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Mara (demon)

 
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In Buddhism
Buddhism

Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religionand is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" , who was born in what is today Nepal....
, Mara is the demon
Demon

In religion, folklore, and mythology a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as a malevolent spirit. In Christian terms demons are generally understood as fallen angels, formerly of God....
 who tempted Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama was a Spirituality teacher in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is generally seen by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddhahood of our age....
 by trying to seduce him with the vision of beautiful
Beauty

Beauty is a characteristic of a person, Location , Object , or idea that provides a perception experience of pleasure, Value , or satisfaction....
 women who, in various legends, are often said to be his daughters. In Buddhist cosmology
Buddhist cosmology

Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist Tripitaka and commentaries....
, Mara personifies unskillfulness, the "death" of the spiritual life. He is a tempter, distracting humans from practicing the spiritual life by making the mundane alluring or the negative seem positive.

The early Buddhist
Early Buddhist schools

The Early Buddhist schools are those schools into which, according to most scholars, the Buddhist monasticism Sangha initially split, due originally to differences in Vinaya, and later also due to doctrinal differences and geographical separateness of groups of monks....
s, however, rather than seeing Mara as a demonic, virtually all-powerful Lord of Evil
Evil

Evil, in many cultures, is a broad term used to describe intentional negative moral acts or thoughts that are cruel, unjust or selfish. Evil is usually good and evil, which describes acts that are kind, just or unselfish....
, regarded him as more of a nuisance.






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Maraassault
In Buddhism
Buddhism

Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religionand is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" , who was born in what is today Nepal....
, Mara is the demon
Demon

In religion, folklore, and mythology a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as a malevolent spirit. In Christian terms demons are generally understood as fallen angels, formerly of God....
 who tempted Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama was a Spirituality teacher in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is generally seen by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddhahood of our age....
 by trying to seduce him with the vision of beautiful
Beauty

Beauty is a characteristic of a person, Location , Object , or idea that provides a perception experience of pleasure, Value , or satisfaction....
 women who, in various legends, are often said to be his daughters. In Buddhist cosmology
Buddhist cosmology

Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist Tripitaka and commentaries....
, Mara personifies unskillfulness, the "death" of the spiritual life. He is a tempter, distracting humans from practicing the spiritual life by making the mundane alluring or the negative seem positive.

The early Buddhist
Early Buddhist schools

The Early Buddhist schools are those schools into which, according to most scholars, the Buddhist monasticism Sangha initially split, due originally to differences in Vinaya, and later also due to doctrinal differences and geographical separateness of groups of monks....
s, however, rather than seeing Mara as a demonic, virtually all-powerful Lord of Evil
Evil

Evil, in many cultures, is a broad term used to describe intentional negative moral acts or thoughts that are cruel, unjust or selfish. Evil is usually good and evil, which describes acts that are kind, just or unselfish....
, regarded him as more of a nuisance. Many episodes concerning his interactions with the Buddha have a decidedly humorous air to them.

In traditional Buddhism four senses of the word "mara" are given.
  • Klesa-mara, or Mara as the embodiment of all unskillful emotions.
  • Mrtyu-mara, or Mara as death, in the sense of the ceaseless round of birth
    Childbirth

    Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the delivery of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus. The process of normal human childbirth is categorized in three stages of labour: the shortening and dilation of the cervix, descent and delivery of the infant, and delivery of the placenta.....
     and death
    Death

    Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that define a life organism. It refers to both a particular event and to the condition that results thereby....
    .
  • Skandha-mara, or Mara as metaphor
    Metaphor

    Metaphor is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects. It is a figure of speech that compares two or more things without using the words "like" or "as." More generally, a metaphor describes a first subject as being or equal to a second object in some way....
     for the entirety of conditioned existence.
  • Devaputra-mara, or Mara the son of a deva (god), that is, Mara as an objectively existent being rather than as a metaphor.


Early Buddhism acknowledged both a literal and "psychological
Psychology

Psychology is an academic and applied science discipline involving the science study of human mental functions and behavior. Occasionally it also relies on symbolic hermeneutics and critical theory, although these traditions are less pronounced than in other social sciences such as sociology....
" interpretation of Mara. Mara is described both as an entity having a literal existence, just as the various deities of the Vedic pantheon are shown existing around the Buddha, and also is described as a primarily psychological force - a metaphor for various processes of doubt and temptation that obstruct religious practice.

"Buddha defying Mara" is a common pose of Buddha sculptures. The Buddha is shown with his left hand in his lap, palm facing upwards and his right hand on his right knee. The fingers of his right hand touch the earth, to call the earth as his witness for defying Mara and achieving enlightenment. This posture is also referred to as the 'earth-touching' mudra
Mudra

A mudra is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers....
.

See Also

  • Yama
    Yama

    Yama , also known as Yamaraja in India, Yanluowang or simply Yan in China, and Enma in Japan, is the lord of death, first recorded in the Vedas....
     - The king of the dead in Buddhist mythology.


Sources

  • Bodhi, Bhikkhu
    Bhikkhu Bodhi

    Bhikkhu Bodhi , born Jeffrey Block, is an American Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York/New Jersey area....
     (trans.) (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya. Boston: Wisdom Pubs. ISBN 0-86171-331-1.
  • Saddhatissa, H. (trans.) (1998). The Sutta-Nipata. London: RoutledgeCurzon Press. ISBN 0-7007-0181-8.


External links

  • , at sacred-texts.com]