佛本行集經

Chapter 31: MĀRA THE KING TERRIFIES THE BODHISATTVA

(Part 2)

At that time, the māra maidens, thoroughly versed in exploiting the seductive beauty of women, employed other deceptive and beguiling methods to sway the Bodhisattva’s mind, speaking these verses:

Our brows are broad, our necks full and round;
Our ivory eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and long curved lashes
Are fair and pure as blue-lotus petals;
Our shapely noses are even, like a parrot’s beak.

Our tongues are slender and soft as lotus petals;
Our voices in song and chant are exceedingly sweet,
No different from the voices of female kiṃnaras.

The Bodhisattva then directed the power of his mind and looked straight at the māra maidens without averting his eyes. Mindful and smiling, he kept his faculties steady, his body upright, and remained firmly established like Mount Sumeru. His mind was unmoved and he felt no shame. Moreover, employing the many Dharma approaches, skillful means, and wisdom by which in former times he had subdued all afflictions, he spoke to the māra maidens in verses, his voice filled with compassion, surpassing the voice of Brahmā and resembling the song of the kalaviṅka bird:

The various five desires of the world
Bring suffering, bondage, and manifold transgressions.
Because of affliction, beings lose their supernormal powers,
Fall into the pit of ignorance, and enter darkness.

By day and night blood courses through the body;
Seeing its putrid parts, the mind finds no delight.
The two thighs, two calves, and two feet
Stand firm only because sinews and bones bind them together.

Mistakenly imagining purity, they give rise to craving.
The five desires are like employing people as servants
And making women one’s attendants.
They lead one far from pure precepts and the mind of the Way,
And far from wisdom and tranquil meditative concentration.
Dwelling amid turmoil and clamor,
Far from the wondrous Dharma and delighting in the five desires,
Such a person will fall into hell without doubt.

At that time, the daughters of Māra King Pāpīyān, skilled in women’s arts of enchantment, made themselves still more graceful and alluring, their faces magnificent, and likewise used beautiful, cunning words to seduce the Bodhisattva.

A verse says:

“Sentient beings throughout the world are beyond measure;
They are constantly driven into conflict by desires.
Conflict leads to quarrels and disputes.
Such people, devoid of wisdom,
Are constantly burned by the sufferings of affliction.
The wise, understanding this, do not follow them;
Casting them away and leaving them far behind, they go forth
And delight in dwelling in mountain forests.

For me, the time has now arrived;
I am about to realize the ever-abiding nectar-Dharma.
First I must subdue the hosts of māra,
And only afterward attain the state of the One Possessing the Ten Powers.”

The māra maidens, daughters of Māra Pāpīyān, again addressed the Bodhisattva:

The ultimate fruit of bodhi is exceedingly difficult to attain,
How much more the wisdom-body of the Buddhas!
The right path of liberation is difficult to tread;
Whom have you seen succeed in reaching it?

The Bodhisattva then replied:

I am resolved to become the Dharma King,
The Sovereign One among devas and humans,
To turn the unsurpassed and wondrous Dharma wheel,
Perfect in the ten powers and utterly fearless.
I alone shall transcend the three realms,
While disciples, both those still in training and those beyond training,
Surround me in their hundreds of thousands of millions.

They shall continually praise me in this manner:
“The Great Sage has appeared in the world to remove doubts.”
For their sake I shall proclaim the wondrous Dharma
And travel freely throughout all places.
Therefore, in this world
I do not delight in the pleasures of the five desires.

The māra maidens again addressed the Bodhisattva:

The Bodhisattva again told them:

The māra maidens then spoke these verses:

Noble sir, among the devas you could be like Śakra,
With devas and celestial maidens attending on either side.
In Yāma, Tuṣita, Nirmāṇarati,
Para-nirmita-vaśavartin, and Māra’s palace,
Everything is splendid and complete, lacking nothing.
Enjoy the five desires; do not enter quiescence.

