If you meet the Buddha, kill him. (逢佛殺佛)
—Linji
As far as I am concerned that is a waste of a good Buddha, unless you are speaking of the hindrances of too much enlightenment, you lucky dog.
In the less superstitious hierarchy of Buddhist Tantra, demons, stray Hindu gods, Mara the Marvel comic and his dancing daughters are all part of the imagined visualisation of interior states, experiences and mind waffle.
The original sense of "demon" in the west was a benevolent being but centuries of silliness and religion has given the hellish connotations of malevolence . . .
Mara as chief tempter, "prince of darkness," or "Evil One" became the stooge Mo.![]()