According to Machig Labdrön, Tse’s ascetic has to face 4 demons that are the functions of his false self.
The first one is the “Demon that Blocks Senses“. When we immediately see something , a series of procedures is triggered. Various thoughts and memories of this subject come immediately to our minds. Thus, correlations, words and ideas, desires and judgments are created for this thing. So we lose the real perception of the object and cling to it.
The second is the “Demon that cannot be controlled“. This is the unceasing parade of our thoughts that follow each other without interruption. Our mind wanders aimlessly from one thought to another, and by spreading we completely lose our consciousness.
The third is “The Demon of Pleasure“. This is revealed when we find something pleasant and do anything to lengthen its duration. Our desire then becomes an attachment and an obsessive behavior that obscures our mind.
The fourth is “The Demon of the Ego“, which schedules the way we see the world constantly distinguishing “self” from “non-self”. This prevents us from understanding the essential unity of all existence. It is our worst habit and the most difficult to overcome.
