Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

In one of Scott1989's threads I asked him about whats Mara to him. He responded with:

I don't really see Mara as a female demon who is trying to seduce me

Dawn also answered this question in the same thread, but with:

Mara's body is our internal voice, he disapears when we watch him dirrectly.

Which makes me curious about what others also might answer?

I suppose if i had to characterize it, it would be as the heedless, wanting mind instead of the tranquil and serene mind that comes with practice. Its really a process tho whose end result is that heedless wanting mind.
Mara, to me, is i guess just a personification of the poisons.

Perhaps we could say 'Mara is me' or 'I am Mara'. When there is no 'me', no possessive entity in the head, there is no Mara. In this way you could actually argue that Mara is a demon that possesses us

What it brings is the story of me: my wants, my cravings, my needs, my memories, my opinions, my judgments, my knowledge.

To me, Mara is my negative parts, my sloth, my anger, my greed, my lust, my doubt, my bad habits, etc etc.
I like to talk about Mara as if he's an actual real demonic superbeing who attacks people to distract them from what really matters. But I don't believe that in the least.
However, the suttas are pretty definite that he's an actual being. But I'm okay with not believing everything the suttas say literally.

Even the arahat Moggalana was actually Mara in a previous life!

At that time, Moggallana was Mara, chief of demons, lord of the lower worlds, and his name was Mara Dusi. He had a sister by name of Kali whose son was to become the Mara of our age. Majjhima Nikaya No. 50

Revolver is a good film abour Mara

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cea-hyQevg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And also, the word 'NIGHMARE' is composed of NIGHT and MARA

I think is a good 'mether to think' about the nature of dreams

However, the suttas are pretty definite that he's an actual being. But I'm okay with not believing everything the suttas say literally.

Can't one say eg. that there is nothing left in a being than Mara (does not need to be human)?

humans definitely have made a lot of nightmare movies..., or what about the story where the devil tempted Jesus. Did not this happen to the Buddha as well, before he reach enlightenment?

Wonder what Mara would be if it was not something related to ourself or our body..

There are previous threads on this, but to repeat what I said earlier:

Five Kinds of Māra

1. Māra Devaputta, the celestial villain of the sixth devaloka, the “Tempter” and the embodiment of evil.
2. Kilesas, the ten defilements.
3. Abhisaṅkhāra, kamma or volitional action.
4. Khandha, continued existence.
5. Maccu, death.

Some take the view that it only means the defilements, that Māra devaputta is just a manifestation of one's own fears and other defilements. However, how can one explain then that Māra appeared to the Buddha on several occasions during his life, after he had vanquished all defilements at the foot of the Bodhi tree?

Also, how do we explain the Māratajjaniya Sutta, in which Venerable Moggallāna admonishes Māra and warns him of the consequences of harassing a disciple of the Buddha?

If we have never seen a ghost, or deva, or brahma, or a māra, we will have to believe or disbelieve these accounts. Its not within the range of our direct knowledge, and idle speculation is the work of Māra.

The defilements are visible here and now. Endless volitional activity (abhisankhāra māra) is visible here and now. Death (maccu māra) is all around us in the news every day, though we tend to ignore it.

The five aggregates are visible here and now. As for Māra devaputta, let me know if you see him?

Thank you sir,

I have this curiosity, why such a powerful deva like Mara is against Buddhism? He must done some great deeds to be born as high level deva and he must have some kinds of divine eye to know about kamma, why Maras have such kind of attitude?

Regards

Why are some multi-millionaires so opposed to religion? They must have done some powerful kamma to become multi-millionaires. Why are not all of them strongly inclined to do charitable works for their well-being in future existences?

Thank you sir, I see it

Even sometimes I knew something as not good for me, but because of temper, love or hate, jealousy, I did against my benefit let alone things I don't know about it.

Regards

I liked this link here: http://www.aimwell.org/Books/Ledi/Uttama/Mara/mara.html

Bhikkhu Pesala wrote:Why are some multi-millionaires so opposed to religion? They must have done some powerful kamma to become multi-millionaires. Why are not all of them strongly inclined to do charitable works for their well-being in future existences?

Cause and effect.....Being rich now because of previous life.....equally strong, being poor because of previous life.....better to be in the middle.
Rich does not allow one to see as they are "blinded" by the money.....as they know in this life they do not need it.....nor will they ever question future existence.
Poor does not allow one to see as they are "struggling" with debt and work keeps their time occupied.

One will not "do" if one cannot "see"............The purpose is to escape and to be free!

Mara is the moment when one opens their eyes!

"I" as well as "you".

Greetings Bhikkhu Pesala,

There is also five kinds of Mara in my belief, as you list in the post and explained in the link above (I found the link in one of the earlier posts about Mara in this forum. You was part of that discussion as well).

It is the appearance of Mara that is not so clear. Is this a physical appearance you think, ie. can be touch, seen, talked to like anything else that is worldly, or is this an appearance we cannot see with our physical five senses?

Questions and reflections around reproofing the Buddhas teaching is not idle speculation, for me at least. For me it is the way towards recognizing the sublime Dhamma.

Why are some multi-millionaires so opposed to religion? They must have done some powerful kamma to become multi-millionaires. Why are not all of them strongly inclined to do charitable works for their well-being in future existences?

If you don't know any multi-millionaires or all, is this not idle speculation?