Mara
Mara South and Central AsiaIn Indian mythology Kama and Mara are the two sides of existence: the desire for life and the fear of death—the tasty bait and the keen hook. These two powers rule the world of the unawakened, those beguiled by maya. To escape from this non-enlightenment the Buddha preached his doctrine, which was called yana, a vehicle, a ferry to the other shore, where spiritual ignorance no longer held sway.
Mara, the master magician of illusion, became in Buddhist myth the Evil One. Because the Buddha delivers men from desire, birth, and death, Mara was his special enemy, and thus his tempter as well as those who would follow his law. Threatened by Enlightenment, the powerful demon committed his entire strength to the capture of the Gautama's mind, but below the outstretched branches of the Bo Tree the meditating sage sat unmoved. Assailed by the forces of Mara, the Buddha simply touched the earth with the tips of his fingers,...
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