Nine Pervert Demons of Inner Weakness

Tib., dam tshig la gnod pa'i sri
short: dam sri

In order to understand what these beings are about, it is necessary to know that Tibetan Buddhists and Tantrics are required - as are monks, nuns, and adepts around the world - to take certain vows, pledges, and oaths concerning their conduct. These are taken rather seriously and should not be broken.
Such spiritual obligations are known as samaya (Skt.) or dam tshig (Tib.).

Enter the Tamsi or Damsi (Tib., dam sri), a specific class of demons or malevolent spirits who are thought to have violated their own vows and who just love to seduce others into doing the very same. They are nine in number and are thought to be siblings. In literature and translations, these nine Damsi are usually called samaya violators, evil transgressor spirits, samaya perverters, and violation-demons.

Now when we remember what we've been repeatedly told in the Bardo Thödol - namely that all the seemingly supernatural beings one encounters in lucid/shamanic states of mind are actually arising from within the Self - it should be clear that the concept of the Nine Damsri Perverts is based in psychology rather than myth or religion; and a psychology at that which is not specifically Tibetan but rather universal.

Looking at these "demons" this way, it becomes clear that they represent the inner weaknesses in ourselves and/or that anarchic part of an individual who, at times, still rebels against a lifestyle not yet fully his or her own.