I have just been reading an article found here called "Inviting the demon" about the great Tibetan Buddhist poet-saint Milarepa and his adventures with demons. He went away to be a hermit and found himself harassed by demons.
I laughed when I read this, about when Milarepa first 'met' the hostile spirits:
Shocked, Milarepa politely introduced himself and asked them to
leave. At this, the demons became menacing, surrounding him while
growling, grimacing, and laughing maliciously. Milarepa was alarmed and attempted the most powerful of exorcism recitations, to no avail. The demons became even more threatening. Next, the yogin tried with great compassion to pacify them with Buddhist teachings, but they still remained, more vivid and horrible than before.
Clearly Milarepa couldn't find anything that worked to rid himself of the demons, not even 'the most powerful of exorcism recitations'!
This echoes my experience. That nothing seems to get rid of the threatening energies coming in.
Reading further in the article, I learned that Milarepa saw meeting with these spirits as a projection of his own mind - a manifestation of his own creating [read older posts to find out more about the metaphysical philosophy that we are all creating our reality in a primal sense, through our minds, whether in a more or less controlled manner]. That was interesting, and resounded with what I have been writing here.
If you need to love your demons, keep reading the article linked above, because it says that Milarepa also thought that these spirits were filled with luminosity and transparency, just the same as everything else. This reminded me of a near death account I read about at http://www.near-death.com/ of someone dying, and being accompanied by angels; whilst on a tour, they were shown a person who was down-and-out, lying in the gutter and drunk, and then that someone who was near death was asked by the angels what they saw - they reacted with disgust at the individual, before being shown by the angels that even this person who seemed degraded was full of love and light. To read that is an uplifting and reassuring experience - we are all filled with love and light! It is the essential nature of the universe/God's energy.
Milarepa strengthens himself, saying:
Faith grew in my mother's womb. A baby, I entered the door of
Dharma; A youth, I studied the Buddha's teaching; A man, I lived
alone in caves. Though demons, ghosts, and devils multiply, I am not afraid ....
I, Milarepa, fear neither demons nor evils; If they frightened
Milarepa, to what avail Would be his realization and enlightenment?
Then he invites the demons in to stay with him - symbolic of 'accepting' them, the beginning of compassion. In the article, the writer Judith Simmer-Brown says that this moment of invitation is important: instead of avoiding difficulties within our psyche, we profit by facing them and dealing with them.When Milarepa realises that the demons are projections in the world he creates and that they are not external to him but part of him, he can then 'look' at these parts to address them, rather than avoid them. And indeed he does 'look' at them, first challenging them to see who's way is stronger, the White or the Black, before boldly charging at them; they then dissolve, in fear. Milarepa has confronted his demons and won - moreover, he has settled for himself which way of living is superior - the Way of Light.
Our demons may be internal qualities, or they may appear to be outside of us, either way, this Buddhist story teaches us
- not to be afraid
- to see the perception of evil as arising from within oneself
- to accept the situation and deal with it
- to trust in goodness
- to confront darkness.
Previously, I was confused by delusion, And staying in the dwelling
of ignorant confusion, I perceived gods who help and demons who harm as real.
Now, through the kindness of the jetsun siddha, I understand there
is no samsara to stop, no nirvana to accomplish. Whatever appears
arises as mahamudra.
With the realization that confusion is groundless, The water that
reflects the moon of awareness is clear of murkiness. The sun of
luminosity, free of clouds, Clears away the darkness of ignorance
from the edges. Deluded confusion disappears. The true nature arises from within.
The precious thought that perceives demons is the wonderful
clarifier of the unborn bias.
Once Milarepa had gone beyond this state of awareness where he perceived evil, every moment that came to him he was able to accept and welcome.There was nothing to do, and he could be happy with all of Life. Perhaps Milarepa had gone beyond a sense of separation with the darkness, he had healed his relationship with it by not rejecting it (he invited the demons in); for how could he be whole, as someone who had once committed "black deeds" whilst he absolutely rejected evil, however pure he was in the present? There is a lesson of flexibility here. Being organic and not absolute, compassionate not judgemental. There is more humility in the purity that loves rather than judges; we must do what Jesus said, be humble in purity remembering that none is without sin, rather than "throw stones".
Being pure means healing ourselves and our perspective, rather than being closed off, separate, and living within a fixed boundary. Perhaps the sensation that there is something, an obstacle, that is very discordant in my awareness is a sign that I have been living with and making a painful judgement, which must be healed in order for there to be peace within me.
This whole syndrome of spiritual warfare could therefore be seen as a painful moment of personal growth and opportunity to take steps to move beyond polarity. Either that or live with a painful awareness forever! And I suppose it takes time, to gain the added understanding, the clarity that Milarepa mentions in his song above. Is that too ambitious? The whole thing has to progress somehow.
All this is a spiritual way of looking at being under the influence of hostile spirits or dark energies. It is based on unity, on a unifying perception, and it is based on the realisation that we are creative (receiving the exact nature of our Great Creator and calling reality to us in accordance with our mental activity). Also important is the respect we can have for ourselves and for all of life as being full of love and light, whatever the frightening outer appearances may be.
I rejoiced when I found this story because I identified with it. We can all be like Milarepa, and heal ourselves.
PS I found this article on Milarepa whilst investigating the integration of the shadow self. It was my idea that rather than heal all the lower astral world, I would heal the lower nature nature in myself. This article above, then, is especially interesting, as it shows interactions with the lower astral world as being a projection/extension of the self, and shows that resolution does not come by treating our stubborn demons as external beings, but by dealing with them as intrinsically linked to our mind and world-view. Rather than requiring a simple exorcism, we require careful self-analysis, and commitment to personal change. Christian demonology will examine a person's life and say, "why are you in this situation?" - and that is valid; perhaps the spirit oppression shows us that there are still unresolved areas at the edge of our consciousness that we had not quite been aware of, - perhaps we are being shown that there is another journey to be made towards psychic health, another story and adventure to undertake.
PPS It occurred to me that when Milarepa confronts the intrusive and ill-tempered spirits, he is expressing his strength, and asserting his right to his own space. Or symbolically, this means that really, love and light are more powerful than malice and fear. In the end, [according to Neale Donald Walsch's God], fear is in service of Love, and fear is ultimately an illusion. Comforting.
Secondly, going back to the point about being humble and not assuming a position of superiority based on one's level of evolution/based on right and wrong, the power struggle between Milarepa and the demons could be seen to be about dignity. They are angry, hostile; they cannot be pacified - there is a grudge between them. Only when they have been invited in can they be dealt with. Symbolically, whatever we do, we are still the same being doing it, we still have the same worth, whatever the appearance of matters - even demons deserve recognition. This means that we cannot separate ourselves from ourselves in becoming and being pure, because there is continuity between the self that does the 'black deed' and the self that is pure (good, lightsome, godly, kind). The path of evolution requires total respect for all of Life, and we cannot proceed whilst carrying harsh opinions, because all is one. It's easy to be proud when in conflict with another, but humility is healing, - it brings peace.
Indeed, I did have a period growing up when I did things that were harmful. I still look back in a troubled way sometimes - I would benefit from looking at my personal growth and seeing who I was when all this began, and blessing my former self rather than cursing that self. It follows that the awareness of darkness cannot be healed with rejection.
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