The Buddha’s
Encounters
with Måra the Tempter
Their Representation in
Literature and Art
by
Ananda W.P. Guruge
Buddhist
Publication Society
The Wheel Publication No. 419
© 1997 Ananda W.P. Guruge
FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION ONLY
NOT FOR SALE
ISBN 955-24-0168-2
Originally published in the
Sri Lanka Journal of Buddhist Studies, Vol. II (1988).
© 1997 Ananda W.P. Guruge
Buddhist Publication Society
Kandy, Sri Lanka
www.bps.lk
Access to Insight Edition 2005
www.accesstoinsight.org
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Contents
I
Introduction......................................................................................1
II
Måra Legends in Canonical Texts.....................................................4
III
Temptations by Måra in Non-canonical Buddhist Literature ............11
IV
Måra Episodes in Asian Buddhist Art ...............................................18
V
Conclusion .......................................................................................23
1
I
Introduction
N HIS
Dictionary of Påli Proper Names Professor G.P. Malalasekera
introduces Måra as “the personification of Death, the Evil One, the Tempter
(the Buddhist counterpart of the Devil or Principle of Destruction).” He
continues: “The legends concerning Måra are, in the books, very involved and
defy any attempts at unraveling them.”
1
Analyzing a series of allusions to Måra in the commentarial literature, he
further elaborates on his definition with the following observations:
(i) “In the latest accounts, mention is made of five Måras — Khandhamåra,
Kilesamåra, Abhisa∫khåramåra, Maccu-måra, and Devaputtamåra.
Elsewhere Måra is spoken of as one, three, or four.”
2
(ii) “The term Måra, in the older books, is applied to the whole of the worldly
existence, the five khandhas, or the realm of rebirth, as opposed to
Nibbåna.”
3
(iii) Commentaries speaking of three Måras specify them as Devaputtamåra,
Maccumåra, and Kilesamåra. When four Måras are referred to, they
appear to be the five Måras mentioned in (i) above less Devaputta Måra.
Malalasekera proceeds to attempt “a theory of Måra in Buddhism,” which he
formulates in the following manner:
“The commonest use of the word was evidently in the sense of
Death. From this it was extended to mean ‘the world under the sway of
death’ (also called Måradheyya, e.g. AN IV 228) and the beings
therein. Thence, the kilesas (defilements) also came to be called Måra
in that they were instruments of Death, the causes enabling Death to
I
2
hold sway over the world. All temptations brought about by the kilesas
were likewise regarded as the work of Death. There was also evidently
a legend of a devaputta of the Vasavatti world called Måra, who
considered himself the head of the Kåmåvacara-world [the sensual
realm] and who recognized any attempt to curb the enjoyment of
sensual pleasures as a direct challenge to himself and to his authority.
As time went on these different conceptions of the word became
confused one with the other, but this confusion is not always difficult
to unravel.”
4
What follows from this statement, even though Malalasekera did not elucidate
enough, is that the term Måra, when it occurs in Buddhist literature, could signify
any one of the following four:
(i) An anthropomorphic deity ruling over a heaven in the sensual sphere
(kåmåvacara-devaloka), namely, Paranimmita-Vasavatti. He is meant
when Måra is called kåmadhå-turåja (the king of the sensual realm). In
this position, he is as important and prestigious as Sakka and
Mahåbrahma in whose company he is often mentioned in the canonical
literature. This Måra, or Måradevaputta, is not only a very powerful deity
but is also bent on making life difficult for holy persons.
(ii) The Canon also speaks of (a) Måras in the plural as a class of potent
deities (e.g. in the Dhammacakkap-pavattana Sutta) and (b) of
previous—hence, logically future—Måras (e.g. in the Måratajjan¥ya
Sutta). According to Tibetan texts, the Ascetic Siddhartha could have,
with the instructions given by Órå∂akålåma, become a Sakra, a Brahmå,
or a Måra.
5
(iii) A personification of Death is called also the lord of death (Maccuråja),
the exterminator (Antaka), the great king (mahåråja), and the inescapable
(Namuci). The preoccupation of the Buddhist quest for deliverance is
consistently stressed as escaping the phenomenon of death, which
presupposes rebirth. The entire range of existence falls within the realm