The Armies of Mara are the difficult experiences that hinder our
path to awakening to freedom from suffering. They are often
painful, but also very useful opportunities to grow and learn.
--- WHAT IS IN THE WAY IS THE WAY --In Pali, Mara is the personification of force, of unwholesomeness.
It is the genderless demon of the mundane world. It kills virtue
and existence. In the mundane world – our world – it is always
present and 'poised to attack'. This is how it is described in the
Sutta Nipata:
Sensual pleasures are your first army,
Discontent your second is called.
Your third is hunger and thirst,
Your fourth is called craving.
Sloth and torpor are your fifth,
the sixth is called fear,
Your seventh is doubt,
Conceit and ingratitude are your eighth,
Gain, renown, honor and whatever fame
is falsely received (are the ninth),
And whoever both extols himself and
disparages other (has fallen victim to the tenth).
That is your Army, Mara,
the striking force of darkness.
One who is not a hero cannot conquer it,
but having conquered it, one obtains
happiness.
Can you be a hero in your own life? It is a different kind of
heroism. It does take courage.
***********************************
It seems ironic that this image of Armies and combat would call to
my attention. I have been a pacifist all my life. My father was a
Conscientious Objector in World War II and counseled draft
resisters and then registration resisters for decades. The Christian
admonition, that if someone strikes you on one cheek you turn to
him the other, was often spoken and discussed in my childhood.
Fighting back was just not acceptable. Notice, though, that I speak
of FACING the Armies of Mara, not FIGHTING. That is an
essential difference. With maturity came more understanding that
there were wholesome and skillful ways to resist evil. My study
and practice arising from the Buddha's teachings brought tools that
support that resistance, even to an Army of demons!
The first tool is MINDFULNESS, seeing clearly, holding up the
mirror of the mind to all experience. This takes courage. We may
not like what we see. Fear may arise, anger may arise, envy may
arise – OH, it is just another demon! We practice to not turn away,
to be steadfast, constant and firmly loyal to our aspirations to
awaken.
There is a story that a Buddhist saint, who was a recluse living in a
cave, is quoted as saying, “Ah Mara, my old friend. Come in. Sit
down. Have tea.”
This story is meant to show the value of mindful attention, of
seeing this challenge by an Army of Mara as an opportunity. It is
meant to show us that the very act of seeing clearly defeats the
Army and transforms it.
###############
Let's practice that Mindfulness for a few minutes. Close your eyes
and bring attention to the breath. Don't try to control the breath,
just watch it. See how it takes care of itself, it breathes itself.
Then let attention sweep over the body, just moving here and there,
noticing comfort and discomfort, noticing the weight of the body
where it rests. We take a seat, whether on a chair, cushion, or
bench, that feels balanced and firm. Adjust that now if you need
to. Ground yourself in this body that did a pretty good job of
bringing you here. Feel steadfast and steady.
#############
The second tool that is important in facing the Armies is Metta,
loving-kindness, as a quality of mind. It is sometimes translated as
loving-friendliness. It is an openhearted quality, the practice of
which is the recognition that there is no “other”, we are all
intimately connected. We share with every other being the desire
for happiness, safety, and peace. TNH calls this quality
INTERBEING. There is nothing which is excluded from this view
of friendliness, of kindness. Even demons are invited in for tea.
Even the demons in our own minds – where else would they be?
How do we do this, this practice? We “look with love” at
whatever arises.
See what happens. I want to close this talk and open this retreat by
reading the Metta Sutta. Let the words resonate.
************************
METTA SUTTA
This is what should be done
By one who is skilled in goodness
And who would know the path of peace.
Let none deceive another,
or despise any being in any state.
Let none through anger or ill will,
Wish harm upon another.
Let them be able and upright
Straightforward and gentle in speech
Humble and not conceited
Contented and easily satisfied
Unburdened with duties and frugal
In their ways
Peaceful and wise and calm and skillful,
Not proud and demanding in nature.
Let them not do the slightest thing
That the wise would later reprove.
Even as a mother protects with her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings;
Radiating kindness over the entire world;
Spreading upward to the skies,
And downward to the depths;
Outward and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.
Wishing in gladness and in safety,
May all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong,
Whether standing or walking,
Seated or lying down
Free from drowsiness,
One should sustain this recollection.
Omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium,
Short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born,
May all beings be at ease.
This is said to be the sublime abiding.
By not holding to fixed views,
The pure-hearted one, having clarity of
vision,
Being freed from all sense-desires,
Is not born again into this world.
What is the quality of your mind at this very minute? What
thoughts are rising and passing? Take a moment now of silence to
look within.
I will be speaking in turn of the ten Armies. They all come to all
of us. They are part of this human experience. Some may speak
more loudly to you at this time. No problem. Listen. See what
happens. Hold up the mirror of Mindfulness in the light of
kindness.
WHAT IS IN THE WAY IS THE WAY
Here comes the First Army: sense pleasure. The fuel that runs this
Army is the response to pleasant experience. The problem, and
what fuels the First Army, is not the pleasant experience itself, but
the fact that we WANT pleasant experiences and when we have
them, we want to hold on to them. This IS a natural human
response, but we don't have to look too far to see why it is a
problem.
I remember how much I enjoyed and appreciated my children
when they were eleven years old. They were competent and
comfortable with themselves and with me as a parent. They
communicated. They were funny and open and present in the
family. Then, before I knew it, they were thirteen years old. Need
I say more...? I wanted that eleven year old back! I resented the
difficulty of living with a thirteen year old.
This is just one example of the truth that, in the mundane world,
everything is constantly changing, that pleasant experiences end.
If we can stay alert enough, mindful enough to just SEE that
pleasant experience without desire and attachment, Mara loses. If
we can look at our tendency to desire with a loving, friendly view,
Mara loses. Steadfast and kind.
The Second Army is dissatisfaction. This can manifest around
anything – the surroundings, others, foods, smells, sounds, the age
of your children – anything – but is especially challenging when
the dissatisfaction is with our Meditation Practice.
There is a particular kind of pleasure known as 'delight in the
Dhamma', the teachings. See that that delight is different and
superior to delight in sense pleasure. If negative feelings arise
about your practice (my mind is jumping around, I can't sit still, I
don't feel comfortable with...some aspect of practice) – recognize
“This is Mara”. Look with clarity and kindness.
The Third Army is hunger and thirst. Here, the body gets involved
and, without mindfulness, can become very uncomfortable. We
can hunger and thirst, not just for food, but also for clothing,
entertainment, activities. There is no sense of “enoughness”. The
taste of the Dhamma refreshes. Remember the words of the Metta
Sutta: “...contented and easily satisfied...”
The Fourth Army is Craving. Can you see how these Armies
support each other? Sense pleasure can lead to dissatisfaction
because it ends. Dissatisfaction can lead to hunger and thirst for
something other than what is present. Craving, a more intense
wanting, rises from inattention to the hunger and thirst. Remember
the Four Noble Truths. The first is that things happen that
challenge us. From the moment we are born, we get sick, grow old
and die, and lose what we love because it is constantly changing.
And we suffer. The second is that, we suffer when we get caught
in wanting things to be different than they are. We increase our
pain and stress around what is happening by wanting it to be
different. We WANT, we CRAVE only pleasant, lasting
experiences. The Craving of the Fourth Army leads to planning
how to get what we want which may move on to actually
materializing, and then we are caught.
Many years ago now, when my daughter Julia was involved in
some life situations which I found very troubling. I was pretty clear
what I thought she should do about things. One morning, after
having a phone conversation with her that left me stewing, I was
driving to meet Susan for breakfast. As I became aware of my
tense grip on the steering wheel and my churning mind, it occurred
to me “THIS is suffering”! It was a life-changing Insight!
Attention shifted from Julia and what she was doing to the state of
my heart/mind. I took responsibility for the suffering instead of
blaming her for my discomfort. Because I had some understanding
of the truth (and because I had a good Dhamma Friend to share
things with), I could ask myself “What am I craving/wanting? I
saw that I had a strange idea that I should know what Julia should
do with her life. How could I know that? The conditions of her
life were totally different than anything in my experience. I was
hanging on to some illusion of control. I realized that the most
important thing I could give her was love and listening. It took
practice.
Settle into this retreat. Meditate, Walk, let Stillness come. If
Insights arise, Reflect on the significance. Make some notes if you
find that helpful.
