The Demon King Who Witnessed the Salvation of Time

This is a record of an interview with the spirit of Mo Huanzhang, a demon king who sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Dharma-Nature Land, having been given the Dharma name Shi Yunquan by Practitioner Su. This account reflects upon his experiences across various dimensions of the galaxy. Recorded by the chief writer, Venerable HaiZe, on August 8, 2022.

Mo Huanzhang speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Mo Huanzhang. I come from a large family of demons within the galaxy, where there are many elders. From a young age, I began learning magic, and I was very accustomed to hearing the elders speak of demonic affairs. Beyond our own clan, there are many other demonic families in the galaxy that operate in the same way. Often, the elders would call us to their side to instruct us on how to handle situations as they arose. Isn't that quite reasonable? Even demon crowds have a gentle side; it is just that when facing certain people or events, we adopt a tough, decisive, and uncompromising attitude. Do other beings not have such moments as well? It is just that we sometimes use overbearing and unreasonable methods to directly achieve our goals."

A Life Destined for the Demon Realm

"Therefore, from the moment I was born, I was destined to be a 'demon children and grandchildren.' I never felt that I was any different from other demon crowds, and I assumed the world was simply like this. It was not until I grew up and learned how to attack others to obtain the energy we desired that I began to see things differently. When I saw my opponent being attacked by me without mercy, collapsing to the ground, while I was being urged to quickly absorb the energy from their body—at least enough to replenish the energy consumed by that attack—and then seeing their spirit wither and finally vanish from the ground, that was the first time I felt that I should not have behaved in such a way. However, after attack upon attack, I forgot about that feeling. That memory had become something from the distant past.

I have lost count of how many times our great demon family has collectively invaded planets to plunder energy. We were often the victorious side, and it seemed we showed no mercy. I had gradually become accustomed to being this way. Just recently, I often heard other demon families mention, 'Recently, there are fewer and fewer planets we can invade, because many planets have been saved by Practitioner Su. They now have the ability to defend against external enemies and possess sufficient energy. In such circumstances, demon families must be more cautious in using their own energy.' Thus, we scouted a dying planet that had not yet been saved by Practitioner Su. We detected the location of their energy and intended to attack directly to seize it. We thought we had a good chance of success."

The Golden Light of Salvation

"When everyone launched our attack as usual, just as we entered their energy location, we were suddenly covered by a vast expanse of golden light. Everyone immediately stopped moving forward. We looked up and heard the Buddha-name of Namo Amituofo. We saw many flying objects sweeping across the vast golden light, then turning back to cover us, as if they were specifically demonstrating this to us. If a round trip counts as one, they must have swept back and forth at least a dozen times. We stayed where we were, watching the changes in the starry sky, looking at ourselves, and then looking at the energy location. Surprisingly, our bodies began to emit light, and our energy was greatly enhanced. This also meant that the inhabitants of this planet were the same.

Sure enough, when we looked down at this planet from a high vantage point, the planet, which had originally emitted only a faint light, was now flashing with brilliance. The inhabitants inside were also looking up at the sky, seeing the same scene. The people were cheering and their faces were blooming with smiles. We were stunned and dropped our jaws. Because for some time, they had been receiving the light and energy of the Buddha-name brought to them by Practitioner Su every day. Day after day, it accumulated until today, when they finally had enough energy to emit a light they had not emitted for a very long time. This was something they had originally possessed, but it had been rapidly fading. They themselves had an inkling that they might become targets for demon attacks. Unexpectedly, Practitioner Su came time and again, bringing them the Buddha-name, Buddha-light, and energy, allowing these energies to manifest their power today."

The Power of Unity

"The inhabitants surrounded the energy location, holding hands—this was a method to allow energy to be transmitted among them. Some of the elderly, weak, and young inhabitants were not abandoned; they also held hands with everyone, allowing them to receive equal energy, forming a circle of light in this place. The energy location also emitted light because it absorbed the Buddha-name, Buddha-light, and energy.

