{"id":1798,"date":"2019-05-30T23:54:10","date_gmt":"2019-05-30T23:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/?p=1798"},"modified":"2019-05-31T18:43:48","modified_gmt":"2019-05-31T18:43:48","slug":"the-dwelling-of-mara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/the-dwelling-of-mara\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dwelling of M\u0101ra"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

            Throughout Mahatma letter #16 (#68\nin the chronological edition), the so-called \u201cdevachan letter,\u201d are found\nseveral quotations from Buddhist scriptures. These come from an 1871 book\ntitled, A Catena of Buddhist Scriptures\nfrom the Chinese<\/em>, by Samuel Beal. In this book (pp. 15-125), Beal\ntranslated what he called \u201cThe Buddhist Kosmos\u201d (Fah-kai-on-lih-to<\/em>, in his transcription of the Chinese title, p. 12),\nwritten by Jin-Ch\u2019au, and published in 1573 C.E. The book by Jin-Ch\u2019au includes\nmany quotations from the Buddhist scriptures. It is usually these quotations\nthat are given in the Mahatma letter. One of these quotations refers to the \u201cdwelling\nof M\u0101ra\u201d (Mahatma Letters<\/em>, 2nd ed. pp.\n106-107; 3rd ed. p. 104, chronological ed. p. 195; from Beal\u2019s Catena<\/em>, p. 90). This M\u0101ra, says the\nMahatma letter, is the allegorical image of the mysterious \u201cPlanet of Death,\u201d a\nsphere located \u201cbetween Kama and Rupa-lokas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The dwelling of M\u0101ra was referred to\na few pages earlier in Beal\u2019s Catena<\/em>\n(p. 84) as the \u201cabode of M\u0101ra.\u201d The earlier quotation confirms the later\nquotation, that this dwelling or abode of M\u0101ra is “between the Kama Loka\nand the Rupa Loka\u201d (p. 90); that is, between the k\u0101ma-dh\u0101tu or desire realm and\nthe r\u016bpa-dh\u0101tu or form realm. However, no such place is known in the Buddhist\nteachings that have become standard, such as are based on the Sanskrit Abhidharma-ko\u015ba<\/em> or the Pali Abhidhammatha-sa\u1e45gaha<\/em>. In the standard\nBuddhist teachings, the k\u0101ma-dh\u0101tu ends with the sixth of six heavens, the para-nirmita-va\u015bavartin\nheaven, after which begins the r\u016bpa-dh\u0101tu with the first of seventeen or\nsixteen higher heavens, the brahma-k\u0101yika heaven (these have been translated as\n\u201cheavens\u201d only because they are abodes of gods located above the human realm;\nthe Sanskrit text merely calls them \u201cplaces, localities,\u201d sth\u0101na<\/em>). There is no mention of any dwelling or abode in between. Indeed,\nin the standard teachings M\u0101ra, the god of desire, dwells in the sixth and\nhighest heaven of the k\u0101ma-dh\u0101tu, the desire realm, not in some sphere between\nthe k\u0101ma-dh\u0101tu and the r\u016bpa-dh\u0101tu. Where, then, does this teaching come from?\nThe text translated by Beal quotes it from what Beal transcribed as the\n\u201cLau-Tan Sutra.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The first step is to figure out what\nis the \u201cLau-Tan Sutra,\u201d as transcribed by Beal. He thought (p. 90) that it\nmight be the \u201cPinda-dhana S\u00fbtra,\u201d but no such s\u016btra shows up in our catalogues.\nFortunately, Beal himself prepared a catalogue of the Chinese Tripi\u1e6daka, the\nfirst ever in English, published in 1876: The\nBuddhist Tripi\u1e6daka, as It Is Known in China and Japan. A Catalogue and\nCompendious Report<\/em>. There, on p. 39, no. 6 is the Fuh-shwo-Lau-tan-king<\/em>, i.e., the Lau-tan S\u016btra. Several years later,\nin 1883, Beal\u2019s pioneering catalogue was improved upon by Bunyiu Nanjio with\nhis still used Catalogue of the Chinese\nTranslation of the Buddhist Tripitaka<\/em>. From Beal\u2019s description in his\ncatalogue, giving the translators, etc., we can see that the Lau-tan S\u016btra is\nno. 551, pp. 138-139, in Nanjio\u2019s catalogue: the Fo-shwo-leu-th\u00e2n-<\/em>ki\u1e45<\/em>. Nanjio\nthere tells us that it is one of three \u201cearlier translations of No. 545 (30),\ni.e. the S\u00fbtra on the record of the world, in the D\u00eergh\u00e2gama.