The Demon's Shock: When the Palace Fell

This is a record of an interview with the Primordial Demon Tuwa, 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 existence spanning approximately 660 trillion years. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa, on October 7, 2024.

Tuwa speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. The place where I dwell is entirely a deep, profound cyan—a colour I have always favoured. I have a natural affinity for the dark, though not a total, suffocating blackness. It is that specific, deep shade of cyan that feels most like home to me. For the six hundred and sixty trillion years that I have existed as a demon, I have never once ventured into a place of light. Everywhere I have travelled, I have ensured that not a single glimmer of brightness existed. The paths I walk are paths of darkness, and that is where I find my comfort.

My 'demon children and grandchildren' are well aware of my temperament. Having followed me for so long, they have been deeply influenced by my nature. Like me, they have no desire to approach the light. We avoid any place where light shines, for such environments are fundamentally incompatible with our existence. We naturally steer clear of them, as those places are simply not meant for us."

The Aurora Bridge and the Dharma Realm

"The entire Dharma Realm is vast—so vast that you cannot even perceive its boundaries. Within this expanse, it is quite easy to find places devoid of light because there are countless demons residing here, and most of us share this aversion to brightness. Of course, there are some demons who do enjoy light, but the light they crave is never the brilliant, golden radiance of the Buddha. Instead, they prefer strange, shimmering hues—green, silver, or blue. If I were to use an analogy from your world, it would be like the auroras on Earth. That is the light of our Demon Realm; it serves as a bridge connecting our realm to the human world. Immeasurable and boundless numbers of demon crowds manifest within those auroras.

For us, the Dharma Realm is our home. We feel a profound sense of belonging here. It is our territory, and we do not leave it lightly. We, the 'old demons' and 'ancient demons,' have existed in this realm for hundreds of millions, even trillions of years. We hold a deep, deep emotional attachment to this place. We use our demonic power to protect the Dharma Realm, ensuring that no other forces seeking to destroy it can easily enter or cause harm."

The Sanctuary of the Dark Palace

"Within the Dharma Realm, we are able to nourish our demonic power. I constructed a palace—a fortress much like the ones you have on Earth—to serve as my base. I used my favourite deep cyan colour for its construction. The entire palace appears dark and shadowy, yet it is not entirely black; it is a very deep, dark cyan that possesses a unique character I have always cherished.

Many of my demon children and grandchildren live within this palace, where we can cultivate and strengthen our power. I have cast spells upon the palace so that any of my kin who return here can draw upon its inherent demonic energy to enhance their own strength and heal their wounds. They need this healing because some of them are not yet fully mature in their power, and they inevitably sustain injuries while wandering outside. But there is no cause for concern; as long as they can return to the palace, no matter how severe their injuries, the palace's power can restore them completely. It is truly remarkable. This is why my demon children and grandchildren can roam freely without fear. They do not fear failure or injury; they simply exert themselves to the fullest, knowing they can always return to the palace to recover.

This is the method I use to lead my kin. It allows them to grow at the fastest possible rate. By letting them roam and experiment, they can unleash greater power and gain deeper insights. Consequently, the number of my demon children and grandchildren has grown significantly, and each one possesses formidable power. This is a source of great pride for me."

The Unthinkable Destruction

"Because the number of my kin continues to increase, I had already made plans to construct a second palace to accommodate them. However, before I could even begin the construction, the unthinkable happened. I truly never imagined that such a thing could occur within the Dharma Realm. It was completely beyond my expectations: Practitioner Su destroyed my palace!

I have been in the Dharma Realm for so long, and I never thought anyone would dare to invade. The reason I was unaware of this threat was that I only ever travelled toward the darkest places. I avoided any location with light, so I had no idea that such a powerful golden light existed within our realm. One day, I led my kin to a place of extreme darkness—a place so dark you could not even see your own hand in front of your face. My kin were immediately excited, as we thrive in such conditions. We thought we had discovered a precious land that no other demon had yet found.

However, we had not been there long before light began to permeate the darkness. My kin asked in astonishment, 'How can there be light? Where is it coming from?' I did not know either; we had never encountered such light before. What began as a mere sliver of light quickly grew into a massive, brilliant golden radiance. My kin were terrified. I immediately told them, 'It is nothing, nothing at all. We just need to leave.' We fled that place of extreme darkness as quickly as we could, intending to return to our palace."

