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| Demon Priest by Tawanabe Kyosai (1864) |
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.
Mara, demon-king of the sixth heaven
The most famous demon in Buddhism is Mara, who attempted to thwart the oncoming enlightenment of the Buddha under the bodhi tree by harassing him with demonic illusions and temptations.
“The Sanskrit word māra also means killing, death, pestilence, or obstacle … In Buddhist scriptures, Māra is the name of a devil king who rules over numerous devils who are his retinue. He is described as the great evil enemy of Shakyamuni Buddha and his teachings … Māra is identified with the devil king of the sixth heaven … [Dictionary of Buddhism at nichirenlibrary.org]”.
The sixth heaven is known in Sanskrit as the “Paranirmita-vaśa-vartin”, it is a world of desire, where Asuras freely make use of things created by others. Their lifespans are said to be thousands, if not billions, of years long. Mara and the Asuras of the sixth heaven delight in manipulating others and are said to harass and fool practitioners of Buddhism in order to dissuade and prevent them from attaining Buddhahood. However, not all demons are antithetical to Buddhism – as the stories of Hariti and the Ten Demon Daughters demonstrates.
Demons who convert to Buddhism
Hariti is not a demon from the sixth heaven, but rather the daughter of Yaksha demon from northern “India” (which could also mean central Asia). Yakshas are nature spirits who can be benevolent or malevolent – a bit like Fairies or Elves. It may be helpful at this point to keep in mind that demons in Buddhism are more like Demi Gods rather than creatures of Satan’s Hell.
Yaksha are associated with the benevolent God Vaishravana (associated with wealth – he may be something like the Germanic Freyr, the fertile ruler of the Elves, or perhaps like the Roman Dis Pater – ruler of Hades and underground wealth), as are another kind of demon called Rakshasha, who are notable shape-shifters said to enjoy eating men – the male Rakshasha are described as ugly and terrifying monsters while the females can be appear as extremely beautiful women.
A famous story is associated with Hariti – it is said she had hundreds of children and regularly killed the infants of others in order to feed her own. The parents of her victims pleaded with the Buddha to help and so he hid the youngest son of Hariti for seven days – during which time Hariti desperately searched for him. In despair she approached the Buddha to ask for his help. The Buddha returned her son after he pointed out to her the great suffering she had been inflicting on the bereaved parents of her victims. Hariti was thus moved by compassion and vowed to never kill another child (switching to feeding on pomegranates instead – there is a strange similarity to the Hellenic story of Demeter and Persephone which is probably not merely coincidental given that Hariti was worshipped in Gandhara – an area that was subject to Greek influence from the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century CE). Henceforth she transformed into a Buddhist deity of childbirth and the protection of small children.
Likewise, the Ten Demon Daughters, who are Rakshasi (the feminine form of Rakshasha), became protectors of those who uphold the Lotus Sutra. In chapter 26 of the Lotus Sutra it reads:
“At that time there were daughters of rakshasa demons, the first named Lamba, the second named Vilamba, the third named Crooked Teeth, the fourth named Flowery Teeth, the fifth named Black Teeth, the sixth named Much Hair, the seventh named Insatiable, the eighth named Necklace Bearer, the ninth named Kunti, and the tenth named Stealer of the Vital Spirit of All Living Beings. These ten rakshasa daughters, along with Mother of Demon Children [Hariti], her offspring, and her attendants, all proceeded to the place where the Buddha was and spoke to the Buddha in unison, saying, ‘World-Honored One, we too wish to shield and guard those who read, recite, accept, and uphold the Lotus Sutra and spare them from decline or harm. If anyone should spy out the shortcomings of these teachers of the Law and try to take advantage of them, we will make it impossible for him to do so.’ Then in the presence of the Buddha they pronounced these spells … [and] they spoke … saying: ‘If there are those who fail to heed our spells and trouble and disrupt the preachers of the Law, their heads will split into seven pieces … we will use our own bodies to shield and guard those who accept, uphold, read, recite, and practice this sutra. We will see that they gain peace and tranquillity, freeing them from decline and harm and nulling the effect of all poison herbs.’ The Buddha said to the rakshasa daughters, ‘Excellent, excellent! If you can shield and guard those who accept and uphold the mere name of the Lotus Sutra, your merit will be immeasurable. How much more so if you shield and guard those who accept and uphold it in its entirety, who offer alms to the sutra rolls, flowers, incense, necklaces … who burn various kinds of lamps … and who in this manner offer hundreds and thousands of varieties of alms. Kunti, you and your attendants should shield and guard teachers of the Law such as these!’ [nichirenlibrary.org]”.
