Overall Teaching

Māra gathers his armies and prepares to attack the Bodhisattva after dreaming that he will be defeated and his kingdom emptied. Half of his sons debate with the other half, claiming that it is impossible to win. Māra has his army attack the Bodhisattva without turning back, but due to the Bodhisattva’s perfect conduct and powers the attack is useless. Māra’s daughters attempt to seduce him but are unsuccessful. Finally, Māra’s army again attempts an attack but they are all defeated and flee. Māra finally capitulates and admits defeat.

Summary

1.     The Bodhisattva makes all displays that ornamented the seat of awakening of all buddhas become visible right there at his seat of awakening.

2.     The Bodhisattva, knowing he cannot attain awakening without Māra knowing, decided to summon and conquer him, so that all gods might either be restrained or direct their minds towards awakening themselves.

3.     The Bodhisattva then emitted a light, which after bathing the universe in light, summoned Māra, saying that this pure being, the Bodhisattva, will empty his city and make him unsure of what to do or where to go.

4.     Māra, being aroused by this voice, had a dream with thirty-two omens wherein all of his abode was thrown into chaos, such as his family, courtiers, and army abandoning him and his palaces collapsing.

5.     After awaking, Māra gathered his family and armies, and told them about the verses he heard about the Bodhisattva. He announced that if the Bodhisattva attains awakening their domain will become emptied—while his force is unharmed by pratyaka-buddhas’ awakening, this is not the case with that Bodhisattva who might become a Dharma king.

a.     Māra’s son Sārthavāha asked his father what he witnessed. After Māra said if he told him he would faint, Sārthavāha said that if it is that bad it might be best to give up now and not be humiliated. Māra replied that if they are determined the Bodhisattva will be powerless and bow to his feet. Sārthavāha replied that being overly prideful, they may not be judging the situation fairly.

6.     Not heeding Sārthavāha, Māra gathered a larger army than had been known among devas and humans. It had all sorts of weapons and armour and the soldiers had vicious faces and grotesque bodily features and characteristics and doing frightening deeds such as spitting out fire and producing a rain of flaming metal. They ran rocking their bodies impetuously darting about in an attempt to scare the Bodhisattva.

a.     Old women approached the Bodhisattva and implored him to flee the demons.

b.     Their ugly and fierce appearances are recounted again in verse form, noting that seeing all phenomena as illusory and dependently arisen, the Bodhisattva is unperturbed by the spectacle of the army of rogues.

7.     Some of the thousand sons of Māra, such as Sārthavāha, began to feel sympathy with the Bodhisattva and stood to the right, whereas Māra’s supporters stood on the left. 

a.     Māra’s various supporting sons debated over what kind of weapons they should use to subdue the Bodhisattva.

b.     The supporting and opposing sons debate one another about the advantages and disadvantages of attacking the Bodhisattva. Those on the right note, for instance, that his love is inaccessible to their weapons, and it will turn their weapons to flowers, or that his vajra mind cannot possibly be burned.

Some on the left, for instance, argued that they could grind the sun and moon to dust with their bare hands and uproot the Bodhi tree with their hands—but those on the right noted that even if there were as many of them as the sands of the river Ganges, they could not move a single hair on the

Bodhisattva’s body. Some on the left note that they will try to seduce him with pleasures, but those on the right argued that he does not delight in the pleasures of passion but only in the pleasures of the Dharma.

c.     In response to this debate, Māra’s general, Bhadrasena, said to Māra that all gods who usually follow Māra now follow the Bodhisattva—what more to say of those who usually do not follow Māra. Since the Bodhisattva is not stirred so far, he is unlikely to lose and it is thus wise to retreat now. He is the supreme among sages and it was prophesied that he would attain awakening: all prostrate to him and so it is certain that he will render their army powerless.

8.     Māra was still unconvinced, and argued that a single man could not be capable of destroying their great and terrifying army.

9.     To weaken the demons’ powers, the Bodhisattva turned his lotus-like face towards them. Māra fled from his face, but then thinking he could defeat him, had his army turn back and attack the Bodhisattva:

a.     They threw weapons and even mountains at the Bodhisattva, but they turned into flower canopies or celestial palaces.

b.     Their poisonous breath which shot flames at the Bodhisattva turned into the Bodhisattva’s halo of light.

10. After the Bodhisattva touched his head, Māra, thinking he was wielding a sword, fled again. After again turning back, Māra had his army throw more weapons at the Bodhisattva, which turned to garlands which adorned the Bodhi tree and flower petals that rained down.

11. Māra told the Bodhisattva to get up to relish his kingship, on which his virtue lies.

a.     The Bodhisattva replied that while Māra became lord of the desire realm through one unstinting act of giving, the Bodhisattva attained his state through giving countless such acts.

