Chapter 21: Detailing Māra’s Activities10661067
On that topic, the Blessed One continued, “Subhūti, a bodhisattva great being may say, ‘By the power of the truth in my stating that I have been foreordained by the previous worthy, perfectly and completely awakened tathāgatas, may this malevolent spirit go away!’1068 But in response, Subhūti, it is the pernicious Māra who will exert himself in making that malevolent spirit go away.1069 Why is that? Because the pernicious Māra will strive extremely strenuously and energetically to get at a bodhisattva great being who has not traveled a long time on the path.1070 That is to say, Māra will think how he can make the malevolent spirit go away so that when the malevolent spirit leaves because of Māra’s magical power to influence others, the bodhisattva great being will suppose that his or her own miraculous power is what made the malevolent spirit go away. Moreover, since that bodhisattva great being does not know that Māra’s miraculous power caused the malevolent spirit to go away, he or she will exert him- or herself only minimally going forward. And with his or her exertion, the bodhisattva great being will treat disrespectfully other bodhisattva great beings, be smug to them, be sarcastic toward them, pick at their faults, and criticize them, boasting, ‘I have been foreordained for unsurpassed, perfect awakening by the previous worthy, perfectly and completely awakened tathāgatas.’1071 As a result, his or her pride will develop and develop, more than even just this much. That pride will increase and increase more. That pride will become stubborn and more stubborn. That pride will be fed and fed more. And it will flare up.1072 Out of his or her pride, self-superiority, arrogance, egotism, conceitedness, and deluded sense of grandeur, such a bodhisattva great being will come to distance him- or herself from the state of complete knowing, that is to say, from the unsurpassed knowing of a buddha, the knowing of a self-existent being, the knowing of someone who has complete knowing, and unsurpassed, perfect awakening.1073 He or she might see virtuous friends in the form of either beginning or advanced bodhisattva great beings, who have virtuous qualities, have perfected the altruistic disposition, have become skilled in means, and possess qualities beyond regressing. Yet, he or she will feel conceited toward them. And because he or she looks down on them, he or she will not serve these sorts of virtuous friends, wait upon them, attend to them, or ask them questions. Instead, he or she will strengthen his or her ties to Māra, and long for one of the two lower levels, either that of a disciple or a solitary realizer. In this way, Subhūti, when a bodhisattva great being has not traveled a long time on the path, has minimal faith, has little learning, has no virtuous friend, is not supported by the transcendent state of wisdom, and lacks the skill in means, the pernicious Māra will use the bodhisattva’s act of truth to create obstacles to his or her unsurpassed, perfect awakening. So, Subhūti, a bodhisattva great being should recognize this too as an activity of Māra.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, Māra’s activity will also influence a bodhisattva great being by assigning him or her a title. How could Māra’s activity also influence a bodhisattva great being by assigning him or her a title? In this case, Subhūti, the pernicious Māra will attack a bodhisattva great being by assigning him or her a title and corroborating the names to him or her.1074 To do so, Māra will come in one disguise or another and assign a title to a bodhisattva great being, saying, ‘You have been foreordained for unsurpassed, perfect awakening by the previous worthy, perfectly and completely awakened tathāgatas. What is the proof? Here are the names of you,1075 your mother, your father, your brother, your sister, your friends, your advisors, your acquaintances, and your relatives.’ Māra then recites the names stretching back seven generations, saying, ‘Then you were born in this area within this country in this village, city, or town.’ If that bodhisattva great being is naturally simple-minded, Māra will say, ‘In your past lives, too, you were simple-minded.’ If he or she naturally has sharp mental faculties, Māra will say, ‘In your past lives, too, you had sharp mental faculties.’ Then Māra will highlight the particular ascetic quality that a bodhisattva great being is practicing in their present life.1076 No matter whether that particular bodhisattva is an ascetic who dwells in the forest,1077 an ascetic who seeks alms,1078 an ascetic who wears rags,1079 an ascetic who never eats later,1080 an ascetic who uses a single seat,1081 an ascetic who accepts whatever is offered,1082 an ascetic who has three robes,1083 an ascetic who lives in charnel grounds,1084 an ascetic who lives at the foot of a tree,1085 an ascetic who stays upright,1086 an ascetic who lives in the open air,1087 an ascetic who wears felt garments,1088 or an ascetic who lives in seclusion, contented with few desires, goes barefoot, and speaks softly with few words,1089 Māra will say, ‘In your past lives, too, you practiced this or that ascetic quality. You have been destined for the level of a bodhisattva beyond regressing, and foreordained to unsurpassed, perfect awakening by the previous worthy, perfectly and completely awakened tathāgatas. What is the proof? Since you are practicing these types of ascetic qualities, it is certain that you practiced the very same ones previously too.’ In this way, by Māra assigning him or her a title and corroborating it with names from the past in connection with his or her present austere practice of ascetic qualities, the bodhisattva great being will become conceited, thinking, ‘Since I do practice these qualities, I must have been foreordained for unsurpassed, perfect awakening by the previous worthy, perfectly and completely awakened tathāgatas.’1090 Then the pernicious Māra will say, ‘You have been foreordained as beyond regressing from unsurpassed, perfect awakening by the worthy, perfectly and completely awakened tathāgatas. What is the proof? You practice these sorts of ascetic qualities.’