The Bodhisattva then replied in verse:

The māra maidens again spoke in verse:

Why do you not behold the flowers upon the trees,
The bees, butterflies, and birds joining in concert,
The soft green grass spread across the land,
And all the lovely forests appearing together?
Celestial musicians are sounding their music.
This is a beautiful season; you should enjoy its pleasures.

The Bodhisattva then spoke in verse:

A thousand trees bring forth flowers and fruits in season;
Hungry and thirsty birds and bees seek fragrance and flavor.
When the blazing sun rises, the earth dries by itself,
But the nectar of the Buddhas can never be exhausted.

The māra maidens again spoke in verse:

Noble sir, your countenance is like the risen moon;
Look upon our faces, like lotus flowers.
Our mouths and teeth are pure and white as ivory;
Beauties such as these are rare even among the devas,
How much more so among humans, yet you have encountered us.
Our bodies and minds will harmoniously accord with your wishes.

The Bodhisattva then replied in verse:

I see your bodies oozing impurity,
With microbes gathered in hundreds of thousands of nests;
Impermanent, they are filled throughout with evils,
And birth, old age, sickness, and death pursue them without cease.

When the lion strides with tempestuous force,
The trees along the mountainside are all cast down.
Today, through majestic virtue, I have left the five desires;
I cast all of you aside in just the same way.

The māra maidens displayed a hundred arts,
But could not enchant or move the Bodhisattva’s mind.
The Bodhisattva was like the body of a lion king,
Like Mount Sumeru, serene and unmoving.

At that time, the daughters of Māra King Pāpīyān, unable to enchant the Bodhisattva, felt deeply ashamed and abashed. They all bowed down and paid homage at the Bodhisattva’s feet, circumambulated him three times, and then withdrew, returning dejectedly to Māra King Pāpīyān. Upon arriving, they addressed their father:

“Father, you should not entertain the thought of going to that being and making an enemy of him. Why? From the distant past until now, we have never seen any being in the Desire Realm remain utterly unmoved after we displayed every seductive art beside him. Moreover, when we arouse lust, we cause the resolve of others to wither away, just as all grasses and trees are scorched during a drought, or as butter placed beneath the springtime sun melts of itself. For what cause and condition does this Great Man today remain so independent? For this reason, Father, please do not make an enemy of him.”

Then, facing their father, they spoke these verses:

Even if Mount Sumeru should topple and collapse,
And the sun, moon, and stars all fall,
And the great ocean dry up until no water remained,
On seeing sensual desire, his mind would not retreat.

His clear voice brings joy to those who hear it;
With a loving mind he looked upon us, free of sensual defilement.
Seeing us, he gave rise to no anger,
But clearly contemplated the human body,
Perceiving our intentions and our bodies,
And carefully considering the perils of women.
Therefore, his mind takes no pleasure in the five desires.
Who can fathom one so free of desire and craving?
This is beyond the capacity of humans and devas.

We displayed all the arts of women.
Had the slightest sensual love remained in his mind,
It would have blazed like dry firewood.
Yet though he saw us, his mind was undefiled;
He stood firm and towering like Mount Sumeru.
Adorned by merit and wisdom and a hundred virtues,
His practices of generosity and morality are perfected.
For tens of thousands of eons he has cultivated the holy life;
He is a pure being of great majestic virtue.

Father, look into the sky:
Many assemblies of bodhisattvas have come from other regions,
Their bodies all adorned with jeweled necklaces.
With profound respect, they reverently bow to him;
Māndārava flowers fall like rain,
And they utter wondrous verses in his praise.

Thus, Father, this is not the time;
We must now return here.”

Māra King then spoke this verse:

When crossing a river, one must reach the farther bank;
To dig up a tree, one must cut through its roots.
Once enmity is formed, it must be uprooted completely.
The deed has begun; there can be no regret.

Māra King Pāpīyān did not heed the counsel of his eldest son, the Merchant Leader, nor did he listen to the remonstrance of his beloved daughters. He personally went to the Bodhi tree. Having reached it, Māra King said to the Bodhisattva:

“Śākya ascetic, what do you seek that you have come here to sit alone beneath the trees on this dark night of clouds, rain, and wind, amid savage wild beasts and many terrifying, venomous nāgas? Bhikṣu, are you not afraid of brutal bandits and robbers?”

