The Ancient Demon's Return to the Western Pure Land

This is a record of an interview with Demon King Zhuo Ya Yi, who sought 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 existence spanning approximately twenty thousand years. Recorded by the chief writer, Venerable HaiZe, on May 9, 2022.

Demon King Zhuo Ya Yi (Shi Fo Zi) speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am an ancient demon. I have traversed the Milky Way for countless eons. I do not know when the Milky Way began, but I know that I am the same age as my home planet. Our planet is located in the eastern part of the Milky Way and is called the Romansa planet—a world where Goodness and evil are inextricably mixed.

A Tragic Origin: The Starry Guardian

When I was but a small child, my parents left me on that planet because they had to participate in an interstellar defensive war. Later, I learned that they both perished in that conflict. I have always held them in the highest honour; in my heart, my parents were my guardian deities. I believe that the reason I have lived to this age—without being overthrown, crushed, or defeated in the demon realms—is because my parents were protecting me from beyond. To survive on that planet, I entered the path of the demon. To Earthlings, my age would seem vast—approximately twenty thousand years. In the Milky Way, there are many demons of my age, but there are also countless others who are younger, scattered across every corner of the galaxy.

Although my movements are slow, my mind remains exceptionally clear. The reason I came to Earth this time was specifically to meet Practitioner Su. I do not usually leave the Milky Way; I have participated in too many interstellar wars and witnessed too much sorrow, blood, and tears. My heart had grown numb, and I had long since ceased to involve myself in the affairs of the galaxy. However, I recently received frequent complaints from my 'demon children and grandchildren.' They did not know how to respond to an intruder from another world—an intruder who was not a demon of the Milky Way, but a human from Earth named Practitioner Su.

The Golden Light from Earth

Earth is very far from our planet, but I had heard of it. Over ten thousand years ago, I visited Earth once. It was a world of animals—a place where the strong preyed upon the weak and the large devoured the small. Yet, it was orderly, with its own set of survival rules. We had originally intended to invade, but after seeing the state of things, we decided against it, not wishing to cause unnecessary harm. Since that time, I had never returned to Earth.

I knew that humans existed on Earth and that they were constantly evolving and progressing. Occasionally, we would receive signals from Earth, but they were too faint and unclear, so we blocked them. We stopped receiving any messages from Earth entirely. That was until recently, when a sudden turbulence shook the galaxy. This signal did not originate from Earth; it radiated directly from within our own galaxy, carrying an incredibly powerful golden light—a high-purity, potent energy. At first, we assumed it must be a newly born planet possessing such clean, undefiled energy. Later, we discovered it was actually a human from Earth, Practitioner Su, who had arrived in a spiritual state. The energy was emanating from this spiritual form of Practitioner Su. This piqued my interest!

The Universal Struggle for Survival

In the galaxy, the struggle for survival and energy—where the strong bully the weak and the large oppress the small—is a constant occurrence. It is just like the scene we witnessed on Earth long ago; it seems this is a commonality of the universe. To survive, one must be strong enough, or find a way to leave such an environment and survive on one's own. Thus, one can see many practitioners in the galaxy living in their own worlds, using minimal energy and avoiding contact with any other beings, just to keep their spiritual life from withering away. I spent about five thousand years living exactly like that! Eventually, I was invited out to lead my 'demon children and grandchildren,' maintaining our growth and survival while minimizing conflict.

The golden light on Practitioner Su is the kind of light only a true practitioner possesses. It requires purification, practice, and even the attainment of the Way to emit such a glow. We understand this well; it is rarely seen in the galaxy. So, when everyone said they were going to Earth, I followed. We did not look around much, nor did we speak; we came directly here—to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. This is a much larger and more powerful light source. I believed that the energy capable of governing life on Earth existed here. After further investigation, I learned that Namo Amituofo is present here. I was not surprised, for we ancient demons have already learned that Namo Amituofo can exist throughout the vastness of the Dharma Realm. My heart found its answer: because Namo Amituofo is here, if Practitioner Su is one with Namo Amituofo, then the events occurring through Practitioner Su are the work of Namo Amituofo. The shock Practitioner Su caused in the galaxy became understandable. We believe that Practitioner Su's entry into our galaxy to save planets is a continuation of the time long ago when Namo Amituofo saved our galaxy.

