一切經音義 75.59

75.59

鬽魖 ("demons and wasting spirits": the first character is fanqie 眉被 [mèi], or written with 未 as 魅. Considering the categories of spirits, they are very numerous: foxes, wildcats, or various other strange species; whether ghosts or spirits, all can bewitch humans. The second character is pronounced 虛 [xū], a wasting and depleting demon. The Yiyuan says: 'Wherever the wasting demon goes, it causes people to lose wealth and possessions, leaving storehouses empty and exhausted; it is called the wasting demon. Its form is variable; it is a monstrous thing').