The Bodhisattva replied to Māra King Pāpīyān:

“Māra King Pāpīyān, I seek the fruit of quiescent nirvana, the work accomplished by the Buddhas of past ages, the supreme state of fearlessness where all modes of existence are utterly ended. For this reason, today I have come to sit beneath the Bodhi tree in this secluded place.”

Māra King then addressed the Bodhisattva in verse:

The Bodhisattva then addressed Māra King Pāpīyān in verse:

The devas of old cultivated austerities,
But their courageous vigor was not profound;
Their merit, wholesome power, and strength were weak.
In the past I kept the precepts with an unwavering vow.
Pāpīyān, if I do not attain the Way,
For the rest of my life I shall not leave this tree.

Māra King again spoke in verse:

The Bodhisattva again addressed Māra King Pāpīyān in verse:

Māra King Pāpīyān again said to the Bodhisattva:

“Son of the Śākyas, you should quickly leave this place. You will certainly attain the throne of a wheel-turning sage king and become a great sovereign who rules the four continents, possesses the seven treasures, and commands all the mountains, rivers, and lands.

“Son of the Śākyas, do you not remember the predictions made by the seers of old that you would become a king? You should rise quickly, return, and freely become lord of the world. If you return, you will possess unsurpassed majesty and virtue, rule and instruct the people in accordance with the true Dharma, and be admired by the people of every land, who will come to honor you and make offerings. Furthermore, Son of the Śākyas, your body is delicate. From childhood onward you were raised deep within the palace, yet now you dwell in a desolate wilderness seldom visited by people, where many fearsome beasts live. You are alone and without companions; I fear your body may be harmed, causing me perpetual sorrow.

“Furthermore, Son of the Śākyas, quickly leave this place and return to the royal palace. You have already obtained what is difficult to obtain in the world, yet you reject and refuse to enjoy the supreme and delightful pleasures of the five desires. Though you wish to seek the unsurpassed Way, it is truly difficult to attain.

“Son of the Śākyas, you do not yet truly understand how difficult it is to realize the Way of bodhi; you will merely labor and exhaust yourself in vain.”

After Pāpīyān had spoken thus, he stood in silence. The Bodhisattva then said to Māra King Pāpīyān:

“Māra King Pāpīyān, you need not speak in this way. Why? Because my mind does not delight in the pleasures of the five desires.

Māra King Pāpīyān, I have long known the dangers of the five desires. Once one becomes addicted to them, one never knows satisfaction. The pleasure of the five desires lasts only a moment and does not endure.

Being impermanent, suffering, empty, and without self, it is unreliable. It is like a dewdrop upon grass; like the tongue of a venomous snake, fearsome and difficult to touch; like a foul, unclean heap of bones; like a piece of meat over which beasts contend, fighting and killing one another; like ripe fruit upon a tree that remains on its branch for only a short time; like a dream, a bubble, a conjurer’s illusion, or a mirage, devoid of reality; like fire buried in a heap of goat dung that suddenly flares up and burns a person.

Māra King Pāpīyān, I wish to realize the unconditioned Dharma. Pāpīyān, you should know that I have renounced wealth and honor, even the seven treasures and sovereignty over the four continents.

“Furthermore, Māra King Pāpīyān, suppose a person ate fine delicacies and then vomited them up, afterward wishing to eat them again. Such a thing could never happen. So it is! So it is! I have now renounced the blessings described above. This was extremely difficult to do, and just as a person cannot eat again what he has vomited, how could I return to the royal palace? Māra King Pāpīyān, before long I shall certainly awaken to bodhi, attain Buddhahood, and utterly end the sufferings of birth, old age, sickness, and death. Pāpīyān, you should return to your palace and not stand here! You speak many frivolous and useless words—the words of a fool.”

Pāpīyān then thought, “This man cannot be deceived by the five desires. I should employ other stratagems and use flowery words to entice his heart, causing him to depart elsewhere.”

