The Demon's Long Journey Home

This is a record of an interview with Mo Digang, an ancient demon who existed four point six billion years ago. He sought Chao Du at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia and now resides in the Western Dharma-Nature Land. This interview was recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on December 11, 2023.

Mo Digang speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Mo Digang. Once, I followed the Buddha, but I felt abandoned by Him. Out of resentment and injustice, I cast myself into the Demon Realm, becoming a great demon who committed every imaginable evil. I have remained in this state for four point six billion years.

I once possessed a physical body—a precious vessel I had obtained with great difficulty. I did not want to lose this shell easily, so I cherished it, protected it, and exhausted every means to extend its utility. In the language of Earth's people today, I was obsessed with 'extending my lifespan.'

The Search for Longevity and the First Encounter with Dharma

To extend my life, I searched everywhere. I tried every secret recipe I could find, though I never knew if they truly worked. Later, I encountered the Buddha's teachings. At that time, the Dharma had just been introduced to our planet. Many did not recognise it, myself included, but I heard that practising the Buddha's path could extend one's life. So, I was willing to try.

What is the purpose of practising the Buddha's path? Why should one do it? Initially, I chose to practise solely because I wanted to live a little longer. But after listening to the Buddha expound the sutras, I discovered that the practice was not about that at all. To practise the Buddha's path is to learn to change oneself, to dedicate oneself to others, to sacrifice the self, and to reach a state of true, complete no-self. That is a lofty realm—the state that all Buddhist practitioners strive for, to be like the Buddha.

The Illusion of Sacrifice

When I began to understand this, I started to retreat. That was not what I wanted; I wanted to live for myself, not for others. Just as I was preparing to leave, a Venerable one called out to me. He said, 'If you live only for yourself, your lifespan will not be extended. In fact, you may even shorten it, because you are depleting your own blessings every single day.'

I was astonished. I asked, 'Then what is the right way to act?' The Venerable replied, 'Try to let go of your attachment to this body, and you will be able to learn more. Only when you learn to sacrifice and dedicate yourself to others will you truly gain more.'

His words seemed to make sense, yet I did not fully grasp them. However, his message touched my heart enough to make me decide to stay and practise for a while. I gave myself a period—neither too long nor too short—to completely transform. If converted to Earth's time, it was roughly ten years. Yes, I intended to use those ten years to practise, to change my body, and to learn the meaning of sacrifice and dedication.

The Failure of the Ego

During those ten years, I often wanted to give up because the path of practice was not easy. Facing the misunderstanding and slander of those around me, I suffered great blows. I had family members who loved me, but because they did not understand the Dharma and could not forgive my choices, they left me and would not allow me to return to the home I once knew.

For the sake of the Dharma, I had invested everything; I kept nothing back. The Venerable praised my decision, but after ten years, what had I gained? I looked at my own body; in those ten years, it had aged and even begun to show signs of illness. I knelt before the Buddha, pointed my finger at Him, and asked: 'I have sacrificed everything, I have dedicated everything. What have I actually gained?'

The Buddha always smiled at me without speaking. I did not understand what this meant. Later, I asked the Venerable if those ten years were truly worth it. He replied, 'In these ten years, you have indeed tried hard to learn sacrifice and dedication, but what you learned was only an external performance. In your true inner self, you have not changed because of this practice; instead, you are still acting for your own sake.' I did not agree with his words; I did not believe I was as he described.

The Venerable suggested, 'If you want to achieve a true change both inside and out, then give yourself another ten years.' When I heard that I had to commit another ten years, I was nearly driven to madness. To me, I had come to extend my life, not to waste it here.

When I displayed this attitude before the Venerable, he smiled and said, 'Look, this is the real you. This 'you' is very selfish.'

The Descent into Darkness

I did not deny my selfishness, nor did I feel there was anything wrong with it. My ego-attachment and my views were too strong, so much so that after ten years of practice, I had not changed much. I was like a stubborn stone, unable to be easily moulded into another shape.

In my ignorance, I blamed the Buddha for my own faults. I felt that the Buddha was unfair, that He helped others but not me, which led to my current downfall. I hated Him; I was angry; I was unwilling to accept that I had become this way. I felt the Buddha moving further and further away from me. Foolishly, I thought it was the Buddha who did not want me, not knowing the truth was that my heart had moved away from the Buddha first.

My intense hatred quickly attracted demonic power into my body. In truth, my selfishness had always been a form of demon nature. For those ten years, my selfishness had not changed, which meant my demon nature had not weakened. Now that I chose to leave the Buddha, I naturally and quickly invited all the demon crowds in. Great swarms of demons entered my body, telling me, 'If you want to live longer, we can help you.'