**********************************
You have made it through the examination of what can be some
uncomfortable experiences. Smile to your steadfast courage. Give
yourselof the gift of Joy. See that everything that comes to you is
a practice opportunity, nothing is excluded. Painful emotions are
opportunities to practice clarity and kindness. I love the way this
poem by Rumi invites us.
GUEST HOUSE
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
Who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
-Rumi
The Fifth Army of Mara is sloth and torpor. I think of them as
“my old friends”. I have seen greediness fade with practice.
Aversion and worry have never been a predominant hindrance in
my experience. I am blessed with sloth and torpor as the most
familiar!!
Torpor is a mind that seems weak and shrunken, withered, even
sometimes viscous and slimy. It can be unable to grasp firmly the
object of meditation. This weakened mind manifests as a
weakened body. It is hard to sit erect and firm. Walking feels like
a drag. The mind sometimes feels still and hard, without active
sharpness. Energy is low. Sloth is laziness and is an actual
obstruction to wholesomeness. It has been challenging to me to
differentiate changes that come with aging from the Army of sloth
and torpor. With age, physical energy DOES diminish. Mental
acuity DOES diminish. Practice calls one to see clearly and accept
those changes, but it also calls one to see when sloth and torpor are
masquerading as normal. The Buddha gave his disciple, The
Venerable Maha Moggallana, eight tools to help him stay awake.
First is a change in attitude, strengthening mindfulness and present
moment awareness. It is not uncommon that, as skill with
meditation grows and ease increases, that a relaxation of effort
occurs. AAHH!! For me, this understanding felt important and
took away a sense of shame or failure.
In one's meditation, one technique that can bring more energy is to
add more objects and even change the primary object you have
been using – perhaps even watching the breath come and go from a
different place in the body. While we say that labeling is to be let
go of eventually, relying on it at times can bring a higher sense of
energy to a sitting.
It can refresh the mind to reflect on inspiring passages. I took the
collection of verses, “The Flight of the Garuda”, on retreat at one
time and felt a bit sneaky about it, that I was somehow bending the
rules. When I mentioned to Matt during a interview that I had
brought it, his comment was, “every time I read that I have
experiences of opening”. I was inspired.
One can, when sitting alone, recite passages aloud or chant. I have
gone on retreat with “The Great Way is not difficult for one who
has no preferences.”
One can pull on earlobes, rub the hands and arms, and physically
stimulate the body, perhaps even by standing up.
Wash the face.
Open the eyes and look at a lighted object like the moon, a candle
or a light bulb.
Look clearly at rising and falling. In other words, see if you can
notice the beginning and ending of each momentary experience. I
have found that choosing either beginning or ending works best for
me. Beginnings feel more challenging to see than endings but
constantly looking is intense.
Go to bed! With kindness!! Take a nap. I find that I need a
couple of short naps on the first day of a retreat, even a personal
retreat.
The Sixth Army of Mara is fear and cowardliness. Facing this take
courageous effort. Steadfastness. In the refrain of the Satipattanna
Sutta, the word ARDENT is used. That feels like energy to me. In
Buddhism, Faith is confidence in the Dhamma, in the power of
virtue, clarity, and wisdom to lead us to freedom from suffering.
Ordinary fear is actually a 'sinking' form of anger. Investigate this
in your own experience. To what is anger directed? Face it
directly. Talking about it with a teacher or a spiritual friend may
help you gain perspective.
Many years ago, I was going to my first retreat with Matt
Flickstein. He required a telephone interview before he accepted
new retreatants. He asked me “What is at the edge of your
practice?” I told him – resistance to practice. I had had a profound
experience of dissolution of self at a retreat a year before. I knew
what it was and that it was “fruits of practice” and thought I was
not afraid of it. However, I went home, went to dharma classes,
even went to group sittings, but did not sit alone for that year.
Matt advised that it was important to see the fear that underlay that
resistance in order to move through it. It was very wise advice.
The Seventh Army of Mara is doubt. This may be doubt of our
own capacities that arise from the experience of sloth and torpor.
That is where seeds of doubt lie in my experience.
Where are they in yours?
Doubt of our own capacity may lead to doubt about a teacher and
even the teachings themselves. The Buddha named five kinds of
doubt: of Buddha, Of Dhamma, of Sangha, of oneself, of fellow
yogis and teachers. All this doubt gives rise to resistance and
anger.