12. Māra claimed that the Bodhisattva had witnessed his act of giving, but the Bodhisattva had no witness to his own acts, and that he will thus be conquered.

a.     The Bodhisattva replied that the earth is his witness. Embracing Māra with thoughts of compassion, he moved his hand with seven auspicious marks across his body and touched the earth, saying she tells no lies and is impartial.

b.     After touching the earth it shook in six ways.[1]

c.     The earth goddess Sthāvarā emerged from the ground and said that she bore witness to this, but that he alone is the supreme authority, and after rebuking Māra and praising the Bodhisattva she again disappeared.

13. Thereupon Māra’s army all fled. Feeling unhappy and suffering, he, being too proud, could not flee, and thus said to his army that they might be able to politely persuade the Bodhisattva, who, being such a jewel of a being, should not be killed outright.

14. Māra told his daughters to go to the Bodhisattva’s seat and find out if he has desires or not, is deluded or intelligent, knows the country or not, or is weak or strong.

a.     Māra’s daughters then engaged in the 32 ways of female trickery. These included trying to seduce the Bodhisattva with their physical appearance, sidelong glances, flirtatious movements, seductive clothing and ornaments, laughing, playing, and appearing shy, offering love, and scattering flower petals on the Bodhisattva.

b.     Looking to see the Bodhisattva’s reaction, they saw that his face was as pure and stainless as the orb of the full moon when it escapes the mouth of Rāhu (the embodiment of the shadow of an eclipse), remaining as unmoved as the central mountain or as a well tamed elephant.

c.     The daughters then, in verse, asked the Bodhisattva to change his mind and take a look at them, who are so well adorned and seductive, looking like ripe fruit, the full moon, with the gait of a swan. They claimed that he would be a loser if he did not accept them, like a man who runs away when he sees a treasure.

d.     The Bodhisattva remained smiling and immutable. Having abandoned all disturbing emotions, he addressed the daughters by saying:

i.      Desire brings a great deal of suffering, and like drinking salty water it increases desire with more exposure and brings no benefit.

ii.     Beauty is like water bubbles or foam, mentally created like a dream it is unstable and impermanent, deluding the minds of childish beings.

iii.    Eyes are bubbles with a membrane like clotted blood in an ulcer and the belly is full of urine and excrement, with suffering resulting from karma. iv. Seeing them, he sees only illusions emerging from causes and conditions. Knowing that sensuality leads away from wisdom and are like poisonous plants or fires, only fools would call them happiness.

v.     Someone who gives into passions will remove themselves from wisdom and discard joy in the Dharma.

vi.   His mind is free like the wind in a sky not perceiving a self, attractiveness, or anything to be attached to or angry at. vii. All gods and goddesses with purity and splendour without real blood or bones, they live in fear because they lack permanence.[2]

e.     Thereupon Māra’s daughters tried even more trickery to seduece the Bodhisattva.  In verse they, who are called Tṛṣṇā (Thirst), Rati (Delight), and Arati (Passion), are described as trying to seduce him in a similar fashion, but the Bliss-gone One (Sugata) remains unmoved and replies by explaining how adamant and uninterested in passion he is. In particular the Bodhisattva emphasises the impurity of the body and how passions are like a viper’s head or a razor blade smeared with honey.

f.      The girls, being unable to seduce the Bodhisattva, gave rise to respect, joy, and love and praised him, wishing that he may liberate all sentient beings. After circumambulating the Bodhisattva, they return to Māra and report that the Bodhisattva, who sees the faults of the three realms, could not come under the sway of amorous women. 

15. Māra lamented that he could not get the Bodhisattva away from the seat of awakening, thinking that the Bodhisattva could not see their beauty or good looks. Māra’s daughters replied by saying despite what they do to seduce him, he still remains unmoved and has absolutely no desire. They say that once he conquers their army, he will surely attain awakening. There is nothing that will make him unhappy.

a.     Thereupon the eight goddesses in the Bodhi Tree honoured the Bodhisattva by praising him by evoking how he has the sixteen types of splendour, that he is beautiful, radiant, bloomed, how he roars, shines forth, is elevated, is hard to fathom, is vast, firm, never turbid, without fixed abode, hard to meet with, powerful, with firm resolve, not able to be turned back, and going to be endowed with the Ten Powers.[3]

b.     The devas of the pure realms tried to discourage Māra in sixteen ways, claiming that he is lost, powerless, alone, abandoned, weak, tossed-about, on the wrong path, lowest of the low, garrulous, overcome with pride, will flee, will be scattered about, not knowing the right time, to be abandoned, to be restrained, and powerless.

c.     Similarly, the gods of the pure realms tried to discourage Māra in sixteen ways, claiming he will be defeated, held down, outmatched, scattered, terrified, felled, destroyed, dried up, made to flee, sent swirling, hurt, made to brood, deprived of livelihood, made to weep, depleted of life force, and crushed.

d.     Māra did not pay heed to any of these gods’ discouragement.

