The Anger-Eating Demon

Seth Auberon, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Ven. Nyanaponika Thera, retelling of ancient Buddhist story from the Sakka Samyutta (SN 22)

The hot demon Kim Kardashian absorbs our hate and grows stronger (animalnewyork.com)

 

Once there lived a demon who had a peculiar diet: He fed on the anger of others. And as his feeding ground was the human world, there was no lack of food. He found it quite easy to provoke a family quarrel, or national and racial hatred, fanning the fire of racist hatred.
 
Even to stir up a war was not very difficult for him. And whenever he succeeded in bringing about a war, he could gorge himself. After all, once a war starts, hate multiplies exponentially by its own momentum and affects even normally kind, compassionate, and friendly people.
 

The demon!

The demon's food supply became so rich that he sometimes had to keep himself from overeating, being content with nibbling just a small piece of resentment found close by.
 
But as often happens with successful people, he became overbearing. One day, feeling bored, he thought, "Shouldn't I try it with the devas?" On reflection he chose the space world of the Thirty-Three, ruled by Sakka, King of the Devas (literally, "shining ones").

He knew that only a few of these devas had entirely eliminated the fetters of ill-will and aversion and fear, even though they were far above petty and selfish quarrels. So by magic power he transferred himself from Earth to that nearby celestial realm. He was lucky enough to arrive at a time when Sakka the divine king was absent.

There was none in the large audience hall, and soon the demon seated himself on Sakka's empty throne, waiting quietly for things to happen, which he hoped would bring him a tasty feast.

Soon some of the devas came to the hall. First they could hardly believe their divine eyes when they saw the ugly demon sitting on the throne, squat and grinning. Having recovered from their shock, they started to shout and lament: "Oh, ugly demon, how can you dare sit on the throne of our king? What gall! What disrespect! What a crime! You should be thrown headlong into some hell, straight into a boiling cauldron of oil! You should be quartered alive! Get out! Get out!"
 
While the devas grew more and more angry and incensed, the demon was pleased: From moment to moment he grew in size, in strength, and in power -- gorging on their hate. The anger he absorbed into his system started to ooze from his body as a smoky red-glowing mist. And this evil aura kept the devas at a distance, and due to their own anger, their own natural radiance dimmed.
 
Suddenly a bright glow appeared at the other end of the hall, and it grew into a dazzling light from which Sakka, the King of Devas, emerged. As a stream enterer (one entered upon the first stage of enlightenment), the undeflectible stream that leads to nirvana, was unshaken by what he saw.

The smoke-screen created by the devas' anger parted when Sakka slowly and politely approached the demon on his throne. "Welcome, friend! Please, stay seated. I can use another seat. May I offer you a drink of hospitality? Our Amrita nectar is good. Or do you prefer a stronger brew, some Soma perhaps?"
 
While Sakka spoke these kind and friendly words, the demon rapidly began to shrink to a diminutive size and finally disappeared, trailing behind a whiff of malodorous smoke which soon dissolved.

The New Hate (Goldwag)

The gist of this story dates back to the discourses of the Buddha. But even now over 2,600 years later, our world looks as if large hordes of Anger-Eating Demons were haunting it. And we are keeping them well nourished all over the Earth. Fires of hatred, greed, delusion, intolerance, and wide-traveling waves of violence threaten to engulf humankind. 

The grass roots of society are poisoned by conflict and discord, manifesting in angry thoughts and words and in violent deeds. There was a time to end our self-destructive slavery to our habitual impulses of hate and aggression. They better serve demonic forces than us.

The story reveals how these demons of hate can be exorcised -- not by more hate but by the power of gentleness and love, compassion and equanimity. If this power of loving-kindness can be developed and displayed at a grass-root level, in the widely spread net of our personal relationships, nations at large, and world at large, we will all be benefited by it.

• Israel/CIA won't stop killing indigenous Palestinians
• A 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Yunnan, China, kills at least 589 people and injures more than 2,400 others. 
• U.S. launches new airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq 
• Israel fighting resumes on Gaza after truce ends; 10-year-pld Palestinian child murdered 
• W.H.O. declares Ebola outbreak a global public health emergency
• U.S. Sec'y of State Kerry seeks resolution to fixed Afghan election 
• Report: German firm helped Bahrain spy on pro-democracy activists  
• Obama signs bill to address VA healthcare crisis
• Argentina seeks to sue U.S. at The Hague over debt dispute
• Uri Avnery on Gaza crisis, his time in a Zionist "terrorist group," becoming a peace activist

Understanding Maitreya Buddha

CC Liu, Maya, Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly; Bhikkhu Bodhi (BAUS) ASK MAYA

Question: Recently K.K. Shrivastava contacted Wisdom Quarterly with an appetizing offer, asking if we would be willing to probe his claim about Maitreya Buddha. That would having go through 20 pages of text containing plainly written and easily verifiable facts supporting his mysterious contention.