A Forgotten Memory Awakened

In the distant, distant past, our galaxy was on the verge of extinction. At that time, a massive luminous body radiated golden light throughout the stars. Every planet touched by that light gained new energy, received new life, and was saved from annihilation. At that time, the six characters 'Namo Amituofo' were constantly spreading through the sky. No one understood what they meant, but because of the golden light and the appearance of these six characters, the fate of the galaxy was changed. Our ancestors passed this story down, and these six characters were revered as an energy body of golden light capable of saving planets. As time passed, the story was gradually forgotten; only ancient demons like me, or the elders of the galaxy, retained the memory. Coming to Earth this time, this long-forgotten memory suddenly surfaced before my eyes. It was a powerful shock, and I found myself sinking back into the memories of the past.

The clamour of my 'demon children and grandchildren' woke me. I told them that I had found the answer: Practitioner Su's actions and the shock caused in the galaxy were all due to the presence of Namo Amituofo. It was the true story passed down by our ancestors. Namo Amituofo is the massive golden light capable of saving planets. Long, long ago, many planets were saved by Namo Amituofo and survived. Today, this story has once again manifested before our eyes. This is the trajectory of history. I believe the universe operates on a track, and events naturally repeat themselves. We must pray that this power is not here to harm us, but to save us. Sometimes, this saving power appears because of the turning of the track, just as it did when our galaxy faced the crisis of extinction. Now, the demon crowds of the galaxy are rampant.

The Truth Revealed

In truth, many demons are forced to invade peaceful planets and beings just to survive. Today, Namo Amituofo has appeared on Earth again to save it, and by appearing in our galaxy, is He not also here to save our star system? When I told these things to my 'demon children and grandchildren,' their eyes told me that this was truly a miraculous thing! If any other demon had said this, they might have dismissed it as a mere fairy tale. But coming from the mouth of an old demon like me, they dared not listen with anything but seriousness.

Looking around at Practitioner Su, I saw many demons from the Milky Way gathered nearby, all coming from different places with different motives. Some were there to warn Practitioner Su not to interfere in galactic affairs; others were there to investigate what kind of human Practitioner Su was; and many were galactic citizens seeking a source of light and energy. Seeing all this, once I understood that Namo Amituofo was here, everything became clear. There was no need to explore further, nor any need to issue warnings, because Namo Amituofo is the power that saves galaxies and planets—a power that we demon crowds cannot block. My heart understood this clearly. For a very, very long time, I had not felt any comfort in my identity as an old demon; I felt only the burden of responsibility for my 'demon children and grandchildren.' But at this moment, I felt comforted that I had lived long enough to witness these two events. It was the power of that intense golden light that awakened my long-dormant, innate Goodness. I wanted to tell our galactic demon crowds to stop their futile attacks and interference against Practitioner Su. I then went to Practitioner Su's head, where the most galactic demons were gathered. Before I could even issue a warning to them, Practitioner Su had already sensed the presence of the demons in his head and wrote down my name, along with the names of two other demon kings. I was astonished, for my name had not been spoken for a very, very long time, just as my heart had been asleep for ages. When I realized that it was Namo Amituofo who had written my name, my heart understood. There was no need for surprise; it was so natural, for Namo Amituofo represents the power that knows all and can save lives and planets in peril.

