Buddha’s Battle with Mara

This is the story of Buddha’s great battle with Mara, a demon whose name means "destruction" and who represents the passions that ensnare and delude us all.

As Siddhartha meditated beneath a sacred fig, known ever after as the Bodhi Tree, he was attacked by Mara. The demon brought vast armies of monsters to attack Siddhartha, who sat still and untouched. Even Mara's most beautiful daughter tried to seduce Siddhartha, but this effort also failed.

Finally, Mara claimed that the seat of enlightenment rightfully belonged to him and that his spiritual accomplishments were greater than Siddhartha's. The demon asked, "Who will speak for you?"

Then Siddhartha reached out his right hand to touch the earth, and the earth itself roared, "I bear you witness!" Mara disappeared. And as the morning star rose in the sky, Siddhartha Gautama realized enlightenment and became a Buddha.