The Demon's Confession: From Pandemic Spreader to Practitioner

This is a record of an interview with Mo Fu Zhong, a spirit who participated in the spread of the pandemic and later sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Dharma-Nature Land and has been given the Dharma name Shi Yong Qing. This account reflects upon his experiences as a demon and his subsequent transformation. This interview was recorded by the chief writer, Venerable HaiZe, on August 3, 2021.

Mo Fu Zhong speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Mo Fu Zhong, and I am quite happy to share my experiences with you all. In the Demon Realm, I am known as the optimist—I can talk about everything related to demons without ever getting tired of it. You see, not every demon is inherently vicious, cruel, or sporting wild, colourful hair. There are those of us who are not fierce, not evil, and not impulsive. We can be quite tidy, patient, and have rather decent personalities. So, you might ask, why are we called demons? What gives us the right to be demons? It comes down to the heart—the demon nature. It is a heart that is rigid, unyielding, and devoid of light, a heart that actively wishes for others to meet a disastrous end. Tell me, if that is not a demon, what is?

The Anatomy of a Demon

The heart may be dark, but the exterior does not have to match. To ensure someone meets a bad end, one can first present a kind, well-educated facade to gain their trust, and then deliver a fatal blow when they least expect it. In the human world, you call such people hypocrites. Let me tell you, when they die and go to hell, they will face severe retribution! These people are demons too—in fact, they are more demon than a demon, aren't they? The world is full of all sorts of people. I was once deceived and died of illness while wearing the mask of a hypocrite. After death, I entered the Demon Realm, and I used those very hypocritical tactics to define my own style of being a demon, eventually carving out a name for myself in the Demon Realm.

The demon crowds that participated in this pandemic were diverse, with every kind of Demon King imaginable, each with their own specialities and unique traits. I was one of those specialists—I specifically targeted hypocrites, causing them to fall ill. Many people are deceived by their superficial Goodness and feel pity when they get sick, never knowing the things these people did behind closed doors in this lifetime or their past lives. Such people are not worth a shred of sympathy. In short, the common goal of the pandemic was to ensure that those who were meant to lose their lives did so, and those who were meant to suffer did so. If someone caught the disease and survived, well, they were just lucky to be alive.

The Pandemic and the Fear of Death

In the Demon Realm, if any of the demon children and grandchildren have questions about how things work, I teach them everything I know with great patience. You might wonder, why did humanity suffer such heavy casualties during this pandemic? It is because people fear death! Being filled with fear of death lowers one's own immunity. Immunity is closely related to a person's mental state and emotions; it is a vital defence against external toxins and pathogens. When people are afraid of dying, they have already sounded the retreat in their own hearts. Their immunity drops, and if they encounter us, it is like opening the front door and inviting us in. That is why we were successful in almost every attack!

Unexpectedly, in the midst of all this, we heard humans claiming they could resolve the pandemic. In the Demon Realm, with such a massive, global pandemic underway, hearing such a voice caught our attention. If it were an ordinary person, we would not have taken it seriously, because there is not a single human who is truly unafraid of death. Even if someone says or does such things, they are usually driven by self-interest—to benefit someone they know or to gain some personal advantage. No one is truly selfless, acting purely to save everyone from the threat of death without asking for anything in return, just to let everyone return to a normal life without fear of our attacks. Because no one has such a heart, people did not believe Practitioner Su when he spoke during his Dharma talks, telling everyone that Namo Amituofo can save the pandemic. We in the Demon Realm believed it, but no one in the human world did. Isn't that tragic? It is because people lack the blessings. So, we were quite happy to let it continue, as it meant we could keep on playing our game.

A Failed Infiltration

Then came that day. During a Thrice Yearning Ceremonies at the temple, we saw that Practitioner Su still had a cough after the previous intrusion of the demon poison. We attempted to enter Practitioner Su's throat—of course, that was no easy task. We first tried to use force, charging in directly, but we were bounced right back. We were prepared for this, as we had long heard of the power of Practitioner Su's diamond shield. It was indeed powerful; it could block our force. Next, just like the demon poison, we tried shrinking ourselves into air molecules, but before we could even reach the nose, we were sneezed out by his nose hairs! Who would have expected Practitioner Su's nose hairs to be so formidable? We were determined to find another way; we are the type to pursue relentlessly, and we do not give up until the very end.

