namo Amituofo and the human practitioner, Practitioner Su. It sounds very simple, but this is only for ordinary people; that is, by following the path of accumulating good deeds and virtues, and acting for others without benefiting oneself—that is, the way of sacrificing oneself for the sake of beings—one can naturally avoid misfortune and seek good fortune, and naturally attract good results. However, what I have observed is that there is a very precise and meticulous operating mechanism behind all of this.

I tried to analyse this mechanism behind the natural operation, trying to quantify how good a certain behaviour is and how much various behaviours can elevate one's spirit. However, the influence caused by each of these actions is incredibly subtle and complex. In fact, if one does not analyse it, it will not seem complicated, but if one really analyses it carefully, one will find that the level of secrecy behind it is truly beyond what people can understand. The more this is the case, the more I admire this Namo Amituofo before me, this Buddha in Buddhism. He is compassionately radiating infinite light before me, and He is also a follower of the universal principle.

These words are not that simple for me. "Follower of the universal principle"—I understand that the meaning behind it is that one must thoroughly understand the universal principle to be able to follow it completely. But the problem most people encounter is that they do not understand what the universal principle is at all. They know what is good and what is bad, what is selfish and what is for the sake of beings, based on general concepts. But in fact, these details, I understand, are even more profound, and the root cause lies in "for the sake of beings." What exactly is meant by "beings"? How many "beings" are seen before one's eyes? How broad are the levels covered? How can one be called truly "for the sake of beings"?

I understood this immediately; the meaning within it is very deep. If we look at "beings" from a spiritual perspective, it covers spirit realm beings and the densely packed sentient beings within the body. But if we look at it from a human perspective, we can only see one body; each person has one body, and "beings" only reach this level. And why does it make me feel that the Buddha is very great? The root lies in the fact that, although it is also "for the sake of beings," the "beings" seen by the Buddha's eyes are immeasurable and boundless beings, as well as beings in every subtle place and beings in subtle spaces, all included within it. The selfless dedication to beings that the Buddha speaks of is a world of difference from the selfless dedication to beings that humans speak of; this is also the difference in mind-capacity. Because of this, I admire even more the details and the inconceivable nature of the Buddha following the universal principle.

Therefore, I also understand that it is impossible to quantify and analyse it. Because even with the level I can see and understand now, it is still very limited. Even though I can see, I can now see a great many spirits, but whether what I see is the thorough and complete state of these spaces? That is not necessarily so. I believe that with the Buddha's eyes, there are even more subtle spaces within the subtle places. When the Buddha called out this slogan: "Sacrifice oneself for the sake of beings," the meaning represented by "beings" and its depth far exceed the "sacrifice oneself for the sake of beings" that I understood. So, speaking of this, I admire this great existence of the Buddha even more. I never thought that the true principle was like this. Perhaps it is because I am the one thinking, so I was able to think of a very deep level all at once.

Just this phrase "sacrifice oneself for the sake of beings," just this phrase "let go of oneself, abandon oneself," is not that simple. For ordinary people, "sacrificing oneself for the sake of beings" might mean letting go of oneself for the sake of one's family. Broadening it a bit, it could be for the people of the same country. Broadening it further, it could be for all the people on Earth. Broadening it even further, it could be for other lives, animals, plants, etc., besides humans. But from the Buddha's perspective, besides these, there are countless lives in spiritual spaces that are also included. The most fundamental way to be able to save so many spirits at once is the method I see now, which is also the method Practitioner Su is demonstrating before me. In the Dharma assembly, Practitioner Su divided the spirits into many split spirits and injected these immeasurable and boundless split spirits into every space. And Namo Amituofo's split spirits also followed closely, radiating light in various spaces, bringing the immeasurable and boundless beings out from different spaces, and finally, they all gathered on this Western Land of Dharma Nature.

And I also understood in an instant that this is how I was rescued from hell by the Buddha. After seeing all this, I could not help but understand that to save so many spirits, the method used must also be a method that can only exist in the spiritual world. The ways that human beings can act are surely quite limited. This is also why Practitioner Su repeatedly emphasises that the body is a very high technology, because the true value of this body is not to use this tangible material flesh to interact with the material world, to produce interactions, or even to produce various feelings and attachments. This way of using it is a very wasteful way of using the body, because the extent it covers and the level of influence it has are quite low.

The truly powerful way to use the body is to combine the body with the spirit and expand it to a higher level. The key to this combination of body and spirit lies in every cell in the body, and even every detail, which is the key to combining with the spirit. There are countless spirits in the body; every cell has a spirit in it, and there is even more than one spirit. Therefore, if the spirits in the body can be properly utilised, and if they can be persuaded to truly work together, just like Practitioner Su, to help the beings in the spiritual realm, then the spirits in the body can be brought into full play. And this is the true way to use the highest technology of the body to help immeasurable and boundless spirits. This is the highest-level use of the limited body.

Life is very limited, only a few decades. In terms of my life, I used this physical body to solve many difficult mathematical problems, but the achievements I gained were just breakthroughs in mathematics and knowledge. The substantial help to these spirits and to these people was quite limited. The reason it was quite limited comes back to a most fundamental problem: after a person is born, they begin to face aging, illness, and death. Even if I solved very difficult and complex mathematical problems, after knowing the answer, I could not effectively use these techniques and knowledge to change people's destiny. People still have to experience aging, illness, and death. Even if current scientific and technological development is advanced, and even if medical technology is well-developed, no one has been able to overcome this destiny. At least as of 2026, I see that we are still a long way from solving aging, illness, and death.

