“This, dear Sir, is the Āṭānāṭiya protection, for the monks’, nuns’, laymen’s, and laywomen’s guard, protection, freedom from harm, and comfortable living. Whoever, dear Sir—be they monk or nun or layman or laywoman—learns this Āṭānāṭiya protection well, and will master it in its entirety,

then if a non-human being—be they male yakkha or female yakkha or yakkha boy or yakkha girl or yakkha minister or yakkha councillor or yakkha messenger or

male gandhabba or female gandhabba or gandhabba boy or gandhabba girl or gandhabba minister or gandhabba councillor or gandhabba messenger or

male kumbhaṇḍa or female kumbhaṇḍa or kumbhaṇḍa boy or kumbhaṇḍa girl or kumbhaṇḍa minister or kumbhaṇḍa councillor or kumbhaṇḍa messenger or

male nāga or female nāga or nāga boy or nāga girl or nāga minister or nāga councillor or nāga messenger—

with a wicked mind come near while they are going,

or stand near while they are standing,

or sit near while they are sitting,

or lie near while they are lying,

then that non-human being(wicked spirit), dear Sir, would not receive in my villages and towns, honour or respect.

That non-human being(wicked spirit), dear Sir, would not receive in my royal city Ālakamandā, ground or dwelling.

That non-human being(wicked spirit), dear Sir, would not be able to go to the gathering of the yakkhas.

Further, dear Sir, non-human beings would not give or take him(wicked spirit) in marriage.

Further, dear Sir, non-human beings would abuse him(wicked spirit) with very personal abuse.

Further, dear Sir, non-human beings would drop an empty bowl over his(wicked spirit) head.

Further, dear Sir, non-human beings would split his(wicked spirit) head into seven pieces.

Previously, we have read the protection verse that started off supplicating the 7 Buddha(s)

Following that, the heavenly king continued with his explanation about how they (the elite spirits) will enforce discipline against errant evil spirits. (Above verses)

When we recite this sutta, we recite the entire content. That means the above stanza as well. (even though it is not the protection verse)

Mastering the protection verse would traditionally mean remembering it, memorizing it, comprehending it, and constantly recalling it. And the purpose of this protection is to

1. guard,
2. protection,
3. freedom from harm,
4. and comfortable living

The classes of spirits bounded by this protection verse are: Yaksha (violence – territorial & discrimination), Gandhabba (Sensual distraction and beguilement), Kumbhaṇḍa (Stealing), Naga (malicious deceit). Each class is ranked as an adult to youngling, male or female, ordinary class, minister, councillor or messenger.

Then the heavenly King defined those malevolent spirits as possessing a wicked mind. And these wicked spirits would stalk their victim. As mentioned by the above verses that say, “or stand near while they are standing, or sit near while they are sitting ….”

Typically, a person who is influenced by malevolent spirits would tend to become amoral. This is because the wicked spirit is constantly stalking the victim and influencing them to be anti-moral. In this manner, a possessed person may become violent and territorial, promiscuously wanton, maliciously deceitful, etc.

Are you beginning to recall those exorcist movies? (I think it is quite similar and I leave you to join the dots together)

But in reality, people being influenced may not be as dramatic as victims in the horror movie. For example, a person being stalked by a malicious Yaksha may become extremely intolerant of others who do not share the same views as him. (That is also a type of “Territorial Behavior”) and they may start to develop a tendency toward violent speech. In some cases, they are able to rally an entire group of fellow humans to participate in violent activities under the guise of righteousness or religion. Like a preacher going “crazy” after building a temple or church?

Why does that happen? Typically, this happens when human beings encroach upon the Yaksha’s territory during urbanization or real estate development. A society that is troubled by such wicked spirits will gradually fall into chaos.

Next, the stanza describes how the good elite spirits would punish the evil spirits. In our modern world, we would identify those treatments as discrimination, ostracisation, and even violence. But in the law of the spirit world, that is how they function. And we note that The Buddha did not tell the “good” spirit, “No. No, No, you should be compassionate and kind to those evil spirits. etc)”

There is so much to share, but let’s stop here in this post. It is interesting to reflect a bit too.

In our next post, let us continue by exploring how

1. we can gain the support of the heavenly kings
2. How to invoke and practice the association with the heavenly kings
3. how to coexist with spirits without initiating animosity with spirits and causing them to turn malevolent

May all be well and happy.