\u201d From this\ninformation, we can trace it to the now standard edition of the Chinese Tripi\u1e6daka,\nthe Taish\u014d edition, which was compiled and published 1922-1934. In the 1931 Taish\u014d\ncatalogue, this s\u016btra is no. 23, the Ta\nleou t\u2019an king<\/em>. In the once commonly used Wade-Giles system this is written\nTa lou t\u2019an ching<\/em>, or in the now more\nstandard pinyin system, Da lou tan jing<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The Lau-tan S\u016btra, as Nanjio\ninformed us, is an earlier translation of the thirtieth s\u016btra in the D\u012brgh\u0101gama.\nThe D\u012brgh\u0101gama collection, originally in Sanskrit, consists of thirty s\u016btras in\nthe Chinese translation. The Sanskrit D\u012brgh\u0101gama was long lost, but in recent\nyears an incomplete manuscript of it was discovered. In this manuscript, the D\u012brgh\u0101gama\nconsists of forty-seven s\u016btras. Unfortunately, an original Sanskrit text of the\nLau-tan S\u016btra is not among these (see: Jens-Uwe Hartmann, \u201cContents and\nStructure of the D\u012brgh\u0101gama of the (M\u016bla-)Sarv\u0101stiv\u0101dins,\u201d Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced\nBuddhology at Soka University<\/em>, vol. 7, 2004, pp. 119-137, especially pp. 125-128).\nThe D\u012brgh\u0101gama is parallel to the Pali D\u012bgha-nik\u0101ya, which consists of\nthirty-four suttas or s\u016btras. None of these, however, provides us with a parallel\nto the Lau-tan S\u016btra. So we still do not know the Sanskrit title of the Lau-tan\nS\u016btra. One surmise was the Loka-dh\u0101tu S\u016btra; a later surmise was the Loka-prasth\u0101na\nS\u016btra. The most plausible one is Loka-praj\u00f1apti S\u016btra, found in an article on\nthe related Loka-praj\u00f1apti \u015a\u0101stra (Siglinde Dietz, \u201cA Brief Survey on the\nSanskrit Fragments of the Lokapraj\u00f1apti\u015b\u0101stra,\u201d Annual Memoirs of the Otani University Shin Buddhist Comprehensive\nResearch Institute<\/em>, vol. 7, 1989, p. 80). More importantly, we do not have\na Sanskrit or Pali text of it to check for this \u201cdwelling of M\u0101ra.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The next step, then, is to see if another text can be found that refers to the \u201cdwelling of M\u0101ra\u201d located between the k\u0101ma-dh\u0101tu and the r\u016bpa-dh\u0101tu. As already said, the texts that provide the standard Buddhist teachings on cosmography do not refer to any such place, including their commentaries such as the comprehensive Chim commentary on the Abhidharmako\u015ba recently translated from Tibetan (by Ian James Coghlan, Ornament of Abhidharma<\/em>, 2018). After a fruitless search of possible candidates, such as the Divy\u0101vad\u0101na (five descriptions of the heavens without it), the M\u016bla-sarv\u0101stiv\u0101da-vinaya-vastu (four descriptions without it, all in its Sa\u1e45gha-bheda-vastu), the Dharma-skandha (five descriptions without it in the lengthy extant Sanskrit portions), the Loka-praj\u00f1apti-\u015b\u0101stra (several descriptions without it, searched via its Tibetan translation, none in the extant Sanskrit fragments), etc., I came to the Mah\u0101vastu, an old vinaya text that never made it into mainstream Buddhism. There we find two references to such a place. The Mah\u0101vastu refers to the dwelling (bhavana) of M\u0101ra, the abode (\u0101laya) of M\u0101ra, that is between the k\u0101ma-dh\u0101tu and the r\u016bpa-dh\u0101tu. Before bringing in the Mah\u0101vastu references, it will be useful to review the passage