The Demon King's Smile

This is a record of an interview with Mo Zhenran, a demon child of the Demon King Mosha, who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Land of Dharma Nature. This account reflects upon his experiences following the subduing of his king by Practitioner Su. Recorded by the chief writer, Venerable HaiZe, on August 12, 2021.

Mo Zhenran speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Mo Zhenran. We came here searching for our Demon King, Mosha. That day, he left in such a hurry, saying only one thing: 'I am going to the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre.' After that, he simply vanished. We waited for days, thinking perhaps he would return, but as time dragged on, there was no news. We had no idea what had happened to him. It was only later that other demon kings informed us that our king had been subdued by Practitioner Su of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre and would never return. When we heard this, our hearts were filled with such profound sorrow."

A Kingdom Without a King

"Among us, the demon children and grandchildren, some had followed Demon King Mosha for one or two thousand years, while others had been with him for centuries. To have him leave without a single word of instruction—it was unbearable. We were completely lost, not knowing what to do next. Although it is said that a demon's heart does not concern itself with emotion, the truth is that many of our kind were destroyed by emotion while we were still in the human world. Because of this, emotion is a territory that none of us dare to touch. Furthermore, we had never been separated from our king for so long. He had left on errands before, but we always knew he would return, so our state of mind remained unchanged.

This time, however, when that other demon king told us that Mosha would never return, our hearts were a chaotic mess of bitterness and confusion. Some of us suggested we should appoint a new king; others insisted we go to the temple to find him; still others wanted to surrender to a different demon king. In the end, we decided to follow our own paths: those who wanted to surrender left, those who wanted to find the king came to the temple, and some even tried to promote one of their own to be the new king. This is the tragic fate of demon children and grandchildren when they are left without a leader!"

The Choice to Follow

"We heard that the king had been placed in the Western Land of Dharma Nature at the temple—a truly magnificent place. It seemed likely that he would eventually be liberated from the Demon Realm. So, those of us who came to find him did so because we wanted to follow him. We wanted to see how he lived, and we wanted to live that way too. But we lacked the courage to approach Practitioner Su and confess our intentions. We were paralyzed, hovering around the temple for several days, not knowing what to do.

During this time, we listened to Practitioner Su’s Dharma talks. We also witnessed other plague demons bringing their own demon children to attack Practitioner Su, only to be subdued one by one. After seeing these scenes, we decided to move closer to Practitioner Su. Finally, he discovered us and helped us by writing a memorial tablet. Among all the demon spirits who had gathered, I was chosen to represent the group—I, Mo Zhenran, who most resembled the role of Demon King Mosha."

The Demon King's Smile

"Once we were discovered, it was as if our deepest wishes had been fulfilled. We were finally going to find our king. Practitioner Su struck the large qing, and we were pulled by an irresistible force into a space filled with brilliant light. This, I believe, must be the Western Land of Dharma Nature. As soon as I entered, I saw our king waiting for us, and he was smiling. It turns out that in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, one can see and hear everything happening at the temple. The king had known we were coming for him all along, so he was waiting for us to arrive.

We had never seen our king smile before. It turns out that when he smiles, he is actually quite gentle! We had fully expected him to scold us, saying, 'Why did you not hold your posts? Why have you come looking for me? You are so spineless!' We never imagined he would greet us with such a warm, smiling face. This change is truly monumental, but it is a change we are more than happy to accept and witness.

The Buddha-land is truly different from the Demon Realm! The Buddha-light here is so intimate, so comfortable, and so warm—it is something that could never exist in our Demon Realm. Perhaps this environment is what cultivates a different kind of heart? We had demon hearts before, but looking at things now, perhaps we will eventually transform them into Buddha-hearts! I do not know what the future holds, but I am ready to see what happens next."

Namo Amituofo."