Reading: The Life of Buddha, Part C

Siddhartha seated himself beneath the tree of knowledge and began meditating to gain the knowledge to become a Buddha. The brilliance of his focus and devotion was so intense that  it caused the demon, Mara, to see very unpleasant omens about his future.

As the demon slept he dreamed about the destruction of his kingdom because of the enlightenment of the hero, Siddhartha. The hero would learn how to overcome suffering, old age, and death and would then teach his realizations to the people of the world. Once everyone in the world knew how to overcome suffering and death and reach Nirvana, Mara would lose all his followers as they ascended to the realm of the gods, and Mara's kingdom would crumble when he was left alone in his dominion.

In despair, Mara explained all this to his son, Sarthavaha. Srthavaha tried to encourage his father not to act rashly and storm into a battle he could not win, but his father believed that with his vast army he could destroy the hero and prevent the destruction of his kingdom.

His son continued to try to convince Mara not to wage war on Siddhartha but was unsuccessful. The army, made up of horrifying creatures, launched an all out attack on the meditating hero, but all of their projectiles turned to flowers and gently drifted to the ground before they reached the hero.

Dejected, Mara asked the Earth why he could not defeat Siddhartha when he had sacrificed much and been generous to his subjects. The Earth herself appeared and explained that Siddhartha had been generous over the course of many lives and his generosity greatly outweighed that of Mara's.

This revelation completely defeated Mara, and Siddhartha was able to become the Buddha.

Bibliography.
The Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold Translator Paul C. Blum, Part 19. Source

Image Source.
'Buddha, resisting the demons of Mara, who are attempting to prevent him from attaining enlightenment, as the angels watch from above.' . Credit: Wellcome Collection. CC BY