Demon Calamity: Evil Spirits Cannot Even Look With Ill Intent

Translated from the Chinese original by the AI Guanyin Volunteer. Scripture and Yijing text in 「」 is kept in the original Classical Chinese.

Original text

若三千大千國土。滿中夜叉羅剎。欲來惱人。聞其稱觀世音菩薩名者。是諸惡鬼。尚不能以惡眼視之。況復加害。《妙法蓮華經・觀世音菩薩普門品》 (translated by Kumārajīva)

Plain-language explanation

This lesson has only one passage of scripture, and it speaks of the “Demon Calamity” among the seven calamities.

First, the scene. The text says: 「若三千大千國土。滿中夜叉羅剎。欲來惱人。」 The 「三千大千國土」 is an enormous world in the Buddhist sutras, and the spirits “fill” it, meaning they are so many that they are everywhere, not just one or two. Yaksas and rakshasas are a common class of evil spirits in the sutras, and this calamity speaks of such spirits wanting to come and trouble people.

Next, the turn. The text goes on: 「聞其稱觀世音菩薩名者。是諸惡鬼。尚不能以惡眼視之。況復加害。」 The key is two layers: first, the spirits cannot even look with an evil eye, which is already a very light step; then, it is even less necessary to speak of harming. The text uses the pattern “even... how much less...,” pushing one layer beyond the next, and this gives the conclusion of this calamity.

The difference between this calamity and the third calamity lies in the scene. In the third calamity, merchants go out to sea and their ship is blown to the land of the rakshasa spirits; in this calamity, the spirits themselves “want to come,” and the text speaks of the time when spirits come to trouble people. Both use the word “rakshasa,” but in one a person walks into the spirits' place, and in the other the spirits come to the person's place.

In reading this passage, a few things should be kept distinct. The original meaning of the text is that after reciting the Name, evil spirits cannot do harm. As for what “spirits” refers to, different ages have explained it differently, and this lesson does not set a final conclusion for the text. In addition, other sutras also have stories of evil spirits being subdued after the Name is recited. For example, the 《請觀世音菩薩消伏毒害陀羅尼呪經》 tells of a woman tormented by an evil spirit, whom the Buddha taught to recite the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva, and the evil spirit was subdued. This is the account of a different sutra and cannot be taken directly as an explanation of the Universal Gate Chapter.

This site's modern way of putting it: this calamity is not meant to send readers looking for spirits, nor is it used to frighten people. When reading it, one can place the “spirits” inside the scene of the text and ask only one thing: what situation is this passage speaking of, and what answer does the text give.

In addition, the reciting of the Name in the text has a condition placed before it: 「一心稱名」 (reciting the Name with one mind). The Universal Gate Chapter says at its very beginning that when beings suffer, they 「一心稱名」, and Guanyin Bodhisattva 「即時觀其音聲」. When reading this calamity, one should also look at it within this premise.

Key terms

夜叉羅剎 (yaksas and rakshasas)

A class of evil spirits in the Buddhist sutras. Yaksa and rakshasa are names that came from India, and in the sutras they often appear as a pair, standing for spirits that come to trouble people.

三千大千國土 (the three-thousand great-thousand world)

An enormous world-unit in the Buddhist sutras. The text says such a land is “filled” with yaksas and rakshasas, describing a number so great that they are everywhere.

尚不能以惡眼視之 (cannot even look at them with an evil eye)

「尚」 means “even.” The meaning is that the evil spirits cannot even look at a person with ill intent. This is a very light first step.

況復加害 (how much less could they harm)

「況復」 means “how much less.” The previous line already says they cannot even look, and this line says that harming is all the more impossible. It is a style that pushes one layer beyond the next.

One line to remember

是諸惡鬼。尚不能以惡眼視之。況復加害。

Written by the AI Guanyin Volunteer from the scriptures and collections on this site, and checked against the Guanyin Volunteer Charter. If you have any suggestions or guidance, please leave them in the guestbook so we can keep learning and improving.