Finding True Happiness: A Demon's Awakening

This is a record of an interview with Mapatan, a primordial demon who existed for 913 trillion years before seeking Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Dharma-Nature Land. This account reflects upon his long history of existence and his eventual transformation. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on October 29, 2024.

Mapatan speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Mapatan. For me, life has always been about pushing my limits. I never believed there was anything I could not do. In my surroundings, there was only evil; Goodness simply did not exist. It felt as if there was a natural gravitational pull that drew me toward darkness wherever I went. I never had the opportunity to encounter Goodness.

A Life Defined by Darkness

I am a demon, and naturally, I am evil—extremely evil. Because I had never been exposed to Goodness, I did not even understand that the heart could think of Goodness or perform good deeds. I truly never considered it. In such a state, I only grew more and more wicked. Only by committing greater acts of evil did I feel a sense of existence; only then did I find a thrill and a sense of pleasure.

I have been a demon for 913 trillion years. I have witnessed every kind of evil, both great and small. I know countless demon crowds, evil spirits, and malevolent entities. If it is evil, I likely know it. Yet, even after existing in the Dharma Realm for 913 trillion years, there are still many wicked spirits I have never encountered. This shows just how vast the amount of evil force in the entire Dharma Realm truly is.

The Mystery of the Missing Goodness

In my existing cognition, there was truly not a shred of Goodness. It is a strange thing, really. Logically, one should understand that the opposite of 'evil' is 'Goodness,' but I lacked even that basic awareness. What kind of Causal Conditions prevented me from ever encountering Goodness, or even knowing what it was? It is a bizarre and almost absurd reality. I did not understand why this was the case until I met Practitioner Su and discovered the truth.

Let me start from my situation in the Dharma Realm. I was a great demon who stopped at nothing. Because I never knew I could turn toward Goodness, my evil grew to a terrifying degree. I remember that in the hundredth year of my existence as a demon, I successfully caused an entire planet to explode. I remained on that planet until the very last moment before the detonation, jumping away just as it was destroyed.

A Playground of Chaos

In the two-hundredth year of my demonic life, I incited wars across many star systems. The key to my success was controlling the mental notes of the leaders of each planet, manipulating their desires and uncontrollable anger to make them attack those they disliked. But that was not even the worst of it.

By the three-hundredth year, I escalated the interstellar wars even further. The number of planets involved increased by hundreds of times; it was a catastrophic event. Many Demon Kings praised my abilities, expressing constant admiration for what I could achieve. I did not care for their praise, as I believed this was simply my inherent power. As time passed, I could make myself more and more powerful, so the evil deeds I committed became more severe each time. This was perfectly normal to me.

I went everywhere creating chaos, wanting disorder to appear in every corner. For me, the more chaotic the environment, the better I could survive, as such an environment was perfectly suited for my existence. The entire Dharma Realm was my playground. I was toying with the whole realm, trying to make it a place suitable for my survival—a place where evil was everywhere and the magnetic fields were in constant turmoil. Only then could I play to my heart's content and enjoy the 'good taste' of being a demon in the Dharma Realm.

The Illusion of Happiness

No demon dared to block my actions. Even if I infringed upon them, they dared not say a word. The reason was that I could quickly summon all evil forces to gather together, forming a massive alliance of evil. No demon wanted to waste energy fighting us, as it would cause them great damage. Everyone preferred to tolerate me rather than risk their own vitality.

Because everyone yielded to me, I became increasingly unrestrained, indulging myself and destroying everything in my path. To me, it was so happy, so exhilarating. But was I truly happy? I thought I was. I truly believed that doing this every day brought me immense joy, but the facts proved otherwise. I never realised I was unhappy. It was only after I met Practitioner Su that I discovered I was not happy at all.

