Evil or innocence?
It struck me that Mara
sounds like a girl's name-
a simple classic double syllabled name,
belonging to a beautiful young girl -
not unlike Lara, like Sara, Tiara.
It's not exactly Indian or anything-
it transcends.
And she entices every man.
I saw a beautiful young girl yesterday
on the subway train,
sitted opposite me.
Not that she was evil,
but it came to my mind to name her Mara -
it just felt apt in the moment.
What is more seductive
than beautiful innocence
that is unaware of its beauty and innocence?
Beautiful innocence that does not seek to seduce,
that does not seek to flaunt,
that shines naturally in its quiet glory.
Mara sets His snares secretly-
so secretly that his snares
do not know they are his instruments.
The girl is not out to tempt,
but Mara tempts through her.
Real evil is not out there in the world,
not a ghostly force floating around-
It is real, within our minds,
an innerdemon,
arising when the conditions are there.
His power is there only when we allow it.
(Likewise, the real evil of Mara the god, is in his own mind; not out there.)
Mara is not the girl.
Mara is not me.
Mara is a flirting and fliting state of mind-
so often as subtle craving-
devious, shape-shifting,
hard to see, hard to grasp, hard to let go.
O Evil One!
I know you.
You are never merely
the hot demons of anger, jealousy, impatience, frustration... You in these guises
are so easy to spot.
You can be instead so cool, so meek, so gentle,
so desirable, so unassuming, so silent...
so Mara...
Mara the demon,
Mara the girl.
You are most powerful
not when you are wrathful,
but when you appear benevolent, welcoming.
O Evil One!
I know your tricks-
You are never merely
the horrible disgusting visions
of ageing, sickness and death;
You are so often carefully camouflaged
in the opposite,
in the most beautiful sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches and thoughts,
as what I love most.
How well you entice me
to stay bound to life,
only to die again,
and be reborn endlessly,
to face ageing, sickness, death
all over again.
I shall, however,
not be rejecting-
the beautiful forms you manifest.
I would be lying to myself
to say that Miss Mara wasn't beautiful.
But I would be lying even more,
to think that she was the most beautiful,
for true beauty is beyond forms,
beyond birth and decay,
beyond the grasp of Yama (the god of death, that holds the wheel of birth and death).
I shall enjoy the beauteous sights you present in the moment. I shall not seek to hide from the beauty in this world-
that would be falling into another one of your tricks,
letting my Aversion surface,
playing a tug-of-war with Craving.
But I shall not seek to pursue what appears so brieftly,
and only see it as it is,
aloof, dispassionate but not uncompassionate,
and seek the transcendental instead-
the pure timeless bliss of Enlightenment.
It is a shuddering thought,
that Miss Mara could had been Mara's real manifestation out there.
Who knows?
Mara, try your next trick.
Thank you for challenging me,
thank you for offering a chance to stand my ground,
to practice,
to perfect.
O Evil One!
You might wage a war with me,
with your forms and illusions.
But I shall not wage a war with you-
for war is anger, hatred.
I shall shatter the illusions you manifest
with the silent light of mindfulness
and the name of Truth.
I know that for me to to have capacity to fall into temptation of any kind
is to have the weakness in the first place.
In this sense,
it is never truly the fault of you, the tempter,
that I succumb to temptations-
it is mine.
Yes- you do not control my birth and death-
I do.
And I have no one to blame.
And this knowledge of self-responsibility
already sets me free
to some extent.
- Anonymous www.4ui.com/eart/148eart3.htm
sounds like a girl's name-
a simple classic double syllabled name,
belonging to a beautiful young girl -
not unlike Lara, like Sara, Tiara.
It's not exactly Indian or anything-
it transcends.
And she entices every man.
I saw a beautiful young girl yesterday
on the subway train,
sitted opposite me.
Not that she was evil,
but it came to my mind to name her Mara -
it just felt apt in the moment.
What is more seductive
than beautiful innocence
that is unaware of its beauty and innocence?
Beautiful innocence that does not seek to seduce,
that does not seek to flaunt,
that shines naturally in its quiet glory.
Mara sets His snares secretly-
so secretly that his snares
do not know they are his instruments.
The girl is not out to tempt,
but Mara tempts through her.
Real evil is not out there in the world,
not a ghostly force floating around-
It is real, within our minds,
an innerdemon,
arising when the conditions are there.
His power is there only when we allow it.
(Likewise, the real evil of Mara the god, is in his own mind; not out there.)
Mara is not the girl.
Mara is not me.
Mara is a flirting and fliting state of mind-
so often as subtle craving-
devious, shape-shifting,
hard to see, hard to grasp, hard to let go.
O Evil One!
I know you.
You are never merely
the hot demons of anger, jealousy, impatience, frustration... You in these guises
are so easy to spot.
You can be instead so cool, so meek, so gentle,
so desirable, so unassuming, so silent...
so Mara...
Mara the demon,
Mara the girl.
You are most powerful
not when you are wrathful,
but when you appear benevolent, welcoming.
O Evil One!
I know your tricks-
You are never merely
the horrible disgusting visions
of ageing, sickness and death;
You are so often carefully camouflaged
in the opposite,
in the most beautiful sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches and thoughts,
as what I love most.
How well you entice me
to stay bound to life,
only to die again,
and be reborn endlessly,
to face ageing, sickness, death
all over again.
I shall, however,
not be rejecting-
the beautiful forms you manifest.
I would be lying to myself
to say that Miss Mara wasn't beautiful.
But I would be lying even more,
to think that she was the most beautiful,
for true beauty is beyond forms,
beyond birth and decay,
beyond the grasp of Yama (the god of death, that holds the wheel of birth and death).
I shall enjoy the beauteous sights you present in the moment. I shall not seek to hide from the beauty in this world-
that would be falling into another one of your tricks,
letting my Aversion surface,
playing a tug-of-war with Craving.
But I shall not seek to pursue what appears so brieftly,
and only see it as it is,
aloof, dispassionate but not uncompassionate,
and seek the transcendental instead-
the pure timeless bliss of Enlightenment.
It is a shuddering thought,
that Miss Mara could had been Mara's real manifestation out there.
Who knows?
Mara, try your next trick.
Thank you for challenging me,
thank you for offering a chance to stand my ground,
to practice,
to perfect.
O Evil One!
You might wage a war with me,
with your forms and illusions.
But I shall not wage a war with you-
for war is anger, hatred.
I shall shatter the illusions you manifest
with the silent light of mindfulness
and the name of Truth.
I know that for me to to have capacity to fall into temptation of any kind
is to have the weakness in the first place.
In this sense,
it is never truly the fault of you, the tempter,
that I succumb to temptations-
it is mine.
Yes- you do not control my birth and death-
I do.
And I have no one to blame.
And this knowledge of self-responsibility
already sets me free
to some extent.
- Anonymous www.4ui.com/eart/148eart3.htm