Forgiving in the Face of ANGER (sutra)

Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; Andrew Olendzki, Vepacitti Sutra (SN 11.4)

Churning Space: bas-relief of Samudra manthan, Angkor Wat, Cambodia, shows Vishnu in the center, in his Kurma avatar, with the asuras and the devas on either side (Wiki).

Rebel asuras, cast from deva-world by Sakka, fall to Earth (Hieronymus Bosch).

Asura Dvarapala, Borobudur (wiki)

This noble teaching on how to respond when faced with anger is placed in an ancient historical/mythical setting. The story is told by the Buddha of a great war between devas (shining ones, angels) and the asuras (titans, demons).
 
The devas are ultimately victorious (as happens in later Greek and Norse versions of the same myth). They capture Vepacitti [full history], a titan king. Bound in chains, he is brought to the space station of the Thirty-Three and into the presence of Sakka, King of the Devas.

• Sakka (St. Michael), Lord of the Thirty-Three Lords
• A previous Sakka's ancient space flight (Jataka)

Being the titan that he his, Vepacitti hurls a torrent of abuse and insulting names at his captor (the catalog of which in the commentary is most interesting). Sakka, however, is unmoved, inspiring Matali, the charioteer of his spacecraft, to begin the following poetic exchange:
 
The poem is in the prevalent vatta meter, with eight syllables per line, and contains much subtle word-play. For example, the words bala (fool) and bala (strong, powerful) dance with one another throughout the piece (appearing 17 times), nowhere more intimately than in the frolicking alliteration of Lines 31 and 32 (abalan-tam balam aahu yassa balaabalam balam).

• FOOLS (Bala Sutra, Book of the Twos, AN 2.98) "Meditators, there are two fools. Who are the two? The one who takes up a burden that has not befallen one, and the one who does not take up a burden that has. These are the two fools."

A king of the titans (Evs in Nz/flickr)

The linking of the word titikkhati (forbearance) with the similarly sounding tikicchati (healing) is also a poignant touch that is hardly accidental.

This exchange shows well how the Buddha adapted the heroic ideals of his warrior's heritage to the inner struggle for self-mastery. The strength of the victorious Sakka -- who is a stream enterer having been a hearer of the Buddha's Dharma and won that attainment -- rests in his wisdom and forbearance.
 
The weakness of the fierce yet vanquished titan comes from his lack of understanding, earning him the label "foolish," which leaves him helpless to resist the passions raging within him.
 

Was Zarathustra an asura? (G6G)

Though these verses were penned thousands of years ago, their truth is timeless. It is the same truth that has helped many non-violent social and political reform movements achieve dramatic results in our own century.

Conquest is only the apparent victory of the short-sighted, while transformation of oneself and others is the more lasting "victory" of the wise. Remaining unprovoked in the face of anger and hostility still offers the best hope for healing our troubled world.

• THE FOOLISH AND THE WISE (Bala-Pandita Sutra, AN 2.21) "Meditators, there are two foolish persons. Who are the two? The one who does not see a transgression as a transgression, and the one who does not rightly forgive another who has confessed a transgression. These are the two fools. There are two wise persons. Who are the two? The one who sees one's own transgression as a transgression, and the one who rightly forgives another who has confessed a transgression. These are the two wise persons."

Bas relief of Sakka, King of the Devas [of Tavatimsa], and apsaras (wiki)

.

Calm in the Face of Anger (verses)

[Matali:] Sakka, could it be you're afraid,

Or weak, that you forgive [khanti] like this,

Though hearing such insulting words

From the lips of Vepacitti?

[Sakka:] I am neither afraid nor weak,

Yet I forbear Vepacitti.

How is it one who knows, like me,

Would get provoked by such a fool?

 

[Matali:] More angry will a fool become

If no one puts a stop to him.

So let the wise restrain the fool

By the use of a mighty stick.

[Sakka:] This is the only thing, I deem,

That will put a stop to the fool:

Knowing well the other's anger,

One is mindful and remains calm.

[Matali:] This very forbearance of yours,

Sakka, I see as a mistake.

For when a fool reckons like this:

"From fear of me he does forbear,"

The dolt will come on stronger still —

Like a bull the more that one flees.

Deva Sakka defeats the dragon or naga (1st-art-gallery.com).