Having thought thus, Māra King Pāpīyān again addressed the Bodhisattva:

“Noble sir, Śākya ascetic of the Ikṣvāku lineage, arise quickly! Arise quickly! From childhood until now, you have never witnessed warfare, the clash of weapons, and its truly dreadful horrors.

Noble sir, you should simply follow your own royal Dharma; confronting an enemy in battle is not something you can endure. Moreover, noble sir, you should not make enemies of others. If you form enmity, all manner of craving and delusion will persistently defile your consciousness, and you will be unable to escape the skandhas of form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness.

Noble sir, quickly take this body, together with your unwholesome mind and wrong views, and return. Śākya ascetic, go back to the royal palace, establish a great unrestricted assembly of giving, assume the throne of a golden-wheel sage king, subdue the world through royal Dharma, and govern all beneath heaven. Do not cling to this place and suffer injury in battle.

“Noble sir, when you return to your own palace, you will obtain great merit, majesty, and power upon the righteous and joyous royal path praised by all kings of old. Your vast domain will embrace the four continents, and everything will be complete, lacking nothing.

“Noble sir, you were born deep within the palace of a great king, yet today you have shaved your beard and hair and become a bhikṣu. The life of a mendicant is truly unsuitable for you. Why should you, a son of the Śākyas belonging to the royal caste, choose the impoverished life of an ascetic? I speak these words only because I pity you. I am not using force to compel you to leave this place; I merely cannot bear to see you doing what is unworthy.”

Then Māra spoke in verse:

O kṣatriya, death is terrifying;
Abandon liberation and return to the royal palace.
Establish the law of bow and arrow and govern the world;
Enjoy pleasure in this life and ascend to heaven afterward.
The path of kings is renowned everywhere,
And all the rulers of old walked upon it.
Noble sir, you were born into a royal lineage;
It does not befit you to live as a mendicant ascetic.

After Māra King Pāpīyān had spoken thus, the Bodhisattva gazed intently, resolved not to comply. He did not move his body or leave his seat, but silently thought, “Alas, Pāpīyān! You seek your own advantage and do not act out of compassion for me.” Having thought this, the Bodhisattva said to Pāpīyān:

“Māra King Pāpīyān, I am seated upon the firm Vajra Seat in the full lotus posture, which is exceedingly difficult to destroy, because I wish to realize the nectar-Dharma. Māra King Pāpīyān, act according to your own thoughts. Whatever you are able to do, do as you please.”

Pāpīyān then became angry and vexed and said to the Bodhisattva:

“Śākya bhikṣu, why are you sitting today beneath a tree in this secluded place? With the hosts of māra roaring in this way, what are you thinking that you continue to sit still? Do you imagine that you are seated within a city securely protected by four encircling walls?

Bhikṣu, do you not see that I command the fourfold army of elephants, cavalry, chariots, and infantry, together with other troops, and that standards, command flags, feathered banners, feathered parasols, and ensigns are all advancing here? There are many human-flesh-eating yakṣas, archers of supernatural skill, all carrying bows and crossbows, sharp arrows, spears, pikes, hooks, halberds, knives, clubs, vajra battle wheels, axes, and every kind of weapon.

There are tens of thousands of chariots, elephants, camels, and horses filling the sky, all roaring together. Furthermore, immeasurable nāgas hide within pitch-black clouds, amid flashing lightning and a frenzied storm of rain and snow.”

Māra King Pāpīyān then drew a sharp sword from his belt, grasped it in his hand, and rushed toward the Bodhisattva, shouting loudly:

“Śākya bhikṣu, this sword of mine will cleave your body as a strong man splits bamboo.”

He then spoke in verse:

The Bodhisattva replied to Māra King in verse:

After speaking these verses, the Bodhisattva again told Māra King:

“Māra King Pāpīyān, even if hundreds of thousands of millions of sentient beings, each with a body like yours, came here exerting all their strength to obstruct me, hoping to damage my attainment of bodhi and prevent me from realizing unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening, I would never leave this place to sit beneath another tree.”