Just as we were about to make our third attempt, we heard Practitioner Su shout: 'Who is it? Who is so bold as to try to come in?' After being called out, we all looked at each other, and the eyes of all the demon children and grandchildren turned towards me. At that critical moment, if I did not speak up, I would have lost all dignity as a Demon King, and with the Dharma assembly about to begin, there was no turning back under the gaze of everyone. So, I had to say a few words and identify myself: 'Mo Fu Zhong'. Since our skills were not up to the task and we were caught, I had nothing more to say. And so, in front of everyone, we had our heads shaved by Practitioner Su, our demon clothes were stripped off, we were dressed in monastic robes, and we were absorbed into the Western Dharma-Nature Land. It has been about a month since then, and I have spent the most peaceful time of my life.

A Life of Betrayal

Watching the daily routine of the fourfold assembly at the temple—the morning service, the Dharma talks, the interviews, and the Dharma assembly—has been a completely new experience for us. With the feeling that there was no way back, we started learning anew and felt a different kind of vitality. For the 1,700 years since I entered the Demon Realm, I had always been the one teaching others, passing on demon nature to my followers. I never expected that I would now be the student, absorbing the Buddha's teachings bit by bit. This is different from any Buddha's teachings I have heard before. It is direct and clear, without obscure words or sentences, yet every word and phrase contains profound meaning. Through Practitioner Su's explanations, these words take on a new life. Many of the demons in the Western Dharma-Nature Land have not only had their appearances transformed, but their hearts have been changed as well.

I can feel everyone's hearts—originally black and shining with demon energy—being peeled away layer by layer, revealing a heart that is a mixture of greyish-white demon nature and Buddha-heart. Now, after just over a month, I see a little bit of light appearing in the hearts of those demon children who still retained some inherent Goodness. That is the light of the Buddha shining into their hearts, revealing the brightness that appears after the demon heart is swept away. Their faces have also become much gentler. This is a huge change for them, and I cannot help but smile at their transformation. In fact, the one who has changed the most is myself. In the Demon Realm, I was a teacher, showing everyone how to be a demon. Now, the lessons I hear here are teaching us how to become a Buddha—two completely different worlds. This bright, pure, and genuinely Good world leaves us with no ability to resist; we have no desire to fight back, only to accept it entirely. It turns out that the Buddha can transform demons, while demons can only attract more demons. Here, there is an environment transformed by the Buddha and a Good teacher. These are so important; they truly create different hearts and talents. It makes me think of myself 1,700 years ago, before I entered the Demon Realm.

Back then, I was the good student in the eyes of my teacher, born into an ordinary, middle-class family. Although my parents were not wealthy, we were considered a cultured family. In our speech and conduct, we had to be mindful of etiquette and could not do whatever I wanted. Over time, this radiated a certain aura, and people would often say, 'What a well-bred child.' This was what my grandparents taught us, and they hoped this family tradition would be passed down. So, for our generation, from the time I could understand things, I was taught to be proper and disciplined. I was not a cheerful or bubbly person, but I liked cheerful people. Being with them, I could feel a different kind of vitality, as if that factor existed in my own blood but had never manifested. You could say it was a personality hidden deep within my heart.

I had a close friend, a neighbour, and we played together since we were children. I was not like the other kids who could gather at a moment's notice to play wherever they wanted; I had to finish my teacher's assignments before I had a little time to relax. Of course, sometimes I would make small mistakes, and my playtime would be taken away as punishment. Playtime was quite important to me, so to avoid punishment, I had to meet the requirements of my parents and teacher. Over time, I became someone who demanded much of himself, which was quite natural in the upper-middle-class society of that time.

My friend was smart and sensible, the leader of the children because he had so many ideas. But his family was poor, and his parents often could not afford to feed him. Yet, his optimism never wavered because of hunger. We did not know his family was so poor until one time I went to his house and saw him gnawing on a sweet potato, eating it with such relish. He told me he had not eaten for two meals, and this sweet potato was just given to him by his mother—it was delicious! As he ate, he wore a satisfied smile. I felt so sad when I saw that. I thought about how we had just been playing a game of who could run the fastest, and he was the fastest of all the children, yet he had not eaten for two meals. From then on, I often brought food from home for him, but he would often save it for his younger siblings. Once, my mother saw me packing food and asked what I was doing. I told her about his family's situation, and she said they used to be a decent family, but because they were framed by others and their money was stolen, they ended up like this. That was the first time I felt the darkness of human nature.