translated by Beal and quoted in the Mahatma letter, and the supporting passage translated by Beal showing that this place is in fact between the k\u0101ma-dh\u0101tu and the r\u016bpa-dh\u0101tu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The passage translated by Beal and\nquoted in the Mahatma letter, from Beal\u2019s Catena<\/em>,\np. 90:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Lau-Tan Sutra says:1<\/sup> \u2018Between the Kama Loka and the Rupa Loka, there is a distinct locality, the dwelling of M\u00e2ra. This M\u00e2ra, filled with passion and lust, destroys all virtuous principles, as a stone grinds corn. His palace is 6,000 yojanas square, and is surrounded by a seven-fold wall.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c1\nPinda-dhana S\u00fbtra.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The supporting passage that is found\na few pages earlier briefly describes the six heavens of the k\u0101ma-dh\u0101tu, the\n\u201cWorld of Desires,\u201d one by one. It is preceded by this note from the Chinese\nEditor on its sources: \u201cFor bodily size we follow the Kosha; for the character\nof the garments the Dirgh\u00e2gama Sutra; for the duration of life the Kosha and\nAbhidharma.\u201d After the six heavens of the k\u0101ma-dh\u0101tu and before moving on to\nthe r\u016bpa-dh\u0101tu, or \u201cRupa-loka,\u201d it brings in the \u201cM\u00e2ra-vasanam-Heavens,\u201d the\n\u201cabode of M\u00e2ra.\u201d It is from Beal\u2019s Catena<\/em>,\npp. 83-84:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c10. With respect to the six heavens of the World of Desires, the size of the bodies of the \u2018Four Kings,\u2019 is half a li, the weight of their garments half a tael (ounce), and fifty years of men equal one of their days and nights; they live 500 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cIn the Trayastri\u00f1shas Heaven the size of the body is one\nli, the weight of the garments six chu (one fourth of an ounce), one night and day\nequal 100 years of men, and they live 1,000 of these years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cIn the Yama Heaven, the height of the body is one li and\na half, their garments three chu (scruples) in weight, one night and day equals\n200 years of men, and they live 2,000 of these years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cIn the Tusita Heaven, height two li, weight two chu,\nlife 4,000 years, each year being 400 years of men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cIn the Nirm\u00e2na rati Heaven, height two and a half li, weight\none chu, duration of life 8,000 years, each year being equal to 800 years of\nmen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cIn the Parinirmita-vasavartin Heaven, the height is three\nli, weight of garments half a scruple, and they live 16,000 years, each year of\nwhich is equal to 1,600 years of men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cIn the M\u00e2ra-vasanam1<\/sup>-Heavens, the weight of\ngarments is 128th of an ounce, and the years of their life 32,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cIn the Rupa-Ioka they use kalpas to measure the duration\nof life, and they wear no garments, there being no distinction of sexes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201c1. Mo-Io-po-seun, i.e., <\/em>M\u00e2ra-vasanam, or abode of\nM\u00e2ra; vide Burnouf, Introd., 617.