We had originally intended to swoop down from above to attack them, but seeing such a scene, we understood that under these circumstances, it was impossible for the power of the demon crowds to succeed in an attack. Therefore, we immediately called a halt, lest some demon crowds attack prematurely. This situation clearly showed that if we launched an attack, we would likely be surrounded by them and become the losers, so we had to stop the attack immediately. This retreat without a fight was entirely because Practitioner Su entered the galaxy, bringing the Buddha-name, Buddha-light, and energy, which saved that planet, making us demon crowds unable to underestimate the power of Practitioner Su. This was just one such situation; Practitioner Su from Earth entered the galaxy and saved countless planets and beings. We demon crowds must come up with a countermeasure."

The Encounter with Practitioner Su

"Therefore, many demon crowds came to Earth to find Practitioner Su, trying every possible way to attack and harm Practitioner Su's body, especially the eyes, head, and feet, wanting to stop Practitioner Su from saving the galaxy. We joined them. Everyone went directly to the temple to find Practitioner Su; he was our direct target for attack. However, when I saw the golden light emitting from Practitioner Su's body with my own eyes this time, I hesitated. The elders of the demon families had once told us that our ancestors could also emit golden light, but later, because their living environment was destroyed, they entered the demon realm. Therefore, from that time on, the demon elders did not attack beings who emitted golden light.

I had never encountered this problem before, but at this moment, Practitioner Su truly appeared before my eyes. I followed everyone's actions, but I did not carry out any destruction. I merely became one of the demon crowds orbiting Practitioner Su's eyes. When they created white fog, we did not join in. What everyone did, in fact, had no impact at all on Practitioner Su's heart and actions in saving the galaxy. Although we did not affect Practitioner Su's actions, we did cause Practitioner Su's body to suffer. Under these circumstances, Practitioner Su discovered us, did not harm us at all, and even sent us to the Western Dharma-Nature Land."

A Change of Heart

"After these days of adjustment and observation, we know that this is a very good place. Practitioner Su treating us this way makes us feel even more ashamed, because we did not treat Practitioner Su this way, and we certainly would not treat the beings we wanted to attack and plunder for energy this way. In fact, we did not know that one could treat other beings like this, because that is how we grew up until now. Could it be that humans on Earth treat each other like Practitioner Su does? But from what I can see, the demon crowds on Earth are not friendly to the humans on Earth, and they often use human weaknesses to attack them; it looks like they are not much different from us. However, Earth being able to nurture someone like Practitioner Su who can save beings in this way should mean that the humans on Earth are also very kind!

Our planet is a long way from here. There are Buddhas like Practitioner Su here, and there are demons like us, yet I do not see any problem with energy shortages. Therefore, Earth should be a planet rich in resources. Plus, with Amitabha Buddha and Practitioner Su appearing here, Earth should not have problems with insufficient energy; it is a place where one can live with peace of mind. I am actually feeling optimistic and thinking well of it!"

The Boundless Reach of Salvation

"Other demon crowds laugh at me, saying my thinking is too naive, and that they have never heard of any planet that can survive permanently in this universe. I accept their view, but I also believe in what I think: Earth is a place where one can live with peace of mind. Recently, because I was brought into the Dharma-Nature Land, I have had a lot of time. Besides listening to the sutras, there is also chanting the Buddha's name and watching the Dharma assembly for Chao Du, living a life completely different from before. I did not expect that in such a short time, my spirituality and state of mind would undergo such a great change.

I recall that before coming to find Practitioner Su, I knew nothing about him. In the leadership system of the galaxy, there was no such figure as Practitioner Su who could change the life and death of the life phenomena of planets in the galaxy. But now, we have encountered such a figure, and it is not only us who have benefited, but also demon crowds from other star systems. I have seen the local beings of Earth here, and of course, there are demon crowds among them. Perhaps if we had met Practitioner Su earlier, demon crowds with high malleability like us would have developed a different new appearance.

Practitioner Su's Chao Du skills have saved the galaxy, but the galaxy is far too large; it is definitely not just as large as Earth. That is to say, the galaxy can accommodate many planets like Earth, and there are even many different spaces. In each space, there are still many planets and beings. With so many spaces and so many planets and beings, are they all waiting for Practitioner Su to save them? This question I once asked myself while in the Dharma-Nature Land. Unexpectedly, Practitioner Su gave me the answer during this Thrice Yearning Ceremony. I had my horizons broadened."

