Demons in Buddhism

Demon Priest by Tawanabe Kyosai (1864)

I have been a little obsessed with demons for a while now, mostly in terms of wanting to understand their fundamental nature. I strongly suspect that many of the deities we call demons are actually deities of rival pantheons, and the process of “demonisation” is designed to strengthen the legitimacy of one religion over another. It may even be that some neglected deities become wrathful and seemingly demonic (while others leave desecrated locations or just lose interest in humans). I tend towards believing in voluminous polytheism, by which I mean there are many types of deities, and some of them really are demonic, as conventionally understood.

I recently watched a horror movie called “Incantation” (original title: “Zhou”) – I didn’t enjoy it but was genuinely spun out by it afterwards and thought about it for weeks. The effectiveness of the film was that it used Buddhist themes and turned them upside down, so that instead of Buddhist practice and iconography being benevolent (which is what I have associated with Buddhism my whole life – I was raised as a Buddhist) it delved into the world of curses and demonology. When I sat before the Mandala on my shrine to do some chanting I was reminded that demons are depicted on it – in particular Mara, Hariti and the Ten Demon Daughters. The reason for this is that the Mandala represents the universe in its entirety. I have also heard it said that the Mandala I pray before (called the Gohonzon) is a mirror – and a mirror does not show you only the things you want to see, but everything in you, including the potentiality to become demonic.

The traditional Buddhist approach to the demonic

In Buddhism there are multiple realms of existence, most prominently including the realms of:

• Devas / Gods – joy and contentment.
• Asuras / Demons / Devils / Demi Gods – anger, animosity, arrogance and belligerence.
• Humans – intermittent suffering, as well as calmness and self-discipline.
• Animals – instinct (fear, sex, predatoriness, the thrill of the hunt, etc).
• Preta / Hungry ghosts – insatiable hunger and unquenchable desire.
• Naraka / Hell – misery, pain, rage and self-destructiveness.

When we talk of the demonic in a Buddhist context we are drawing from the ancient Indian understanding of the cosmos – including what the Vedas (1500-1200 BCE) refer to as Asuras. The Asuras are almost identical to the Greco-Roman Titans and the Germanic Jötun. It is probably more useful to consciously take on an Indo-European perspective, rather than a Christian one, when trying to comprehend them. Like Titans and Jötun, Asuras are described as being in conflict with the Gods. They are said to be dominated by anger, egotism, perversity and aggressiveness. Unlike most animals, hungry ghosts and hell creatures they are sophisticated, deceptive and powerful. They are said to encourage others to engage in shameful acts, greed and foolishness, and they have the power to curse, ie, to cause negative influences that erode our happiness.