The Demon's Conversion: Following the King

This is a record of an interview with the spirit known as the 'Death Demon' (Shi Jingheng), who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Dharma-Nature Land. This account reflects upon his origins and his eventual transformation. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fajing, on April 2, 2021.

Death Demon (Shi Jingheng) speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. Our King—Demon Xuanfeng—possessed a power so formidable that it was acknowledged and respected by all of us. Never had anyone been able to stand against our King. Yet, suddenly, our King vanished, never to return. Where could he have been detained?"

The Disappearance of the King

"He left so abruptly without telling us where he was going. Days passed, and we did not see him. We began searching everywhere, and with our capabilities, we should have been able to locate him instantly. But this time, there was nothing. It felt as though he had moved into a completely different space, entirely beyond our reach.

We refused to give up. As we searched, the name 'Practitioner Su' suddenly surfaced in my mind. I remembered years ago, accompanying the King as we hovered over the skies of Australia. We were observing Practitioner Su, curious about his origins. We did not threaten him; before we left, the King simply remarked, 'His origins are not small,' and turned away.

A Memory of Practitioner Su

I did not understand why the King reacted that way. Usually, the King would have launched an attack, but that day, he did nothing. I even felt his heart change. We returned to our base, and he never mentioned Practitioner Su again—until recently. He said he saw 'golden light' every day, the Buddha-light from Practitioner Su’s side. That night, he indicated he was going there. Now, looking back, he must have gone to Practitioner Su, but why did he never return? I was completely baffled.

Yesterday, I brought my demon children and grandchildren here to find him. The moment I arrived, I knew he had been here. I have spent years by his side; I know his presence. But I could not find him. Then, I heard Practitioner Su reading an interview about the King. I listened, and only then did I realise the King’s past and that he had surrendered to the Buddha.

Purification and the New Reality

I was stunned, but I knew the King would not surrender unless the Buddha’s teachings were truly convincing. I circled Practitioner Su three times to make my presence known. I am the Death Demon, the King’s subordinate. Practitioner Su quickly purified my demon nature, restoring me to my original, pure state, and sent us all to the Dharma-Nature Land. We are a large group, but since the King decided to follow the Buddha, we follow his lead and wish to take refuge in the Buddha as well.

When we arrived and saw the King, we were shocked! His aura was completely different—he radiated light, his face held a smile, and he nodded at us. It was so strange, yet familiar. Without his demon nature, he was so handsome, so 'dignified' as the Buddha’s teachings would say.

A Life of Rejection

I sat on a lotus seat to listen to the sutras. I had never heard them before. As a Westerner, I had no contact with Eastern Buddhism; I even viewed it as an enemy. But as I listened, Practitioner Su radiated golden light. My heart grew calm. I remembered my life before I became a demon, and I wept. No one wants to be evil, but the environment forces it upon you.

I was a descendant of the Kanglongde family, a prominent name in a small American town. My father and grandfather were healers. I was born in a manger while my mother accompanied my father on a medical mission. When the villagers saw me, their faces changed. 'This child is a demon!' they cried. 'Throw him away!'

The Death Demon's Curse

They claimed I was the 'Death Demon' and that anyone close to me would die. My father died shortly after, confirming their fears. My mother died seven days later. I was less than ten days old, orphaned, and abandoned in the deep mountains to die of hunger or cold.

I survived, but not by human hands. A wild wolf took me in, feeding me raw meat and blood. I learned their ways, their ferocity, and their instincts. When I was seven, a forest fire killed my wolf parents. I was found by humans, a 'wolf-man' who wanted to devour them. I killed and ate several people, driven by hunger and a deep hatred for the humans who had abandoned me.

The Final Fire

My hatred grew, and I became uncontrollable. Eventually, villagers captured me, tied me up, and burned me alive in a wooden shack. The pain only intensified my hatred, and my soul instantly transformed into a demon, desperate to destroy all of humanity. Namo Amituofo."

"The more I hated, the more my demonic power surged. The kings of the Demon Realm all supported me. No matter what methods I employed, the goal was always the same: to destroy humanity. At that time, the 'Demon Whirlwind'—my Demon King—was my greatest supporter. Only now do I realise that our situations were so similar. He must have known my past all along, which is why he used all his demonic power to constantly assist me, urging me to destroy humanity to my heart's content. With his help, I truly succeeded in taking many lives. It wasn't that I killed them with my own hands; rather, I made them kill themselves. When people lose control of their own temperaments, it is only natural that they will commit acts of self-harm."

The Pleasure of Destruction

"I am the Death Demon. Wherever I go, death must follow. I have successfully triggered several epidemics, claiming countless lives. To me, that was a kind of thrill; I revelled in it. This current pandemic is a new generation of contagion, and I was more than happy to participate, doing everything in my power to make the situation spiral further out of control. What I control is not the virus, but the human heart. As long as human hearts become more selfish, more protective of themselves, more prone to discrimination, and more obsessed with control and possession, they all become targets for me to strike."

Loyalty to the Demon King

"If it weren't for my Demon King—the Demon Whirlwind—coming to the Buddha-land to seek refuge first, I would not have stopped. I am loyal to my King. Whatever the King does, I follow. I never had my own thoughts or opinions. Therefore, when the King stopped, I immediately ended everything. Even if I had a burning desire to destroy the Earth, I could abandon it for the sake of the King. That is the extent of my loyalty."

