The Demon Who Turned Toward the Light

This is a record of an interview with the Primordial Demon Chief, a being from the Dharma Realm who existed approximately 960 trillion years ago. He sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia and now resides in the Western Land of Dharma Nature. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fajing, on October 8, 2024.

The Demon Chief speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. In the past, I used to lead my demon children and grandchildren out of the Dharma Realm to travel to many different planets. We would wander everywhere, observing everything. Beyond attacking and occupying those planets, I used these excursions as a way for my demon children and grandchildren to gain experience and simultaneously strengthen their demon power. But that was something I did in my younger days. Once I had been a demon for a hundred million years, I stopped doing that.

A hundred million years might seem like a very long time to people on Earth. In our Dharma Realm, we do not have such a concept of time; or rather, that is simply the way Earthlings calculate it. All the space and planets beyond Earth do not use such a method of calculation, and in many places, there is no concept of time at all.

The Nature of Demon Power

However, I now see that all the demons who have come to Earth have become very accustomed to converting time into the format that Earthlings understand. It is a natural ability we possess; we can effortlessly calculate the years and months in a way that you can comprehend, which gives you a better sense of how long we have been demons.

Because of this, I began to focus on my own practice a hundred million years ago. Of course, I was not practising the righteous path; after all, I am a demon, so naturally, I was cultivating demon power. My demon children and grandchildren are organised into layers of hierarchy, which allows for mutual restraint and management. It is quite orderly. Our doctrines are extremely strict, and any violation of the rules is a very serious matter. Therefore, I do not need to watch over what they are doing; they naturally take care of themselves, cultivate well, and perform the duties they are meant to carry out.

I do not know what you imagine a demon to look like. In truth, demons are sometimes no worse than you humans. Many of us are demons who have cultivated, but perhaps due to a single stray thought, we chose to remain in the Demon Realm. I would not dare to say that my own practice is perfect, but I can confirm that I am quite different from other demons.

A Sense of Justice in the Shadows

In reality, I did not become a demon because I wanted to harm anyone, nor did I want to show off my demon power or gain anything for myself. Before I became a demon, I already knew that this force called a demon existed, and that it was omnipresent.

Demons are mostly malevolent. Many planets are disturbed by demon power, and many beings on those planets are controlled by it. This is already a very common situation. Before I became a demon, whenever I learned about a demon controlling a planet, or about beings being controlled by demons, I would become incredibly angry. The level of my fury was something you could hardly imagine.

Perhaps there was a sense of justice existing within my heart. So, when I faced such interference from demon power, I felt that it should not be this way. My heart would naturally trigger a judgment of right and wrong, and when I added my own emotions to that, the result was that I became extremely agitated.

I am actually a practitioner as well, having cultivated in different spaces. Although I did not practise the Buddha’s teachings, I was not evil; it was simply a path that could not lead to the ultimate truth. Later, I could not continue my practice. The reason I could not continue was that my internal personality was too intense. This intense personality made it impossible for me to continue walking the path of cultivation, so I chose to enter the Demon Realm.

The Grey Palace

Entering the Demon Realm was not to harm or control others like other demons do. Rather, I had my own persistence and beliefs. I wanted to use my demon power to oppose other demons, to prevent them from easily controlling, interfering with, and obstructing others.

Because I had such a goal and philosophy for becoming a demon, I had to possess demon power stronger than the others to have any way of opposing them; otherwise, I would never be their match.

I used my own methods to begin strengthening my demon power. At that time, my heart was set on entering the Dharma Realm, because I knew that I could elevate my demon power to a higher level there, far exceeding many other demons.

Since I said it, I was certain I could do it. Therefore, not long after I became a demon, I immediately entered the Dharma Realm. I occupied a space that belonged to me in the Dharma Realm and built my demon palace there. Perhaps because my heart was truly not set on harming people, the places I went were not dark, but had some degree of light. However, there are not many places in the Dharma Realm where one can find light, so since I entered the Dharma Realm, the places I could go became fewer.

The Dharma Realm is not entirely composed of demons; there is also the power of Goodness throughout the entire realm. I chose to go to the boundary where Goodness approaches the zone of Evil. In that zone, it seems as if both Goodness and Evil exist; it is a place where both coexist. I felt comfortable in that zone because I would not dare to say that my inner heart had reached a state of pure Goodness, and I am not a very, very evil demon. Therefore, this zone that is neither good nor evil was the most compatible with my heart.

My demon palace was built in this zone. It is a very difficult thing to find a demon palace in this area, because most demons choose to build their palaces in places within the Dharma Realm where demon power is extremely strong. Very few demons would build their palaces in a place where a little bit of the power of Goodness still exists. But that is exactly what I did, because I am not a fully evil demon; I still needed the nourishment of these good mental notes to allow my heart to reach a certain balance, so that I would not be completely tainted by the power of Evil.

