Their flying spears, lances,
and javelins, stuck fast in space, refusing to descend; the angry
thunderdrops and mighty hail, with these, were changed into five-colored
lotus flowers, whilst the foul poison of the dragon snakes was turned to
spicy-breathing air. Thus all these countless sorts of creatures,
wishing to destroy the Bodhisattva, unable to remove him from the spot,
were with their own weapons wounded. Now Mara had an aunt-attendant
whose name was Ma-kia-ka-li, who held a skull-dish in her hands, and
stood in front of Bodhisattva, and with every kind of winsome gesture,
tempted to lust the Bodhisattva. So all these followers of Mara,
possessed of every demon-body form, united in discordant uproar, hoping
to terrify Bodhisattva; but not a hair of his was moved, and Mara's host
was filled with sorrow. Then in the air the crowd of angels, their forms
invisible, raised their voices, saying: "Behold the great Muni; his mind
unmoved by any feeling of resentment, whilst all that wicked Mara race,
besotted, are vainly bent on his destruction; let go your foul and
murderous thoughts against that silent Muni, calmly seated! You cannot
with a breath move the Sumeru mountain. Fire may freeze, water may burn,
the roughened earth may grow soft and pliant, but ye cannot hurt the
Bodhisattva! Through ages past disciplined by suffering. Bodhisattva
rightly trained in thought, ever advancing in the use of 'means,' pure
and illustrious for wisdom, loving and merciful to all.
Pages:
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543