The Thinking Skandha

VOLUME 8, Chapter 4

 

K4 Giving the name and pointing out the harm.
K5 Instructions to be aware and not become confused.

Sutra:

This is a ghost with great powers that in its old age has become a demon. It disturbs and confuses the good person. But when it tires of doing so, it will leave the other person's body. Then both the disciples and the teacher will get in trouble with the law. You should be aware of this in advance and not get caught up in the cycle of transmigration. If you are confused and do not understand, you will fall into the Relentless Hells.

Commentary:

This is a ghost with great powers that in its old age has become a demon. Ghosts become demons when they get old, just as people who don't practice virtuous deeds become rascals in their old age. As I have told you, the Chinese have a saying, "To be old and not to have died is to be a rascal." When people are old and experienced, they can make trouble. In the same way, old ghosts become demons. It disturbs and confuses the good person. Jealous of the cultivation of other people, the ghost destroys their samadhi power. But when it eventually tires of doing so, it will leave the other person's body and no longer possess him. Then both the disciples and the teacher will get in trouble with the law. That's equivalent to their falling into the hells.

There's a saying:

Someone deluded transmits his delusion,
So after the transmission, neither one understands.
The teacher falls into the hells,
And the disciple burrows in after him.

The same principle applies here. Because he hasn't met a teacher who truly understands, the disciple is also muddled. When he sees his teacher going to the hells, he follows his teacher there. The teacher turns around and says, "What did you come here for?" The disciple replies, "I saw you coming here, so of course I came along."

The teacher says, "Oh no! This isn't a good place. You shouldn't have come."

"But you came first. How could I not have followed you? I study with you, after all. I should go wherever you go," says the disciple.

The teacher thinks, "Ah, I've landed in the hells myself, and brought my disciple with me as well. I've really done wrong by you. I'm very sorry!" You should be aware of this in advance and not get caught up in the cycle of transmigration. If you are confused and do not understand, you will fall into the Relentless Hells.

J7 Greed to know past lives.
K1 Samadhi leads to craving and seeking.

Sutra:

Further, in the unhindered clarity and wonder that ensues after the feeling skandha is gone, this good person is untroubled by any deviant mental state and experiences perfect, bright concentration. Within samadhi, his mind craves more knowledge and understanding, so he diligently toils at examining and probing as he greedily seeks to know past lives.

Commentary:

Further, in the unhindered clarity and wonder that ensues after the feeling skandha is gone, this good person is untroubled by any deviant mental state and experiences perfect, bright concentration. Within samadhi, his mind craves more knowledge and understanding. While in samadhi, he wants to know more things, to have the knowledge of past lives. He works with intense vigor and does not fear suffering. So he diligently toils at examining and probing as he greedily seeks to know past lives.

K2 A demon dispatches a deviant force to possess a person.

Sutra:

At that time a demon from the heavens seizes the opportunity it has been waiting for. Its spirit possesses another person and uses him as a mouthpiece to expound the sutras and the dharma. This person, unaware that he is possessed by a demon, claims he has reached unsurpassed nirvana. When he comes to see that good person who seeks knowledge, he arranges a seat and speaks the dharma.

Commentary:

At that time a demon from the heavens seizes the opportunity it has been waiting for. Its spirit possesses another person and uses him as a mouthpiece to expound the sutras and the dharma. This person, unaware that he is possessed by a demon, not realizing that he's been taken over by a demon, claims he has reached unsurpassed nirvana. When he comes to see that good person who seeks knowledge, he arranges a seat and speaks the dharma.

K3 The demon?s words and deeds that mislead others.

Sutra:

There in the dharma assembly, inexplicably, that person may obtain an enormous precious pearl. The demon may sometimes change into an animal that holds the pearl or other jewels, bamboo tablets, tallies, talismans, letters, and other unusual things in its mouth. The demon first gives the objects to the person and afterwards possesses him.

Or he may fool his audience by burying the objects underground and then saying that a 'moonlight pearl' is illuminating the place. Thereupon the audience feels they have obtained something unique. He may eat only medicinal herbs and not partake of prepared food.

Or he may eat only one sesame seed and one grain of wheat a day and still look robust. That is because he is sustained by the power of the demon. He slanders bhikshus and scolds his assembly of disciples without fear of ridicule or rejection.

