UnbornMind Zen

Posts Tagged ‘Mara’

THREE: THE MAṆḌALA OF THE FIVE DHYANĪ BUDDHAS  Then the Lord discoursed upon the Five Skandhas.  “Like an infernal Black Sun nailed to the dark fabric of space, *Mara’s Malignant Five hurl- forth their accursed aggregations of the no-self:  The Demons of Form, (Rupa) crawling along like concretized-crabs leaving their sensorial impressions where’re they creep…  The Demons of Sensation (Vendana), fumbling about upon weak-perceptional limbs, judging what’re they Read more [...]

  The path of a good zen-buddhist demands an equal measure of grit, talent and luck. Without the hard introductory work and basics of making the monkey mind go quiescent, we will not be able to notice the essence of the most sublime and subtle dharma within us. Without talent (based on knowledge derived from the grit from previous lives) we will not be able to know what to do with that which we have before us. Much like a poor beggar holding a piece of mud-covered gold in his hand, Read more [...]

  "Ananda, when the good person who is cultivating samadhi has put an end to the feeling skandha, although he has not achieved freedom from outflows, his mind can leave his body the way a bird escapes from a cage. From within his ordinary body, he already has the potential for ascending through the Bodhisattvas' sixty levels of sagehood. He is now able to use his mind to create a spiritual-body and can roam freely without obstruction. "This is like someone talking in his sleep. Although Read more [...]

One whom suffers from bad self-confidence knows not the immortal self and is thus subject to the imaginary adharma of Mara, the evil one. One of such poor knowledge should not discuss the imaginary adharma with equals of same poor knowledge as if it were the true dharma, but instead dwell in deep contemplation on the imageless self; as to know this immortal self and by such knowing, acquire its treasures of which one is excellent confidence in its ultimate nature. By the excellent insight Read more [...]

Imagine for a moment that we’ve jumped-ahead to the later Bardo experiences; this is the end of life, the signs of imminent death are creeping all around us. Our bodily shell (rupakaya) is deteriorating fast—that’s the sign-post up ahead…the Bardo of Dharmatā is coming soon! Then, for a brief interval, the Clear Light of the Dharmakaya is there beckoning us to its effervescent shore. The way home is shining all around us. But wait! Lacking the proper gnosis, we fail to recognize this Read more [...]

The Sambhogakayic-field of Bardo 2 with its dreamlike shifting shapes and images is a microcosm of the greater Sambhogakayic Continuum, or the Cosmic Spiritual Hall—a Supreme Visionary Realm wherein the Buddhadharma is revealed in many Sutras. The Dharmakaya Sutra conveys the nature of this “greater” Continuum, in particular the revelatory Buddha-field of Nisyanda Buddha—who within the Lankavatara Sutra is the Sambhogakaya Itself; he is also known as the Dharmata-Buddha, and for Lankavatarians Read more [...]

4. The Reluctance of the Bodhisattvas, cont’d The Buddha then said to the bodhisattva Jagatimdhara, "Jagatimdhara, go to the Licchavi Vimalakirti to inquire about his illness." Jagatimdhara replied, "My Lord, I am indeed reluctant to go to that good man to inquire about his illness. Why? Lord, I remember that one day, when I was at home, the wicked Mara, disguised as Indra and surrounded with twelve thousand heavenly maidens, approached me with the sounds of music and singing. Having saluted Read more [...]

On Wednesday for many quarters the solemn season of Lent begins. The whole premise is based on the encounter that the Bodhisattva Jesus had with Satan (Mara) in the desert of karmadhautu for 40 days. For many, they just outwardly “deny” themselves something for this time period before Easter rolls-around—but it’s all really just superficial—no true inner Metanoia occurs. Yet, that encounter in the desert is another metaphor for something that constitutes the inner warfare that occurs Read more [...]

All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. Those lines from Shakespeare’s, As You Like It, bring to mind how Red Pine illustrates the vast array of images that comprise Chapter Two of the Lanka, or Mahamati’s Questions: “Worldly things are produced by the magician of the mind to decorate the stage on which the play of life and death is performed.” Read more [...]