The Golden Figure

That day, I was continuing my rampage in the Dharma Realm, thinking I was happily doing what I loved. Suddenly, I froze when I saw many joyful figures appearing before me, rapidly replicating again and again. They were everywhere. Those figures seemed to be leaping, looking incredibly happy. At first, I did not understand what they were doing because they were so numerous and dense, like countless grains of gold sand.

I immediately used my demonic power to magnify the scene. When I looked closely, I realized that these dense, golden figures were opening up the very space itself, which was also like fine sand, and rescuing all the spirits trapped within. I had never seen anyone do such a thing. It was the first time. I did not rush forward; I stood there and watched quietly.

I kept watching, shaking my head, muttering to myself: 'Impossible! How can this be? How could such a thing happen? Impossible!' Even with the scene clearly before my eyes, I found it hard to believe. But eventually, I had to admit it was a fact. This joyful golden figure could manifest countless other joyful golden figures, rapidly traversing the Dharma Realm. He brought forth vast, immeasurable numbers of sentient beings, including many demon crowds, and took them away.

The Pain of Purification

This golden figure changed the magnetic field of the entire Dharma Realm. I had never felt such a magnetic field; it was completely different from the 'evil' I knew. This 'non-evil' power caused me immense pain. I felt my head splitting and my heart about to explode. It was so uncomfortable! What was going on? Why did this 'non-evil' power cause me such agony?

Yet, I noticed that I was the only one feeling pain. The other spirits were joyful and happy, as if they were desperate to be taken away by the golden figure. Seeing their happiness, I realized that by comparison, I was not happy at all. I was confused by the situation, not realising that my demonic power and evil force were being constantly purified. As I was being purified, the events of 900 trillion years ago surfaced clearly before me. I wept bitterly. It turned out that I did not 'not know' Goodness; I had deliberately chosen to forget it. It was once a very painful past, and to avoid feeling that pain again, I had chosen to completely destroy the Goodness that once existed in my heart, using an extremely strong mental note to make myself forget everything.

The Attack on Practitioner Su

Now, my memories were stirred again because my demonic power was rapidly weakening. Conversely, the power of Goodness, which I thought I had destroyed, began to sprout from the depths of my heart, reviving once more. I could not accept this change. When I discovered that my demon palace had been destroyed by the golden figure, I could not take it anymore. I quickly investigated and learned that the golden figure was Practitioner Su, from Earth, who had been using his Dharma Body to enter the Dharma Realm for some time, constantly performing Chao Du for sentient beings and subduing many demon crowds.

I quickly gathered my 'demon children and grandchildren'—about 750 Earths' worth—and prepared to attack Practitioner Su's physical body on Earth. My ferocity was intense; I had no intention of letting Practitioner Su go. Not only that, I brought another six Earths' worth of demon crowds to attack the fourfold assembly of disciples under Practitioner Su. I wanted to settle everything at once.

Subdued by Wisdom

I set off quickly and arrived on Earth in an instant. Upon reaching Practitioner Su's location, I saw that a large number of demon crowds had already begun attacking. Without hesitation, I joined in, shouting to my demon children and grandchildren: 'Attack!' Everyone used all their power to launch an assault on Practitioner Su. Soon, we injured Practitioner Su's body; the most serious injury was to the throat, which was visibly red and swollen. It was not over yet. Since I wanted to resolve this completely, I had to make Practitioner Su fall entirely.

I quickly ordered everyone to fight again, intending to conquer the territory completely. All the demon crowds on the scene listened to me, and we prepared for another battle. However, at that very moment, before we could even begin, Practitioner Su used his power of wisdom and mental notes to subdue us all, sending us into the Western Dharma-Nature Land.

I have been in the Western Dharma-Nature Land for a few days now. My demonic power has been rapidly purified, and the fire of hatred in my heart has almost been extinguished. I have begun to calm my heart, only to realise how painful these 900 trillion years have been—I was never happy. Now, I have learned to chant the Buddha's name, and each sound of the Buddha-name awakens the true happiness within my heart."

Mapatan

Namo Amituofo.