However, this education of Buddha's teachings starts from the spiritual level. Through the help of spirit to spirit, one can truly achieve the attainment in practice of not grow old, not get sick, and the spirit does not die. Why is this so? That is because these spirits in the human body are the root cause of aging, illness, and death. The time this body can operate is very limited; the time for the combination of spirit and body is limited. The reason for saying this is that the spirit itself cannot really stay in any one space for a long time. After all, the time this spirit stays in each world has its limits, and this body space is the same.

And when a person is born, those who have a connection with this person, those who have had ties in past lives—whether it is a good connection or a bad connection—these spirits will gather and appear in the body. And this is the time when these spirits can be used and combined in the body. When the connection between this spirit and the body ends, it must leave the cells of the body. In this process, the influence on the body's cells is that it will cause the body's cells to age, then lead to disease, and finally decay and die.

And when the body's functions disappear completely, it is the time for the spirit to leave the body, which is why people die. At my advanced age of 84, it can be said that the time the spirit used this body was relatively long. But no matter how long, there is always an end, so it cannot truly solve aging, illness, and death.

However, with the education of Namo Amituofo's Buddha's teachings, why can it solve aging, illness, and death? The fundamental reason is that the education of Buddha's teachings is to let people know what they should do as a spirit to help these spirits have a good destination. In terms of the method of the Pure Land established by Buddha's teachings, it is to establish a common destination for spirits, so that these spirits have a good place to go, and they do not need to stay in the human body and persecute the human body. Therefore, the Western Land of Dharma Nature where I am now is one of the beautiful worlds that can accommodate and settle many suffering and wandering spirits.

If these spirits within a person have the opportunity to enter these worlds, they will naturally no longer remain in the original space of the body, nor will they continue to affect the cells. When all the spirits leave the body, the body will naturally stop aging and stop suffering from diseases; thus, the problems of aging and illness will naturally cease to exist. Death is the operating mechanism of the body itself; whether one chooses to leave the body or not when the time comes depends on one's attainment in practice. However, regardless, the spirit never dies. If one can clearly know the destination of one's spirit and know that one can freely control where one's spirit goes, then naturally, in terms of the understanding of the spirit, it is not death. It is just like travelling from one place to another; it does not mean the end. The death of this body is merely the spirit continuing its next journey in a different space along a different timeline.

In my current capacity, I am a spirit who once resided in the human world. I stayed in a human body for eighty-four years, then spent some time in the hells, and now I am staying in the Dharma-Nature Land of the temple. This is how spirits take turns staying in different spaces for different periods of time.

If you wish to further understand the spiritual realm, you must study Buddhist education. Therefore, I advise my family, as well as my colleagues and students from the school, that if you are interested in what I have said, you might as well investigate and explore the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia for yourselves. Their teaching materials are publicly available online, and everyone can study them independently to understand the importance of the spiritual realm.

This also depends on your individual level of understanding. It is only as a spirit that I have been able to truly appreciate the importance of this matter. When I was alive, I never thought about these things; I always felt that various religions were merely a form of soothing the human heart. However, I never imagined that Buddhist education was so profound. Therefore, if you are interested, I have fulfilled my responsibility by introducing this to you properly.

I know that the principles I am speaking of are quite profound. In fact, not to mention you, even what I have learned so far is only the most basic part. The profundity of Buddhist education and the mysteries of the spirit, along with many aspects that I have not yet fully explored or understood, are things I am still striving to learn.

In fact, the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia is quite famous worldwide and is a top-tier spiritual education institution. They are a charitable organisation primarily helping spiritual beings from all over the world, and even from beyond the Earth. The temple makes no demands; it sincerely hopes that people will study Buddhist education more so that they will not suffer in different spaces after their lives end. This is because the Buddha is very compassionate and does not wish for everyone to take such unnecessary paths.

So, if you have the opportunity, you might as well make contact and explore it for yourself. You can learn through the internet in Australia and all over the world. Furthermore, there are large billboards on the highways in Brisbane and Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. This is also in the hope that people will have more opportunities to learn about Namo Amituofo and the Buddhist education that he promotes.

Having the opportunity to know and learn such education can be said to be an incredibly fortunate thing in life. Because I did not have the chance to come into contact with this before I passed away, and instead devoted my entire life's energy to mathematical research, I discovered that in the end, it was of little help to my spiritual life after death. After becoming a spirit, what use is mathematics or science? In fact, it is quite limited. At best, it only helps people understand the spiritual realm.

Now that I am in the Dharma-Nature Land, I can see the essence of the world more clearly. At the very least, the spiritual dimension has been completely unlocked, allowing me to see the full picture of the world that is closer to reality. Therefore, if you are interested, whether you are my colleagues or students in the field of mathematics, or my family and friends, you are welcome to come here and discuss this with me at any time.

The most profound aspects of science and mathematics, if they cannot reach the spiritual level, cannot be called truly profound. Science and mathematics that cannot solve the problems of life have very limited value and meaning to me. Therefore, if you are interested, you might as well come to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre to discuss this with me.

John Dalgleish Donaldson