• The Buddha's "Second Coming" (Maitreya)

Answer: We would love to, particularly because the future Buddha is widely misunderstood and been made much of and possibly distorted in the service of a universalist-Buddhist message, a "greater vehicle" (maha yana) for all to cross over on going from this painful and fraught samsara to that secure and joyful nirvana -- without perceiving any duality (because of Hindu-Advaita influence on this school) in the process.

Gandhara Maitreya Buddha (asianart.org)

Dear K.K. Shrivastava, please send us (or help us locate) your scholarship, and you can start with the abstract or brief summary. 

While we wait -- and while others realize the dual offer is also open to them to write for Wisdom Quarterly or ask us any question -- we should explore the original story of Maitreya/Metteyya ("friend," from the Sanskrit maitri/Pali metta, a proper name referring to loving-kindness, loving-friendliness, altruistic help).

Because the historical Buddha had mentioned 24 supremely enlightened teaching buddhas in the past, and many other nonteaching (pacceka) buddhas

 

Arahants, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas

Bhikkhu Bodhi

I. Competing Buddhist Ideals The arhat ideal [enlightenment for all] and the bodhisattva ideal [enlightenment for none as everybody is already enlightened, and everyone should become a martyr and messianic/maitreyanic "savior" saving an infinite number of living beings first] are often considered the respective guiding ideals of [a simplistic understanding of] Theravāda Buddhism and Mahāyāna Buddhism.

This assumption is not entirely correct, for the Theravāda tradition has absorbed the bodhisattva ideal [and many Mahayanists in the past and now would indeed strive for the stages of enlightenment] into its framework and thus recognizes the validity of both arhatship and buddhahood as objects of aspiration.

It would therefore be more accurate to say that the arhat ideal and the bodhisattva ideal are the respective guiding ideals of Early Buddhism [Sarvastivada and the Hinayana schools, of which Theravada is not one but gets called one because of its age and its keeping with early ideals and teachings] and Mahāyāna Buddhism.

"Early Buddhism" is not the same thing as Theravāda Buddhism that exists in the countries of South and Southeast Asia. It refers to the type of Buddhism embodied in the archaic Nikāyas [collection, division, volume, assemblages of sacred texts] of Theravāda Buddhism and in the corresponding texts of other schools of Indian Buddhism that did not survive the general destruction of Buddhism in India.
 
It is important to recognize that these ideals, in the forms that they have come down to us, originate from different bodies of literature stemming from different periods in the historical development of Buddhism.

If we fail to take this fact into account and simply compare these two ideals as described in Buddhist canonical texts, we might assume that the two were originally expounded by the historical Buddha himself. Then we might suppose that the Buddha -- living and teaching in the Gangetic plain in the fifth century B.C. -- offered his followers a choice between them, as if to say: "This is the arhat ideal, which has such and such features, and that is the bodhisattva ideal, which has such and such features. Choose whichever one you like."

• There is also a third model of Buddhist spiritual life, that of the pacceka-buddha (Sanskrit pratyeka), which is similar in many respects to the disciple arhat, except that the disciple arhat attains enlightenment under the guidance of a teaching buddha, and other gains enlightenment without any outside guidance [after an incredibly long time and a great deal of effort and uncertainty with no ability to teach the Path to others]. Otherwise, the combination of qualities that constitute this type is essentially the same. In the literature of the Buddhist systems, we often read of three types of fully enlightened ones -- disciples ("hearers," Pali sāvakas), nonteaching (pacceka) buddhas, and supremely or perfectly enlightened teachers (sammā sam buddhas, Sanstrit śrāvakas, pratyeka-buddhas, and samyak sam buddhas). And of the three vehicles (yānas) that lead to these attainments.

