道高一尺，魔高一丈

道高一尺，魔高一丈

Literally means:

while the priest climbs a foot, the devil climbs ten

Actually means:

the greater one's achievements, the greater the obstacles; even archangels are sometimes defeated by demons

道, the way of Taoism, refers to what monks‘ practise, and it represents righteousness; 魔 is the devil or demon that destroys the achievements of the monks, representing the evil.

This phrase was originally a line in Buddhism to warn the monks against outcoming temptation. It means that when one's self-cultivation reaches a certain stage, the devil is likely to arrive, molesting and destroying the achievements. Later this phrase is used to indicate that the greater one's accomplishments, the greater the obstacles. It may also mean that justice will eventually prevail over evil.

道 and 魔 do not always represent righteousness and wickedness, but are sometimes seen as two opposing forces, in which case, this phrase means one force prevailing over the other.

道，僧人修行的功夫，代表正气；魔，破坏修行的恶魔，代表邪气。

道高一尺，魔高一丈，原本是佛家告诫修行的人阶段，便会有恶魔设下的障碍来干扰破坏，以致前功尽弃。后来用来比喻取得一定成就后碰到的障碍会更大。也比喻正义必将战胜邪恶。

“道”和“魔”有时不被看成正义和邪恶的代表，而被作为两种力量来看待。这时整个短语的意思就是一种力量超过另一种力量。