[Sakka:] Let him think whatever he likes:

"From fear of me he does forbear."

Among ideals and highest goods

None better than patience is found.

For surely he who, being strong,

Forbears the ones who are more weak —

Forever enduring the weak —

That is called the highest patience.

For whom strength is the strength of fools,

It is said of the strong, "He's weak!"

For the strong, guarding the Dharma,

Contentiousness is never found.

 

It is indeed a fault for one

Who returns anger for anger.

Not giving anger for anger,

One wins a dual-victory.

 

One behaves for the good of both:

Oneself and the other person.

Knowing well the other's anger,

One is mindful and remains calm.

In this way one is healing both:

Oneself and the other person.

The people who think, "He's a fool,"

Just don't understand the Dharma.

.

The lore of St. Michael, the archangel, are echoes of Sakka, King of the Angels. He is revered in Buddhism, Vedic Hinduism, Yazidi Islam, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and Catholicism.

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

Satanic teen girl goes on killing spree (video)

Ashley Wells, Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly; Newsrender.com; The Associated Press; NJ.com; The Daily Item; Slayer; Dimmu Borgir

In court, the beautiful yakshini (ogress) Miranda Barbour, 19, is tired of killing (AP).

I have a swastika neck tattoo.

"KILL AGAIN" (Slayer): "Lurking in a dismal fog/ Hungry for your blood/ Seeking harmless victims/ Satisfy my need.// Schizophrenic lunatic/ Uncontrolled desire/ Rape and ravage lady fair/ Pledged to die// [CHORUS:] No apparent motive/ Kill and kill again/ Survive my brutal thrashing/ I'll hunt you till the end/ My life's a constant battle/ The rage of many men/ Homicidal maniac!// Trapped in mortal solitude/ Lift the gleaming blade/ Slice the flesh to shreds/ Watch the blood flow free// Hatred growing stronger/ None survive my wrath/ Suffer from the throbbing pain/ Yield your life to me.../ Chorus// Unrelenting need to kill/ Death upon you now/ Anxiously awaiting/ Next in line!"

 

 

Teen Killing Spree: less than 100 victims

Why? Miranda Barbour was molested since the age of 4 by her stepfather. Thanks, "dad."

 

Admittedly, maybe I got carried away.

SUNBURY - A Pennsylvania teen charged along with her newlywed husband with killing a man they met through Craigslist admitted to more slayings.

In a jailhouse interview with a newspaper, she said she has killed less than [100] other people across the country [and remembers where 22 of the bodies are buried]. Police claim they are investigating.

 

In an interview with The Daily Item in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, 19-year-old Miranda Dean now Mrs. Elytte Barbour [who says she began killing at age 13 as part of a Satanic cult] said she wants to plead guilty to killing Troy LaFerrara in November. 

Yakshi, Guimet Museum

She also said in the interview she has killed at least 22 other people from Alaska to North Carolina in the last six years as part of her involvement in a Satanic cult.

• Satanic murderer Miranda Barbour: "I've killed less than 100"
• Francis Scarcella (The Daily Item): "Barbour Body Count at 22?"

"I feel it is time to get all of this out. I don't care if people believe me. I just want to get it out," Barbour told the newspaper for a story published Saturday night. More

Satanic: Dimmu Borgir "Blood Hunger Doctrine" (Death Cult Armageddon)

• Not the first: Return of the Deadly Yakshi (female ogre)

A Buddhist "ogress" (yakshini)

Wisdom Quarterly (Wikipedia edit)

Hey, S happens when you work for Satan and fellow cult members who later deny you.

Yakkhas, Ventiane, Laos (Lucille Cottin/flickr)

What is a yakkha? In some lists (e.g., PvA. 45, 55) they range immediately above ghosts (petas); in fact, some of the happier ghosts are called yakkhas. Elsewhere (e.g., A.ii.38) they rank, in progressive order, between humans (manussā) and low ranking messenger-angels or fairies (gandhabbā). They are of many different kinds: spirits, ogres, dryads, ghosts, spooks. In the early records yakkha, like nāgā, as an appellative, was anything but depreciative. Thus, not only is Sakka, King of the Devas, referred to as a yakkha (M.i.252; J.iv.4; DA.i.264), but even the Buddha is spoken of as one in poetic diction (M.i.386). Many gods (devas), such as Kakudha, are so addressed (S.i.54). More

Yakshi, 3rd cent. BC, Patna Museum

Yakshinis (Sanskrit याक्षिणि, Pali yakkhini) are mythical beings in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain mythology.

