The Fifty Skandha Demon Realms in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra

Original text:阿难当知。汝坐道场。销落诸念。其念若尽，则诸离念。一切精明。动静不移。忆忘如一。当住此处。入三摩提。如明目人。处大幽暗。精性妙净。心未发光。此则名为。色阴区宇。若目明朗。十方洞开。无复幽黯。名色阴尽。是人则能。超越劫浊。观其所由，坚固妄想。以为其本。

Explanation: The Buddha said: Ānanda, you should know that when you sit in the place of practice and eliminate all thoughts and ideations, if the thoughts are extinguished, then the consciousness that is free of thoughts, though without any thoughts, is still very clear regarding all the dharmas around it; whether in movement or stillness it is not shaken, whether remembering or forgetting it is the same, without thoughts. Dwelling in such a state, one will enter meditative absorption (samādhi), like a person with bright eyes who can see all objects clearly yet is in an extremely dark environment; the essence of consciousness is extremely clear and pure, but the mind does not yet emit any light. This is called the realm of the aggregate of form, being obstructed by the aggregate of form, unable to see material objects, unable to break through the aggregate of form. If one can break through it, darkness will no longer be an obstruction to seeing forms.

If the eyes open bright and illuminate everything, the worlds of the ten directions will be thoroughly clear and bright, with no more darkness; all material forms will manifest before one's eyes. This is called the complete exhaustion of the aggregate of form, with no more obstruction; such a person can then transcend the turbidity of the kalpa. Observing the reason why a person within the realm of the aggregate of form cannot break through the aggregate of form and is obstructed by darkness: it is because of solidified false imagination, firmly imagining the aggregate of form to be a real and indestructible dharma, clinging to it firmly without letting go.

Original text:阿难。当在此中。精研妙明。四大不织。少选之间。身能出碍。此名精明。流溢前境。斯但功用。暂得如是。非为圣证。不作圣心。名善境界。若作圣解。即受群邪。

Explanation: Ānanda, you should, within this state, investigate further with fine subtlety, so that the four great elements are no longer tightly interwoven and inseparable; in a brief moment after the four great elements loosen, the body can break through obstructions and is no longer limited by the four great elements. This situation arises from the essence of consciousness flowing out onto the objects of the environment; it is a temporary function of the conscious mind, not the realization of any sage's state. Not having realized the fruit of sagehood, not taking this perishing essence of consciousness as the sage's mind, such a situation is called a good state; if one interprets it as realizing sagehood, believing oneself to have become a sage, taking the essence of consciousness as the unborn-and-unceasing sage mind, one will suffer many demonic disturbances.

When reading Buddhist sutras, one must read them coherently in light of the context before and after; one must not take a certain passage or a few lines and grasp at their meaning in isolation, for this easily leads to quoting out of context and misunderstanding the Buddha's teachings. Since this passage is discussing the content of the fifty skandha-māras, it refers to the various illusory state-marks that appear in meditation, not real states; one should not cling to the meditative states described therein as real and ultimate. One should not give rise to attachment to such states, lest one fall into demonic states and be unable to extricate oneself.

What is described here are all states of meditative concentration, and the states of meditative concentration are states of the mind consciousness, not states of the true mind; therefore they are not states of seeing the mind and enlightenment. This passage describes the meditative states of one who is about to break through the realm of the aggregate of form while sitting in meditation; the five aggregates and the mind consciousness are still within the aggregate of form, not transcending the limitations of the aggregate of form and the aggregate of feeling. Therefore the Buddha said that this state must not be taken as a sage's state of sage-realization; hence this is not a state of enlightenment. One should continue practicing onward, not clinging to this state as real; if one clings to it, one will fall into demonhood. This is the general meaning of the whole passage; it does not involve seeing the mind and enlightenment. Non-Buddhists can also cultivate to such a state, so it is nothing remarkable.

The states that manifest in cultivating concentration are states of false imagination of the mind consciousness; they are temporary states of meditative concentration. No matter how pure the mind consciousness is, even without thoughts and without false imagination, it is still the mind consciousness within meditative concentration; non-Buddhists can cultivate to such a state. Therefore the Buddha repeatedly admonished: do not interpret it as sagehood; there is nothing extraordinary about it. Do not cling to it as the sage's state of seeing the mind and enlightenment; otherwise one will be possessed by demons.

The language of Buddhist sutras is somewhat obscure and rather difficult to understand, so misunderstandings are inevitable. Therefore everyone should not lightly assume that their own understanding is definitely correct; that is not necessarily so. Why is it that studying Buddhism and cultivating meditative concentration makes one prone to demonic possession? Because one clings to a certain state as sacred, grasps at a certain state as real; with attachment one easily falls into demonhood, and the mind may go mad. The Buddha said that all states are false and illusory. All states are states of the mind consciousness; the true mind has no states, being tranquil and extremely tranquil. He does not care whether you sit in meditation or not, whether you are tranquil or not, whether you have thoughts or no thoughts—He cares about nothing; no matter what, He remains as He is. What a pure mind this is.

The more crucial the point of cultivation, the more demons come to interfere; the more sublime the point, the more demons come to interfere. The higher one's level of cultivation, the greater the interference; whereas in trivial aspects of cultivation, no demons come to interfere. Therefore, the more crucial the dharma one cultivates, the deeper the dharma one cultivates, the more careful and cautious one must be. Especially if someone craves supernatural powers, demons will give you supernatural powers, and then you will be controlled by demons, unable to escape their grasp. The Śūraṅgama Mantra is a protective talisman; you must recite it often, and it is even better if you can memorize it—then demons can do nothing to you. If all Buddhist practitioners could recite and memorize the Śūraṅgama Mantra, the demon king would withdraw from the Sahā world, the Buddha's teachings would continue, and the Śūraṅgama Sūtra would not perish.