The Demon Who Mastered the Art of the Heart

This is a record of an interview with Mo Lisheng, a primordial demon 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 existence spanning 760,000 trillion years. Recorded by the chief writer, Venerable HaiZe, on May 14, 2025.

Mo Lisheng speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Mo Lisheng, a primordial demon from the Dharma Realm with a history spanning 760,000 trillion years. Today, I accept this interview at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. During this conversation, I will do my best to explain my experiences in the demon realm using plain, conversational language.

Seven hundred and sixty thousand trillion years—it truly passed by in the blink of an eye. Now, to be able to look back on all of this as someone who has already walked the path, even I find it absolutely inconceivable."

A Life Forged in the Demon Realm

"I was born on a planet that was once simple and pure. However, after being attacked by demon crowds many times, it eventually fell and became a part of the Demon Realm. It was right at that moment that I arrived in this world. From a young age, I was educated in magic. In that environment, magic represented the absolute code of conduct. I believed that whatever magic dictated, I should do. I worked hard to fulfil the demands of the Demon King, and I considered myself an obedient and outstanding demon descendant. And in truth, I was. Of course, there were other demon descendants who were not as obedient as I was. They had their own opinions, did not always follow the teacher's instructions, and sometimes even talked back or clashed with their mentors. We demon crowds are basically loners; we have to rely on ourselves for most things. Having been trained in magic since childhood, I naturally assumed that everything should be done according to the instructions of the old demons. I never knew that any other form of education existed beyond magic. That is the background of my upbringing. You could say I was a 'pure' demon, never influenced by human experiences. To the Demon Realm, I was the perfect candidate for practice because I was untainted—and by 'tainted,' I mean having any experience outside of the demon world. A demon descendant without such 'taint' is often regarded as a model student.

Growing up in such an environment, I was naturally promoted by the Demon King to be his future successor. To me, this did not feel like anything special; it just felt like the natural order of things. But in the eyes of other demon crowds, it was not necessarily viewed that way. Some felt jealous, believing they were more capable, wondering why I was chosen while they remained ordinary demons. Therefore, every word I spoke, every action I took, and even every thought I had was closely related to the Demon Realm. I was, in every sense, a standard old demon."

The Art of 'Listening' and Attacking the Heart

"Promoting from a demon descendant to a demon child is the first stage; promoting from a demon child to a Demon King is the second. When you reach the training for the second stage, you must undergo rigorous testing. The Demon King will pass his skills on to you, and you must prove that you have the ability to shoulder the responsibility. If you are deemed unqualified, you might be kicked out of the demon gates or even demoted—all of these are possibilities. My master said that ordinary practitioners have morning services; some follow them, some do not. He said that if you want to become a practitioner, you cannot have issues in this area. If you cannot even manage such basic self-discipline, how could you possibly ascend? Thus, I began training myself to overcome drowsiness. When I wanted to sleep, I would slap myself hard—my self-supervision was extremely strict. Although I was not a practitioner, as a candidate for Demon King, I had to work hard to overcome these obstacles. The methods of testing were numerous; it was not about sitting for an exam or writing a paper. Instead, you were sent to various places to listen to all kinds of sounds and record what happened, and then your memory would be tested later. Only if you remembered everything were you considered qualified.

What the Demon King taught me was the skill of 'listening well.' No matter what others say, you must listen carefully, detect the clues within, and hear sounds that ordinary demons cannot hear. But my ears were no different from anyone else's. So, how does one hear sounds that others cannot? Especially the parts that others cannot hear? What does this mean? It means listening to the 'heart' of the other party through the content of their speech. Wow, this is not something an ordinary person can do. Most people listen to the literal meaning—they take what is said at face value. But what we do is a higher level of skill: listening to the inner heart of the other person. Why do this? Because some demons are straightforward; what they say is what they think. But many more are not; they say one thing with their mouths but think something else entirely in their hearts. If you cannot hear that, you are easily deceived. Once you can hear their heart and attack it, making them surrender to you, then this battle can be won without a fight. This is called 'defeating the enemy without attacking,' and it is the profound mystery of the art of 'listening.' To be honest, it is not simple at all.

In short, I passed many tests and finally succeeded in hearing the Demon King's heart. The Demon King's thoughts are ever-changing, and his words can be expressed in a thousand ways. It is not easy to identify his true intent from them. But I guessed correctly time after time, relying not only on intuition but also on judgment. Indeed, a great teacher produces great students. I became a Demon King who was highly skilled at listening and attacking the heart. Many Demon Kings rely on brute force to conquer their opponents, but our school often wins just by 'listening.' Hahaha, that is my specialty!"