 

A yakshini is the female counterpart of the male yakkha/yaksha (ogre, demon, monster). They both attend on Kubera, the Hindu god of wealth, who rules in the mythical Himalayan kingdom of Alaka [Buddhist Alavaka/Alavi?] They look after treasure hidden in the Earth and resemble fairies. Yakshinis are often depicted as beautiful and voluptuous, with wide hips, narrow waists, broad shoulders, and exaggerated, spherical breasts.

 

In the Uddamareshvara Tantra, 36 yakshinis are described, including their mantras and ritual prescriptions. A similar list of yakshas and yakshinis is given in the Tantraraja Tantra, where it says that these beings are givers of whatever is desired. Although they are usually benevolent, there are also yakshinis with malevolent characteristics in Indian folklore.

 

The list of 36 yakshinis given in the Uddamareshvara Tantra runs as follows:

1. Vichitra (The Strange One)
2. Vibhrama (The Amorous One)
3. Hamsi (Swan)
4. Bhishani (The Terrifying)
5. Janaranjika (The People Entertainer)
6. Vishala (The Large Eyed)
7. Madhana (Lustful)... More

• Satanists say: "Craigslist Killer" Miranda Barbour is not one of us! (Huffington Post)
• Skepticism clouds Miranda Barbour, the "Craigslist Killer," claims 
• Missing person's group "skeptical" of the "real-life Dexter" Miranda Barbour's claim that she murdered so many people she "stopped counting at 22"
• Teens carve swastika in boy's head over Facebook comment
• Seances in the White House, dog named "Satan," U.S. presidents
• VIDEO: Millennials are jerks in the workplace

(EA) Slayer, "Praise of Death," The Ritz, New York, 1986

1 in 4 Americans don't know Earth revolves around Sun

(NEWSER) To put the brightest possible spin on this story is to say that three-quarters of Americans are fully aware that the Earth revolves around the sun. The downside, of course, is that means 1 in 4 are in the dark about what Discovery calls "probably the most basic question in science." The National Science Foundation asked that question and nine others of 2,200 Americans, with the average score on the quiz coming in at 6.5, reports Phys.org. Some other results noted by NPR: 

• 39% answered correctly that "the universe began with a huge explosion."
• Fewer than half -- 48% -- agreed that "human beings...developed from earlier species of animals." More

"Super Miranda," teen Craigslist Killer (video)

CC Liu, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Daily Mail Reporters (Feb. 17, 2014)

"Super Miranda" murderous alter-ego

How many has she killed? Real-life "Dexter" confesses to murdering close to 100 "bad people" across the US while possessed by her Satanic alter-ego "Super Miranda."

• Miranda Barbour made the sensational claim in a newspaper interview over the weekend that she is a prolific female serial killer.

• 

  Regular mild-mannered Miranda

  The 19-year-old said that she stopped counting her victims after the 22nd victim.
• She told the reporter from jail during her interview that she could have killed dozens more.
• When pushed she said she had killed "less than 100" possessed by her Satanic alter-ego "Super Miranda."
• She is currently charged with the murder of [bad man] Troy LaFerrara, 42, in November, whom she met with her new husband, Elytte Barbour, using Craigslist.
• The teen mother has a son by a man who is now deceased, and his death is now part of the investigation.
• She claims she killed La Ferrara with a knife that has a notch on it for every victim.



Can I go now? This sucks.

• Police in Pennsylvania told The Daily Item that they're working with investigators from other states and the FBI to probe possible connections to unsolved murders throughout the U.S.
• A law enforcement source close to the investigation told CNN Barbour's new claims could be "the real deal." "It's conceivable," the source said.
• "Super Miranda" has been compared to a "real life Dexter" -- after saying she only killed people who had done bad things.

Mother Miranda with her son

The Satan worshiping Pennsylvania teenager dubbed the "Craigslist Killer" and "the real life Dexter," who confessed to more than 22 murders in a sensational newspaper interview over the weekend, states that she could have killed dozens more.