The Mahāyāna sūtras, such as the "Great Perfection of Wisdom" (Mahā Prajñā-Pāramitā Sūtra) and the Lotus Sūtra (Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra), give the impression that the Buddha did teach both ideals. Such sūtras, however, are certainly not archaic. To the contrary, they are relatively late attempts to schematize the different types of Buddhist practice that had evolved over a period of roughly 400 years after the Buddha's final nirvāṇa.
 
The most archaic Buddhist texts -- the Pali [an exclusively Buddhist language] Nikāyas and their counterparts from other early schools (some of which have been preserved in the Chinese Āgamas and the Tibetan Kanjur) -- depict the ideal for the Buddhist disciple as the arhat.

The Mahāyāna sūtras, composed a few centuries later in a Buddhist hybrid Sanskrit, depict the ideal for the Mahāyāna follower as the bodhisattva. Now some people argue that because the arhat is the ideal of Early Buddhism, while the bodhisattva is the ideal of later Mahāyāna Buddhism, the Mahāyāna must be a more advanced or highly developed type of Buddhism, a more ultimate teaching compared to the simpler, more basic teaching of the Nikāyas.

That is indeed an attitude common among [average or unlearned] Mahāyānists, which I will call "Mahāyāna elitism." An opposing attitude common among conservative advocates of the Nikāyas rejects all later developments in the history of Buddhist thought as deviation and distortion, a fall away from the "pristine purity" of the ancient teaching. I call this attitude "Nikāya purism."
 
Taking the arhat ideal alone as valid, Nikāya purists reject the bodhisattva ideal, sometimes forcefully and even aggressively.
 
I have been seeking a point of view that can do justice to both perspectives, that of the Nikāyas and the early Mahāyāna sūtras, a point of view that can accommodate their respective strengths without falling into a soft and easy syncretism, without blotting out conceptual dissonances between them, without abandoning faithfulness to the historical records -- yet one which also recognizes that these records are by no means crystal clear and are unlikely to be free of bias.

This task is difficult. It is much simpler to adopt either a standpoint of "Nikāya purism" or one of "Mahāyāna elitism" and hold to it without flinching. The problem with these two standpoints, however, is that both are obliged to neglect facts that are discomforting to their respective points of view.
 

Although I am ordained as [an American] Theravāda Buddhist monk, in this paper I am not going to be defending the opinions of any particular school of Buddhism or trying to uphold a sectarian point of view. For six years, I have lived in Chinese Mahāyāna monasteries, and my understanding of Buddhism has been particularly enriched by my contact with the teachings of the Chinese scholar-monk Master Yinshun (1906-2005) and his most senior living pupil, Master Renjun, the founder of Bodhi Monastery in New Jersey. My first purpose is to draw out from the texts what the texts say explicitly, and also what they imply, about these two competing ideals of the Buddhist life. More

Connected Discourses of the Buddha (sutras)

Bhikkhu Bodhi (librarum.org); Amber Larson, Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, CC Liu, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; edited book description

The golden Buddha, a forest-tradition itinerant teacher and wandering ascetic from India and Afghanistan shown here in modern Theravada Thailand (Nippon_Newfie/flickr.com)

  

FREE: Read the sutras (full text)

This volume offers a complete translation of The Connected Discourses of the Buddha (Samyutta Nikaya), the third of the four great collections in the Sutra Collection (Sutta Pitaka) of the Pali Canon.

It consists of 56 short chapters, each governed by a unifying theme that binds together the Buddha's discourses into sets. The chapters are organized into five major parts.

The first, "The Book with Verses," is a compilation of sutras composed largely in verse. This book ranks as one of the most inspiring compilations in the Buddhist canon, showing the Buddha as the peerless "teacher of devas and humans."

Bringing Buddhism out of the clouds (HK)

The other four books deal in depth with the principles and meditative structures of early Buddhism. They are compiled in orderly chapters of important short sutras of the Buddha on such major topics as:

• Dependent Origination (how all things other than nirvana arise only in dependence on causes and conditions), 
• the Five Aggregates of Clinging (the four groups of physical phenomena lumped as one, "form," and the four psychological groups of phenomena -- "feeling, perception, mental formations, consciousness" -- that give rise to the illusory ego, repeated rebirth, and all forms of disappointment/suffering),
• the Six Sense Bases (the five ordinary physical senses in addition to the mind),
• the Seven Factors of Enlightenment (the constituents developed immediately preceding awakening),
• the Noble Eightfold Path (a summary list of the limbs of the Middle Way pointed out by the Buddha), and
• the Four Noble Truths (the shortest possible summary of all Buddhist teachings as a path to liberation and complete freedom from all suffering).

