Demons and Dragons

Sessen Doji is one of the incarnations of Shayamuni/Guatama Buddha. His story is described in the 14th volume of the Nirvana Sutra as follows: A youth called Sessen Doji was living in the Snow Mountains (Himalayas), practicing the austerities in pursuit of enlightenment.
One day the god Taishaku decided to test Sessen Doji's faith. He appeared before Sessen Doji in the form of a demon and recited half a verse from a Buddhist teaching: "All is changeable, nothing is constant. This is the law of birth and death."

Sessen Doji looked around to see who had spoken. All he saw was the demon. Sessen Doji asked him did he speak and what had he said. The demon repeated, "All is changeable, nothing is constant. This is the law of birth and death."

Certain that this verse contained the truth that he was seeking, Sessen Doji beseeched the demon to tell him the second half.

The demon replayed, 'Surely I cannot, for I am famished and too weak to go on."

But the boy was insistent. "Tell me what you eat and I will gather it and bring it to you."

"If I tell you, you will be shocked and run away," the demon replied.

"No," said Sessen Doji, "whatever you ask of me, I will supply, for I must know the remainder of the verse."

Again, the demon declined.

Sessen Doji vowed, "I say before all the gods, whatever it is you desire, I will provide, on this you have my word!"

The demon glared at Sessen Doji and said, "I eat the warm flesh and drink the warm blood of humans."

Sessen Doji responded,” I have given you my word before all the gods, only allow me time to write the verse out, so that others may benefit."

The demon agreed but demanded the boy’s flesh and blood in payment. Sessen Doji gladly consented and the demon taught him the latter half of the verse: "Extinguishing the cycle of birth and death, one enters the joy of nirvana."

Sessen Doji scrawled this teaching on the nearby rocks and trees in order to transmit it to others. Then he leapt into the demon's mouth. Instantaneously, the demon changed back into Taishaku and praised the young man for his dedication and seeking spirit.

Comment:

I particularly like this story. The reason being that in my life experiences I have learned that you never know what guise the answers you seek will take.

This being the case, you can discount nothing off-handedly. There is always more to a thing than meets the eye, if only we take the opportunity to look closer.

I personally do not believe in coincidence; as I do not believe in a destiny set in stone. I believe that everything that is in our lives at any given moment is there to help us to proceed on our journey. Each thing is imbued with a multitude of choices. The choice we make at that moment creates our destiny.