Splitting heads “into seven pieces” sounds rather violent and not normally the kind of thing one expects from Buddhists – it may be a case of demons gonna demon, ie, they cannot help being what they are, but they can channel their energies in such a way as to gain merit that will be “immeasurable”. This is very much in keeping with the fundamental message of the Lotus Sutra, which is that Buddhist realisation is not confined to monkish elites, rather it is for everyone, whether male, female, human, non-human, dragon, child or demon.
Hence Nichiren wrote of the protective nature of these Buddhist demons:
“It is written that those who embrace the Daimoku [mantra] of the Lotus Sutra will be protected by the Mother of Demon Children [Hariti] and by the ten demon daughters. Such persons will enjoy the happiness of the wisdom king Craving-Filled [Ragaraja, similar to Venus or Cupid, thus the happiness of love] and the good fortune of the heavenly king Vaishravana [God of wealth]. Wherever your daughter may frolic or play no harm will come to her; she will move about without fear like the lion king. Among the ten demon daughters the protection of Kunti is the most profound. But your faith alone will determine these things [The Quotable Nichiren, World Tribune Press, at 172]”.
This is an interesting quote – on the one hand Nichiren indicates that practitioners of the Lotus Sutra will be protected by external forces (Hariti, the Ten Demon Daughters, Ragaraja and Vaishravana), but at the end of the quote he makes it clear that the mind state of the practitioner is the key factor. In Buddhism everything comes back to this, as it says in the first verse of the Dhammapada:
“All that we are is the result of our thoughts; it is founded on our thoughts and made up of our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. If a man speaks or acts with a harmful thought, trouble follows him as the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart [Bancroft (ed), The Dhammapada, Vega, at 35].”
A more contemporary approach to demons in Buddhism
Demons, in particular the Asuras of the sixth heaven, appear to be the embodiment of counter-Buddhists. The following lines from chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra, describing people who are unable to practice Buddhism due to over-privilege, sound very similar to the descriptions of Asuras:
“… arrogance and selfishness arise in their minds. Abandoning restraint, they give themselves up to the five desires and fall into the evil paths of existence [nichirenlibrary.org]”.
Every person has demonic tendencies (as well as divine tendences, animal tendencies, hellish tendences, etc) – these can be characterised as negative internal functions, selfish attachments and bad influences that prevent us from pursuing truth and cultivating a positive life state. Daisaku Ikeda writes:
“Devils in Buddhist mythology are personifications of negative internal functions. They represent selfish attachments and bad influences that hinder people’s pursuit of truth and that work to prevent them from cultivating a strong, positive life force [Ikeda, Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death, Middleway Press, at 67]”.
Ikeda further points out that a mind clouded by illusion is fundamentally vulnerable to becoming demonic:
“Just as our physical condition affects our mental state, our bodily health is greatly affected by the beliefs (or delusions) we hold and our attitude to life – factors that originate in the mind … [which is] especially subtle and susceptible to external influences. Replacing the illusions arising from the three poisons [greed, anger and foolishness, which are ‘essentially devilish’] with wisdom, courage and confidence generated by Buddhist practice becomes an important aspect of strengthening and sustaining our spiritual health – the foundation of physical and mental well-being [Ibid, at 67 and 70]”.
So what to do when you encounter demons? Respect the Buddha potential that resides within but get out of the way of harm!
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Sources:
- britannica.com
- britishmuseum.org
- Ikeda, Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death, Middleway Press
- Mills, Buddhism Explained, Silkworm Books
- nichirenlibrary.org
- The Quotable Nichiren, World Tribune Press
- tibetanbuddhistencyclopedia.com
Written by M' Sentia Figula (aka Freki), find me at neo polytheist and romanpagan.wordpress.com
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