The surroundings of my demon palace were not dark; there was some light present. Although the light was not very bright, compared to the pitch-black palaces of other demons, my palace was quite different. My palace was not entirely black either; I built it in grey. Grey is a colour that sits between white and black, and it was in sync with the zone that is neither fully good nor fully evil. With a palace of such a colour, one could tell at a glance that I was not a fully evil demon, but neither was I fully good.

The Golden Light of Practitioner Su

Recently, I have frequently seen golden light in the Dharma Realm. When I saw it for the first time, I was surprised, and later that feeling turned into excitement and joy, because I have always liked going to places with light. However, the light I have seen recently is different from the light I have encountered in the past. The light I see now is golden, and its brightness far exceeds anything from the past. This made me feel incomparably curious: where did this light come from?

My demon children and grandchildren are demons who share the same mental note as I do; that is precisely why they became my demon children and grandchildren. When they saw this golden light with me, our feelings were the same, so they took the initiative to start searching for the source of this golden light, wanting to know who exactly had introduced it.

I soon learned that it was Practitioner Su. I also heard from my demon children and grandchildren that the Dharma Body of Practitioner Su had entered the Dharma Realm to perform Chao Du, saving immeasurable and boundless sentient beings in the Dharma realm, and even saving a great many old demons and ancient demons. Do you know what my reaction was when I heard this? I immediately applauded Practitioner Su and praised him loudly: "Well done!"

I have been in the Dharma Realm for so long, and I had never encountered a person like Practitioner Su before. Now, I have finally waited for him, and I am deeply moved. Therefore, I cherish the appearance of Practitioner Su very much, and because of this, I have been following him. Whenever the Dharma Body of Practitioner Su appears in the Dharma Realm, I immediately go to find him and follow behind. Several times I lost track of him because the Dharma Body of Practitioner Su moves too fast, and Practitioner Su has countless manifestations; my eyes were dazzled, and I had no idea which Practitioner Su to follow.

A Shift in the Dharma Realm

Ever since the Dharma Body of Practitioner Su entered the Dharma Realm to perform Chao Du, there have been many more places in the entire Dharma Realm that I can go to. Because all the places Practitioner Su has visited have transformed from darkness into brightness. I only go to bright places, so after Practitioner Su made many spaces in the Dharma Realm bright, the places I could go naturally increased.

Recently, Practitioner Su made a major breakthrough in the Dharma Realm, using the Twelve Lights to collapse the palaces of many old demons and ancient demons. I saw with my own eyes those palaces of the old demons and ancient demons collapsing before me, and I knew very well that this would be a massive shock to those old demons and ancient demons.

Seeing the scene of Practitioner Su’s major breakthrough in the Dharma Realm, my heart was excited. I marvelled at how he could achieve such a thing; it was truly remarkable. Although it was not yet my turn for my demon palace to be collapsed by Practitioner Su using the Twelve Lights, I chose to pack up my palace myself. Because I had already found the place I should go—which is where Practitioner Su is—I no longer needed the palace, so I dismantled it.

Protecting the Righteous Path

Soon, I heard that many old demons and ancient demons were going to Earth to find Practitioner Su. At that moment, I realised that things were not looking good, because these old demons and ancient demons were emitting a very intense demon nature, indicating that they were truly angry and resentful. Seeing this situation, I worried that they would commit acts of aggression against Practitioner Su, so I immediately gathered my demon children and grandchildren and set off for Earth.

We did not go to Earth to join them in attacking Practitioner Su, but to protect him. When I arrived at the location on Earth where Practitioner Su was, there were already immeasurable and boundless demon crowds surrounding the scene; there were so many of them. These demons were all there to attack Practitioner Su. I saw that they were all poised for action, and every face was filled with malice.

I told my demon children and grandchildren: "Quick! Everyone disperse, enter from all directions, and once inside, use our demon power to interfere with them, distract their attention, and make them unable to focus on attacking Practitioner Su." My demon children and grandchildren followed my instructions, immediately entered the midst of these demon crowds, and began to use all sorts of special techniques to interfere with their plans.

In the end, this group of demon crowds still managed to attack Practitioner Su, and the primary part they attacked was the throat of Practitioner Su. We are very sorry that we did not manage to protect Practitioner Su, but fortunately, there were many Dragon and Heaven Dharma Protectors guarding the area, blocking the majority of the power from these demon crowds.

Now, we have also been brought to the Western Land of Dharma Nature. We are grateful to have this Causal Condition, and we cherish it immensely. We have already begun to chant Buddha's name and are actively listening to Practitioner Su give Dharma talks. Every one of my demon children and grandchildren is filled with joy, grateful and grateful again."

Demon Chief