Reading Notes: Life of Buddha, Part B
Mara's Defeat by Andre Ferdinand Herold (1922)
As Siddhartha sat under the Bodhi tree, the light radiating from his body reached Mara, the Evil one. He seemed to hear a voice. This voice told him if Siddhartha is successful in his journey to end suffering and this cycle of death, the city of the Gods will be full as others will reach Nirvana, and Mara's city will empty. Thus, he will have nothing to take refuge in. This thought greatly disturbed Mara because the fact that his city was filled with evil people created a great amount of pride for him, and he did not want to be alone. Even after his son's persuasion to not mess with Siddhartha and accept his fate, Mara was not deterred. He ordered his army to destroy the prince. However, every attempt at harming the prince was turned away. Arrows became flowers, swords were broken, and the axes became dented due to the shield of light protecting the prince. Then, the mother of the Earth arose and told Mara that Siddhartha was stronger than him. Thus, realizing his defeat, Mara gave up and left with devastation.
-I actually like how this story is told because I like the perspective given by it, such as how Mara would have no army to lead in his evil city if everyone became good. I like the fight scene with his army and the twist where everything turns into flowers! How cool! Giving more background about the end and who the mother of Earth is and why she just popped up would make the story more clear.
As Siddhartha sat under the Bodhi tree, the light radiating from his body reached Mara, the Evil one. He seemed to hear a voice. This voice told him if Siddhartha is successful in his journey to end suffering and this cycle of death, the city of the Gods will be full as others will reach Nirvana, and Mara's city will empty. Thus, he will have nothing to take refuge in. This thought greatly disturbed Mara because the fact that his city was filled with evil people created a great amount of pride for him, and he did not want to be alone. Even after his son's persuasion to not mess with Siddhartha and accept his fate, Mara was not deterred. He ordered his army to destroy the prince. However, every attempt at harming the prince was turned away. Arrows became flowers, swords were broken, and the axes became dented due to the shield of light protecting the prince. Then, the mother of the Earth arose and told Mara that Siddhartha was stronger than him. Thus, realizing his defeat, Mara gave up and left with devastation.
(Bodhi Tree at Giac Lam Pagoda: Wikimedia Commons)
-I actually like how this story is told because I like the perspective given by it, such as how Mara would have no army to lead in his evil city if everyone became good. I like the fight scene with his army and the twist where everything turns into flowers! How cool! Giving more background about the end and who the mother of Earth is and why she just popped up would make the story more clear.
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