Commentary:

There in the dharma assembly, inexplicably, for no reason whatsoever, in the place where dharma is being spoken, that person may obtain an enormous precious pearl. It may be a diamond or something like a "wish-fulfilling pearl." The demon may sometimes change into an animal. The person who is speaking the dharma changes into an animal himself, explaining that Bodhisattvas can transform into anything. The animal that he changes into holds the pearl or other jewels, bamboo tablets, or tallies.

Tallies were used for official purposes in ancient times. Words were written on a piece of bamboo, which was then split so that part of the words appeared on each piece. When it was time to use the tallies, they would be put together. If the tallies matched, it would be a certified match. If the two parts did not match, that would mean it was inauthentic.

Talismans are used to subdue and catch demons, ghosts, goblins, and weird creatures. And the animal might carry letters and other unusual things in its mouth. All of these are strange, rare, and valuable objects. The demon first gives the objects to the person and afterwards possesses him.

Or he may fool his audience by burying the objects underground and then saying that a "moonlight pearl" is illuminating the place. He buries the pearl in the ground and then tricks his listeners, telling them, "There is a pearl which resembles the bright moon, emitting light there." Thereupon the audience feels they have obtained something unique. "Wow! This has to be for real. This can't be a demon," they say.

He is clearly a demon, yet they insist that he isn't. Alas for those who listen to his dharma! He may eat only medicinal herbs and not partake of prepared food. The demon often eats only herbs, not regular food. He doesn't eat good food. He may eat ginseng or other tonics and nourishing supplements. When I was in Hong Kong I met a person who said he didn't eat ordinary food. He acted as a medium for people who sought long life, sons, blessings, or other things.

Whenever he stayed in people's homes, he would announce he didn't eat ordinary food. What did he eat then? Walnuts. Walnuts are very nourishing, full of oil. If you eat them, your brain will be very good. You only have to eat a little to be full; if you usually eat one bowl of rice you only have to eat half a bowl of walnuts to be full. He also ate pine nuts. At any rate, he ate the most nutritious items. Or he may eat only one sesame seed and one grain of wheat a day and still look robust. Even so, he stays really fat, fatter than a pig. That is because he is sustained by the power of the demon.

He slanders bhikshus and scolds his assembly of disciples without fear of ridicule or rejection. He does nothing but slander those who have left the home-life. "Left-home people? what home did they leave? They don't cultivate at all. Left-home people aren't greedy for money? The more the better is their attitude." Or he says, "Why do you believe in him? He's just a person, after all. You're really an idiot." when people have faith in the bhikshus, he calls them idiots. He scolds his own disciples, calling them animals and all sorts of things. He's totally unafraid of any rebuttals.

[May 1989]

Disciple: "When he comes to see that good person who seeks knowledge, he arranges a seat and speaks the dharma."

Venerable Master: This means the demon. It goes to see the person who seeks knowledge of past lives.

Disciple: "There in the dharma assembly, inexplicably, that person may obtain an enormous precious pearl. The demon may sometimes change into an animal." Is this another demon? Venerable Master: No, it's the same one.

Disciple: Does the person possessed by the demon transform into an animal?

Venerable Master: Yes. To everyone, he appears to be an animal. He takes on a bizarre appearance. "First, the demon gives them to the person, and afterwards possesses him." "The person" is the one who seeks knowledge of past lives.

Disciple: The person who seeks knowledge of past lives is already possessed by a demon and has changed into an animal. And he's also holding the pearl and other gems in his mouth.

Venerable Master: He gives them to the people who are listening to the dharma. It isn't just one person. Perhaps he selects one among them. This is all hypothetical. It doesn't necessarily have to happen that way. Don't think that it has to be that way just because the Buddha said it. This is an example, and you should be able to understand other situations by inference. Don't be so rigid. Be flexible in your understanding, so that the next time such a situation occurs, you'll know, "Oh, this is the same as that example." Here he turns into an animal, but in another case he might turn into a Buddha.

Disciple: What about when it "Afterwards possesses him"? Whom does the demon possess?

Venerable Master: The demon possesses everyone.

Disciple: Are there other demons that come to possess everyone?

Venerable Master: No, the same demon can have innumerable transformation bodies. It can possess that person as well as other people.

Disciple: So it jumps around from one to the other? Venerable Master: It doesn't jump. It isn't just one; it can transform into many.

Disciple: Oh, so it can possess you, and it can also possess someone else. I never knew demons were so powerful!

Venerable Master: Demons are about as powerful as Buddhas. It's just that the one is deviant and the other is proper. What demons do is deviant, and what Buddhas do is proper. That's the difference. There's a person from Taiwan who has had such experiences. We can ask him to speak now. [To the layman] Tell everyone the whole story about how the demon transmitted the mind-dharma to you.