When pushed on the total number of victims she claims to have killed, Miranda Barbour, 19, blurted out a staggering figure of, "less than 100."

Explaining that she adopted a murderous alter ego she dubbed "Super Miranda" when she killed, Barbour said that she kept a favorite knife that had notches on it -- one for each of her victims. More

• All about killer Mrs. Miranda Barbour
• Kali, the Dark Mother (Hindu deity)
• Hindu Goddess Kali - ferocious devi (Sanatan Society)
• FREE one week of yoga (Yoga Works)
• Have you tried Craigslist for LOVE?
• Mother Goddess as Kali - the feminine force in Indian art
  

  Kali makes her official debut in the Devi-Mahatmya, where she is said to have emanated from the brow of Goddess Durga ("Slayer of Demons") during one of the...

If I were a beautiful and fierce yakshini, might I get angry and go on a Kali-esque (protective) killing spree? Supernatural powers are a dangerous thing without enlightenment and its full complement of virtue rooted in liberating wisdom and compassion.

Native Americans know "Bigfoot" (video)

Pfc. Sandoval, Xochitl, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly; History.com; EsotericHaven

Yeti, Laos (Jenny-H-Edwards)

Monster quests are fun if a little spooky. Let us now take a look at what Native American legends say about the giant "Bigfoot." The wild man of the woods goes by many names among various First Nation peoples ("tribes"). But Sasquatch more than any other has been adopted into the American lexicon.

Wildmen stories are found throughout the world and among the indigenous US population of the Pacific Northwest from California through Canada to Alaska. These legends existed prior to a single name for the creature. They differed in their details both regionally and between families within the same community. Similar stories of wildmen are found on every continent other than barren Antarctica. 

 

 

Tribal Bigfoot (Paulides)

Ecologist Robert Michael Pyle argues that most cultures have human-like giants in their folk history: "We have this need for some larger-than-life creature."

Members of the Lummi tell tales about Ts'emekwes, the local version of Bigfoot. The stories are similar to each other in terms of the general descriptions of Ts'emekwes, but details about the creature's diet and activities differ between the stories of different families.

(National Geographic) Skeptical research into Bigfoot aimed to debunk sightings, native legends, and forensic evidence. Is there a large bipedal primate out there? Film footage from 1967 captured an image of an elusive hominid. Nat Geo examines the footage and interviews trackers who claim to have encountered the frightening beast.

• Bigfoot: Yetis fighting Bears in Siberia
  (Voice of Russia) Russians are concerned that a growing battle between bears and the "human like" Yeti [yakshi, Buddhist "ogre"] of the forests will cause trouble this winter, when the defeated bears come...

Some regional versions contain more nefarious creatures. The stiyaha or kwi-kwiyai were a nocturnal race that children were told not to say the names of lest the monsters hear and come to carry off a person -- sometimes to be killed. In 1847, Paul Kane reported stories by the native people about skoocooms: a race of cannibalistic wild men living on the peak of Mount Saint Helens. The skoocooms appear to have been regarded as supernatural rather than ordinary terrestrial beings.

Less menacing versions such as the one recorded by Rev. Elkanah Walker exist. In 1840, Walker, a Protestant missionary, recorded stories of giants among the Native Americans living in Spokane, Washington. The Indians claimed that these giants lived on and around the peaks of nearby mountains and stole salmon from the fishermen's nets.
 

Asian wild man ogre mask (mickjim/flickr)

Various local legends were compiled by J.W. Burns in a series of Canadian newspaper articles in the 1920s. Each language had its own name for the local version. Many names meant something along the lines of "wild man" or "hairy man" although other names described common actions it was said to perform (e.g., eating clams). 

  

Check the DNA! I did. - Dr. Ketchum

Burns coined the term Sasquatch, which is from the Halkomelem sásq'ets and used it in his articles to describe a hypothetical single type of creature reflected in these various stories. Burns's articles popularized both the legend and its new name, making it well known in western Canada before it gained popularity in the United States.

Frontiersman Daniel Boone reported having shot and killed "a ten-foot, hairy giant he called a Yahoo." Folktale scholar Hugh H. Trotti has argued that Boone's account may have been the inspiration for some of the early Bigfoot stories told in North America.

(Monster Quest) "The Mysterious Sasquatch Island" (documentary)

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.