He is fond of saying that he can go places and come back without hindrance, perhaps traveling ten thousand miles and returning in the twinkling of an eye. He can also bring things back from wherever he goes. Or he may tell someone to walk from one end of the room to the other, a distance of just a few paces. Then even if the person walked fast for years, he could not reach the wall. Therefore, people believe in the possessed person and mistake him for a Buddha.

He is fond of saying that he can go places and come back without hindrance. What does this demon like to say? He says, “In this very moment I can go some place a thousand or even ten thousand miles away, and return in the same moment. I can go to Japan without taking a plane, buy merchandise and bring it back with me. If you don’t believe it, I’ll give you a demonstration.” He is always showing off his spiritual powers. He wants people to see the inconceivable feats he can perform. He says, “I can go and come freely, in no time at all, perhaps traveling ten thousand miles and returning in the twinkling of an eye. I can go and return in the time it takes you to inhale and exhale.”

Not only that, he can also bring things back from wherever he goes. He can buy things and bring them back. “You don’t believe me?” he’ll say. “See this item? It came from such and such a company in Japan—their exclusive model, only available for purchase on site.” Then he shows them a radio or a tape recorder of Japanese make, which has not passed through customs or been imported, and which actually was manufactured by the company in Japan.

Or he may tell someone to walk from one end of the room to the other, a distance of just a few, maybe seven or eight, paces. Then even if the person walked fast for years, he could not reach the wall. He couldn’t cover that small floor-space at a dead run even in a year’s time. Seeing such displays, therefore, people believe in the possessed person and mistake him for a Buddha. They think, “Oh! This is a Buddha coming to teach us the Dharma.”

He often says, “All beings in the ten directions are my children. I gave birth to all Buddhas. I created the world. I am the original Buddha. I created this world naturally, not due to cultivation.

He often says, “You know, all beings in the ten directions are my children. I gave birth to all Buddhas. Do you know whose sons the Buddhas are? They are my sons.” He shamelessly boasts that he gave birth to all Buddhas. “I created the world. I am the original Buddha. I was the first Buddha. There weren’t any Buddhas before me. I created this world naturally, not due to cultivation. I created this world spontaneously. And I was already a Buddha when I came into the world. I didn’t have to cultivate to become a Buddha.”

This may be a chamunda sent from the retinue of the demon in the Heaven of Sovereignty, or a youthful pishacha from the Heaven of the Four Kings that has not yet brought forth the resolve. It takes advantage of the person’s luminous clarity and devours his essence and energy. Or perhaps without having to rely on a teacher, the cultivator personally sees a being that tells him, “I am a Vajra Spirit who has come to give you long life.” Or the being transforms itself into a beautiful woman and engages him in frenzied lust, so that within a year his vitality is exhausted. He talks to himself; and to anyone listening he sounds like a goblin. The people around him do not realize what is happening. In most cases such a person will get in trouble with the law. But before he is punished, he will die from depletion. The demon disturbs and confuses the person to the point of death.

This may be a chamunda sent from the retinue of the demon in the Heaven of Sovereignty. Chamunda is a Sanskrit word that means “slave ghost,” a ghost that does the work of a slave. It also means “jealous ghost” because it is always jealous of anything good that anyone else has. It tries to thwart people who want to study the Buddhadharma. If someone wants to be good, it drags him in a bad direction. It’s a bad ghost. The demon in the Heaven of Sovereignty sends this kind of ghost to disturb the cultivator of samadhi. Or it may send a youthful pishacha from the Heaven of the Four Kings. Pishacha ghosts specialize in devouring essence. They eat the essence of various grains and plants and of humans as well. When men and women engage in sexual conduct, a kind of essence flows forth, and that’s what they eat. Whenever people engage in sexual conduct, there are lots of ghosts waiting on the sidelines to eat the essence. It’s very dangerous.

This is a pishacha ghost that has not yet brought forth the resolve. It takes advantage of the person’s luminous clarity and devours his essence. Those who have not brought forth the resolve, such as the youthful pishacha and others, crave the cultivator’s bright clarity and his soul. They consume his essence, but he remains unaware of it.

Or perhaps without having to rely on a teacher, the cultivator personally sees a being that tells him, “I am a Vajra-wielding Dharma-protecting Spirit who has come to give you long life. Now I’ve come to give you longevity. You’ll be able to live a long time.” Or after saying that, the being transforms itself into a beautiful woman and engages him in frenzied lust. “Frenzied” means that they engage in this activity of lust over and over again, nonstop, so that within a year his vitality is exhausted. Under the strain, his vitality is depleted before a year is up. His essence, energy, and spirit all “dry up,” because this is too excessive. The key word here is “frenzied.” It’s not describing any ordinary occurrence. It’s not referring to the usual manner in which such activities are performed. It’s certain that the beautiful woman says, “The more you indulge in lust, the longer your life will be. You will attain long life.” In his greed for long life, he fails to realize his life is getting shorter by the minute. He’s totally spent before a year is up.

To be continued