"After listening to Practitioner Su give a Dharma talk, I still cannot fully grasp the meaning of the sutras. What is discussed in the scriptures seems so far removed from my heart that I cannot understand it at once. However, I seem to realise that all the evil I have done is still following me; all the sins I have committed must be repaid. This sounds terrifying because I no longer know how much evil I have done. It means the sins I have created are so numerous they cannot be counted, and I must repay them all. How am I to repay them? I truly cannot think of a way. I am completely unable to repay them. Now, I am diligently studying and listening to the Dharma talks, hoping to understand more principles from Practitioner Su and learn what I must do."

Shi Jingheng

Reflections on Attending the Thrice Yearning Ceremony

Truly Convinced

Interviewed by Chief Writer: Shi Fajing

April 4, 2021

"After three days of the Dharma assembly, I finally understood. I understand why my King came to seek refuge in this place."

The Battlefield of the Mind

"In any temple, it is either the Buddha or the demons—this is something we in the Demon Realm know best. The temples we have invaded span the entire globe; not one is spared. As long as one's heart is not in alignment with the Buddha, it will quickly become an object of our control. Do not underestimate a small, deviant thought. As long as you are a practitioner, as long as you wish to become a Buddha, you will become our target. Because the greatest enemy of our Demon Realm is the Buddha. Whoever wants to become a Buddha is our enemy."

"Of course, we in the Demon Realm are selective. The more capable a person is of achieving enlightenment, the more we value them. We seize upon even the slightest deviation. Furthermore, the demons we dispatch are always of significant background. Only those who can be called 'great demons,' 'Demon Kings,' or 'demon chiefs' are qualified to control these capable individuals. As for those who just make up the numbers in temples—those who speak of practice but whose bodies and minds are nowhere near it, or those who have no intention of practising at all and are just wasting time—we only need to send a few little demons to handle them. This makes it easy to understand why those of you who truly want to practise encounter so many demonic tests and obstacles."

A Change of Heart

"As for this place, it has long been watched by many great demons. In recent years, immeasurable numbers of great demons have come to seek refuge one after another. This left those of us who did not yet understand this place completely baffled. This is clearly a place that stands in opposition to us; why would they choose to seek refuge here? When I first arrived, before I had even seen Practitioner Su, I was even more puzzled. At that time, there were no monastics here. In terms of the scale of the temple or the dignified conduct of the fourfold assembly, it was far inferior to other temples we were controlling. Why did my King come to investigate this place? At the time, I looked down on this place and did not spend much effort trying to understand it. I just followed the King to take a few looks and immediately returned to my own territory to continue my watch."

"It was not until I attended the three consecutive Dharma assemblies here and witnessed Practitioner Su's Dharma Body performing Chao Du that I finally understood. I immediately bowed to Practitioner Su and said, 'I am truly convinced!' I have never seen any human being capable of saving so many spirits. The number of those saved is not like counting radishes—one, two, or three—but is calculated by the nation, the planet, and the galaxy. It can be said that immeasurable and boundless sentient beings were all delivered during the Dharma assembly. Even I do not have such ability. Naturally, I admire him. Seeing so many Demon Kings transformed and following Practitioner Su to save beings, I am truly convinced."

The True Buddha

"I watched Practitioner Su performing Chao Du without blinking. Every second, sentient beings were being saved; it never stopped. I looked at Practitioner Su himself; he wore a brilliant smile, and his heart remained in a deep meditative state, unmoved. If Practitioner Su had been moved by the act of saving so many beings, I would have greatly diminished my opinion of this place, because such a heart could still be exploited by our Demon Realm. To my surprise, no matter how many Practitioner Su saved, his heart remained unmoved. I nodded, understanding that Practitioner Su is a true practitioner, a true Buddha, and only then would he have the ability to possess a Dharma Body capable of delivering so many spirits."

"I am not a demon of much weight, but to convince me, one must be flawless. Only then will I respect them, and only then will my heart be completely at peace. Now, my heart is at peace because I respect Practitioner Su. I am willing to be subdued, and I am willing to join the ranks of those saving the world, following the Buddha to save the world together."

A Glimmer of Hope

"Most people in the world cannot see the space with their physical eyes and cannot understand why the Dharma assembly here is so magnificent. This is normal. If one only uses physical eyes—the eyes of ordinary people—to look at the Dharma assembly here, it truly cannot compare to the grand scenes of other temples. If one could see the magnificent spectacle of the entire Dharma assembly, with the number of spirits being saved too numerous to count—immeasurable and boundless beings who have suffered for thousands of generations with no hope of escape, all receiving a glimmer of hope for deliverance during the assembly—those saved spirits all kneel and kowtow in gratitude. Seeing them finally saved, I believe no one would be unconvinced, and no one would be unmoved. It is just a pity that most people in the world are unable to see it."

"Now, I, the Death Demon—no, the Buddha has bestowed upon me the Dharma name Shi Jingheng—I, Shi Jingheng, sincerely praise this place. I am grateful that Practitioner Su does not mind that we are demons and is still willing to reach out to save us, giving us the opportunity to change our ways and be transformed. We will cherish everything. Gratitude."

"Namo Amituofo."

Shi Jingheng

Note: The spirit of Charles Strisen, the grandfather of the Death Demon (Shi Hengjing), is in the medical research space; the spirit of his father, Mutton Strisen, is in the ghost realm; and the spirit of his mother, Duramiss, is in a space of sorrow, longing for her child. Practitioner Su, compassionate towards their suffering in the cycle of rebirth, has already guided their spirits to the Western Land of Dharma Nature at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Center to listen to the sutras and hear the Dharma.