In written chinese, the character é (mĆ³) can meanĀ : Demon, Devil, Fiend, wicked force, magic.
It is made of two componentsĀ : - éŗ» Hemp, Cannabis and - 鬼 Evil spirit So, a Demon is literally an Ā«Ā Evil spirit of the cannabisĀ Ā».
The character é was originally used to translate the sanskrit word ą¤®ą¤¾ą¤° (MÄra) when the first buddhist missionaries came to China from India. In buddhism, MÄra is the malignant Demon King who tries to stop Siddartha Gautama from achieving enlightenment by tempting him with visions and illusions. MÄra is the dreaded Lord of Illusions. The reason for this translation is that the ancient chinese medicine was well aware of the psychoactives effects of the cannabis and its entheogenic properties, and therefore the link with the illusions of MÄra is then simple and easy to understand.