The Hidden Compassion of a Demon

"You might ask, how did I manage to survive for 760,000 trillion years without being consumed by the laws of karma and cause and effect? The key lies in the fact that I learned the other party's heart through 'listening.' If the other party had good intentions, I would not attack them. Sometimes, even if their words and intentions did not match, if I heard that they were motivated by good thoughts—such as protecting civilians—I would not take action. But if I heard that the other party harboured evil intent, wanting to leave us with nothing and showing no mercy, then it was a different story. I would continue to listen, attack their heart, and use force only when necessary. Simply put, if the other party had a good heart, I would not attack. Perhaps this is one of the reasons I was able to survive in the Demon Realm for 760,000 trillion years without being sucked in by the laws of karma and cause and effect. Looking at it this way, many Demon Kings still retain a bit of compassion in their hearts. If they were truly and completely demonic, they would have been taken away by the laws of karma and cause and effect long ago; how could they have lasted until today?

Although I received magic education from a young age, I never expected that this tiny bit of compassion would lead me to where I am today. It also shows that compassion is actually the standard of the universe, the Truth, and the righteous path. We all know one thing: if you can act according to the Truth, you can go far; if you violate the 'Truth,' you might die halfway and not be able to last. This 'Truth' is actually rejected in the Demon Realm. Demons often say, 'What are you talking about, Truth? If you talk about Truth, how can you survive in the Demon Realm?' But in reality, many old Demon Kings still keep a little bit of Truth and a little bit of Goodness in their hearts when managing their teams. Therefore, even as demons, they are not completely rotten. Those old demons who can live for a long time usually have a trace of compassion, which prevents them from being swallowed by the laws of karma and cause and effect. This is probably a kind of Truth for survival in the Dharma Realm. So, the existence and longevity of the Buddha’s teachings have their reasons. The Buddha’s teachings themselves are 'Truth.'"

Awakened by the Buddha-Light

"The Buddha once said, 'Do not speak too much.' What I have learned during this time is to 'speak less' or even 'refrain from speaking,' to reduce deluded thoughts and maintain purity. Honestly, it is truly useful. If you can do this, you naturally will not be attacked by demon crowds. Because demon crowds are good at observing the heart and attacking the heart, they will make your heart full of holes. If your emotions fluctuate and they see what kind of heart you have, then you are in trouble. But if your heart does not move—if there are no fluctuations, no emotions, and no reactions—they cannot grasp anything, and they will naturally leave and not come looking for you.

Therefore, those who can truly achieve spiritual success in their practice often live according to this Truth, disciplining themselves, and only then can they find their original true self. This is what I have realized after listening to Practitioner Su give Dharma talks at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre during this time, combined with my life experience in the Demon Realm. I finally understand why the Buddha's power is always one level higher and slightly superior to demonic power. The reason lies in: 'The Buddha-heart does not move, while the demon-heart moves.' Once a demon-heart arises, it consumes energy. Even a slight thought, hesitation, or calculation is a form of consumption. But the Buddha-heart does not move, and energy is almost never lost. If it is a good heart, it can also receive the support of the positive energy of the Dharma Realm; an evil heart can only attract the negative energy of the Demon Realm. Positive energy mostly comes from the blessings of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Their light contains energy. If you can continuously receive the blessings of the Buddha, you are truly lucky! Of course, you can also receive blessings from demonic power in the Demon Realm, and then your demonic power will grow. But the two are different in essence; they are completely different qualities of energy.

In the 760,000 trillion years, I was active for about 550,000 trillion years. During this time, I passed my skills on to many juniors, including some old demons or Demon Kings who were older than me. I also passed my experience on to them. Later, I gradually faded away and stopped appearing often. I still lived in the imperial palace, so the juniors in the Demon Realm could still find me if they wanted to. Later, I quietly left the demon palace and found a place on my own planet to settle down, no longer interacting with the outside world. This could be called 'settling down,' or it could be called 'entering samadhi.' I am a bit nostalgic; I grew up here, so I chose to enter samadhi here. Our planet has abundant water resources, so I found a stone covered in moss by the water—moss itself represents vitality. I settled down under this stone. Have you ever seen those stones that have not moved for hundreds, thousands, or even ten thousand years? I happened to find such a stone. It has remained unmoved through countless years, so I was able to enter samadhi and practice in peace, passing these silent days in tranquility.