Buddha, Sukhothai, Thailand

Among the four large divisions (nikayas) belonging to the Pali Canon, the Samyutta Nikaya ("Collection of Connected Discourses") serves as the repository for the many shorter sutras of the Buddha, where he discloses radical insights into the nature of reality and this unique Buddhist path to spiritual emancipation.

This collection was directed at all disciples but is of particular interest to intensive monastic practitioners capable of dedicating the effort to grasp the deepest dimensions of wisdom and compassion and of clarifying them for others.

Bhikkhu Bodhi (bodhimonastery.org)

Moreover, it provides guidance to meditators intent on consummating their efforts with the direct realization of the ultimate truth.

The present translation begins with an insightful general introduction to the collection a whole. Each of the five parts is provided with an introduction intended to guide readers through this vast collection of short Buddhist sutras.

To further assist readers the translator -- the eminent American scholar-monk, Bhikkhu Bodhi, the principal teacher of Wisdom Quarterly writers and translators -- has provided an extensive body of notes clarifying various problems concerning both the language and the meaning of these sacred texts.

Wheel of the Dharma above (NN)

Distinguished by its lucidity and technical precision, this new translation makes this ancient collection of the Buddha's discourses comprehensible to thoughtful readers today. Like its two predecessors in this series, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha is sure to merit a place of honor in the library of every serious student of Buddhism. The Connected Discourses

• Amazon: The Connected Discourses of the Buddha — a New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya
• Massive 2,600-year-old Buddhist temple complex found

A silly SEX article (and sutra)

Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Jessica Wakeman (TheFrisky, Feb. 18, 2014)

All of a sudden this [Valentine's Day] weekend, a bunch of friends began passing around the same Business Insider article on Facebook, called “A Beautiful House in Brooklyn is Secretly Being Used for Upscale Sex Parties” by Megan Rose Dickey.

 

Uh oh, I thought, having only read the headline. I immediately knew which house and which parties were being talked about. Some secret! But what exactly does the writer mean, “beautiful” house being used for “upscale” sex parties?

 

Sexy? (thefrisky.com)

Look. I’m a writer. I get the way this author is trying to tell the story: Readers might think things are ONE WAY, but really they are a completely different way! Whoa! Mind blown?! 

It’s a common narrative device (e.g., “Dick Cheney Bottle Feeds Sick Kittens!”) that operates on an assumption most people share (i.e., Dick Cheney is not a nice person). 

 

My issue with the Business Insider piece is the specific assumptions the writer makes. Given how frequently I write about sex, I’m well aware of the sorts of attitudes some people have towards sex-positive folks.

 

Why Charlie quit "50 Shades of Grey"

They usually range from “You’re going to get STDs, sluts!” to “Ewww, why do you have to shove your sexuality in my FACE (but do you maybe want to have cyber-sex later)?” More

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SUTRA: The Conch Trumpet: Illicit Sex

Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Ven. Thanissaro (trans.) (SN 42.8)

I swear, I didn't know this person was married! Ugh, get away from me!

 

I'm trying to stop. But my mind pulls me back.

On one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Nalanda in Pavarika Mango Grove.

Then the headman Asibandhakaputta, a disciple of the Niganthas [Jains], arrived, bowed, and sat respectfully to one side. The Blessed One addressed him: "Headman, how does the Nigantha Nataputta [Mahavira, the founder of Jainism] teach dharma to his disciples?"
 
"Venerable sir, the Nigantha Nataputta teaches dharma to his disciples in this way: 'All who take life are destined for a state of deprivation, destined for hell. All who steal... All who indulge in illicit sex... All who speak falsely* [see the Five Precepts] are destined for a state of deprivation, destined for hell. Whatever one keeps doing frequently, by that is one led [to a state of rebirth].' That is how he teaches dharma to his disciples."
 

My church is fine with gay rape pederasty.

"If it is true that 'Whatever one keeps doing frequently, by that is one led [to a state of rebirth],' then no one is destined for a state of deprivation or destined for hell in line with the Nigantha Nataputta's words. What do you think, headman? If a person is one who... indulges in illicit sex, then taking into consideration time spent doing and not doing, whether by day or night, which time is more, the time spent indulging in illicit sex or the time not spent indulging in illicit sex?"