Wisdom arises through personal, direct experience of
impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and selflessness through our
meditation practice AND through knowledge arrived at by
reasoning and inspiring conversation. This knowledge then
supports clear observation in meditation practice.
This brings us back to Vipassana, to Insight Meditation. The clear
seeing we experience with this practice automatically clears the
five mental fetters. Clear seeing supports letting go.
We let go the chains to sense objects and see their 'thisness'.
We let go any over-attachment to personal appearance and our own
body.
We let go of any sense of possession or attachment to the body of
another.
We let go of whims, preferences, and worries around food.
We let go of craving for rebirth in that perfect deva world –
heaven.
Faith, Confidence, clarifies the mind and clears doubt and
aversion. Energy. Commitment, and willingness arise.
The mind is strengthened. Confidence is verified and reinforced.
Close your eyes. Let the breath come and go by itself. Look
within the mind. If doubt is present – of Buddha, Dhamma,
Sangha, self, fellow yogis and teachers, look with love and
kindness at the doubt itself. See that it is impermanent, it CAN'T
be held on to, AND it's not personal.
If there is no doubt, just breathe gratitude and joy in this moment.
*******************************************
Can you see that the first four Armies deal with the body and the
next three deal with the mind? Each Army is more subtle in
character and therefore can be more challenging to see. Yes, it is a
kind of work, but I want to remind you why we do this work – to
be free from suffering through freeing ourselves from greed,
hatred, and delusion.
This is the image Hafiz gives us.
THE STAIRWAY OF EXISTENCE
We
Are not
In pursuit of formalities
Or fake religious laws.
For through the stairway of existence
We have come to God's door.
We are
People who need to love, because
Love is the soul's life,
Love is simply creation's greatest joy.
Through
The stairway of existence,
O, through the stairway of existence, Hafiz,
Have
You now come,
Have we all now come to
The Beloved's
Door.
The Eighth Army of Mara is made up of conceit and ingratitude.
This army slips in with the experience of joy, rapture, and delight.
We feel blessed and “special”. This is sometimes called a
“Vipassana defilement”. Conceit is a bubble of energy that
stiffens into rigidity and destroys gratitude. It is difficult to
acknowledge. We feel that WE have accomplished this
specialness through our own effort. We forget the benefactors that
have created conditions for this joy to arise. When we CAN
acknowledge this, we defeat the Eighth Army. Working with this
is a rich time to pay attention to family relationships, to
acknowledge with gratitude that our imperfect parents at the very
least, gave us life. The Buddha pointed out two types of rare and
precious persons: one who is a benefactor and one who is grateful.
We are steadfast in our courage to acknowledge conceit and kind
to ourselves and others through gratitude.
The Ninth Army of Mara is made up of gain, praise, honor, and
undeserved fame, or material gain and reverence – called the great
corruptors. It is natural that one's manner and behavior change with
practice, that they become more venerable and impressive within
our particular personality style and structure. With sincere
motivation we need to frequently re-examine our motives.
An example of someone who has found balance with a strong
personality style and a desire to learn and grow and serve the
Dhamma is Wes Nisker. I met him in San Miguel a couple of
years ago. He did a Dhamma talk at a center near our house that
was clear and kind. That evening, he did a stand-up comedy
routine at a local theater that sold out and folks found very
entertaining. He also has been responsible, with Barbara Gates, for
the creation and support of the Vipassana publication “Inquiring
Mind” for many years. I have greatly appreciated to voice that
publication gate to the Dhamma through articles, artwork, and
poetry.
I have found that a practice of dedicating merit for the benefit of
all beings useful in reminding me why I practice. A Dhamma
friend gently teased me because I used the words, “IF there is any
merit in this practice...” rather than “I dedicate any merit in this
practice...” My choice of words was deliberate. It recognized in
this mind that I was doing the best I knew, but that it probably
could be better.
The Eightfold Path helps build happiness that is free from
defilement through developing virtue (Wise Speech, Wise Action,
Wise Livelihood), insights and clarity(Wise Effort, Wise
Mindfulness, Wise Concentration), and wisdom (Wise View, Wise
Intention).
Every insight leads to extinguishing defilements of greed, hatred,
and delusion, and brings about a gradual awakening to freedom
from suffering.