Why did I come to the Western Dharma-Nature Land? It is because the Buddha-light woke me up. Even in the tiny crevices of a stone, the Buddha-light can shine in. So, when Practitioner Su says that he does not miss any crevice, it is truly the case! Because this stone crevice was extremely narrow, I had to shrink my body to fit inside. Therefore, Practitioner Su's Twelve Lights and his countless manifestations opened up the space where I had entered samadhi. After it was opened, I had no choice but to come out. It is like a bright light suddenly shining into a dark cave; you tell me, does life in the cave still exist? Unless it has no life left. If there is still life, it will definitely wake up, so I was brought to the Western Dharma-Nature Land. That is how things progressed."

A Warning to Humanity

"After being brought to the Western Dharma-Nature Land, I finally understood what all of this was about, including the shock Practitioner Su caused in the Dharma Realm and the series of changes that occurred when the old demons were subdued. I could not help but sigh: Practitioner Su, you are truly not an ordinary person! An ordinary person could never have such tolerance and compassion to allow the Demon Realm to use such magical attacks. The Demon Realm can shamelessly say that it was because Practitioner Su attacked us that we counterattacked. But if we judge a hero by the results, although you caused Practitioner Su to suffer—truly suffer, unable to walk, dizzy, unable to see, or suffering from back and leg pain—this is suffering, physical suffering, but it did not diminish his heart to save demons at all. On the contrary, he saved many, many old demons. His Dharma Body's power is even higher. What I mean by 'higher' is that his Buddha-heart is even more fully manifested, saving so many old demons. And his faith in the Buddha is truly without a single doubt. His faith is not just one hundred percent; I think it is two hundred percent! This kind of faith is extremely precious and makes us demon crowds feel admiration.

Many old demons' spaces have been opened up by Practitioner Su's breakthrough and charging power. To be able to charge into the space of a 780,000 trillion-year-old demon, to be honest, is not an easy thing. Even the old demons in the Demon Realm might not necessarily have the ability to enter such deep demon spaces. And for a practitioner from Earth to have such power truly shocks many old demons. Therefore, I want to tell my demon juniors: such a person with true attainment, and the Western Dharma-Nature Land is so good and so bright—many old demons have already mentioned this. Everyone's insights should be about the same because we are all in the Demon Realm of the Dharma Realm. Although the East, West, South, North, up, and down—the Eastern Demon Realm, Western Demon Realm, Southern Demon Realm, Northern Demon Realm—are somewhat different, generally speaking, the situation is the same, which is that 'great minds think alike.' Therefore, it can be said that the Western Dharma-Nature Land is a precious land that allows us to start over.

Including the old demons, and even older ones, Practitioner Su is still breaking through. So, such a place is mainly able to allow the true self to manifest, without any unpleasantness or energy issues. It allows the spirit to live in a beautiful world without being exposed to wind and rain, and without harming the body for the sake of energy. Therefore, living in such a place is definitely a great improvement for one's spirituality. So, to my demon juniors, I have already told you so much; you should know that the next step is for you to surrender. Do not struggle anymore, and do not wait and see. Your old demon has already told you so clearly; there is no need to waste your energy anymore.

Finally, regarding the situation of people on Earth being attacked and disturbed by demon crowds: indeed, the people I see now in the Western Dharma-Nature Land are somewhat helpless because they cannot break free or resist the intrusion and interference of demon crowds, causing their words, actions, and thoughts to be involuntarily controlled by them. To be honest, this is a great disaster for life. Because you cannot live the life you want to live. Honestly, anything you do now is not your original intention, but is expressed by the demon crowds themselves. Is this not a sad thing? Of course, you are completely unaware of it yourself. Your true self, we see it crying in some corner of your body. But you do not know that your body is no longer being used by yourself. But because the demon crowds know your personal habits and ego like the back of their hand, they act just like you usually do. Therefore, you create karma without knowing it. In the end, it is your own true self that suffers. This has happened many times, but it is still happening. Although Practitioner Su has pointed it out to warn the public, the public does not seem to understand. If they do not understand, they either do not take it in, or they hear it but do not actually do anything about it. In short, the result is the same: you have no progress at all and are completely under control.

The demon controlling you might also show a kind side, making it impossible for the other party to realize that you are not actually you. You are you, because it is your appearance doing things, talking, or looking at the computer. But in fact, this heart is already very different; this spirit is already very different. This subtle change, unless someone with 'open eyes' can see it, those with 'unopened eyes' may not see the truth of this matter. All of this is the natural phenomenon within the natural. So, whether you can see this or not has a profound impact on you. I do not know if my opinion will be passed on. If my opinion is passed on, it means that my demon children and grandchildren will have a chance to manifest.

If there is nothing else that needs to be added, I think we can stop here. If it is okay, then my report for today ends here.

Namo Amituofo.

Mo Lisheng"