📖 The book The Buddha Teaches Once More
🔹 Part 1: The Mystery of Origins
📜 Chapter 7: Buddha and Mara
Through the revealed teachings, you have learned that Māra, the Demon King, is none other than the sixth ancient Buddha, residing in the Sixth Heaven of Ultimate Enjoyment (Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven).
This discourse not only explains the existence of two opposing concepts: Buddha and Māra, but also clarifies misconceptions about Māra, offering a more comprehensive and profound understanding of the divine arrangement of God the Almighty.
Minh Nguyet: Venerable Buddha, I have come to understand that everything in this world is orchestrated and arranged by God the Almighty. Therefore, I would like to ask: Why did He create both Buddhas and Māras?
The concepts of Buddha and Māra originate from the theory of Yin and Yang. When God the Almighty created the heavens and the earth, He established the Taiji Diagram (Supreme Ultimate).
In Taiji, there are two fundamental principles (Liang Yi), forming the dual nature of Yin and Yang. This is symbolized through the black representing Yin and white representing Yang. From this interplay, all things in the universe are born.
Looking at the Taiji Diagram, one will notice that within the black (Yin) lies a small white circle (Yang), and within the white (Yang) lies a small black circle (Yin). This signifies that within Yang, there is Yin, and within Yin, there is Yang.
Before the emergence of Buddhism, humanity was already divided into two opposing extremes: Good and Evil. Within a virtuous person, there still exists the nature of evil, and within an evil person, there still exists the nature of virtue. This is the divine arrangement of God the Almighty.
When He established Buddhism, it was founded upon the same principle, giving rise to the two concepts of Buddha and Māra:
- Māra represents ignorance, delusion, and unwholesomeness.
- Buddha represents brightness, wisdom, and virtue.
The existence of both within each sentient being and within every society serves the purpose of interaction, opposition, and transformation. Through this, we experience both joy and suffering. By enduring these experiences, sentient beings accumulate wisdom as they cycle through birth and death, thereby qualifying themselves to become inhabitants of the eternal realm.
Thus, in a broader sense, neither Buddha nor Māra truly exists. These are merely temporary concepts, expedient means borrowed by God the Almighty to establish a path of liberation for sentient beings.
Minh Nguyet: Venerable Buddha, your teachings remind me of the things that even the Buddha Himself could not do. There is a saying: “The wondrous Dharma cannot fully describe the true nature of the universe; Language cannot convey the true essence of the universe. Only through actual experience can one comprehend it.“
That is correct. Māra must exist in this world so that Heaven may arrange for some to play the role of victims. Only by placing them in such circumstances, allowing them to experience suffering firsthand, can they develop true compassion for those in similar situations. This is a divine means to awaken the compassion within each sentient being.
The appearance of Māra in the world is also a Heavenly test for practitioners. Righteousness and falsehood are separated by a fine line; whatever arises in one’s heart becomes one’s reality. Therefore, people must cultivate right view, wisdom, and compassion to govern their own minds properly.
🍃 Conclusion: Buddha and Māra are but temporary concepts derived from the doctrine of yin and yang, which God the Almighty employs as a means to guide sentient beings, ensuring they attain the necessary conditions to return to the Eternal Realm.
To distinguish between Buddha and Māra, one must cultivate wisdom through diligent study and practice. Within the human heart, both good and evil reside; thus, we must engage in inner struggle to subdue the Māra-nature within and uphold the path of righteousness.