The Aftermath of the Golden Light

"The moment we returned, we saw that our palace had been completely levelled. Furthermore, our palace, which had always existed in a shroud of darkness, was now surrounded by an intense, brilliant light. I was completely stunned. I thought to myself, 'What is happening here?' I immediately used my demonic power to replay the events before my eyes. I conjured a large mirror so that my kin could see what had transpired. As soon as the mirror appeared, the scene began to play out.

The palace had been standing in all its glory within the darkness. Shortly after we had left, rays of light began to appear around it. When I saw those first slivers of light, I exclaimed, 'Is this not the same light we just encountered?' I watched on, horrified. Soon, the slivers of light transformed into a vast expanse of golden radiance. Then, a person appeared. He wielded such incredible light that, in a very short time, he had completely demolished my palace. Even after he left, the golden light did not fade; the area remained bright, unable to return to its original darkness. The scene before us was simply a ruined palace sitting in the middle of a sea of brilliant golden light.

I was consumed by rage. I shouted, 'Go and find that person!' My kin immediately set out to execute my command. I stood there, staring at the ruins of my palace, feeling a deep, aching pain. That palace had been my home for six hundred and sixty trillion years. It contained so much of my heart's blood and effort. I had infused it with my own demonic power, which was why it was so strong—yet that strength had been shattered so easily. It was as if it had been effortless for him."

The Confrontation with Practitioner Su

"My kin returned quickly. They reported that the one who had destroyed the palace was Practitioner Su, a human from Earth. He had been using his Dharma Body to enter the Dharma Realm for some time, taking away many demons—especially the 'old demons' and 'ancient demons'—along with countless other beings. I had never heard the name 'Practitioner Su' before, but as I listened to my kin describe his actions, I became truly furious. How could a human being do such a thing? I immediately told my kin, 'I, Tuwa, have been in the Dharma Realm for so long and have such a deep sense of belonging here. Now that my realm has faced such a grave situation, I cannot sit idly by. I must go to Earth. No matter what, I must deal with Practitioner Su. I want him to return to me a brand-new, identical palace, or I will not let this matter rest.'

I brought an army of demon children and grandchildren from one thousand Earths to confront Practitioner Su. When we arrived, we saw that he was surrounded by the fourfold assembly of disciples, so I quickly used my thought power to transmit a message back to the Dharma Realm, calling for an additional ten Earths' worth of demon crowds to come and assist. These reinforcements were specifically tasked with controlling the fourfold assembly.

I was already well aware of Practitioner Su's power, so we did not intend to stay long. We planned to resolve the situation quickly to win the battle. We were not the only ones there; other old and ancient demons had also arrived, filled with resentment and hatred, bringing their own demon crowds. We had all agreed to attack together to maximise our power. At the very moment we were prepared, we unleashed our full force, directing all our demonic power toward Practitioner Su's throat, firing it like arrows!"

A Lesson in Humility

"Practitioner Su's throat was immediately struck by our combined power, and the attack was severe. The fourfold assembly of disciples naturally tried to defend, but they posed no real threat to us, so we did not waste much effort on them. We simply controlled their consciousness, their mental notes, and their states of mind, causing them to become mentally scattered, physically exhausted, and unable to focus on their practice. The situation looked very promising for us. However, Practitioner Su was not a man to be trifled with. We had only been attacking him for a short while when he immediately launched a counter-attack.

His counter-attack captured us all in a single stroke. So many old and ancient demons, and so many demon crowds, were all taken by Practitioner Su. We were completely dumbfounded! Only then did we realise the truth: we were never his match. We watched as Practitioner Su captured us all in a matter of moments, whereas we had gone to such great lengths to travel from the Dharma Realm, only to cause a minor injury to his throat.

Now, we are all here in the Western Land of Dharma Nature. We have lost completely, and we have nothing left to say. We are trying to adjust, to slowly accept the fact that we have left the Dharma Realm and that we were defeated by Practitioner Su. Even if it feels shameful and humiliating, we have no choice but to accept it. Some of our old demons have even begun to learn to chant Namo Amituofo. Even if it feels unnatural, we must do it, because we are now in the Western Land of Dharma Nature and can never return. We can only change ourselves and learn to adapt to this new environment."

Tuwa