I really hoped that, in my later years, there could be a big Guanyin Village. A place where, every evening, everyone finishes their vegetarian meal, sits together to recite sutras, and gather to listen to my teachings. Such as place would be called the Pure Land on Earth.
— 8-21, Buddhism in Plain Terms, Volume 8
“In the future, when I grow older and can no longer travel around the world, and when Dharma centres have already been established in many places, I truly hope there will be a place of joy — a Guanyin Village — where several thousand people can live together. Many of you may have suffered deeply after losing your loved ones. Some of you may grow old and find yourselves alone. When that happens, you can come straight to Guanyin Village and be together with everyone else. Each evening, I will share my teachings, and there will be people making offerings and caring for you. Our daily life will revolve around Buddhist practice. In the mornings, we will recite sutras; in the afternoons, we will meditate; and in the evenings, we will gather to listen to my Dharma teachings. We will also practise life liberation regularly. In Guanyin Village, you will be surrounded every day by many of your ‘spiritual family members.’ And when the time truly comes for you to leave this world, more than two thousand people will each offer you one Little House, that’s over two thousand Little Houses. And with my blessing, you may be able to see Amitabha Buddha and Guan Yin Bodhisattva. Tell me — would you be willing to spend your later years cultivating together with me?” “Yes!” “This is your future. This is the Land of Ultimate Bliss in the human world.” [Applause]
“Let me tell you: If Guanyin Village is established, it will be completely free. Anyone who sincerely practises the Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door will be welcome to live there. You will recite Little Houses, and everyone will be like family. If you lose your spouse, don’t be sad. If you lose a child, don’t remain in sorrow. Once you enter Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door, all these people will become your family. When I grow old and can no longer walk, I will stay with you every day in my later years, teaching you Buddhism and the Dharma. My teachings will never end, nor could I ever finish explaining the scriptures, because it is not only me speaking, it is our great Guan Yin Bodhisattva speaking through these teachings. When sentient beings are difficult to guide, we must still guide them. When the path in this human world is difficult to walk, we must still walk it. When success in Buddhist cultivation is difficult to attain, we must still strive to attain it. Let Dharma joy fill your hearts. Let there be a heavenly realm in the human world. Let the Bodhisattvas smile, and let all the Bodhisattvas in this world applaud. Dharma joy, such Dharma joy! Let go of laziness. Recite sutras every day.
— Master’s Teaching to Disciples at the Hong Kong Dharma Assembly, 9 June 2013
“Why do I say that there will be Guanyin Villages in the future? When I say this, it will not come to nothing. There will be Guanyin Villages, and in the future, there will be more and more of them. Why? Because I need to take care of my older disciples, the elderly mothers and seniors, so that you have a place to live, a place to cultivate, and a place to spend your later years in peace. So all the elderly mothers don’t need to worry that no one will look after you, or that no one will offer you Little Houses. As long as you continue to follow my guidance through the Dharma Voice, listen carefully to my teachings, and diligently learn Buddhism and cultivate your minds, I will make sure you have support and a place to rely on. I want to bring many disciples back, because many of you, countless kalpas and lifetimes ago, in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss or in other Buddha lands, held very high spiritual attainments. Now that I have come down and attained Buddhahood, many of you will rise and ascend with me as well.”
— Dharma Voice Teaching, 6 January 2023
“All of you are reluctant for this gathering to end. And to tell you the truth, I am also reluctant to part with you. I have made a vow. When I grow old and can no longer walk easily, and when all of you have retired and become elderly men and elderly mothers, there will certainly be an even larger Guanyin Village. Every evening, all of you will gather together to listen to my teachings. I will keep teaching you until we reach the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and all the way until we enter the Four Sagely Realms. And when someone is about to enter Nirvana, each one of us will offer that person a Little House. If there are tens of thousands of people, that means tens of thousands of Little Houses. Even if that person doesn’t want to go to the Western Pure Land, with that many Little Houses, they will have to go!” [Applause]
“When you grow old and retire, and no longer have much to occupy your time, you must not play mahjong, you must not drink alcohol, and you must not waste your time on meaningless activities. Instead, listen to my teachings every night. During the day, I will lead you in circumambulating the Buddha in Guanyin Village. Every evening, I will share the Dharma with you. Every day, we will be filled with Dharma joy, and the Bodhisattvas will come to be with us all the time. And when the time comes for you to leave this world, you will be free from illness and free from pain. You will simply fall asleep and joyfully ascend to the heavens. This is the goal of our lives. The true aspiration of a Bodhisattva is to ascend to the higher realms. Just as I helped lift you upward today, many of you swayed a little, opened your eyes, and suddenly found yourselves before Guan Yin Bodhisattva. I hope that a hundred years from now, you will leave this world in the same way, without pain, without illness. Just a gentle sway, your eyes open, and you say, ‘Guan Yin Bodhisattva! I am truly by Your side!’
That means you have succeeded. You have accomplished your cultivation in a single lifetime.
— Teaching delivered at the World Buddhist Friends Meeting, Hong Kong, China, 24 June 2015
