Term: Demon King

When the Prince was about to attain enlightenment, the demons appeared and tried every means to disrupt him: first, they pretended to be respectful and asked him to enter Nirvana immediately, but he refused. They then used demonic weapons and magical artifacts, summoning wind and rain, but they could not harm him. The demons then changed tactics, sending three daughters to him, using seductive and alluring forms and sweet, seductive words, but all had to submit to his divine power.

After defeating the demons (external demons) and subtle afflictions (internal demons), Prince Siddhartha attained “Supreme Enlightenment” (Perfect Enlightenment), with the title “Shakyamuni Buddha,” and on that day, the eighth day of the twelfth month (when he was 30 years old). Having attained enlightenment, the Buddha immediately fulfilled his vow of great compassion. His first turning of the Wheel of Dharma was to go to the Deer Park (Forest of Asceticism), where he preached the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path to the five brothers Kaundinya. After hearing it, all five attained enlightenment and became Arhats. From then on, the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha were complete (the Buddha being Shakyamuni, the Dharma being the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, and the Sangha being the five brothers Kaundinya); and from that time on, the Buddha and the Sangha traveled everywhere, spreading the wondrous Dharma to widely save all levels of sentient beings.

The Demon King having failed to stop the prince Sakyamuni becoming fully enlightened swore that He will disrupt the sentient beings for ever.

A demon king is a powerful supernatural ruler of evil beings, appearing in diverse mythologies as a symbol of chaos, malevolence, and opposition to divine or human order.

Concept and Symbolism

The demon king often embodies ultimate evil or destructive forces within a mythological framework. In many cultures, these figures serve as antagonists to gods, heroes, or humanity, representing chaos, temptation, or moral challenges. They frequently illustrate the duality of good and evil, human inner conflict, and the consequences of hubris or moral failure.

(CGSG:TT 1975)

The king of demons, the lord of demons, the leader of the demons. According to the Buddhist Dictionary, there are many types of demons, but in essence, they fall into two categories:

• The kind-hearted demons often support virtuous people.

• The vicious demons frequently disrupt the people and Buddhism, understood similarly to the Demon King. However, the term “Demon King” here refers to the vicious demons, especially those targeting Taoism, particularly Buddhism. They create numerous sects, doctrines, forms, amulets, magic, mind-reading, superstitions, etc., to harm Buddhism. In the lecture “Eleven Chapters,” the monk selling sweet potatoes said: “Five years and six months of hardship, The Demon King caused chaos, bringing no peace to the world. He wanted to seize every place, Pity the Qin Kingdom, which was left with only two out of ten parts.”

Synonyms: kind-hearted demons can be called good spirits, and the vicious demons be evil spirits.