The Śūraṅgama Mantra Is a Protective Talisman

The more critical the point one reaches in cultivation, the more demons come to interfere; the more extraordinary the stage, the more demons come to interfere. The higher one's level of cultivation, the greater the interference, whereas in trivial aspects of practice the demons do not bother to interfere at all. Therefore, the more crucial the dharma one cultivates, and the deeper the dharma one cultivates, the more careful and cautious one must be. In particular, if someone craves supernatural powers, the demon will grant you supernatural powers, and then you will be controlled by the demon, unable to escape from the demon's grasp. The Śūraṅgama Mantra is a protective talisman; you must recite it frequently, and it is best if you can memorize it—then the demon will have no way to deal with you. If all Buddhist practitioners could recite and memorize the Śūraṅgama Mantra, the demon king would withdraw from the Sahā world, the Buddha-dharma would continue on, and the Śūraṅgama Sūtra would not perish.