Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Nataraja · 02-19-2003, 05:02 AM

Does anyone else see similarities between Gautama's encounter with Mara and the NT messianic figure's encounter with the OT supervillain? Where did this story originate?

02-19-2003, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Nataraja
Does anyone else see similarities between Gautama's encounter with Mara and the NT messianic figure's encounter with the OT supervillain? Where did this story originate?

Yes, and the story originated in the real life experience described in the story.

02-19-2003, 06:09 PM

Gautama's encounter with who? What?

This is one of the story I must missed out ... can someone tell me about it ... or point me to a link or something.

Thank You beforehand.

Toto · 02-19-2003, 06:32 PM

http://www.tsl.org/Masters/buddhas/gautama.htm

Quote:

While Gautama was in meditation, Mara, the Evil One, confronted him with temptations much in the same manner in which Jesus was tested by Satan during his fasting in the wilderness. Mara tempted him with beautiful dancing girls and voluptuous goddesses parading before him, followed by terrible demons assailing him with weapons of flaming rocks, boiling mud and utter darkness, but Gautama remained unmoved.

As a last resort, Mara challenged his right to be doing what he was doing. In response, Gautama used the earth-touching mudra. He tapped the earth, and the earth thundered her answer: "I bear you witness!" - whereupon Mara fled. Gautama spent the rest of the night in deep meditation, in samadhi, and finally reached his enlightenment. This took place on the day of the full moon in the month of May about the year 528 BC, when Gautama was thirty six.*

Clearly a case of diabolical mimicry.

Answerer · 02-19-2003, 07:22 PM

Mara, unlike satan, is only a mental projection of our ignorance, desire and hate. Thats why he is the last obstacle to Buddha's enlightenment. Indeed he existed everyday in our lives too, war, famine, massacre are all the indirect products of our Maras. In chinese, we called him Xin mo(heart demon).

In some popular Buddhist mythology, Mara king is the deva ruler of the Paramirmita-vasavartiin Heaven, here the chinese called him Tian mo (Heavenly Demon).

In the first case, he is the final test of any being's resolve to gain enlightenment. In the second case, he is reduced to a mere deity status, although powerful in some aspects.

Gregg · 02-21-2003, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Answerer
Mara, unlike satan, is only a mental projection of our ignorance, desire and hate. Thats why he is the last obstacle to Buddha's enlightenment.

"New Thought" Christianity, though, interprets Biblical references to Satan metaphysically, and puts him in the same category as Mara.

Gregg

02-19-2003, 05:02 AM	#1
Nataraja Regular Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: NC Posts: 433	Gautama or Yeshua? Does anyone else see similarities between Gautama's encounter with Mara and the NT messianic figure's encounter with the OT supervillain? Where did this story originate?

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02-19-2003, 06:09 PM	#3
Seraphim Guest Posts: n/a	Gautama's encounter with who? What? This is one of the story I must missed out ... can someone tell me about it ... or point me to a link or something. Thank You beforehand.

02-19-2003, 07:22 PM	#5
Answerer Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Singapore Posts: 3,956	Mara, unlike satan, is only a mental projection of our ignorance, desire and hate. Thats why he is the last obstacle to Buddha's enlightenment. Indeed he existed everyday in our lives too, war, famine, massacre are all the indirect products of our Maras. In chinese, we called him Xin mo(heart demon). In some popular Buddhist mythology, Mara king is the deva ruler of the Paramirmita-vasavartiin Heaven, here the chinese called him Tian mo (Heavenly Demon). In the first case, he is the final test of any being's resolve to gain enlightenment. In the second case, he is reduced to a mere deity status, although powerful in some aspects.

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