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Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2025 5:19 pm
thus defeating Mara — all that “seven-seven-seven” isn’t about time, not seven days each or seven times, but that it’s seven variations at once. That’s why he saw all seven — because he was in the eighth corner. And that actually explains it: he’s in the eighth corner here, in the eighth corner there, he’s in the eighth corner in all of it. That’s how it’s expressed — it’s sacred language. And everything that happened to him is the path, and afterward he began to share this knowledge, this story, of how he went through the path. And I’m also trying to capture this path in my novel, “Alternative History.”
I will now refer not only to what Nirvana and enlightenment are, but also compare it to the opposite side. That’s why I’ll reference those articles and stories that describe how Buddha or Jesus were attacked, and more importantly, how they overcame it and who they became as a result. And here is one passage from an article I found online, which says: “Buddha had a cousin, Devadatta, who didn’t love him and caused him trouble. In fact, if you study the canon more closely, many people didn’t like Buddha and created problems for him. This is a very valuable lesson — if even Buddha wasn’t loved by everyone, and couldn’t please everyone, how could we possibly expect to? So it’s important to stay realistic and not be upset if others don’t like us, or if we can’t please everyone.” In those life accounts that mention the death of Buddha, it is said that Ananda (one of Buddha’s main disciples) had the opportunity to ask Buddha not to leave. But he didn’t, and so Buddha’s life ended. This teaches us that Buddha gives guidance and stays only if he is asked to. If no one wants him to remain, he leaves. We can apply the same principle — if people don’t want help or don’t need us, there’s no reason to impose ourselves. There may be many others who are more receptive to help.” And what’s the emphasis here? That there are many articles online about how Mara — or more broadly, the God of Death, this dark force — attacked Buddha. It turned people against him, made them not love him, set them up to betray him, to condemn him. And it also tried to plant within Buddha countless doubts and negative reactions — this is exactly how Mara works, how the dark force operates. That’s why I wanted to emphasize that all individuals who walked the path toward awakening were subjected to such trials.
I will now refer not only to what Nirvana and enlightenment are, but also compare it to the opposite side. That’s why I’ll reference those articles and stories that describe how Buddha or Jesus were attacked, and more importantly, how they overcame it and who they became as a result. And here is one passage from an article I found online, which says: “Buddha had a cousin, Devadatta, who didn’t love him and caused him trouble. In fact, if you study the canon more closely, many people didn’t like Buddha and created problems for him. This is a very valuable lesson — if even Buddha wasn’t loved by everyone, and couldn’t please everyone, how could we possibly expect to? So it’s important to stay realistic and not be upset if others don’t like us, or if we can’t please everyone.” In those life accounts that mention the death of Buddha, it is said that Ananda (one of Buddha’s main disciples) had the opportunity to ask Buddha not to leave. But he didn’t, and so Buddha’s life ended. This teaches us that Buddha gives guidance and stays only if he is asked to. If no one wants him to remain, he leaves. We can apply the same principle — if people don’t want help or don’t need us, there’s no reason to impose ourselves. There may be many others who are more receptive to help.” And what’s the emphasis here? That there are many articles online about how Mara — or more broadly, the God of Death, this dark force — attacked Buddha. It turned people against him, made them not love him, set them up to betray him, to condemn him. And it also tried to plant within Buddha countless doubts and negative reactions — this is exactly how Mara works, how the dark force operates. That’s why I wanted to emphasize that all individuals who walked the path toward awakening were subjected to such trials.