“Subhūti, the pernicious Māra will occasionally come in the guise of a monk, a nun, a male lay practitioner, a female lay practitioner, a brahmin, a householder, a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, a friend, an advisor, an acquaintance, or a relative. After approaching the bodhisattva great being, Māra will say, ‘You are on the level of a bodhisattva beyond regressing and have been foreordained for unsurpassed, perfect awakening by the previous worthy, perfectly and completely awakened tathāgatas. What is the proof? You practice these sorts of ascetic qualities, which are the qualities of a bodhisattva great being beyond regressing.’ However, Subhūti, that bodhisattva great being will not have any of the qualities of bodhisattva great beings beyond regressing that I have made known, nor will he or she have the attributes, indications, or signs that I have made known. Subhūti, other bodhisattva great beings will recognize this, thinking, ‘Alas! This bodhisattva great being must be under the influence of Māra’s magical power.’ How so? Such a bodhisattva great being does not have the attributes, indications, or signs of those bodhisattva great beings beyond regressing. Rather, Subhūti, he or she will become conceited by Māra’s corroborations with names. After becoming conceited, he or she will be overcome with pride and stubbornness.1091 Because of being overcome by Māra’s magical power to influence others, he or she will treat disrespectfully other bodhisattva great beings, be smug to them, be sarcastic toward them, pick at their faults, and criticize them. Subhūti, a bodhisattva great being should recognize this too as Māra’s activity through corroborating with names.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great being should also understand Māra’s activity by his use of assigning titles as follows. How, Subhūti, should the bodhisattva great being understand Māra’s activity by his use of assigning titles with a prediction of the bodhisattva great being’s future names? Subhūti, in this case the pernicious Māra will come in the guise of a monk and predict to the bodhisattva great being, ‘This will be your name at the time when you realize supreme, perfect awakening.’ And the name that Māra will predict will be precisely one that the bodhisattva great being him- or herself had considered, pondered, and mulled over with the thought, ‘Oh, when I realize supreme, perfect awakening, this is the sort of name I should have.’1092 So, regarding Māra’s prediction, a bodhisattva great being who is unwise and lacks the skill in means will think, ‘Oh! This monk has informed me that when I realize supreme, perfect awakening, my name will be the same as the name that I had been considering, pondering, and mulling over.’ Because of that, such a bodhisattva great being compares the name that he or she had already considered with the name expressed by the pernicious Māra, that is to say, by that monk magically created with his demon cohort. He or she then concludes, ‘The name that arose as a thought in my mind is the same name as the one foretold by this monk. The previous worthy, perfectly and completely awakened tathāgatas must have foreordained me for unsurpassed, perfect awakening with such a name.’ However, Subhūti, that bodhisattva great being does not have the attributes, indications, or signs of the bodhisattva great beings beyond regressing that I have made known. Without these, that bodhisattva great being will become conceited. After becoming conceited, he or she will treat other bodhisattva great beings disrespectfully, thinking, ‘I have been foreordained for unsurpassed, perfect awakening.’ Through pride, self-superiority, arrogance, egotism, conceitedness, and a deluded sense of grandeur, he or she distances him- or herself from the state of complete knowing, the unsurpassed knowing of a buddha. Such a bodhisattva great being is not supported by the transcendent state of wisdom and lacks the skill in means. Since he or she is not supported by a virtuous friend, but rather by an unvirtuous friend, such a bodhisattva great being would long for one of the two lesser levels, namely, that of a disciple or a solitary realizer. However, suppose that after spending a very long, long time spinning away in successive rebirths, he or she were to wish to realize unsurpassed, perfect awakening based on this very transcendent state of wisdom. Then, suppose that he or she were to get closer to virtuous friends and approach them again and again. Finally, suppose that with the very body that he or she attained in that life, he or she were to condemn his or her own previous development of conceited mindsets, reject them, become disgusted with them, renounce them, and confess them. Even still, such a bodhisattva great being would face difficulty attaining the level of a buddha. Why is that? Because, Subhūti, the underlying condition of conceit as a transgression is so extremely serious for a bodhisattva great being that, Subhūti, it is comparable to the seriousness of the four root transgressions for a monk at the level of a disciple. After a disciple commits any one of these, he is no longer an ascetic, no longer a monk, and no longer among the sons of the Śākya. But this very transgression of developing a proud mindset is more serious than those four transgressions, in that it is an extremely unvirtuous mindset for a bodhisattva great being to have developed through treating others disrespectfully as a result of Māra’s giving him or her a title. One should understand this development of such a mindset to be a more serious transgression than those four transgressions.