Layman: Venerable Master, dharma masters, and good advisors. I will talk about my experiences in non-Buddhist religions, what I saw and understood. Perhaps my experiences are not quite the same as the states caused by the demons from the heavens described by the Buddha. These demons can transform in endless ways, and what I saw is only one of their states.

As I share my experience, keep in mind that it is not the whole picture. The demons from the heavens manifest in many ways. They may or may not go through a medium. If you practice with an improper mind in an external sect, the demon can appear to you in the form of a person when you are meditating; it doesn't need a medium.

This sutra text says, "There in the dharma assembly, inexplicably, that person may obtain an enormous precious pearl." Because it says "There in the dharma assembly," I think that there are three parties: the medium, the speaker of dharma, and the listeners. The Venerable Master interprets "the person" as referring to the possessed person. That is one interpretation.

However, from what I understand and from the other explanations that I've read, I think "the person" refers to someone who hasn't been possessed yet. Why? Because the Buddha spoke the Shurangama Sutra in order to warn those who are not yet possessed, but whose minds have already gone astray. If they are not alert they will be possessed by demons. The Buddha wants to warn them. When the skandhas of form, feeling, and thinking come to an end, you should be especially cautious, for you may experience many of these states, and you need to know how to deal with them.

Two years ago, I went to the home of a layman who shaved his head like a monk's. He said that while meditating, a demon from the heavens possessed him and said, "Let me give you a 'wordless book from heaven,' or such and such a sutra." People went there because they were looking for a quick way to get enlightened. At that Way-place they used all kinds of methods, and I either saw or heard them talk about every one of the first thirty skandha-demon states.

For example, I saw the tallies, gems, and treasure troves. I also witnessed them eating meals of one sesame seed and one grain of wheat, or eating gluttonously. For example, in the case of "obtaining an enormous pearl" when you are meditating, someone will say, "May I give you this pearl?" If your mind is moved and you wish to have it, then through the medium, you stretch your hands out to take it. Once you accept it, you're in for trouble.

I'll talk about my personal experience. When I went to a certain place two years ago, the layman told me, "I can give you a wordless book from heaven. If you practice according to it for three years, you can obtain great spiritual powers." That day my mind was rather swayed, and I thought, "If you want to give me a 'wordless book from heaven', fine."

He said, "To accept it, raise both hands, and I'll give it to you."

After I received it, I went home, and the next day I kept reciting things that I did not understand. It sounded like Japanese, and then Thai, and then I was singing army songs dating from the Japanese Meiji reign, songs which I had never sung before. Although my voice is usually pretty bad, when I was singing those army songs, I could sing very high and very low, and it sounded better than the singers on television. I think the 'wordless book from heaven' is something like the tallies mentioned in the sutra.

There are two possibilities in the place where the dharma is spoken. The first is that you have not been possessed by the demon, and you cannot see what is happening. If you have not ended the form skandha, then you cannot see, either. In the other case, when you are meditating, the possessed person can see, and so can you. In one case, you and the possessed person are both in samadhi, and you can see whatever he gives you.

You can also see the external state, but it's just an illusion that he conjures up. In the other case, you cannot see, but your mind moves. The person says, "Can I give you this thing?" If you say, "Yes," then things change. However, if you say, "I don't want it," then the demon from the heaven cannot possess you, because it has to follow its own rules, too. As far as I know, all the external sects in Taiwan fall under the first thirty skandha-demon states, before the thinking and consciousness skandhas have been ended.

Our present interpretation may differ somewhat from the real incidents I just spoke of. In such situations, the demons from the heavens may appear in these ways to harm you and prevent you from attaining the Way. Since everyone is at a different level of cultivation, they appear in different ways each time. I just wanted to offer this for everyone to consider.

Sutra:

He is fond of talking about treasure troves in other locations, or of remote and hidden places where sages and worthies of the ten directions dwell. Those who follow him often see strange and unusual people.

Commentary:

He is fond of talking about treasure troves in other locations. What does he like to say? He says, "Hey, in a certain place there are gold, silver, and all kinds of jewels. Do you want some?" He spreads such rumors to delude the assembly. Or he is fond of talking of remote and hidden places where sages and worthies of the ten directions dwell. He tells people, "There are Buddhas and Bodhisattvas cultivating there without your knowing it." Those who follow him often see strange and unusual people. They may give off light or have other strange characteristics.