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            This shows clearly that the dwelling\nor abode of M\u0101ra is a distinct locality, with its own distinct weight of\ngarments and years of lifespan, beyond the para-nirmita-va\u015bavartin heaven, the\nhighest heaven of the k\u0101ma-dh\u0101tu, and before the r\u016bpa-dh\u0101tu. It confirms the\nquotation from the Lau-tan S\u016btra. The later Chinese translation of the Lau-tan\nS\u016btra as found in the D\u012brgh\u0101gama has now become available in a complete English\ntranslation of the D\u012brgh\u0101gama. This translation of the same passage quoted by\nBeal\u2019s author differs in some ways from Beal\u2019s translation of it, but confirms that\nthe dwelling of M\u0101ra is a distinct locality between the para-nirmita-va\u015bavartin\nheaven and the brahma-k\u0101yika heaven. As translated by Shohei Ichimura in The Canonical Book of the Buddha\u2019s Lengthy\nDiscourses<\/em>, vol. 3, 2018, p. 155:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBetween Paranirmitava\u015bavartin\nHeaven and Brahmak\u0101yika Heaven is the palace of the lord of the evil ones, M\u0101ra,\nan area of sixty thousand yojana<\/em>s surrounded by sevenfold walls with\nseven railings, seven ornamental nets, and seven lines of trees, and so on,\nwith innumerable birds singing harmoniously together, just as before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Another English translation of this\npassage from the later Chinese translation of the Lau-tan S\u016btra as found in the\nD\u012brgh\u0101gama, made by Angela Falco Howard, is found in her partial translation of\nthis s\u016btra from her 1986 book, The\nImagery of the Cosmological Buddha<\/em>, p. 117:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBetween\nthe Paranirmita and Brahm\u0101 Heavens is the palace of Brahm\u0101 deva<\/em>, which extends for six thousand yojanas<\/em> in both directions. The palace\u2019s walls are seven-fold with\nseven balustrades, seven rows of trees with seven precious bells, and countless\nbirds singing harmoniously to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            This translation differs from the\n2018 translation in the number of yojanas in extent, six thousand instead of\nsixty thousand, and more significantly, the palace of Brahm\u0101 rather than the\npalace of M\u0101ra. However, this is almost certainly a slip on the part of Howard.\nLater in this s\u016btra as translated by Howard, we see that it is indeed \u201cM\u0101ra\u2019s\nHeaven\u201d that is between the Paranirmitava\u015bavartin Heaven and the Brahm\u0101\nHeavens, p. 154:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\nare twelve categories of sentient beings who belong to the Kamadh\u0101tu or World\nof Desire. Which are they? They are [the denizens of] hell, the animals, pretas<\/em>, men, asuras<\/em>, the Four Heavenly Kings, [those who live in] the Tr\u0101yastri\u1e43\u015ba\nHeaven, Yama Heaven, Tu\u1e63ita Heaven, Nirm\u0101\u1e47arati Heaven, Paranirmitava\u015bavartin\nHeaven, M\u0101ra\u2019s Heaven. There are twenty-two categories of sentient beings who\nbelong to the Rupadh\u0101tu or World of Form. They are [the beings living in] Brahm\u0101\u2019s\nHeaven, in the Brahmak\u0101yika Heaven, Brahm\u0101purohita Heaven, . . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            This is in turn confirmed in\nIchimura\u2019s 2018 translation of this same passage of the D\u012brghagama, vol. 3, p.\n244:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are twelve kinds of\nsentient beings in the realm of desire. What are the twelve? They are (1) hell\nbeings, (2) animals, (3) hungry ghosts, (4) humans, (5) asura<\/em>s, (6) the\nguardian gods, (7) the Tr\u0101yastri\u1e43\u015ba gods, (8) the Yama gods, (9) the Tu\u1e63ita\ngods, (10) the Nirm\u0101\u1e47arati gods, (11) the Paranirmitava\u015bavartin gods, and (12)\nthe evil ones (P\u0101p\u012byas). There are twenty-two kinds of sentient beings in the\nrealm of form: (1) the Brahmak\u0101yika gods, (2) the Brahmapurohita gods, . . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Yet with all this, we were still\nlacking a Sanskrit original to confirm the English translations of the Chinese\ntranslations, until found in the Mah\u0101vastu. The Mah\u0101vastu, one of the earliest\nBuddhist Sanskrit texts we have, is a text from the vinaya of the long-defunct\nLokottara-v\u0101din Mah\u0101-s\u0101\u1e43ghika Buddhists. Two passages in this text refer to the\ndwelling (bhavana) of M\u0101ra, the abode (\u0101laya) of M\u0101ra, and show clearly that\nthis dwelling or abode of M\u0101ra is a distinct locality between the\npara-nirmita-va\u015bavartin heaven of the k\u0101ma-dh\u0101tu and the brahm\u0101 heavens of the\nr\u016bpa-dh\u0101tu. Here there can be no question, since we have the original Sanskrit.\nThe two passages from the Mah\u0101vastu are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u015b\u012blena\npari\u015buddhena cyavanta\u1e43 pa\u015byate nara\u1e25 |
\nvim\u0101na\u1e43 rucira\u1e43 \u015bre\u1e63\u1e6dha\u1e43 apsaro-ga\u1e47a-sevita\u1e43 ||
\n\u015b\u012blena pari\u015buddhena cyavanta\u1e43 pa\u015byate nara\u1e25 |
\nsumeru-m\u016brdhne rucire tr\u0101yastri\u015b\u0101nam \u0101laye ||
\n\u015b\u012blena pari\u015buddhena y\u0101m\u0101\u1e43 pa\u015byati devat\u0101\u1e43 |
\nta\u1e43 caiva nagara\u1e43 divya\u1e43 apsar\u0101hi parisphu\u1e6da\u1e43 ||
\n\u015b\u012blena pari\u015buddhena tu\u1e63it\u0101\u1e43 pa\u015byati devat\u0101\u1e43 |
\nvim\u0101n\u0101\u1e43 pa\u015byati te\u1e63\u0101\u1e43 vicitr\u0101\u1e43 ratan\u0101may\u0101\u1e43 ||
\n\u015b\u012blena pari\u015buddhena nirm\u0101\u1e47a-rat\u012b\u1e43 pa\u015byati |
\nsunirmit\u0101\u1e43 deva-putr\u0101\u1e43 pa\u015byati ca svala\u1e43k\u1e5bt\u0101\u1e43 ||
\n\u015b\u012blena pari\u015buddhena dev\u0101\u1e43 pa\u015byati \u015bobhan\u0101\u1e43 |
\npara-nirmita-va\u015bavart\u012b vim\u0101ne\u1e63u prati\u1e63\u1e6dhit\u0101 ||
\n\u015b\u012blena pari\u015buddhena pa\u015byate m\u0101ram \u0101laya\u1e43 |
\nma\u1e47i-vit\u0101na-sa\u1e43channa\u1e43 apsaro-ga\u1e47a-sevita\u1e43 ||
\n\u015b\u012ble \u0101bhoga\u1e43 k\u1e5btv\u0101na brahm\u0101\u1e43 pa\u015byati devat\u0101\u1e43 |
\nj\u0101\u1e43b\u016b-nada-vim\u0101na\u1e43 ca ma\u1e47\u012bhi pratima\u1e47\u1e0dita\u1e43 ||
\n\u015b\u012blav\u0101\u1e43 pa\u015byate bhik\u1e63u dev\u0101\u1e43 ca brahma-k\u0101yik\u0101\u1e43 |
\nbrahma-purohit\u0101\u1e43 dev\u0101\u1e43 vim\u0101nehi prati\u1e63\u1e6dhit\u0101\u1e43 ||<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Le Mah\u00e2vastu<\/em>, edited by \u00c9. Senart, vol. 2, 1890, pp. 359-360)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cThrough his pure morality a man can\nsee one passing away to the highest brilliant mansion, the resort of throngs of\nApsarases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cThrough his pure morality a man can\nsee one passing away to the bright peak of Sumeru, the abode of the Tr\u0101yastri\u1e43\u015ba\ndevas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cThrough his pure morality he can\nsee the Y\u0101ma devas, and that celestial city which is crowded by Apsarases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cBecause of his perfectly pure\nmorality he sees the Tu\u1e63ita devas; he sees their bright bejewelled mansions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cBecause of his perfectly pure\nmorality he sees the Nirm\u0101\u1e47arati devas, the devas (named) Sunirmita, makers of\ntheir own adornments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cBecause of his perfectly pure\nmorality he sees the shining Paranirmitava\u015bavartin devas standing in their own\nmansions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cBecause of his perfectly pure\nmorality he sees the abode of M\u0101ra, covered with a canopy of jewels and crowded\nby throngs of Apsarases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cThrough fixing his mind on morality\nhe sees the Brahm\u0101 devas and their mansion of J\u0101mb\u016bnada gold begirt with jewels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cThe moral monk sees the devas in\nBrahm\u0101\u2019s train, and the devas who are his priests, standing in their mansions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(The Mah\u0101vastu<\/em>, translated by J. J.\nJones, vol. 2, 1952, p. 327)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