Māra King Pāpīyān said to the Bodhisattva:

“Śākya bhikṣu, formerly you sat beside the Nairañjanā River in Uruvilvā, aroused vigorous resolve, and practiced austerities for six years without sparing body or life, yet you still did not attain the unsurpassed fruit. How much less could you attain it today, having abandoned vigorous resolve, fallen away from meditative concentration, and given rise to indolence? Upon what do you rely in hoping to obtain that fruit?”

The Bodhisattva replied to Māra King Pāpīyān:

“Māra King Pāpīyān, formerly, because I had only newly aroused vigorous resolve, I sat in solitude beside that river to discipline my own mind. Today I have perfected that courageous vigor. Moreover, formerly I practiced austerities for six years in order to overcome weariness; today that is no longer necessary. Māra King Pāpīyān, your remonstrance is truly not born of compassion. If you had compassion for me, how could you utter such words? Since you have given rise to such a mind, I shall assuredly attain liberation and then cause others to be liberated as I am. Māra King Pāpīyān, I am resolved to realize unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening and shall certainly attain wondrous liberation.”

When Pāpīyān heard the Bodhisattva speak these words, his heart was filled with sorrow, and he abandoned all further effort. He then thought, “I have tried to entice him with flowery words, yet I cannot make him leave the root of the Tree of the Way. He has made a profound and weighty vow and cannot be moved by emotional appeals. I should therefore employ military force to terrorize, rebuke, and coerce him, causing fear to arise in his mind so that he will hurriedly stand and flee.”

Having thought thus, Māra Pāpīyān said to the Bodhisattva:

“Śākya bhikṣu, I have spoken rightly to you, yet you will not accept the good intentions of my counsel and will not rise quickly and go elsewhere. You are truly foolish. Before this hour passes, you will clearly behold misfortune.”

The Bodhisattva then said to Māra King Pāpīyān:

“Māra King Pāpīyān, even while I was in the womb of my holy mother, all of you were unable to obstruct me; how much less can you do so today? Māra King Pāpīyān, you should quickly return to your dwellings. From the distant past until now, I have never feared you, and I do not fear you today.”

Then, facing Pāpīyān, the Bodhisattva spoke in verse:

Though the sky should rain down blades and clubs
And cut my body into fragments,
If I have not crossed the ocean of birth and death,
For the rest of my life I shall not leave the Bodhi tree.

Māra King Pāpīyān then said to the Bodhisattva:

“Śākya bhikṣu, you speak this way today only because you have not seen the might of Māra’s army. Why? Because my māra troops, clad in sturdy armor and wielding every kind of weapon, will charge against your body. At that very moment, Śākya bhikṣu, you will hurriedly rise, leave this tree, run to me, and certainly cry aloud, ‘Māra King, grant me refuge!’ Bhikṣu, you do not yet know my supernormal powers, and therefore you sit upon the Lion Seat and utter the lion’s roar. Śākya bhikṣu, arise quickly! Why utter the lion’s roar in vain today?”

Māra King spoke in verse:

I have troops of elephants, horses, and infantry,
And divine generals well versed in the arts of war.
Their bodies are clad in battle armor, their hands grasp weapons.
If you value your life, flee quickly.
If you seek my aid afterward, it will be difficult to help you;
Even if I wish to save you then, I shall be unable.

The Bodhisattva then said to Māra King Pāpīyān:

“Pāpīyān, the four great oceans and this vast earth could be moved elsewhere. The sun, moon, and stars could fall from the sky to the ground. Mount Sumeru, king of mountains, could be split into a hundred pieces.

The great earth and Mount Sumeru could be lifted into the heavens or overturned. Dry earth could be used to fill the Ganges and prevent its waters from flowing. Yet today no one can obstruct or subdue my mind, nor can my body be moved elsewhere.

Why? Māra King Pāpīyān, such were the powers of my meditative concentration, morality, and supernormal might when I formerly practiced austerities. Pāpīyān, with strength such as mine, neither devas nor nāgas can surpass or defeat me.

I have attained this through perfecting the practice of bodhi during hundreds of billions of eons in the past.”