“But, Subhūti, setting aside the seriousness of the four root transgressions, Subhūti, the development of this mindset—connected with a bodhisattva great being’s pride because of being given a title—is even more serious than the five karmic deeds with immediate consequences and it should be understood to be more serious than the five karmic deeds with immediate consequences. Therefore, Subhūti, since the subtlest among Māra’s activities employs the giving of titles, they must be recognized by a bodhisattva great being and should be made known to others too. Once recognized, they should be abandoned.1093
“Furthermore, Subhūti, the pernicious Māra will approach a bodhisattva great being to reproach and warn him or her regarding the virtues of seclusion.1094 Subhūti, how could the pernicious Māra approach to reproach and warn a bodhisattva great being regarding the virtues of empty places? In this case, Subhūti, the pernicious Māra will approach a bodhisattva great being and say, ‘The Tathāgata praises seclusion, saying that one should live in wildernesses, forested areas, mountain caves, charnel grounds, haystacks, and so on.’ However, Subhūti, wildernesses, solitary beds and seats, deserted and remote places, and different forested areas, mountain caves, charnel grounds, haystacks, and so on are not the sort of seclusion I have recommended for bodhisattva great beings.”
Subhūti asked, “Blessed One, what other kinds of seclusion are there for bodhisattva great beings, if not wildernesses, solitary beds and seats, deserted and remote places, and different forested areas, mountain caves, charnel grounds, haystacks, and so on? If they do not live in those kinds of places, what other kinds of seclusion are there for bodhisattva great beings?”
At this, the Blessed One said to Subhūti, “Subhūti, if a bodhisattva great being is secluded from the states of directed mental attention associated with disciples and solitary realizers, then he or she lives in seclusion.1095 This is because even when living around a village,1096 a bodhisattva great being who is supported by the transcendent state of wisdom and skill in means would live in the state of benevolence and compassion for all sentient beings. By living in such a state, he or she lives in utter seclusion. This state, secluded from the states of directed mental attention associated with disciples and solitary realizers, is the state I have recommended for bodhisattva great beings. For a bodhisattva great being to spend his or her time, night and day, in that secluded state is to live in seclusion.
“If a bodhisattva great being lives in such a state when in wildernesses, forested areas, mountain caves, charnel grounds, and solitary beds and seats, then that bodhisattva great being is living in seclusion. But, Subhūti, if that bodhisattva great being is not practicing in the transcendent state of wisdom and is just mingling with the states of directed mental attention associated with disciples and solitary realizers, while living in the sort of seclusion that the pernicious Māra advocates—wilderness areas, forested areas, mountain caves, charnel grounds, and solitary beds and seats—then that bodhisattva great being is not perfecting the knowing of someone who has complete knowing. Thus, since he or she is living in a mixed-up state and living in a state of directed mental attention that is not completely pure, his or her physical, verbal, and mental karmic deeds do not end up completely purified. Because his or her physical, verbal, and mental karmic deeds do not end up completely purified, such a bodhisattva great being may be disrespectful toward any other bodhisattva great beings who, because they live around a village and live in the state of wisdom, means, and great compassion, have not mingled with the states of directed mental attention associated with disciples and solitary realizers. Even though such a bodhisattva great being might live in wildernesses, his or her physical, verbal, and mental karmic deeds do not end up completely purified, so he or she is just living mixed up, and not living in seclusion. At first he or she treats disrespectfully those other bodhisattva great beings who live around a village, even though they are living in the state of wisdom, means, and great compassion; are practicing completely pure physical, verbal, and mental karmic deeds; are secluded from the states of directed mental attention associated with disciples and solitary realizers; and are not mingling with the states of directed mental attention associated with disciples and solitary realizers. As a consequence of that, he or she will fail to attain the meditative states, the meditative concentrations, the meditative attainments, the complete liberations, and the types of extrasensory knowledge, and will fail to perfect them. Why is that? Because he or she lacks the skill in means.
