Page 179
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2025 4:52 pm
It’s like I’ve been resisting and rejecting the dark half of life, not accepting it, even though before I used to accept it — it’s a paradox. Earlier, I believed that everything comes from God, both the dark and the light, that it’s all for the good, all just and fair. And now I have to free myself from that. When I free myself, that’s it — I’ll become a bodhisattva, awakened.
Look how interesting this is. Wikipedia, section “Mara tests Buddha,” and in the subsection “Plot” it says that “In the work, there is a depiction of the climax in the life of Buddhism’s founder, Buddha Shakyamuni — the night spent in meditation, his victory over the god of Death, Mara... Exactly, you see, in the fifth volume I explored death, and I must overcome it. “...and the awakening (or enlightenment) that followed. Buddha, who had undergone a long spiritual evolution from a prince bathed in luxury to a monk-hermit mortifying the flesh in renunciation of worldly goods, came to the conclusion that neither path leads to truth. Truth, as it often happens, revealed itself unexpectedly. ‘On the 14th day of the Vaisakha month,’ Buddha habitually settled for meditation under a tree. That night a full moon rose. He proceeded through four stages of contemplation — this is how Gautama daily purified his mind. Then he entered the usual trance, shutting off all five channels of sensory perception — this is how desires are tamed. Then he entered a second trance — a state of cessation of thought — the point at which peace and happiness arose. Then he reached a state of equanimity to both joy and aversion. Having rejected joy and pain, uplift and depression, he moved to the fourth trance. However, each of these four states was not only an inner psychological advancement but also an immersion of his spirit into the world’s ‘true reality.’ Most of all, the god of Death Mara feared Gautama’s advancement toward truth. For Gautama’s victory was first and foremost over him — since death holds no power over the Enlightened.
Legends say Mara fought all night during the Enlightenment, sometimes like a furious wild bull, sometimes as the god of Evil, opposing the feat by all means. He sent upon Gautama hordes of evil spirits, terrible werewolves, and witches, but Buddha did not even notice them. Then, in heavenly-beautiful and wildly seductive form appeared the daughters of Mara — incarnations of sensuality, lust, and other deadly vices. But Buddha was protected from them by the power of great Love (maitri) and great compassion (karuna) for all living beings. Then Mara caused an earthquake and hurricane, but not a single hair on Buddha’s head trembled — he was guarded by ten perfect qualities acquired in this and past lives: generosity,
Look how interesting this is. Wikipedia, section “Mara tests Buddha,” and in the subsection “Plot” it says that “In the work, there is a depiction of the climax in the life of Buddhism’s founder, Buddha Shakyamuni — the night spent in meditation, his victory over the god of Death, Mara... Exactly, you see, in the fifth volume I explored death, and I must overcome it. “...and the awakening (or enlightenment) that followed. Buddha, who had undergone a long spiritual evolution from a prince bathed in luxury to a monk-hermit mortifying the flesh in renunciation of worldly goods, came to the conclusion that neither path leads to truth. Truth, as it often happens, revealed itself unexpectedly. ‘On the 14th day of the Vaisakha month,’ Buddha habitually settled for meditation under a tree. That night a full moon rose. He proceeded through four stages of contemplation — this is how Gautama daily purified his mind. Then he entered the usual trance, shutting off all five channels of sensory perception — this is how desires are tamed. Then he entered a second trance — a state of cessation of thought — the point at which peace and happiness arose. Then he reached a state of equanimity to both joy and aversion. Having rejected joy and pain, uplift and depression, he moved to the fourth trance. However, each of these four states was not only an inner psychological advancement but also an immersion of his spirit into the world’s ‘true reality.’ Most of all, the god of Death Mara feared Gautama’s advancement toward truth. For Gautama’s victory was first and foremost over him — since death holds no power over the Enlightened.
Legends say Mara fought all night during the Enlightenment, sometimes like a furious wild bull, sometimes as the god of Evil, opposing the feat by all means. He sent upon Gautama hordes of evil spirits, terrible werewolves, and witches, but Buddha did not even notice them. Then, in heavenly-beautiful and wildly seductive form appeared the daughters of Mara — incarnations of sensuality, lust, and other deadly vices. But Buddha was protected from them by the power of great Love (maitri) and great compassion (karuna) for all living beings. Then Mara caused an earthquake and hurricane, but not a single hair on Buddha’s head trembled — he was guarded by ten perfect qualities acquired in this and past lives: generosity,