Why do Eastern cultures use the word "Demon"?

[lumineth Realm Lord]

This is something I've noticed. Whether it be China, Japan, Korea, or India, they use this word as a catch all term. I mean, sure, we in the West use it too in this sense. But it's mainly in regards to malevolent beings. As in to say, it refers to a spirit that intends to do harm. Or those associated with the underworld. But in Eastern cultures, I've noticed that they use it to refer to supernatural/non-human creatures. Mainly, like Japanese Yokai, but also Hindu Ashuras and Raksashas. Of which are entirely different beings from Christian fallen angels, and operate differently as well. A demon, in Christianity, is seen as entirely evil, acting more on spite, anger, and jealousy, in direct opposition to God. Where as these other creatures are capable of both good and bad behavior, and have a more nuanced relationship to the gods of their respective cultures. I mean, Jotun intermarried with the Norse gods.

I guess my question is, why do cultures apply a Christian term to things that operate outside of the Christian faith?

 

[frater_pan]

Demons in Tibet, India, China and Japan, although there are some differences and they have their own classifications ARE seen as malevolent. Almost always as totally malevolent, not doing good. Same with the Philippines and all of Polynesia, although they do have some Christian influence on this. There are other spirits that are in-between but they are have real demons (and in some places basically demon ghosts). In Polynesia it's usually bad ghosts, although not all ghosts are bad.

A difference is that in Buddhist societies some great gurus can tame demons and force them to serve Buddhism, monks, etc. (and they have many gurus they call great, but only a few can do this and canonically only 1 in Tibet [although different lineages of Tibetan Buddhism will say that such and such a guru also did this, just not in a grandiose way like the canonical example]). I've never heard this claim in Japan but they also keep their esoteric Buddhism very close to their chest (the two systems were completely closed until recently). Probably the Japanese have stories of some demon being conquered through Buddhism or Shugendo and also Shinto (there are kind of that in Zen but they tend to be a specific spirit). In Hawaii this used to be a fertile topic, if you lived there, otherwise you never heard about it.

 

[iseht]

Demon is not exclusively a Christian term, its rooted in the greek daimon which orginally was a morally neutral term that would refer to any spirit or supernatural intermediary. Asia seems far away and exotic, but there was significant exchange of ideas through the silk road and later the colonial and missionary eras.

 

[Xingtian]

Well obviously they don't use the word "demon". That's just how translators have chosen to render these terms in English. The Chinese term yaoguai (whence the Japanese yokai) is fairly neutral. The beings in this category may often be evil or dangerous but the only really common factor is that they're weird. That can include all kinds of monsters, spirits, lesser deities, and fairies. There are more specific terms for evil beings such as e'mo. As Frater Pan alludes to, sometimes evil spirits can be tamed by Buddhist or Daoist magic and they become protectors or even saints. This was also a way for the clergy to accept local "heterodox" deities into their temples while still maintaining the superiority of their path. Probably the most popular example is the destructive and mischievous monkey god Sun Wukong becoming a Buddhist sage thanks to the intervention of the monk Xuanzang and his patron Guan Yin. Likewise you can find fox spirits and other unruly local deities being "converted" and incorporated into the Daoist pantheon.

And as Iseht mentions, the Greek daimon was a very broad term, usually applied to low or mid-level deities like tutelary spirits, nymphs, etc.

 

[Thee Nightfool]

Yeah, it's a translation error in a sense. For example, in Taoism, gu vamypric/parasitic spirits are frequently correlated with "demons" if I remember correctly. Also, in many Dharmic systems, a demon/asura is a being that promotes ignorance, which may as well be a prime "evil" in a culture such as that.

 

[thepolestar]

Hindus classify spirits into many categories, and they have temples to some demons and demonesses that are considered wise - just like how some serpents (Nagas) are considered wise enough for temple worship, while other serpents are avoided. When I was on holiday in the Western Himalayas, a friend took me the temple of a Hindu demoness who receives public worship because she is considered "reformed" or wise. I don't remember the name of the demoness but her temple was from the 1500s IIRC.