at\u012bva c\u0101turmah\u0101r\u0101jik\u0101n\u0101\u1e43\ndev\u0101n\u0101\u1e43 bhavan\u0101ni pari\u015buddh\u0101ni paryavad\u0101t\u0101ni abh\u016b\u1e63i | at\u012bva tr\u0101yastri\u1e43\u015b\u0101n\u0101\u1e43\ny\u0101m\u0101n\u0101\u1e43 tu\u1e63it\u0101n\u0101\u1e43 nirm\u0101\u1e47a-rat\u012b\u1e47\u0101\u1e43 para-nirmita-vasavartin\u0101\u1e43 dev\u0101n\u0101\u1e43 bhavan\u0101ni\npari\u015buddh\u0101ni paryavad\u0101t\u0101ni abh\u016b\u1e63i || at\u012bva m\u0101ra-bhavan\u0101ni dhy\u0101m\u0101ni abh\u016bnsu\u1e25 |\ndurvar\u1e47\u0101 ni\u1e63prabh\u0101\u1e47i dhvaj\u0101gr\u0101\u1e47i m\u0101ra-k\u0101yik\u0101n\u0101\u1e43 dev\u0101n\u0101\u1e43 m\u0101ro ca p\u0101p\u012bm\u0101\u1e43 du\u1e25kh\u012b\ndurmano vipratis\u0101r\u012b dhy\u0101manta-var\u1e47o anto-\u015balya-parid\u0101gha-j\u0101to || brahma-k\u0101yik\u0101n\u0101\u1e43\ndev\u0101n\u0101\u1e43 bhavan\u0101ni pari\u015buddh\u0101ni paryavad\u0101t\u0101ni abh\u016bnsu\u1e25 | \u015buddh\u0101v\u0101s\u0101n\u0101\u1e43 dev\u0101n\u0101\u1e43\nbhavan\u0101ni pari\u015buddh\u0101ni paryavad\u0101t\u0101ni abh\u016bnsu\u1e25 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Le Mah\u00e2vastu<\/em>, edited by \u00c9. Senart, vol. 2, 1890, p. 163)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe abodes of the C\u0101turmah\u0101r\u0101jika\ndevas became exceeding bright and pure, and so did the abodes of the Tr\u0101yastri\u1e43\u015ba\ndevas, of the Y\u0101ma devas, of the Tu\u1e63ita devas, of the Nirm\u0101\u1e47arati devas, and of\nthe Paranirmitava\u015bavartin devas. The abodes of M\u0101ra became exceeding gloomy.\nThe standards of M\u0101ra’s companies became dulled and without lustre. And wicked\nM\u0101ra became unhappy, discomfited, remorseful, dark-visaged and tortured by the\nsting within him. The abodes of the Brahm\u0101 devas and of the \u015auddh\u0101v\u0101sa devas\nbecame exceeding bright and pure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(The Mah\u0101vastu<\/em>, translated by J. J. Jones, vol. 2, 1952, p. 158)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The probable reason why the teaching\nof the dwelling of M\u0101ra between the k\u0101ma-dh\u0101tu and the r\u016bpa-dh\u0101tu did not\nbecome standard Buddhist doctrine is that it refers to an exceptional realm of\nexistence, not a normal realm of existence. The Mahatma letter has been\ndescribing the states after death. It explains that the dwelling of this M\u0101ra\nis the allegorical image of the sphere called the \u201cPlanet of Death,\u201d where the\nlives doomed to destruction disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNor must you laugh, if\never you come across Pindha-Dhana <\/em>or any other Buddhist Sutra <\/em>and\nread: \u2018Between the Kama-Loka <\/em>and the Rupa-Loka <\/em>there is a locality, the dwelling\nof \u201cMara\u201d (Death). This Mara filled with passion and lust, destroys all\nvirtuous principles, as a stone grinds corn.* His palace is 7000 yojanas\nsquare, and is surrounded by a seven<\/em>-fold wall,\u2019 for you will feel now\nmore prepared to understand the allegory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c* This Mara, as you may\nwell think, is the allegorical image of the sphere called the \u2018Planet of Death\u2019\n\u2014 the whirlpool <\/em>whither disappear the lives <\/em>doomed to\ndestruction. It is between Kama <\/em>and Rupa<\/em>–Lokas <\/em>that the struggle\ntakes place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Earlier in the letter the \u201cplanet of\nDeath\u201d is referred to for the first time. Besides the two references to it in\nthis letter, this mysterious place is referred to only one more time in the whole\nof the primary Theosophical writings, only to say in reply to Sinnett\u2019s query\nabout it, \u201cA question I have no right to answer.