K4 Giving the name and pointing out the harm.

Sutra:

This is a ghost or spirit of the mountain forests, earth, cities, rivers, and mountains that in its old age has become a demon. The person it possesses may advocate promiscuity and violate the Buddha's precepts.

He may covertly indulge in the five desires with his followers. Or he may appear to be vigorous, eating only wild plants. His behavior is erratic, and he disturbs and confuses the good person.

But when the demon tires, it will leave the other person's body. Then both the disciples and the teacher will get in trouble with the law.

Commentary:

What kind of creature is this? This is a ghost or spirit of the mountain forests, earth, cities, rivers, and mountains that in its old age, after a long time, has become a demon. The person it possesses may advocate promiscuity and violate the Buddha's precepts. His lust-filled thoughts cause him to break the precepts. He may covertly indulge in the five desires with his followers, the people who are with him. The five desires are wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep.

Or he may appear to be vigorous, eating only wild plants. His behavior is erratic. He does not sit in meditation or cultivate. He only engages in unbeneficial ascetic practices, and he disturbs and confuses the good person, causing him to stop cultivating. But after a while, when the demon tires and grows bored, it will leave the other person's body. Then both the disciples and the teacher will get in trouble with the law.

K5 Instructions to be aware and not become confused.

Sutra:

You should be aware of this in advance and not get caught up in the cycle of transmigration. If you are confused and do not understand, you will fall into the Relentless Hells.

Commentary:

You should be aware of this in advance and not get caught up in the cycle of transmigration. Awaken to this early on, and don't fall into the demon's trap. Don't enter the demonic cycle of birth and death. If you are confused and do not understand, you will fall into the Relentless Hells.

J8 Greed for spiritual powers.
K1 Samadhi leads to craving and seeking.

Sutra:

Further, in the unhindered clarity and wonder that ensues after the feeling skandha is gone, this good person is untroubled by any deviant mental state and experiences perfect, bright concentration. Within samadhi, his mind craves spiritual powers and all manner of transformations, so he investigates the source of transformations as he greedily seeks for spiritual powers.

Commentary:

Further, in the unhindered clarity and wonder that ensues after the feeling skandha is gone, this good person who is cultivating the Way and practicing samadhi is untroubled by any deviant mental state and experiences perfect, bright concentration. Within samadhi, his mind craves spiritual powers. He has another false thought. He decides he wants to have great spiritual powers and all manner of transformations, so that he can display the eighteen transformations in midair.

He wants to be able to emit water from the upper part of his body and fire from the lower part he wants to emit fire from the upper part of his body and water from the lower part. He longs to be like the Arhats who can manifest these eighteen transformations while floating in the air, so he investigates the fundamental source, the principle of these transformations, as he greedily seeks for spiritual powers.

[January 1983]

A person is still vulnerable to possession by demons even after he has broken through the form and feeling skandhas. Breaking through the skandhas of form, feeling, thinking, formations, and consciousness is a very ordinary matter. It doesn't mean he truly has samadhi power and won't get possessed anymore. He is at a very high level; but even at that high level, he can still be possessed. Why? Because he still harbors love and greed in his mind. He may be greedy for knowledge, for spiritual powers, or for responses. His greed opens the door. He cannot become free from demonic possession just by thinking about it. In fact, he will only be more liable to become possessed.

K2 A demon dispatches a deviant force to possess a person.

Sutra:

At that time a demon from the heavens seizes the opportunity it has been waiting for. Its spirit possesses another person and uses him as a mouthpiece to expound the sutras and the dharma.

Commentary:

The demon that has been lying in wait sees its chance and sends a spirit to possess a person, through whom it speaks the sutras and the dharma.

K3 The demon's words and deeds that mislead others.

Sutra:

This person, truly unaware that he is possessed by a demon, also claims he has reached unsurpassed nirvana. When he comes to see that good person who seeks spiritual powers, he arranges a seat and speaks the dharma.

The possessed person may hold fire in his hands and, grasping a portion of it, put a flame on the head of each listener in the fourfold assembly. The flames on top of their heads are several feet high, yet they are not hot and no one is burned.

Or he may walk on water as if on dry land; or he may sit motionless in the air; or he may enter into a bottle or stay in a bag; or he may pass through window panes and walls without obstruction. Only when attacked by weapons does he feel ill at ease.