Reflections on the Thrice Yearning Ceremony

"When Practitioner Su was performing Chao Du at the Dharma assembly, I saw countless Practitioner Sus manifesting from his physical body. I finally learned that this scene is called 'countless manifestations.' After these countless manifestations went out, they could actually manifest even more countless Practitioner Sus—this is called the 'countless manifestations of the countless manifestations!' It made my eyes dizzy. It was truly extraordinary; I had never seen such skills before.

I saw these countless manifestations of Practitioner Su, some remaining at the Dharma assembly site in the temple, performing Chao Du for the beings present and the beings dwelling within the clouds. Many demon crowds also came to seek refuge. Although they had changed into the clothes of ordinary beings, we could still smell the scent of the demon crowds. The number of these demon crowds seeking refuge was truly not small!"

Travelling Through Time

"There were also many of Practitioner Su's countless manifestations that I saw flying toward the starry sky. I felt very curious, so I took out my unique skill. Although I do not have countless manifestations, I can have a clone; this is a demonic skill I have practised. Although my demon spirit is locked on the lotus seat in the Dharma-Nature Land, my demon thought can follow the other party out, and my demon spirit can clearly know what the demon thought sees and hears.

So I told my demon thought to follow Practitioner Su. This was the first time I had followed the spirit of a human. Practitioner Su rushed straight into the sky, passing through many spaces and entering the galaxy. This was a place I was familiar with! But suddenly, Practitioner Su entered another space at a very fast speed, instantly and parallelly crossing into another space-world. That was a galaxy space I did not recognize. How could there be such a place? It looked like the galaxy, but it was not the current galaxy. My demon thought raised a question: 'What time is this galaxy?' Unexpectedly, I received a reply. 'Twenty-five million years ago' appeared in the space. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but such a number appeared so clearly. Thus, I knew I had entered another space, which made me feel very excited. I saw how clean the space was all around! It turns out the galaxy twenty-five million years ago was so clean. I did not feel any demonic energy, so there must not have been many demon crowds at that time.

Following Practitioner Su, my demon thought had to be very sharp because Practitioner Su's speed was too fast. If I did not keep up, I might not be able to get out of this space. After Practitioner Su took us flying around in this space several times, he flew out of this space and entered another space. I knew it was the galaxy, but this space field was different from the one just now. I curiously asked the space again: 'May I ask how many years ago this galaxy space is?' 'Eighteen million five hundred and twenty thousand years ago.' I was still very surprised. Although I do not know how long the galaxy has existed, it must be older than this age, but I was actually able to enter this space, as if I had entered a time tunnel."

Gratitude for the Ancestors

"I quickly kept up with Practitioner Su's team, entering and exiting many different spaces. The distance between spaces was very close, and some spaces were even overlapping. Among them were five million years ago, four million five hundred and sixty thousand years ago, all the way to the last few decades. Among these, the space of the last fifty years or so had the heaviest demonic energy and the most pollution; but as soon as Practitioner Su entered the space, after circling a few times, the space was purified a lot and became bright. This was truly unexpected!

It turns out that Practitioner Su does not only perform Chao Du for the existing galaxy, but also for the galaxy of past spaces. The most shocking thing for me was that I actually entered the space of my ancestors! I saw my ancestors' bodies emitting light, and I also saw their planet being invaded by external demon crowds. They resisted for a long time, but in the end, they were occupied by the demon crowds. From then on, the planet became a demon planet, and many ancestors wept sadly. When Practitioner Su entered, he brought Buddha-light, the Buddha-name, and energy, which actually allowed the planet to regain its brightness, and the ancestors smiled happily again!

That was nine million years ago. My ancestors had been weeping in that space for nine million years, until now, when they met Practitioner Su who entered the space to save them, finally allowing them to stop weeping. My heart is so grateful! In this process, scene after scene flashed before my eyes very quickly. I felt happy for my ancestors, and even more amazed by Practitioner Su's Dharma power. It turns out that Practitioner Su has been silently saving so many beings! It seems I must study well in the Dharma-Nature Land. Perhaps one day, I will have the same skills as Practitioner Su, no longer harming beings, but saving them!"

Shi Yunquan