"...The time spent not... indulging in illicit sex is certainly more. If it is true that 'Whatever one keeps doing frequently, by that is one led [to a state of rebirth],' then no one is destined for a state of deprivation or destined for hell in line with the Nigantha Nataputta's words."...
 
"Headman, there is a case where a certain teacher holds this doctrine, holds this view: 'All who take life are destined for a state of deprivation, destined for hell. All who steal... All who indulge in illicit sex... All who speak falsely are destined for a state of deprivation, destined for hell.' A disciple has faith in that teacher, and the thought occurs, 'Our teacher holds this doctrine, holds this view: "All who [do these things] are destined for a state of deprivation, destined for hell." There are living beings I have killed. I, too, am destined for a state of deprivation, destined for hell.' One clings to that view. If one does not abandon that doctrine, does not abandon that state of mind, does not relinquish that [wrong] view, then just as if one were to be carried off and placed there, one will be [reborn] in hell.
 

"My body, my rules"! I'm naked and loving it!

"[The thought occurs,] 'Our teacher holds this doctrine, holds this view: 'All who steal... All who indulge in illicit sex... All who speak falsely are destined for a state of deprivation, destined for hell.' There are [such actions] I have done. I, too, am destined for a state of deprivation, destined for hell.' One cling to that view....
 
"There is the case, headman, where a Wayfarer (Tathagata) appears in the world, worthy and rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge and [proper] conduct, well-gone, a knower of the universe, unexcelled trainer of those to be tamed, teacher of human beings and devas, enlightened, blessed. He in various ways criticizes and censures [unwholesome karma] and says, 'Abstain from [it].'...
 
"A disciple has faith in that teacher and reflects: 'The Blessed One in a variety of ways criticizes and censures [unwholesome karma like indulging in illicit sex] and says, "Abstain from [it]." There are living beings I have [harmed], to a greater or lesser extent. That was not right. That was not good. But if I become remorseful for that reason, that unskillful deed of mine will not [thereby] be undone.' So, reflecting in this way, a disciple abandons right then [such unprofitable actions, such unskillful karma] and in the future refrains from [it]. This is how there comes to be the abandoning of that harmful action (karma). This is how there comes to be the transcending of that harmful action. ...

• *UNSKILLFUL DEEDS: killing, stealing, sexual misconduct. FALSE SPEECH (unskillful verbal actions): perjury, divisive speech, harsh speech, and idle chatter. UNSKILLFUL MENTAL KARMA: covetousness (greed), ill will (anger, hate), wrong views (delusion).

Buddhism is for museums! What has it to do with me? (Mark Kamermans/pomax/flickr)

  
"A disciple of the noble ones (ariya pugala), headman -- thus devoid of covetousness, devoid of ill will, unbewildered, alert, mindful -- keeps pervading first one direction [the east] with loving kindness, likewise the second direction, likewise the third, likewise the fourth. So above, below, and all around, everywhere, in all directions, one keeps pervading the all-encompassing universe with an loving kindness -- abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free of hostility, free of ill will.

"Just as a strong conch-trumpet blower can call out in four [cardinal] directions without any difficulty, in the same way, when one finds temporary liberation through loving kindness, it is developed, pursued, and any deed done to a limited extent no longer remains there, no longer stays there [no longer obstructs and hinders one].
 

Buddhism is ancient but ever useful (Boonlieng/flickr)

"That disciple of the noble ones -- devoid of covetousness, devoid of ill will, unbewildered, alert, mindful -- keeps pervading first one direction with loving kindness (metta), compassion... appreciation... and equanimity. And likewise the second direction, the third, the fourth. So above, below, and all around, everywhere, in all directions, one keeps pervading the all-encompassing universe with a mind/heart full of loving kindness... compassion... appreciation... and equanimity -- abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free of hostility, free of ill will.

When this was said, the headman Asibandhakaputta, a disciple of the Niganthas, said to the Blessed One: "Magnificent, venerable sir, magnificent! It is just as if one were to set upright what was overturned, or to reveal what was hidden, or to point out the way to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those with eyes could see forms! In the same way has the Blessed One -- through many lines of reasoning -- made the dharma clear. I go to the Blessed One for guidance, to the Dharma, and to the enlightened Community [all stream enterers and others destined for certain enlightenment within seven lives, conventionally thought of as the Monastic Order, the noble Sangha]. May the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone for guidance from this day forward for life!"