Returning Home

Afterward, we were drawn into this place by the sound of the large qing chime. We had no power to resist; I believe that, too, was the power of Namo Amituofo. Within these large lotus flowers, we could go nowhere, but before my eyes appeared the six characters 'Namo Amituofo,' which calmed my heart. At that very moment, the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre was holding a Dharma assembly called the Thrice Yearning Ceremony, sending all the beings who had come to the temple seeking Chao Du and salvation into the realm of Namo Amituofo. Later, I learned that this realm is called the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

That day, when I entered the temple, the music playing and the beings filling the sky and every corner were all there because of the Thrice Yearning Ceremony. When I calmed my heart again and looked quietly, I realized that besides the golden light merging together, there was also the Great Buddha standing before me. My intuition told me clearly that this was Namo Amituofo. The Buddha stood there, his whole body emitting golden light, seemingly smiling at me. I heard Namo Amituofo say to me: 'Child! You have wandered for so long, but you have finally come home!' I could not help but kneel on the ground. This was an action I had never taken before, yet it felt so natural. Hot tears streamed down my face; I could not remember the last time I had wept—it was a very, very long time ago. The name of Namo Amituofo flowed into my heart, sound by sound. It was a memory from the distant, distant past—a sound I had heard once, then not heard for ages, and now heard again. Could it be that I was once in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss? Namo Amituofo smiled and said to me: 'Yes! Child, you left the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss in the distant, distant past, and now, it is time to come home.' The hot tears continued to flow, then gradually stopped, and I felt as if I were suspended in the time and space of Namo Amituofo.

The Thousand-Billion Manifestations

I do not know how much time passed before I suddenly regained my senses. It was the chanting of Practitioner Su and the fourfold assembly that pulled me back to the present. I saw countless manifestations of Practitioner Su emerging from his head. At the same time, I saw that the Practitioner Su I was looking at was identical to the Namo Amituofo before me. Then, I truly understood, and the answer was clear: Practitioner Su is Namo Amituofo. Regardless of how it is perceived, this fact occurred here, so everything that happens through Practitioner Su is because of the power of the Buddha. These manifestations are the 'thousand-billion manifestations' emitted by Practitioner Su. I had heard that Buddhas possessed such abilities, but I had never seen it. At that moment, I saw it, and I was filled with nothing but astonishment! Just then, I saw these countless manifestations of Practitioner Su traversing the sky and entering the universe and the galaxy. At the same time, many members of the salvation team followed; they were originally demons who had been subdued by Amitabha and Practitioner Su, and now they held the status of disciples of Namo Amituofo. They formed a spectacular stream of light that pierced into the galaxy, orbiting it many times. My eyes were dazzled—how could they possess such ability, and have it happen so naturally and effortlessly! Later, I heard Practitioner Su mention that when he first entered the Milky Way, he went from four circles to over ten, spreading light and energy throughout the galaxy. Because time was short, he had wanted to circle a few more times. I was filled with admiration and surprise at Practitioner Su's actions, for such things had never been heard of in the Milky Way. It is no wonder it caused such a great shock among the demon crowds. Afterward, I saw this massive golden light energy of Practitioner Su return to Earth, sending many of the beings who had returned with him into the golden light. The thousand-billion manifestations of Practitioner Su condensed into a single ray of light that entered through his head, and then the chanting of the Buddha-name gradually concluded.

Practitioner Su possesses a human body, yet because of his practice and Awakening, his compassionate heart has transformed his body's cells into the thousand-billion manifestations of Practitioner Su. All of this exists to save suffering lives. I have once again witnessed that Namo Amituofo came to save everyone, and has also saved the suffering creatures of the Milky Way. Although I was an old demon of the Milky Way, I have now shed my identity as an old demon here in this Western Dharma-Nature Land and have become one of the disciples of Namo Amituofo. I have found the self from long ago—that self which fills my whole being with serenity. At this moment, this ancient soul has gained new life force. Suddenly, a long-forgotten 'Heart of Gratitude' welled up within me. I am grateful to Namo Amituofo, and I am grateful to Practitioner Su."

Shi Fo Zi (Demon King Zhuo Ya Yi)

The Buddha bestowed upon Demon King Zhuo Ya Yi the Dharma name 'Shi Fo Zi'.