“What is ‘Amitabha Buddha’?” I asked. “I always hear this phrase when watching
Chinese martial arts movies. Buddhist monks often say it in every posture, before
doing anything.”

“That phrase comes from the Pali language you use, which is Amitabhavabuddha, or
simply Amitabha,” he replied.

“That’s right, I hear it very often,” I affirmed.

“It’s not surprising that you hear it often, because the venerable Sangkaccayana
intentionally instructed all his disciples to say this phrase until it became ingrained, in
order to perpetuate it for as long as possible, until it reached your ears in the present
day,” he answered.

“So it must have a special meaning, right?” I asked.

“Absolutely. Very special indeed. If you consider the meaning from its Pali roots, ‘Mita’
means something that can be counted. Adding ‘A’ in front, it becomes ‘Amita,’ which
means countless or immeasurable. The next part is ‘Bha,’ derived from the word ‘Abha,’
which is shortened and softened when compounded with other words. ‘Abha’ means
‘light’ or glory, splendor, beauty, abundance. The Chinese understood this to mean the
essence of abundance, which resonated with the external appearance of the venerable
Sangkaccayana. And the last word is ‘Buddha,’ which means the oneness with the
Buddha-mind or God-mind, the ultimate state that every soul in the universe must
reach. I believe you already understand this meaning well.”

“Putting these words together, it means ‘the immeasurably radiant Buddha-mind
within people.’ And this is the phrase that the Buddha told everyone to remember, so
that one day, when you and your friends hear this phrase, you will be able to recall
your mission, by reciting it regularly and urging everyone to use it as a continuous
mantra. Eventually, this very phrase has journeyed to you.”

“The primary purpose of this recitation at that time was to remind everyone that one
day, the world would enter an era characterized by this phrase, a time when all humans
on Earth would find the light, find the Buddha within themselves. Whether child or
adult, man or woman, poor or rich, everyone would possess the same Buddha-mind. It
is an era that will occur in your lifetime, known as the ‘Civilized Era,’ the ‘Golden Age,’
‘Utopia,’ or the ‘Age of Phra Sri Ariya,’ depending on the region. All of these refer to the
same period.”

“Lord Phoche… can you tell me how my friends and I can bring the world to such a
state?” I interjected, starting to think it would be difficult.

“Certainly… this is the method that the Buddha, you, and your friends collectively
determined on that day. The first thing established was that you all had to find each other first. The time after that meeting was like releasing a fleet of ships into rivers and
oceans. Of course, over 2,500 years ago, the Buddha intended to spread the principle of
inner Buddhahood as widely as possible. Therefore, the souls of you and some of your
friends had to travel to distant lands, some as far as the Middle East and Europe. But
after going through death and rebirth for dozens of lifetimes, some souls might have
resided with different nationalities. Up to the present day, looking at their physical
forms, they have fully become people of various ethnicities, with the beliefs, customs,
and cultures of those nations.”

“When they died and were reborn, they brought these conceptual understandings to
convey within the language of their new nationality. The resulting outcome is the
emergence of numerous local religions,” Lord Phoche elaborated.

“Therefore, finding each other in the beginning might be a bit difficult, as everyone is
scattered all over the world. You will have to look beyond language, customs, culture,
and beliefs. You must be the one to initiate the search by announcing all the events that
occurred on this day, spreading it to the public as widely as possible. The form of this
announcement must be something that creates the greatest awareness, perhaps
literature, novels, poetry, screenplays, or anything that can reach the most people. And
when it reaches the ears of your friends, they will know that this is a letter calling them
back to join the mission.”

“Secondly, because this mission is of cosmic scale, while you were waiting to be reborn
in this lifetime together, everyone had to undergo experiences of being important
figures, individuals with various skills, people who created extraordinary phenomena
on Earth, until they were revered as prophets, spiritual leaders, or fathers of their
respective fields. Therefore, your present lifetime is rich with fully present talents, to
be utilized. And when everyone sees the invitation letter from the stories you tell, they
will come to meet you. They will recognize it and bring those skills to combine with
yours, forming a large organization that will surely be able to create a world that enters
such a state.”

“Including the venerable Sangkaccayana, right?” I asked.

“Yes… the venerable Sangkaccayana knows and sees this picture very clearly. That is
why he used the phrase ‘Amitabhavabuddha’ in his recitations, to remind everyone on
Earth of the appearance of 1,250 individuals, or the anticipation of meeting the
thousand-armed Mahabodhisattva who will be born in this era of great change. And he
is one of those great bodhisattvas.”

“So the venerable Sangkaccayana will be reborn in this lifetime and will meet me,
right?” I asked.

“That is correct.”

“And how will we know who he is?” I continued.

“When the time comes, you will know it yourself. There will be something that
indicates a friendship awaiting reunion.”

“In fact, he is not just waiting to be reborn in this present lifetime. He was born many
dozens of lifetimes before. One of the lifetimes he intentionally chose to be born was
about 900 years ago, and another about 1,100 years ago, counting from the time the
venerable Kaccayana passed away. In those lifetimes, he was born as a Buddhist monk
and coincidentally found a travelogue of the venerable Kaccayana. He became
fascinated by the stories in that record and read it meticulously. Eventually, he decided
to embark on a journey following the route in the record, to re-explore his own land of
origin. At that time, he didn’t even know it was a record that he in the past, and the
venerable Sangkaccayana, had written for himself. You know him well by the name of
the Buddhist monk Xuanzang.”

“I don’t know him at all. Who is the Buddhist monk Xuanzang?” I asked.