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The Taming of Māra: Witnessing to the Buddha's Virtues

In recent years two important studies of Mara, the Buddhist personification of evil, have been written by Trevor Ling and James Boyd.1 Both studies rely heavily upon the Pali canon in an attempt to understand the nature of evil in early Buddhism and to suggest comparisons with the Christian perspective. In these studies, the authors reveal a multiplicity of meanings concerning Mara and suggest the popular roots and appeal of this figure. However, their studies stress a philosophical and monastic perspective and lack a fuller exploration of the popular perception of the bodhisattva's defeat of Mara and his hosts. In their analyses, the authors show how Mara attempts to divert the bodhisattva from his goal of enlightenment, ensnare humankind in the bonds of desire and, hence, redeath, cause doubt and dissension concerning the Dharma, and distract monks from their meditative