When I was nineteen, my parents found a woman for me to marry, but the engagement was called off because of a confession from the woman herself. She said she already had someone in her heart, but because that person knew me, he could not bear to hurt me and did not tell me. However, she preferred to be with him, so she confessed the truth to me. To my surprise, the person she liked was my childhood friend. I never knew he had a girlfriend, and I never imagined we would both have feelings for the same woman. Of course, I called off the engagement, and from then on, I kept my distance from women and never married.

When I was twenty-nine, the same tragedy that befell my friend's family happened to ours. My father was cheated out of his money by his friend, and our family's fortunes plummeted. From then on, we lived in poverty. My father secretly left some money for me, and I rented a shop to start a small business, but I was viciously cheated by my business partner, who stole my capital and even stole the deed to our house. He used a gentle, polite exterior to gain our trust, and then he cheated me out of everything. He was a hypocrite. With no money left, I became depressed, fell ill, and died on the street. It was my friend who helped collect my body and bury me.

Before I died, I felt angry and desperate about the dark side of human nature. After I died, I was sucked into the Demon Realm, which perfectly matched my state of mind. I grew and thrived in the Demon Realm, specifically targeting the weaknesses of hypocrites, giving them a fatal blow whenever they had greedy thoughts. In these 1,700 years, I have seen too many hypocrites! This is how people protect themselves, but it also hurts many others, so I have always believed that they deserve that fatal blow.

This pandemic, of course, was no exception; hypocrites fell ill and died. Their inner worlds are not bright or upright; there is only a discrepancy between their inner and outer selves. They think no one knows, but in fact, the moment that thought arises, it is when we invade. If people do not have evil thoughts, demons cannot enter; or, one could say, it is people's own inner state that attracts demons to manifest and enter their bodies. I have never encountered a human in whom we could not find some weakness to attack or harm. It is no wonder that after the Demon King of Poison entered Practitioner Su's body and saw what he was doing, he ran away so quickly. That is the impressive thing about the Demon King of Poison—he could judge in a very short time that Practitioner Su had no flaws and knew he could not exert any power. He just did not expect that after leaving the body, he would be caught so quickly by Practitioner Su and sent to the Western Dharma-Nature Land.

Now, as I am being interviewed in the Western Dharma-Nature Land, my state of mind has changed a lot. When I tell my own story, there is no regret or emotion involved. This is the transformation and harvest I have gained during these days.

Reflections on the Dharma Assembly

The biggest difference here is seeing the grand and magnificent scenes of the Dharma assembly, which has allowed me to further understand Namo Amituofo. It was the first time I saw such a vast, golden light. This is a stark contrast to the darkness of the Demon Realm, and one can imagine it is caused by two extreme states of mind: extreme evil darkness and extreme Good light. Seeing so many Buddha or Bodhisattva with golden halos and golden light shields, and so many beings attending the Dharma assembly seeking Chao Du, everyone kneeling, bowing, or moving in an orderly fashion into the shining memorial tablets in the sky—everything proceeds in brightness. Even though it is night in the human world, there is no night in this space of deliverance; the brightness does not fade but becomes even more radiant.

Beings have an instinct to avoid darkness and demons, and to draw near to light and golden radiance. This is the instinct of humans and all beings; everything proceeds naturally. After going through these processes, I believe that if Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su can step forward to resolve the pandemic, it will be time for the demons to withdraw from this pandemic and let people return to their normal lives!

What is even more surprising is witnessing Practitioner Su's Dharma Body Chao Du, which is displayed to the fullest during the Dharma assembly! Practitioner Su, an awakened being, has a physical body, yet his spiritual Dharma Body can leave the body while the physical form remains, performing the act of delivering sentient beings. Using both the spirit and the body to save the spiritual realms, transform the Demon Realm, and deliver the pandemic demons so efficiently—to be able to encounter this is truly unexpected! What we have seen and heard here is simply inconceivable, and we are experiencing it firsthand!

The Buddha has given Mo Fu Zhong the Dharma name Shi Yong Qing. Namo Amituofo."