Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

appeared to him, sixteen feet high and resplendent with
all the marks of the Buddha. After that, he saw this
Buddha every evening and as a result he was blissfully
happy. One day he came to a Chan guru to whom he
related his "realization." Said the guru, "You only see a
demon!" Very upset, the poor man asked, "How can this
be? He is exactly the same shape and size as the
descriptions of Amitabha relate. There is no demon!"
Having pity on him, the guru gave him his bamboo
"chin-rest" and told him, "When you see 'Amitabha'
throw this at him." He did as the guru instructed and the
vision disappeared. He wanted to return the bamboo
implement to the master, so he went to pick it up. Lying
there was a large serpent, quite dead. The guru told him,
"The demon in that large tree just wanted to make you
happy. Now he is dead, but has taken birth in the Pure
Land—just bury that serpent-body." This is an example
of a demon impersonating a Buddha.
iii. If, when the practitioner repeats the mantra of the
yidam, the vision disappears—then it is a demon. If it
remains, then it is of course the yidam.
iv. Demons may be recognized by their lack of
knowledge of the four initiations of Anuttarayoga.
Question the form which has appeared on the meaning
of these initiations. If it cannot explain, it is a demon; if
the vision gives a correct answer, then it is a Buddha.
This is especially true of the fourth initiation—which
concerns voidness in the Mahamudra and therefore
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