He declares himself to be a Buddha and, wearing the clothing of a lay person, receives bows from bhikshus. He slanders dhyana meditation and the moral regulations. He scolds his disciples and exposes people's private affairs without fear of ridicule or rejection.

Commentary:

This person is truly unaware that he is possessed by a demon. He also claims that he himself has reached the wondrous fruition of unsurpassed nirvana. When he comes to see that good person who seeks spiritual powers, he arranges a seat and speaks the dharma.

The possessed person may hold fire in one of his hands and, grasping a portion of it with his other hand, put a flame on the head of each listener in the fourfold assembly. One by one he puts a flame atop the heads of each of the people in the audience. The flames on top of their heads are several feet high. When he puts the flames there, they are small, and they grow bit by bit until they are several feet high. Yet they are not hot and no one is burned. They do not spread or set anything else on fire. Or he, the possessed person, may walk on water as if on dry, flat land; or he may walk or sit motionless in the air. There is nothing holding him up in the air, but he can sit in it.

Or he may enter into a bottle or stay in a bag; or he may pass through window panes and walls without obstruction. The doors and windows may be closed, but he can easily pass through them without opening them. He's not hindered in the least. Only when attacked by weapons does he feel ill at ease. He is afraid of being cut by knives and pierced by spears. That is because he still has a physical form which obstructs him.

Although he has five of the spiritual powers, he still fears being wounded by weapons. He declares himself to be a Buddha and, wearing the clothing of a lay person, not the attire of left-home people, receives bows from bhikshus. Dressed as a layperson, he receives bows from left-home people. He slanders dhyana meditation and the moral regulations as being useless and incorrect. And he scolds his own disciples and exposes people's private affairs. He discloses people's secrets without fear of ridicule or rejection by others.

Sutra:

He often talks about spiritual powers and self-mastery. He may cause people to see visions of Buddhalands, but they are unreal and arise merely from the ghost's power to delude people. He praises the indulgence of lust and does not condemn lewd conduct. He uses indecent means to transmit his dharma.

Commentary:

He often talks about various sorts of spiritual powers and self-mastery. He may cause people to see visions of Buddhalands throughout the ten directions, but they are unreal and arise merely from the ghost's power to delude people. He himself does not have any real skill in cultivation. What he praises most is the indulgence of lust. He says, "It's truly the most wonderful thing there is. It's the source of Bodhi and nirvana." And he does not condemn lewd conduct. He says, "There's nothing wrong with it. Don't bother holding precepts." He uses indecent means to transmit his dharma. He uses all this impure behavior as a means to transmit the dharma.

K4 Giving the name and pointing out the harm.

Sutra:

This is a powerful nature spirit: a mountain sprite, a sea sprite, a wind sprite, a river sprite, an earth sprite, or a grass and-tree sprite that has evolved over long ages. It may be a dragon-goblin; or a rishi who has been reborn as a goblin; or again a rishi who, having reached the end of his appointed time, should have died, but whose body does not decay and is possessed by a goblin.

In its old age it has become a demon. It disturbs and confuses the good person. But when it tires of doing so, it will leave the other person's body. Then both the disciples and the teacher will get in trouble with the law.

Commentary:

This is a powerful nature spirit: a mountain sprite, a sea sprite, a wind sprite, a river sprite, an earth sprite; or a grassand- tree sprite that has evolved over long ages. It may be a dragon-goblin; or it may be a rishi who, having cultivated for perhaps a thousand, two thousand, three thousand, or five thousand years, has been reborn as a demon-goblin at the end of his life. Or again, it may be a rishi who, having reached the end of his appointed time, should have died, but whose body after his death does not decay or change, and is possessed by a goblin.

In its old age it has become a demon. It disturbs and confuses the good person's power of samadhi. But eventually, when it tires of doing so, it will leave the other person's body. So long as the demon is there, the person possesses awesome spiritual power. But once the demon leaves, then both the disciples and the teacher will get in trouble with the law and their activities will be curtailed.

K5 Instructions to be aware and not become confused.

Sutra:

You should be aware of this in advance and not get caught up in the cycle of transmigration. If you are confused and do not understand, you will fall into the Relentless Hells.

Commentary:

Ananda, you should be aware of this in advance and not get caught up in the demonic cycle of transmigration. Don't fall into the demons' snare. If you are confused and do not understand, you will fall into the Relentless Hells.

previous    next    Contents

Volume 8 pages:  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16

17    18    19    20    21    22    23    24    25    26    27    28    29    30    31    32    33

return to top