When the Buddha sent out sixty missionary monks to spread the Dharma throughout the world, Mara grew concerned. Mara, a powerful deity in the heavenly realms, considered himself the supreme ruler of Kāmaloka—the sphere of existence dominated by sensual desires. From his perspective, it was his duty to keep beings trapped within this cycle of craving and rebirth.

The Buddha, however, had discovered the path to liberation—an exit from saṃsāra itself. This was a direct threat to Mara’s domain. Thus, Mara took it upon himself to dissuade anyone from renouncing sensual pleasures and leaving the cycle of existence.

One pivotal episode records Mara confronting the Buddha directly, mocking his enlightenment as false. Mara declared that the Buddha was still bound by defilements and insisted that no being could ever be freed from craving, greed, and desire.

At first glance, we might be tempted to dismiss Mara as a grotesque, demonic figure—like the villains of Western movies. But Buddhist texts paint a very different picture. Mara appeared not as a misshapen monster but as a radiant, majestic god. In fact, his presence was so magnificent that most people would have mistaken him for a holy being. This is why the lesson is so important: in meditation or dreams, Buddhists are cautioned never to take counsel from gods or goddesses, for Mara too can appear in such forms. Our true refuge lies only in the Dharma.

Why is Mara Wrong?

This raises a question: how do we know Mara (a god) was mistaken? Many of us may simply accept the story’s moral without asking deeper questions. But the encounter holds profound meaning if we examine it carefully.

1. Mara’s limited vision
Mara was unaware of realms beyond Kāmaloka. To him, existence ended with the world of sensuality. The Buddha, however, had realized higher planes of being. To illustrate: Mara was like a village chief who insists that nothing exists beyond his village, while the Buddha had traveled far and wide, seeing lands the chief could not imagine.

2. Mara’s ignorance of impermanence
As a deity, Mara enjoyed an unimaginably long lifespan. Yet even his heavenly realm would one day be destroyed in the great cycles of cosmic dissolution. Mara, blinded by his longevity, could not perceive this truth. The Buddha, by contrast, saw clearly that such heavenly realms were impermanent and therefore, not worth attachment to.

3. Mara’s inability to grasp enlightenment
Finally, Mara could not comprehend the nature of an awakened mind. It was like a child trying to lecture a wise elder about the world. What was invisible to Mara had already been directly realized by the Buddha. For example, the state of non-self is unimaginable for those who have not attained it.

The Deeper Lesson

The story teaches us that opposition to the pursuit of Nirvana does not always come from obvious or “lowly” sources. Sometimes, it may come from figures who appear exalted, wise, or even divine. The danger lies in blindly believing appearances or authority without careful reflection.

For beginners in practice, simple faith may be enough. But as we progress, we must learn to examine, question, and rely on wisdom rather than appearances.

How the Story Survived

How did we even come to know of this encounter? According to tradition, the Buddha himself shared the story with his sixty disciples when they returned with new converts. At that time, any aspiring monk had to be personally brought before the Buddha for ordination. Clearly, this confrontation with Mara was important enough for the Buddha to recount—not only as a warning, but as a timeless teaching about discernment and reliance on the Dharma.

May all be well and happy.