• See MN 21; MN 101; SN 42.9; AN 3.33; AN 3.65; AN 3.99

KARMA: BUDDHISM vs. JAINISM

*Jains (Niganthas), like Buddhists, teach a doctrine of karma -- the moral consequences of actions. But the teachings of the two traditions differ in many important details. This sutra points out two of the major differences. The Buddhist teaching is distinctive in its understanding of the complexity of the karmic process, and its application of that understanding to the psychology of teaching is different, too. The Buddha says that a simplistic, fatalistic view of karma is logically inconsistent and leads to unfortunate results for any person who, with a background of bad karma, believes in it/holds this wrong view. The full complexity of karma, however, allows for a way in which past harmful deeds can be overcome: By refraining from unskillful karma now and the future, developing instead expansive mind-states of kindness, compassion, appreciation, and equanimity (the Four "Divine Abidings"). In such a state, the unavoidable consequences of past harmful actions counts for next to nothing. The Buddha also shows how his teaching exceeds that of the Jains in that it actually helps free the mind/heart from debilitating feelings of guilt and remorse and leads to the overcoming of past karma. (See Karma and the Ending of Karma for more details).

With pleasure, misery, and escape (sutra)

Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly translation based on Frank Lee Woodward, Pali Tex Society, Book of the Kindred Sayings or Samyutta Nikaya PART IV (SN 4.17-22)

CHAPTER II, SECTIONS 17-22

In search of enlightenment

{17} Meditators, if there were not pleasure that comes from the eye, beings would not lust after (grasp for and cling to) the eye. 

But inasmuch as there is pleasure in the eye, beings lust after it.

Medtitators, if there were not misery that comes from the eye, beings would not be repelled by the eye.

But inasmuch as there is misery that comes from the eye, being are repelled by it.

If there were no escape from the eye, beings could not [become free] from it.

But inasmuch as there is a way of escape from the eye, beings do escape from it.

Likewise with regard to the pleasure, the misery, and the way of escape from the 

• ear,
• nose,
• tongue,
• body, and
• mind.... 

But inasmuch as there is a way of escape from the [ear, nose, tongue, body, and] mind, beings do escape from it.

The Buddha towering in Theravada Thailand

Meditators, so long as being have not understood as they truly are the pleasure as it is, the misery as it is, and the way of escape as it relates to this sixfold personal sphere of sense then, meditators, so long have beings not remained aloof, detached, and separated with the hindrances of the mind/heart done away with -- nor has the world with its shining ones (devas), killers (maras), divinities (brahmas), nor its legions of wandering ascetics (shramans) and temple priests (Brahmins), shining ones and human beings.

 

But, meditators, just as soon as beings thoroughly understand as they truly are the pleasure as it is, the misery as it is, and the way of escape as it relates to this sixfold personal sphere of sense -- then, meditators, beings and the world, with its light beings... do [finally*] remain aloof, detached, separated, with the hindrances of heart/mind done away with.

• *[NOTE: This letting go is accomplished by insight, not by an act of willpower or effort. Knowing-and-seeing, or insight into the true nature of things, is in itself liberating. There is no need to struggle and make the Truth true. Truth sets one free.]

[{18} The same is true of all other psycho-physical phenomena in addition to the eye, visible objects (sights), and the consciousness arising from seeing; ear, sounds, and the consciousness arising from hearing....]

DELIGHT

Silent stillness and vipassana to know-and-see

{19} Meditators, whoever takes delight in the eye takes delight in disappointment. And I declare, whoever takes delight in disappointment is not released from disappointment.

Whoever takes delight in the tongue... in the mind takes delight in disappointment, I declare. And I declare, whoever delights in disappointment is not released from disappointment.

 

But whoever does not take delight in the eye, the tongue... the mind -- that person does not delight in disappointment. And I declare, one who does not delight in disappointment is released from disappointment.

[{20} The same is true for visible objects (forms), sounds, fragrances, tastes, tangibles, and mind-states.]

 

{21} Meditators, that which is the arising, persisting, the rebirth, the manifestation of objects -- that is the arising of disappointment, the persisting of diseases, the manifestation of decay and death.

So also with regard to sounds, fragrances, tastes, and tangibles....

That which is the arising, the persisting, the rebirth, the manifestation of mind-states -- that is the arising of disappointment, the persisting of diseases, the manifestation of decay and death. 