I was delighted to hear this and was more than willing to let my body be used by the demons. They used my body to destroy the Dharma, to slander the Dharma, and finally to make the Dharma disappear forever from the planet where I resided. On the day the Buddha withdrew, it was shocking to see the entire planet plunge into total darkness.

The Path of Destruction

I did not know why it had turned out this way. The demons were still laughing, constantly telling me, 'This is the right thing to do; do not doubt it.' My heart felt not a shred of repentance. I blamed everything on the Buddha, believing that He had harmed our planet and all its citizens. I vowed that if I ever had the power, I would take revenge for our people.

My hatred and desire for revenge led me into the Demon Realm. I was happy to have joined the Demon Realm, as it meant I could now use demonic power to destroy the Dharma. Throughout the universe, wherever there was the Dharma, that was where I would attack. I constantly strengthened my demonic power and invaded one planet after another.

My method of invasion was to enter the planet, control those who were propagating the Dharma, and seize their subtle thoughts, causing them to lose the ability to control themselves. Then, we would slowly occupy their bodies bit by bit, using their shells to distort the true meaning of the Dharma and destroy its authentic transmission. I used this method to vent my hatred, but I never considered how many sentient beings I had prevented from attaining liberation, nor did I realise that I was harming myself and creating immeasurable sins.

The Encounter with Practitioner Su

Not long ago, I found Practitioner Su. I knew this was also a Buddhist bodhimanda, but what was different was that this place had the ability to communicate with us and could perceive the existence of us demon crowds. I was surprised that such a place existed, and I quickly brought my 'demon children and grandchildren' to attack.

I observed this place carefully; it was indeed different from other places. What surprised me most was that from all directions, including the entire sky above, it was filled with demon crowds. These demons had not come because they were in sync with human demon nature; rather, they had all come to attack Practitioner Su, wanting to conquer him to protect the Demon Realm.

I had destroyed the Dharma on so many planets, yet I had overlooked Practitioner Su, allowing him to take away so many of our partners from the Demon Realm. I could not accept this. I immediately issued orders for my demon children and grandchildren to attack Practitioner Su together.

I watched Practitioner Su's reaction. His body clearly showed me that he had been affected by demonic power; there must have been pain. But Practitioner Su did not surrender. He continued to perform Chao Du, continued to help beings. We were unwilling to see this, so we strengthened our demonic power and tried to shift our attacks to other parts of his body, but the results were not what we expected. Practitioner Su launched a massive counter-attack. All the demon crowds suffered; not a single demon on the scene survived. All were subdued by the Buddha-light and taken away, entering the Western Dharma-Nature Land here.

Mo Digang

The Buddha gave Mo Digang the Dharma name 'Shi Qingshan.'

Reflections on the Thrice Yearning Ceremony

After entering the Western Dharma-Nature Land, I saw many demon crowds there. I tried to unite the power of all the demons so that we could all exert our strength to resist Practitioner Su. When I proposed this alliance, not a single demon agreed with me. It meant that not one demon identified with my idea.

I asked everyone why they refused. One Demon King replied, 'We are no longer demons now.' Another Demon King said, 'As soon as we entered here, we lost our demonic power; it is impossible to unite any demonic power anymore.' Another said, 'We are so grateful to Practitioner Su now that it is too late; how could we ever want to attack him?'

These Demon Kings told me their thoughts one after another, and only then did I realise that all the demon crowds I saw before me were already standing on Practitioner Su's side. They were my enemies; it was impossible for them to unite with me to attack Practitioner Su.

I could not believe that such a thing could happen, especially since many of the Demon Kings present were famous great demons and ancient demons. Even they identified with Practitioner Su—how could this be? I was at my wit's end, and the demonic power in my body was rapidly draining and weakening. This made me feel a bit panicked; I did not know what to do.

As I sat on the lotus seat, my heart unexpectedly calmed down at that moment. Under the illumination of the Buddha-light, my demon nature was purified. I could not believe I would undergo such a change.

I saw Su Fo's countless billions of manifestations performing Chao Du for beings. I looked closely to see what Practitioner Su was actually doing. I saw his countless billions of manifestations entering countless billions of different spaces, rapidly performing Chao Du for the spirits in each space. He brought in twelve rays of Buddha-light, purifying every space. Those beings who wished to depart and sought deliverance were all able to leave those spaces.

Not only that, Practitioner Su struck the qing loudly in those spaces. One thunderous sound saved immeasurable and boundless beings. Even the vast, boundless demon crowds that had arrived at the scene were all absorbed after that single, thunderous sound.

I felt incredible awe at Practitioner Su's Dharma power. I never imagined that someone could practise to such a high realm. Now, I have the utmost respect for Practitioner Su. I no longer think about how to leave this place; instead, I am fortunate to have been saved to this Buddha-land, where I can follow Practitioner Su to learn the skills and join him in saving sentient beings.

Shi Qingshan"