\u201d (Mahatma letter #23,\nchronological #93). Then follows in this letter a lengthy description of how a\nperson may end up there. The letter concludes with the statement that this is\nvery rare, an exception rather than the rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cEvery one but that ego which,\nattracted by its gross magnetism, falls into the current that will draw it into\nthe \u2018planet of Death\u2019 \u2014 the mental as well as physical satellite of our earth \u2014\nis <\/em>fitted to pass into a relative \u2018spiritual\u2019 condition adjusted to his\nprevious condition in life and mode of thought. To my knowledge and recollection\nH.P.B. explained to Mr. Hume that man’s sixth principle, as something purely\nspiritual could not exist, or have conscious <\/em>being in the Deva-Chan,\nunless it assimilated some of the more abstract and pure of the mental\nattributes of the fifth principle or animal Soul: its manas <\/em>(mind) and\nmemory. When man dies his second and third principles die with him; the lower\ntriad disappears, and the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh principles form the\nsurviving Quaternary<\/em>. (Read again page 6 in Fragments of O.T.<\/em>)  Thenceforth it is a \u2018death\u2019 struggle between\nthe Upper and Lower dualities. If the upper wins, the sixth, having attracted\nto itself the quintessence of Good <\/em>from the fifth \u2014 its nobler\naffections, its saintly (though they be earthly<\/em>) aspirations, and the\nmost Spiritualised portions of its mind \u2014 follows its divine elder <\/em>(the\n7th) into the \u2018Gestation\u2019 State; and the fifth and fourth remain in association\nas an empty shell <\/em>\u2014 (the expression is quite correct) \u2014 to roam in the\nearth’s atmosphere, with half the personal memory gone, and the more brutal instincts\nfully alive for a certain period \u2014 an \u2018Elementary\u2019 in short. This is the \u2018angel\nguide\u2019 of the average medium. If, on the other hand, it is the Upper Duality\n<\/em>which is defeated, then, it is the fifth principle that assimilates all\nthat there may be left of personal <\/em>recollection and perceptions of its\npersonal individuality in the sixth. But, with all this additional stock, it\nwill not remain in Kama-Loka <\/em>\u2014 \u2018the world of Desire\u2019 or our Earth’s\natmosphere. In a very short time like a straw floating within the attraction of\nthe vortices and pits of the Maelstrom, it is caught up and drawn into the\ngreat whirlpool of human Egos; while the sixth and seventh \u2014 now a purely\nSpiritual, individual <\/em>MONAD, with nothing left in it of the late\npersonality, having no regular \u2018gestation\u2019 period to pass through (since there\nis no purified personal <\/em>Ego to be reborn), after a more or less\nprolonged period of unconscious Rest in the boundless Space \u2014 will find itself\nreborn in another personality on the next planet. When arrives the period of\n\u2018Full Individual Consciousness\u2019 \u2014 which precedes that of Absolute <\/em>Consciousness\nin the Pari-Nirvana <\/em>\u2014 this lost personal <\/em>life becomes as a torn\nout page in the great Book of Lives, <\/em>without even a disconnected word\nleft to mark its absence. The purified monad will neither perceive nor remember\nit in the series of its past rebirths \u2014 which it would had it gone to the \u2018World\nof Forms\u2019 (rupa-loka<\/em>) \u2014 and its retrospective glance will not perceive\neven the slightest sign to indicate that it had been. The light of Samma-Sambuddh\n<\/em>\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        \u2018. . . that light which\nshines beyond our mortal ken<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        The line of all the\nlives in all the worlds\u2019 \u2014 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