The Tenth Army of Mara is self-exaltation and the disparaging of
others. This can be a byproduct of practice and is perhaps the most
lethal army of all. The Buddha used the Simile of the Timber Tree
to illustrate this army.
Consider a valuable timber tree whose core is the most precious
part. This core stands for the fundamental steps to awakening; sila
– virtue, samadhi – clarity, panna – wisdom. In cross section, the
tree trunk is revealed to show this precious core, the woody tissue,
the inner bark, and finally the thin layer of outer bark.
One woodcutter may go into the forest seeking the tree's pith for
some important purpose. He finds the big, handsome tree, cuts off
all the branches and takes them home. When he goes to use them,
he finds they are useless for their intended purpose. This is like
one who thinks gain and fame will be enough to support
awakening.
Another seeker may strip the thin outer bark from the tree. This is
like a yogi who, content with purity of conduct, does not work to
further develop a mind of wisdom and clarity.
A third yogi may realize that morality is not the end of the road
and takes up some form of meditation and works very hard. He
develops a mind still and content, full of bliss and rapture. He may
even master the jhanas. But then the thought comes, “Boy, I am
feeling great, but the person next to me is as restless as ever. This
is like a woodcutter who is content with the inner bark but has not
yet touched the core.
Another yogi, more ambitious, determines to develop psychic
powers. She attains them and is filled with pride. She enjoys
playing with these new abilities and neglects the work of
developing wholesome states of mind.
The Buddha was sometimes urged to display the psychic powers
he and some of his followers had, and he refused.
A venerable Theravada teacher named Sayadaw U Pandita puts it
this way. “A person who attains psychic powers and then believes
he or she has reached the end of the spiritual path is much deluded.
Such people see the pith of the timber tree but are satisfied to reach
only the woody outer layer. Bringing it home, they will find it of
no use.”
The Buddha himself said: “The benefit of my teaching does not lie
simply in gain, respect, and fame. The benefit of my teaching does
not lie merely in purity of conduct. It does not lie merely in the
attainment of psychic powers. It has as its essence the total
liberation from the defilements (of greed, hatred, and delusion)
that is attainable at any time.
This is what we aspire to. This is why we practice. This is where
clear seeing, Vipassana, leads. We take this seat with confidence,
with steady, calm, moment-to-moment attention. With kindness.
See this for yourself.
CLOSING
You have been challenged in this retreat. I hope you have also felt
supported for the inner work you have engaged. I hope you go
home feeling renewed and refreshed and confident that this path to
awakening is worth following AND that you are capable of
following it and of realizing freedom for yourself.
Remember that I have talked about two tools that are most useful
in facing the inevitable challenges that come to us. The first is
Mindfulness, steadfastness of attention. I hope you have gained
some understanding and confidence in your ability to come back,
over and over again. To take your seat. You are not alone.
The second tool is loving-kindness, metta. This is not just a
practice. The reason for the practice is to establish loving-kindness
as a quality of mind that is always present. Then, EVERYTHING
we see and encounter we see with eyes grounded in this quality.
With that in mind, I end my share of talking with a poem by Billy
Collins called “ AIMLESS LOVE”.
AIMLESS LOVE Billy Collins
This morning as I walked along the lakeshore,
I fell in love with a wren
and later in the day with a mouse
the cat had dropped under the dining room table.
In the shadows of an autumn evening,
I fell for a seamstress
still at her machine in the tailor's window,
and later for a bowl of broth,
steam rising like smoke from a naval battle.
This is the best kind of love, I thought,
without recompense, without gifts,
or unkind words, without suspicion,
or silence on the telephone.
The love of the chestnut,
the jazz cap and one hand on the wheel.
No lust, no slam of the door the love of the miniature orange tree,
the clean white shirt, the hot evening shower,
the highway that cuts across Florida.
No waiting, no huffiness, or rancor just a twinge every now and then
for the wren who had built her nest
on a low branch overhanging the water
and for the dead mouse,
still dressed in its light brown suit.
But my heart is always propped up
in a field on its tripod,
ready for the next arrow.
After I carried the mouse by the tail
to a pile of leaves in the woods,
I find myself standing at the bathroom sink
gazing down affectionately at the soap,
so patient and soluble,
so at home in its pale green soap dish.
I could feel myself falling again
as I felt its turning in my wet hands
and caught the scent of lavender and stone.