But, meditators, that which is the ceasing, the quelling, the going out of objects -- that is the ceasing of disappointment, the quelling of diseases, the going out of decay and death.

So also with regard to sounds, fragrances, tastes, and tangibles...

 

That which is the ceasing, the quelling, the going out of mind-states -- that is the ceasing of disappointment, the quelling of diseases, the going out of decay and death.

[{22} The same is true for visible objects, sounds... mind-states -- for all psycho-physical phenomena.]

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Mara and the "Day of the Dead" (sutra)

Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells, Xochitl, Irma Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly based Ven. Thanissaro (trans.),  Marapasa Sutta, "Death's Influence" (SN 35.115)

Sugar candy skulls (calaveras) characteristic of Day of the Dead celebrations (ALC)

Mara, the personification of death and defilements (Dia de los Muertos, Los Angeles 2007)

 

Drama Queen Gaga (latestwallpapers.net)

"Meditators, there are forms cognizable by the eye -- enticing, agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, giving rise to desire. If one relishes them, welcomes them, and remains clinging to them, one is said to be fettered by forms cognizable by the eye.

"One has gone over to Mara's camp [the place of death and defilements; one has fallen under Mara's [the Killer's] influence. The 'Evil One' [Namuci] can do with one as he wills.

 

Demon in Taoism (asiaobcura.com)

"There are sounds cognizable by the ear... There are fragrances cognizable by the nose... There are flavors cognizable by the tongue... There are tactile sensations cognizable by the body...

 

"There are ideas cognizable by the mind -- enticing, agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, giving rise to desire. If one relishes them, welcomes them, and remains clinging to them, one is said to be fettered by ideas cognizable by the mind. One has gone over to Mara's camp; one has fallen under Mara's influence. The 'Evil One' can do with one as he wills.
 

We really die. Deceased Nazi soldier in advanced stage of decomposition (Jesse Davis)

 
Escaping death

Buddha, Likir Gompa (Fulvio/Ifphotos/flickr)

"Now [as has just been said], there are forms cognizable by the eye -- enticing, agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, giving rise to desire.

"But if one abandons relishing them, welcoming them, or clinging to them, one is said to be freed from forms cognizable by the eye.

"One has avoided Mara's camp; one has avoided falling under Mara's influence.
 
 "The 'Evil One' is helpless to do with one as he wills.
 

"There are sounds cognizable by the ear... fragrances cognizable by the nose... flavors cognizable by the tongue... tactile sensations cognizable by the body... There are ideas cognizable by the mind -- enticing, agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, giving rise to desire.

 

"If one abandons relishing them, welcoming them, or clinging to them, one is said to be freed of ideas cognizable by the mind. One has avoided Mara's camp; one has avoided falling under Mara's influence.

"The 'Evil One' is helpless to do with one as he wills."

10 Defilements
Kilesas from Abhidharma and Path of Purification

1. Greed
2. Hate
3. Delusion
4. Conceit
5. Wrong views
6. Doubt
7. Torpor 
8. Restlessness
9. Shamelessness 
10. Recklessness

Mara's Army

Ven. Nyanamoli (trans), Life of the Buddha, p. 20 (Sutta Nipata III, 2).

Yama: Lord of Death

Mara, your first squadron is Sensual-Desires, your second is called Boredom, then Hunger and Thirst compose the third, and Craving is the fourth in rank, the fifth is Sloth and Torpor, while Cowardice lines up as sixth, Uncertainty is seventh, the eighth is Malice paired with Obstinacy; Gain, Honor, and Renown, besides, and ill-won Notoriety, Self-Praise and Denigrating Others -- these are your squadrons, Namuci; these are the Evil One's fighting squadrons; none but the brave will conquer them to gain bliss by the victory [nirvana].

• The Many Maras, literal and figurative (Prof. Guruge)

What is "Mara"?
Prof. Ananda W.P. Guruge, The Buddha's Encounters with Mara the Tempter: Their Representation in Literature and Art (edited by Wisdom Quarterly)

Mexico: skulls celebrating the festival Day of the Dead (diarioelamanecer.com)

 
In the Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, G.P. Malalasekera explains: Mara in the commentarial literature becomes much more than a living individual:

1. "Mention is made of five maras: Khandha-mara [Five Aggregates], Kilesa-mara [defilements], Abhisankhara-mara [karmic constructions], Maccu-mara [Death], and Devaputta-mara [a young deity]. Elsewhere Mara is spoken of as one, three, or four."
2. "The term Mara, in the older books, is applied to the whole of worldly existence, the Five Aggregates, or the realm of rebirth, as opposed to nirvana."
3. Commentaries speaking of three maras specify them as Devaputta-mara, Maccu-mara, and Kilesa-mara. When four maras are referred to, they appear to be the five maras mentioned in (i) above minus Devaputta Mara.