throws no ray\nupon that personal <\/em>life in the series of lives foregone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cTo the credit of mankind, I must\nsay, that such an utter obliteration of an existence from the tablets of Universal\nBeing does not occur often enough to make a great percentage. In fact, like the\nmuch mentioned \u2018congenital idiot\u2019 such a thing is a lusus naturae <\/em>\u2014 an\nexception, not the rule.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            It may be that this teaching of a\nrealm between the k\u0101ma-dh\u0101tu and the r\u016bpa-dh\u0101tu, explained here as where the\nlives doomed to destruction disappear, dropped away from the Buddhist teachings\nfor the same reason that it dropped away from the Theosophical teachings: as the\nMahatma said, \u201cI have no right to answer\u201d Sinnett\u2019s question about this\nmysterious \u201cplanet of death.\u201d In the Theosophical teachings it pertains only to\nexceptions, where the life was so devoid of any redeeming qualities that the principles\nwhich make up the person go to annihilation without anything left to continue\non to rebirth, thus breaking the connection with the spiritual individual monad\nthat once animated that personality. In Buddhist terms, the series of sets of\nskandhas that make up a person and form an unbroken causal continuum of rebirth\nfrom life to life to life is broken. This is not something that the standard\nBuddhist teachings speak of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The dwelling of M\u0101ra referred to in\nthese early Buddhist texts, the D\u012brgh\u0101gama and the Mah\u0101vastu, would in\naccordance with the Theosophical explanation refer to M\u0101ra as death, m\u1e5btyu-m\u0101ra;\nthus the dwelling of M\u0101ra is the planet of death. This M\u0101ra is not the more\nusual M\u0101ra of desire whose dwelling is the para-nirmita-va\u015bavartin heaven at\nthe top of the k\u0101ma-dh\u0101tu: M\u0101ra the god, deva-putra-m\u0101ra, who as personified\ndesire has sway over the whole desire realm or k\u0101ma-dh\u0101tu. The Theosophical\nteachings attempted to explain the allegorical Buddhist teachings in\nstraightforward language, thus giving out for the first time what was hitherto\nesoteric information. The Buddhist teaching of sukh\u0101vat\u012b or devachan (Tibetan,\nbde ba can), a pure buddha-field or pure land that Buddhists could aspire to go\nto after death, was explained as the after-death state that most people go to. Those\nwho do not go to that state, the exceptions, had also to be accounted for. As\nexceptions, it was not necessary, and apparently was not permissible, to say\nmuch about them. Nonetheless, for the explanation of the after-death states to\nbe complete, the dwelling of M\u0101ra or the planet of death had to at least be\nmentioned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Throughout Mahatma letter #16 (#68 in the chronological edition), the so-called \u201cdevachan letter,\u201d are found several quotations from Buddhist scriptures. These come from an 1871 book titled, A Catena of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese, by Samuel Beal. In this book (pp. 15-125), Beal translated what he called \u201cThe Buddhist Kosmos\u201d (Fah-kai-on-lih-to, in his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1798"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1800,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1798\/revisions\/1800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}