Heavenly Realm or Alternate Universe.

¶ … heavenly realm or alternate universe.

"Thereupon it occurred to Mara" is 3rd person Omniscient, which allows the reader to know what Mara is thinking. (Conze 78)

Mara's title is the Evil One, just as Sakra's title is Chief of Gods and Buddha's title is the Lord or Tathagata (One who has gone to Suchness"). (Conze 78)

I have previous knowledge of Mara from watching the movie The Little Buddha. Mara was the demon that approached the Buddha while he was meditating under the Bodhi tree and tried to scare and tempt the Buddha to distract him prevent him from reaching enlightenment. Thus, I have an idea of Mara's role in Buddhist stories.

The Four Assemblies that Mara refers to are, according to the glossary, monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen. (Conze 78) There are also the Gods of the Realm of Sense-Desire, the lowest realm of the triple world and the Realm of Form, the second realm of the triple world. (Conze 78) Mara then thinks that they are all "face-to-face" with the Tathagatha and he does not seem to like that. (Conze 78) It appears to be some sort of ceremony because they are all "face-to-face," the assemblies with the lord and the Gods with the lord. (Conze 78)

Mara appears to be concerned that the two Gods are to be "predicted" as bodhisattvas, to full enlightenment. (Conze 78) According to the glossary, Bodhisattva means an enlightenment being, who through infinite compassion seeks the enlightenment of all beings rather than of himself alone. (Conze, Glossary) The remaining issue is the use of the word "predicted." I have never seen the word used in this manner before but it does not appear to change the thrust of the sentence much. Mara fears that the Tathagatha is going to help the Gods of the Realm of Sense-Desire and Realm of Form become Bodhisatvas and reach full enlightenment. (Conze 78)

To prevent their enlightenment, Mara intends to "blind them," which implies that Mara doesn't want them to see something that the Tathagata is going to show them. (Conze 78) He does not necessarily intend to destroy them completely, but to hinder or harass them.

"Thereupon Mara conjures up a fourfold army" switches the action back to a traditional third person narrative. (Conze 78)

However, the perspective changes again with "it occurs to Sakra," where it switches over to Sakra's thoughts. (Conze 78) Sakra can see that Mara has conjured up "fourfold" army and is approaching the Lord. (Conze 78) He contrasts the "array" of Mara's "fourfold army" with the array of real, worldly armies in India at the time, remarking that it is not like worldly army. (Conze 78)

Sakra observes that Mara has been "pursuing" the Lord for a long time, looking for a chance to "enter." (Conze 78) It seems that Mara wants to enter something, perhaps the Lord's mind. He is looking for this chance, "intent on hurting beings." (Conze 78) So he is not trying to hurt the Lord alone, he wants to hurt beings in general by entering the Lord's mind. (Conze 78)

Interestingly here, Mara calls the Buddha "the Lord" instead of the "Tathagata" as Sakra refers to him. (Conze 78) Maybe the Chief of Gods does not recognize him as the "One who has arrived at suchness" yet. (Conze 78)

After recognizing Mara's ill intent, Sakra resolves to "recall the Perfection of Wisdom, bring it to mind, repeat it, and spread it." (Conze 78) This definitely indicates some sort of process or method. What is interesting is that you have to both "recall" the perfection of wisdom, then "bring it to mind." (Conze 78) So merely remembering it is not enough, you have to focus on it after making yourself remember it. Then, you "repeat it," indicating that it is some sort of chant or mantra. (Conze 78) Finally, you "spread" it. I think "spread" means to let it penetrate your mind and expand, as thoughts tend to do when you focus on them. (Conze 78)

After Sakra performs the Perfection of Wisdom, Mara is discouraged, and "immediately" "turns back again" and "goes on his way." (Conze 79) This implies that Mara was more disappointed than defeated, going on his way perhaps to enter someone else's mind.

The portrayal of Mara as a sneaky sort is apt here. It suggests that evil thoughts and temptation sneak up on us, often at important times. Actually, the more we need to concentrate, the stronger the thoughts seem to get at times. The basic moral of the story is pretty clear: practicing the Perfection of Wisdom will help keep Mara away.

Unresolved Issues

Although the basic thrust of the story is clear, there are still a lot of confusing elements of the story, especially in regards to the relationship the characters hold to each other. The significance of having Sakra, the Chief of Gods, perform the Perfection of Wisdom is unclear to me. (Conze 78) Perhaps it was meant to show that Sakra, a very supreme being, had something to learn from the Lord.