How to get rid of demons or evil spirits?

Question

I have been a Vipassana meditator since 2001 and had a very strong practice and very good concentration. Last 2-3 years I started feeling a physical violation of space and then hearing voices. What interacts with me is some kind of demon or demons that have started harming with negative gross vibrations of all kinds and use very harmful language. They also harm physically and hurt around the spine and different organs of the body and the nervous system- to get your energy -some kind of energy vampires. They harm continuously and never stop. It is impossible to meditate or do anything else. They seem to know how to connect to human mind and body and somehow gain control the nervous system.

I asked a lot of people for help including meditators even teachers but so far havnt found anyone who knows about this or wants to help. I don’t even know where to get the help.

No drugs or medicines have helped so far, even tried to get some mantra tantra help. I have also read and listened to Ratana and Atanatiya sutta. Written to monasteries..I cannot give metta or practice Vipassana at all because I am constantly under attack.

I am not delusional and these are not illusions. Really looking for some help or inputs that refer to any success stories through monks or healers or Vipassana teachers. Someone who really knows about this well.

Answer 1

Thank you for sharing this. I noticed you shared a similar question from 2019.

Firstly, I want to say something about using concentration methods as a primary practice. This is not something I would advise. Quite simply, concentration methods as a primary practice can penetrate too deeply and too quickly. This leaves the practitioner in a compromising position. Concentration methods unhinge our ability to suppress our deep psychological issues; in other words, we lose our ability to keep those aspects of our psyche hidden, and they develop a natural buoyancy and expose themselves in all sorts of troublesome ways. This is actually good, but if you haven't developed a clear understanding of how the weather in that territory changes and how to hold yourself during those storms, then things can become quite tricky. Now, that clear understanding should have emerged from a conglomeration of carefully considered notions, typically called the noble eightfold path. You see, concentration is just one aspect of this path, and too much attention on just one aspect makes things lop-sided. When things are lop-sided, we veer off course. Find a place where you can study the eightfold path with other like-minded people. This will help rebalance your practice. You might want to reduce your concentration sessions, too. Perhaps replace them with something that brings your focus back to worldly things.

Aside from your understanding of the demons you experience, these demons can be contextualized in another way: There is a movement of energy in you that doesn't understand what you're trying to show it through your practice, and it responds by hindering your progress. It becomes a huge protest which can manifest as mental images of demons. I personally had lots of this kind of stuff, but I laid the foundations, mainly because I studied well and built a robust, daily mindfulness practice. We're essentially challenging the ego mind, and the only munitions the ego mind has is fear, so it throws a whole manner of fear-based objects at you in an attempt to derail your practice. These moments can be used positively to forward our awareness and give further insight into how our minds work. For you in your position, don't invest any thought into them. If you feel you have to invest some thought, then consciously chose loving thoughts time after time.

There are other ways to contextualize these events. The Bardo Thodol (The Tibetan Book of the Dead) for instance, gives instructions on how to navigate such territory, but falls short for the modern day human due to its overly religious tones and its heavy symbolism. There is a user-friendly commentary of The Tibetan Book of the Dead by Chogyam Trungpa who explains what the text means in terms of human psychology. If anything, it should help normalise the experience and fully accept their presence without disturbance. When you stop imparting pressure, the opposition gets bored and moves on. Another way to put that: when you stop worrying about them, they disappear.

The pain you describe is the redirection of conditioned thoughts, speech and actions; the karmic creations that keep your consciousness cemented to the body. It is what makes the body feel solid. The body needs to find a way to eject those things, and pain just so happens to be one of its channels. Sometimes it can use the digestive system, or muscular system. In any case, it's important that you try to separate the pain from the story, otherwise the story will continue to play as you continue to feed its narrative. You want to break it down by fragmenting the thoughts (story) from the sensations (pain). They're not related.

This can all be neatly encapsulated into verse 34 of the Dhammapada:

Just like a fish which quivers when thrown out of water onto dry land, even so the mind throbs and quivers when it is taken out of the sensual world to escape from the domain of Mara

In summary, it all seems part of the course, providing you have no medical needs, that is, but I want to emphasise my first paragraph: bring something else into your practice, something that is much softer, kinder and lighter on the heart.

Answer 2

In answering i will assume that this is an actual posession but this isn't a medical advice or a judgement of what it is you are dealing with, i will simply answer as if a person is actually posessed.

