Category Archives: Māra and Satan

Similarities and Contrasts of the Evil Ones

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Vajragoni

As an overview of this series, James W. Boyd in the concluding chapter of his work, Satan and Māra: Christian and Buddhist Symbols of Evil, provides in classical fashion the similar and dissimilar characteristics encompassing the existential-composition of the two arch-emissaries of evil. His main emphasis concerns mythological motifs that “disclose a basic similarity as well as the difference between them.” Boyd begins by highlighting a “numinal sense of mysterium and tremendum” that both have in common: read more

Posted in Māra and Satan | Tagged Fascinans, mysterium, pāpa, ponēros, tremendum | 5 Comments

Towards a Psychology of the Māras, Part II

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Vajragoni

Māras in the Sutrayana

Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sutra’s interpretation of Māra is similar to his portrayal in the Pali Canon. He is an evil deva who occupies a prominent place in the Cosmos and who seeks to wreck-havoc on those who adhere to the Buddhadharma. read more

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The Dynamis of Evil

Posted on February 28, 2015 by Vajragoni

In Ephesians 6:12, Paul writes:

…we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities (archas), against the powers (exousias), against the world rulers (kosmokratoras), of this present darkness, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. read more

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Towards a Psychology of the Māras, Part I

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Vajragoni

The Sacred India Tarot

At the outset here one needs to be aware that the context in which Māra(s) is spoken is mythic in scope. Far more than any cognitively-based amalgams of collective-experiences shared in the human psyche—this mythos is more-than-human. It involves cosmic-forces that have been around longer than the early dawn of mankind’s limited evolutionary experiences. As Robert Warren Clark states in his excellent Dissertation, Māra: Psychopathology and Evil in the Buddhism of India and Tibet: read more

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The Proclivities of Evil

Posted on February 21, 2015 by Vajragoni

The best way to expose evil is through its actions. The proclivities of Satan and Māra are well documented. read more

Posted in Māra and Satan | Tagged Buddha Carita, destroyer, Dūsī Māra, Evil, Great Deceiver, Jesus, Mahāvastu, māra-dhītaro, Mārakarma, Pisācas, possession, Rāksasas, Satan, tempter, tormentor | Leave a comment

Etymology of the Evil Ones

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Vajragoni

Evil is wide and prevalent in our Saha-World. Unlike the Truth, it assumes an endless array of faces and embeds itself unmercifully in all the assorted-affairs of sentient beings. The dominant Western and Eastern terms for these faces of evil are Satan and Māra. The term “Satan” is derived from a Hebrew term meaning, the adversary. The popular term “Devil” is derived from the Greek, diabolos. Both of these terms are found in the New Testament and later on in the writings of the Church Fathers. Throughout the Millennium he’s also referred to as the “Dark-One”, the “Black-One” and the “wicked-one”; the term, the evil-one appears in a popular translation of the “Our Father” prayer—deliver us from the Evil One. Traditionally, Satan was originally the premier Angel of Light (son of the morning) in Heaven, named Lucifer; through his own conceited vanity, he tried to usurp the very throne of the Most High. John Milton’s Epic poem, “Paradise Lost”, describes this most evil of all adversaries: read more

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Coming Soon: Māra and Satan

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Vajragoni

On Ash Wednesday, February 18^th, roughly 1.2 Billion across the globe will be ushering-in the season of Lent. One of the passages from scripture that always begins this solemn season, is the one in which Jesus is tempted by Satan for 40 days in the Desert. This is a highly symbolic event, since Lent itself lasts 40 days; and so, during this stretch of time, one is asked to do assorted penances and make new resolutions, ones that are in tune with self-denying one’s carnal appetites, in favor of a highly spiritual-makeover. In a very real way, one is also seeking refuge from the forces of evil in the world, ones that are always afoot attempting to wreak havoc on a soul that is trying to better itself. There are parallels in both Christianity and Buddhism that personify these dark forces, the Fathers of Evil if you will. Hence we have Satan, and Māra. Back in 1975, James W. Boyd, published a well-informed book, Satan and Māra: Christian and Buddhist Symbols of Evil. Unfortunately his work is long out of print, but I was recently fortunate enough to find a copy. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, we shall be exploring in depth these interesting parallels between Satan and Māra. It’s by no small chance that Siddhartha Gautama experienced similar inclinations from Māra that Jesus did from Satan throughout his Dark night of the Soul in the desert. read more

Posted in Māra and Satan | Tagged Evil, James W. Boyd, Mara, Robert Warren Clark, samsara, Satan, Temptation | 5 Comments