16. The Bodhisattva claimed that the world may come to an end first, but he would not arise from the seat of awakening. Māra replied that since the Bodhisattva was in Māra’s desire realm, where he rules over desires which govern all beings, the Bodhisattva should follow his orders. The Buddha replies that if he is the master of sense pleasures then he is not a master at all, if he were he could prevent himself from being born in the lower realms and prevent the Bodhisattva from attaining awakening.

17. Māra claimed that since past brahmin sages did not achieve awakening, he would not either. But the Bodhisattva replied that they claimed the existence of a soul and practiced austerities—opposite his own practice.

18. Finally, Māra ordered his army to capture the Bodhisattva and imprison him in his realm. The army approached and asked how the Bodhisattva is not frightened, threatening that he will meet his doom. The Bodhisattva replied that one who wishes to move him is a fool—he cannot be harmed beneath that tree, even if they can split the diamond mountain in an instant.

19. Māra drew his sword and threatened to strike the Bodhisattva, but the Bodhisattva said that he couldn’t even bend a hair on his body, let alone kill him.

20. The army is then described again attacking the Bodhisattva, raining down weapons on the Bodhisattva and shooting vicious animals and burning objects at him. The Bodhisattva saw them all as illusory: no eye, man, woman, self, ear, nose, tongue, or body; phenomena are uncreated and not experienced by anyone, arising in dependency.

a.     When the Bodhisattva declared emptiness the weapons turned to flowers.

b.     The Bodhisattva again stretched out his hand and touched the earth to call it to witness to his vast sacrifices. He also noted that all good qualities are his witness, including the perfections and the ten powers.

c.     Māra, crying out in fear, began to sweat as his face turned white, his chariots fell to the ground, and his army fled like birds from a forest fire. The army dispersed and did not meet with each other for seven days.

21. One of the goddesses in the Bodhi Tree told Māra to get up and depart without delay.

a.     Māra admitted that not having listened to his sons, he now reaps suffering, fear, grief, ruin, lamentation, loss of honour, and misery.

b.     All the leaders of gods proclaimed the Bodhisattva’s victory and showered the Bodhisattva with flowers while playing music and praising him.

Excerpt from the Upāyakauśalya Sūtra

“When the Bodhisattva sat under the bodhi-tree, why did he cause Pāpīyān, the demon king [Māra], to attempt to prevent his attainment of supreme awakening? Good man, the demon king could not approach the bodhi-tree [by his own power]. It would have been absolutely impossible for him to do so if the Bodhisattva had not summoned him. Good man, the Bodhisattva thought when sitting under the Bodhi-tree, ‘Who is supreme, the most honoured one in the four continents? To whom do the four continents belong?’ Immediately the Bodhisattva knew that Pāpīyān, the demon king, was the most honoured one in the Realm of Desire. He thought: ‘Now, if I battle with the demon king and he loses, it will prove that he and all the sentient beings in the Realm of Desire are inferior to me. At that time a multitude of gods will come together to the bodhi-tree and engendered faith [in the Three Jewels] when they arrive. Gods, demons, nāgas, ghosts, spirits, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas will then encircle the bodhi-tree; some of them will engender faith [in the Three Jewels] when they see me [perform] the lion’s sport (lalita); some will even achieve liberation just because they see me.’

 “Good man, with this thought in mind, the Bodhisattva emitted from the white curl between his brows a light which overshone the palace of Pāpīyān. At that time, every corner of the trichiliocosm became very bright because of the brilliance of the light. From the light came this voice: ‘The offspring of the Śākya Clan, who has left the household life to learn the path, will now attain supreme awakening. He will transcend the realm of demons, overcome demons, and decrease the number of future demons. Now he is fighting with Pāpīyān, the demon king.’  “Good man, having heard the voice, Pāpīyān became extremely worried, and felt as if an arrow had been shot into his heart. The he ordered his four kinds of soldiers, marching in a file thirty-six leagues long, to come besiege the bodhi-tree in order to cause the Bodhisattva trouble. At that time, the Bodhisattva abided in great kindness, great compassion, and great wisdom. By virtue of his wisdom he touched the ground with his golden-hued hand, and soon the demons were dispersed. After the demons had been dispersed, eight trillion four hundred billion gods, nāgas, ghosts, spirits, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, kumbhāṇḍas, and so forth brought forth supreme bodhicitta, because they saw the awesome virtue, exquisite body, handsome features, and dauntless strength of the Bodhisattva. This was the skilful means practiced by the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva.” (Chang 53–54)

[1] Quivered, trembled, quaked, boomed, thundered, and roared.

[2] As was stated previously, the Bodhisattva also had been born as devas countless times before, as have we, so what point is there in trying to reach such a state again?

[3] Ten Powers (daśabala): The power of (1) knowledge of right and wrong, (2) wisdom, (3) knowledge of desired fruits [on the path], (4) knowledge of natures [of beings], (5) knowledge of faculties, (6) knowledge of determination [i.e. causal factors], (7) knowledge of paths, (8) the divine eye, (9) knowledge of previous lives, and (10) knowledge of liberation.