Malalasekera proceeds to attempt "a theory of Mara in Buddhism," which he formulates in the following manner:
 

"The commonest use of the word was evidently in the sense of Death. From this it was extended to mean 'the world under the sway of death' (also called Maradheyya, e.g. AN IV 228) and the beings therein. Then, the defilements (kilesas) also came to be called Mara in that they were instruments of Death, the causes enabling Death to hold sway over the world. All temptations brought about by the defilements were likewise regarded as the work of Death. There was also evidently a legend of a deva [devaputta, literally "son or offspring of the devas"] of the Vasavatti World called Mara, who considered himself the head of the Kama-vacara world [the Sensual Sphere] and who recognized any attempt to curb the enjoyment of sensual pleasures as a direct challenge to himself and to his authority. As time went on these different conceptions of the word became confused one with the other, but this confusion is not always difficult to unravel." More

"Day of the Dead"

Skull face (festivalearth.com)

DEFINITION: The Day of the Dead is a holiday is a time of family gatherings with friends to remember and pray for friends and family members who have passed. It is celebrated in Mexico and elsewhere. The celebration takes place on October 31st and November 1st and 2nd in connection with the Christian triduum of Hallowmas: All Hallows' Eve, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. Activities include building private altars called "offerings" (ofrendas) honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. Celebrants also leave possessions of the deceased. Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. More

El Dia de los Muertos

Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells, Xochitl, Irma Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly

Dia de Los Muertos skull sugar candy for the dead (paintersoflouisville.com)

 

Tutorial (fromdahliastodoxies)

The USA is eagerly embracing a second Mexican holiday tradition in addition to Cinco de Mayo -- the Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos.
 
This is an ancient practice predating Spanish invasion and conquest, European hegemony, and Catholic domination. The practice, in fact, exists around the world.
 
Everywhere people remember those who have passed and attempt to help them along in the afterlife. This was the main focus of Egyptian religion and even prehistoric practices, judging by funereal evidence at archeological sites. Why else are the dearly departed dressed, prepared, and buried with valuable object of use only to living beings? Belief in rebirth is the norm -- even if one merely believes in one more life in only one of two planes as is promulgated by Christians.
 

(individualreisen-mexiko.de)

Somehow everyone seems to know that "the veil is thin" between the worlds. Ghosts (a catchall for all the shapeshifting oddities of the unfortunate spirit world, the apaya or downfall) are easier to perceive. Hellions (narakas) may get out for a day, not from the lowest worlds of torment perhaps but from the less oppressive levels of "hell."
 
Creatures, ghouls, goblins, poltergeists, banshees, phantoms, spectres, shadows, ghosts (petas) are all about under ordinary circumstances, their world not being so far off but just a frequency away. The worlds intermingle, laying atop one another, at differing vibrational rates. Mexico is not alone in celebrating and honoring "the ancestors" (los muertos, "the dead" central to the holiday).
 
Pagan or Catholic?

We rule countries after invasion!

But in Catholic and Mayan/Aztec-influenced Mexico as well as adjacent Southern California, large communities go en masse to cemeteries to refresh flowers, bring supplies (candy, alcohol, tobacco, etc.), and remember or reestablish connections with departed loved ones.

Catholicism (and other forms of Christianity like Protestantism, Eastern Orthodox, etc.), with its replacement observances, often usurped ancient holidays and co-oped them to its own ends. Christianity was a Roman psychological operation, one of the most successful propaganda campaigns the world has ever seen. But not all people neglect the indigenous origins of the appropriated celebrations in spite of the imperial killers.

When Roman psy-ops rule the world

As for the dead, there are the "grateful dead," who appreciate a favor or a last wish being fulfilled for them. These are ghosts who do not linger but move on to be reborn in proper (rather than intermediary) planes of existence.
 
A few troublesome or restless spirits are laid to rest and encouraged to move along according to their karma. Who are our "ancestors," our departed "relatives"? The Buddha said that they consist of those extended family members going back seven generations, quite a coincidence since Native American peoples believe the same thing.