You can try doing what the Atanatiya Sutta says, find a big tree in the forest and complain out loud about the Yakkha harassing you.

I don't know what else you can do other than developing the mind but you are saying you can't meditate which pretty much rules out any fortification of the mind necessary to deflect an attack.

Therefore you basically need some sort excorcism and afaik nobody really knows how to do it. I also think that if you stayed with Ariya they might be able to exert some influence.

Furthermore people and monks will assume you are schizophrenic and might take advantage of you for personal gain.

In summary i think developing the mind in spite of the harassment is your best bet and if you can't do it then maybe you can learn to do it and if you can't learn to do it then you need something akin to staying with protected people or people able to protect themselves or in a protected monastery but this is not at all easy to find.

I think nowadays it is easier to find a monastery haunted by evil spirits than one with proper protections. I think it would make sense to go to the oldest monasteries because these probably at least had protection in the past.

Yakkha and Maras are as real as it gets and they really do not like Buddhism, they are however not that powerful and if one doesn't panic then one can beat their mind with one's mind. You can do this by remaining mindful of the Buddha, Dhamma & the Sangha, being mindful of feelings & perceptions before, during and after an attack.

Embrace it, prepare for it and if you get scared think of the home team, the Sangha, the Buddha and remember that he does not get scared and the team bothering you has already lost in the Dhamma, they lost the war and if you read the Atanatiya, they are generally not allowed to pester disciples but some are still pestering the disciples to minimize attainments among humans. You can generally expect them to have a nervous breakdown if you decide to take a firm stand in not being swayed even if it was to kill you.

Also yogi should realize that if indeed is harassed by Yakkha or Mara then they just are trying to stop you from training and helping others. They don't generally want to kill you because it doesn't accomplish what they want which is for one to be swayed away from the Dhamma or progress as slowly as possible.

Dealing with Yakkhas might also motivate one to train harder and taking the Dhamma more seriously, if their shinanigans are then having this opposite effect then they are likely to stop seeing how they just fuel your motivation.

Just don't do anything extreme like suicide and cooperate with doctors if you feel overwhelmed. You deserve a lot of respect and praise in dealing with this circumstance whether it is methaphysical or hallucinations, you should also keep in mind that this is temporary and human life is short, it's not going to be a factor forever so don't let it do too much damage due to being shortsighted.

Unfortunately dealing with Yakkhas, having visions and all these weird things are more or less a part of the training. Sometimes a yogi will feel it's too much and might not want to train because a part of him dreads having visions because it's so alienating & scary to navigate alone.

Answer 3

I agree with NeuroMax, sounds like you have developed a wall dividing your world in two separate halves.

Your concentration practice turned into cultivation of separation.

Now the other half is knocking on the wall. It is your own shadow.

The only solution is to connect with it and become whole again.

Answer 4

if you cease all drug and food use that are psychoactive and youre still experiencing painful habits or effects you should check out a qualified tibetan medicine practitioner they will clear anything up very effectively.

also consider that language is by definition meaningless. the stronger it appears to possess meaning and harm the more one is confused progressing into being psychotic

Answer 5

By means of Sila and Metta (right view), not feeding for ones sake, one gets rid of the Demons, good householder.

For additional good inspiration: The demon and the Yakkha you should take care - Die Dämonen und Yakkhas

Answer 6

Thanks so much for all the answers. I am writing a common reply to all-

I really appreciate the acknowledgement and the understanding with which they are written and really insightful. I dint just have a concentration practice but also an equanimity practice. But yes I have started understanding clearly now that if we want to attain liberation we need to understand the whole dynamics of these practices and grasp really well the concept of protection. I think we need to know how to protect ourselves at all times. I don’t think I learnt that. I thought the concentration and Vipassana practice would give me that but past karma plays a role.

I try very hard to be not mentally influenced with what they do to me - but being in my space it’s true that my reactions or responses become limited. What I have learnt is physical limitations are what we need to be set free from. And you’ve rightly said that physical is also just a denser side of our vibrations.

It’s just unfortunate that I cannot do anything actively to come out of it on my own.

Teachers in my tradition at least the ones who I have spoken with (who are not that senior) either don’t believe it or want to stay away from it. So will try monasteries and all other things you have suggested. I am not taking any drugs because-1) they don’t help me and 2) if I lose awareness I don’t know what they are going to me. I prefer awareness.

Thanks, may you all be happy , peaceful and liberated! Grateful! Please do send metta whenever possible!

Best.