The Bodhisattva then said to Māra King:

The devas of the Pure Abodes are my assembly;
The power of wisdom is my arrow, skillful means my bow.
It will not be difficult for me to subdue you today,
Just as a maddened elephant tramples dry bamboo.

When Māra Pāpīyān heard the Bodhisattva speak these words, his anger increased. Already enraged, he became still more furious until wrath filled his entire body. Māra King cried aloud and commanded all the yakṣas, rākṣasas, and others:

“Valiant generals and disorderly hosts of Red Eyes, come here quickly! Take all mountains, rocks, trees, and weapons—bows, arrows, blades, swords, vajra clubs, staves, cudgels, lances, spears, halberds, and axes—and pour them down upon the head of this Śākya of the kṣatriya lineage! Let every weapon rain down like a snowstorm.”

When the valiant yakṣa generals heard Pāpīyān issue this command, they immediately arrayed the fourfold army in full readiness. All clad their bodies in armor, grasped weapons in their hands, and rushed forward. Immeasurable hundreds of thousands of millions of yakṣas, rākṣasas, piśācas, kumbhāṇḍas, and others appeared in every kind of form, feature, and color. Wielding every kind of weapon, they manifested terrifying shapes, with strange heads and bodies, shouting unnaturally in voices filled with malice.

They assumed every kind of form: some had elephant faces; others had the heads of horses, camels, cattle, buffaloes, mules, dogs, goats, lions, tigers, leopards, wolves, foxes, jackals, cats, deer, antelopes, or birds. Others had the heads of makaras, turtles, or fish. Some had insect bodies and snake heads; horse bodies and elephant heads; elephant bodies and horse heads; ox bodies and camel heads; camel bodies and ox heads; mule bodies, or donkey bodies with buffalo heads; donkey heads with buffalo bodies; dog heads with pig bodies; pig heads with dog bodies; black-goat heads with wolf bodies; wolf heads with black-goat bodies; lion heads with tiger or leopard bodies; tiger or leopard heads with lion bodies; fox or cat heads with bear bodies; bear heads with fox or cat bodies;

rhinoceros heads with otter bodies; otter heads with rhinoceros bodies; yak heads with monkey bodies; monkey heads with yak bodies; ape heads with jackal bodies; jackal heads with ape bodies; cat heads with bird bodies; bird heads with cat bodies; makara-fish heads with tortoise bodies; tortoise heads with makara-fish bodies; fish heads with snake bodies; snake heads with fish bodies; animal heads with human bodies; or human heads with animal bodies.

Some had bodies but no heads; some had half a face or half a body; some had one body with two heads, one body with three heads, or one body with many heads. Some had heads without faces, faces without heads, half a head without a face, half a face without a head, two heads without a face, three heads without a face, or many heads and no face at all.

Some had no eyes whatsoever; others had one eye, two eyes, three eyes, or even many eyes. Some had no ears; others had one ear, two ears, three ears, or even many ears. Some had no hands or no arms; others had one hand, two hands, three hands, or even many hands. Some had no feet; others had only one foot, two feet, three feet, or even many feet, while some had no lower legs.

Some had heads tilted sideways; some had dangling heads; some had their heads turned toward the ground and their legs pointing skyward, with hands and feet reversed; others had severed limbs still hanging from them. Some had inverted eyes; some had terrifying bulging blue eyes; some had red eyes; some had eyes shining like ice; and some had eyes that moved incessantly.

Some had drooping ears; some had ears like antelopes, donkeys, wood-ear mushrooms, monkeys, or fish; and some bore many different kinds of ears upon a single body. Some had crooked noses and hideous bodies. Some had hanging mouths or dangling tongues; some had coarse tongues; and some had tongues that emitted light. Some had exceedingly large and long teeth but bodies that were squat and stunted. Some had protruding, uneven teeth; some had teeth like blades and swords; and some had tongue tips shaped like blades and swords. Some had hanging bellies, while others had no bellies. Some were covered in hair; some had no knees; some had knees shaped like jars; some had no calves and feet shaped like overturned bowls or like mortars.