“Subhūti, suppose that a bodhisattva great being were to live all the time in the middle of a two-hundred-mile-wide wild forest area—staying apart from the company of wild beasts or birds, of any small roaming creatures, wild animals, yakṣas, or rakṣasas, and safe from dens of thieves or frightening and dangerous attacks—for one year or even a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand, ten million, one billion, ten billion, one trillion, or one quintillion years or more.1097 Now suppose also that this bodhisattva great being was not aware of the seclusion that I have spoken of. In that case, since such a bodhisattva great being, lacking the skill in means, would be unaware of the secluded state in which a bodhisattva great being sets out with the supreme altruistic disposition or perfects it, he or she would live there as someone who takes the wilderness itself to be supreme. He or she might have depended upon that type of seclusion, relied upon it, dwelled in it, and devoted him- or herself to it.1098 Nevertheless, Subhūti, such a bodhisattva great being never brings my heart any pleasure. Why not? Because, Subhūti, while living in that sort of seclusion, that person is not observing the seclusion of a bodhisattva great being as I have explained it. The pernicious Māra might approach him or her, floating in the sky, to commend him or her: ‘Excellent! Excellent, noble child! This is the seclusion of a bodhisattva great being that the Tathāgata explained. Noble child, live in this seclusion and in this way you will quickly realize unsurpassed, perfect awakening.’ Then, when such a person comes back once again from that empty wilderness to the area of the village, he or she will treat the other bodhisattva great beings disrespectfully, even though they are graceful monks leading a chaste life with spiritual qualities, are not mingling with the states of directed mental attention associated with disciples and solitary realizers, and live with physical, verbal, and mental karmic deeds that will end up completely purified. To those bodhisattva great beings, such a person will say, ‘Alas, you venerable ones are living in a mixed-up state, not living in seclusion.1099 Alas, you venerable ones are living in a crowded state, not living in seclusion.’ In this way, he or she will criticize those bodhisattva great beings—who are actually living in seclusion—for living in a mixed-up state or in a crowded state.1100 Also, he or she will push those living in a mixed-up state to move physically to a secluded place, to develop devotion toward it, and to feel proud about its being worthy of devotion. If you were to ask him or her why, he or she would say, ‘Subhūti, I have been reproached and warned by a superhuman spirit.1101 So, this is the place in which I am abiding. What village dweller is a superhuman spirit reproaching? What place in this village is a superhuman spirit warning that village dweller about?’1102 Such a person speaks this way, because he or she treats other persons on the bodhisattva path disrespectfully. Subhūti, one should recognize a person like this to be an outcaste among bodhisattvas, a corrupter of bodhisattvas, a mere likeness of bodhisattvas, a false imitation of bodhisattvas, a poor decoy of bodhisattvas, a thief disguised as an ascetic, a user of persons belonging to the bodhisattva path, and a usurper of the world with its gods.1103 Subhūti, such a person is not worthy of being attended, not worthy of devotion, and not worthy of being served. Why not? Because one must recognize these kinds of persons to have fallen into conceitedness and to corrupt others who have little strength due to not having traveled the path for long. One must recognize a person like this as having impure qualities, no teacher, and ignoble qualities.1104
“But, Subhūti, a bodhisattva great being should never attend, be devoted toward, or serve people of that kind, if that bodhisattva great being has the altruistic disposition of wishing to realize unsurpassed, perfect awakening to bring about the benefit of all sentient beings without ever abandoning any of them, the state of complete knowing, or unsurpassed, perfect awakening. Instead, Subhūti, a bodhisattva great being who stands up for the benefit of all sentient beings should have a mindset concerned at absolutely all times with recognizing these and other acitivities of Māra. In doing so with an unfrightened mindset that is not engrossed in the three worlds, he or she can guide all the sentient beings who have not yet reached the path.1105 Also, in a similar way, that bodhisattva great being should first of all practice benevolence and compassion. Then, after developing great compassion, he or she should have a mindset that sympathetically rejoices in sentient beings progressing perfectly along the path. Then, with impartiality toward the true nature of things free of mental perception, he or she should develop the proper mindset, thinking, ‘I will act so that there will be no corruptions from Māra’s activities, nor will any even arise in any form or manner. I will train so that if they do arise, they will immediately go away.’ One should understand this as the heroic effort of bodhisattva great beings to truly recognize this for themselves. Subhūti, this all should be recognized by the bodhisattva great being as Māra’s activity in connection with the positive qualities of voidness.”1106
This ends the chapter “Detailing Māra’s Activities,” the twenty-first chapter in “The Noble Transcendent State of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines.”