I. Rony, Wisdom Quarterly; "Swear To God" with Rev. Winton Dupree (aka Bob Odenkirk)
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| "The more you are motivated by LOVE, the more fearless and FREE your action will be" - DL |
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| Ferocious avian (garuda) temple guardians warding off serpents (nagas), Thailand |
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| Reverend Winton Dupree (Mr. Show) |
I have a question, and I know you all have it, too. "What is up Lucifer's butt?" All he wants to do is mess us up, the crapple pie eater!
Now, I'll tell you what. I am the only preacher with the f'n cahones -- you know this, you all know this -- to say:
"Goddam you, Mara! I dam thee straight to purgatory! You goddam so-and-so and son of a B!" Can I get an f'n A?
"Goddam you, Mara! I dam thee straight to purgatory! You goddam so-and-so and son of a B!" Can I get an f'n A?
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| Tricky Mara Devaputra |
"F'n A!" Thank you, friends.
Now the Lord said, "I am the Light of the World."
Now he could as easily have said, "I am King Sh-t of F--- Mountain! Why would you mess with me?!"
WARNING: Rated X! Extreme Christian profanity and ungodly obscenities steeped in liberal comic mockery of fundamentalist fervor and hypocrisy! (Mr. Show with Bob & David/HBO)
- The Buddha's encounters with the real Mara (sutras)
- Encounters with the metaphorical Mara (Abhidharma)
No thanks, Mara!
Dhr. Seven, Dhr. Amber Larson, Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly
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| The Killer's disciple holding up the characteristic devil's horns (mudra) of the Dark Lord |
But would the esteemed reverend's approach be any way to rebuke Mara Devaputra (the Killer as an angelic being of light, aka deva-putta, "son of god")? Anger in the face of anger is failure. Hatred is weakness; fear is disease.Remember Siddhartha under the Bodhi tree. He faced Mara again and again, sometimes in a fearsome guise, sometimes in seductive mode. Mara is scheming. Mara does not play fair.
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| Mara (Death personified), L.A. Day of the Dead |
Resistance is futile, if by "resistance" one means direct opposition. Mara (Temptation itself) is stronger than a human. But there are many things one can do: stand aside, not take the bait, distract oneself, abandon clinging by insight, or win by virtue rather than fighting.
Mara has no real interest in forcing only in provoking. Instead of coercing by brute strength, he inspires us to be the source of our own ruin.
For example, in Sutra 50 of The Middle-Length Discourses, Maha Moggallana -- one of the Buddha's chief male disciples, foremost in mystical powers -- eludes Mara. He then warns the inimical spirit what awaits as the karmic result of such harmful behavior toward enlightened disciples of the Buddha.
Maha Moggallana can warn Mara (Namuchi) from direct experience. For he himself, long ago, was a mara known as Mara Dusi, and he himself met with the horrific-hellish results Mara Namuchi would eventually face if he did not desist.
Mara has no real interest in forcing only in provoking. Instead of coercing by brute strength, he inspires us to be the source of our own ruin.
For example, in Sutra 50 of The Middle-Length Discourses, Maha Moggallana -- one of the Buddha's chief male disciples, foremost in mystical powers -- eludes Mara. He then warns the inimical spirit what awaits as the karmic result of such harmful behavior toward enlightened disciples of the Buddha.
Maha Moggallana can warn Mara (Namuchi) from direct experience. For he himself, long ago, was a mara known as Mara Dusi, and he himself met with the horrific-hellish results Mara Namuchi would eventually face if he did not desist.
But Mara, it seems, does not listen. He does not believe there will be any karmic results for himself. He is, after all, no mere flesh and bones being. He wields dark powers, namely, the power to influence the thoughts of others, to shapeshift, to lead others astray by inspiring in them latent defilements (fear, anger, lust, delusion, discouragement, laziness, etc.)
Mara does not insert these into a person's mind/heart; he instigates and awakens what is there dormant and unabandoned. These things -- whether conceived of as momentary states or innate traits -- cannot be successfully opposed for very long by mere willpower or force of any kind. They can, however, be suppressed, outmaneuvered, eluded, abandoned, and completely let go by meditation (cultivation of skillful states and traits).
Mara does not insert these into a person's mind/heart; he instigates and awakens what is there dormant and unabandoned. These things -- whether conceived of as momentary states or innate traits -- cannot be successfully opposed for very long by mere willpower or force of any kind. They can, however, be suppressed, outmaneuvered, eluded, abandoned, and completely let go by meditation (cultivation of skillful states and traits).
Siddhartha did not fight under the tree. But he stood his ground, it's true, refusing to rise and leave the meditation mat even at the threat of an imminent attack by an army of ogres (yakkhas) led by Mara on a giant war elephant. Finding this approach futile, Mara then sent in his three seductive "daughters" (Craving, Boredom, and Cupidity).
What to do?
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| The rewards of peace and ahimsa |
In fighting, don't fight. In struggling, don't struggle. And in striving, the same: neither striving nor giving up. In this way one does not fall back and one does not ruin oneself by one's own efforts and over-exertion. Carry on without relenting. Elegant balance. Calm persistence. And in no long time, one realizes the fruits of compassion and wisdom.
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