Pāpīyas's Meritorious Karma and Māra Karma

Māra Pāpīyas has immense merit and an extremely long lifespan, reckoned in kalpas. His merit is exhausted through the creation of evil karma, and only then does his lifespan end, whereupon he falls directly into hell. Throughout the long duration of his lifespan, he must possess the greatest number of descendants to satisfy his greed. Therefore, any sentient being who, within one or several kalpas, cannot leave the desire realm—including the three evil destinies—counts among his descendants and retinue; after several kalpas, he can no longer control them. Thus Pāpīyas likes generosity and the cultivation of merit, and he also likes sentient beings to practice generosity and cultivate merit, but he does not allow sentient beings to cultivate and attain liberation, does not allow them to cultivate meditative concentration (samādhi), and does not allow them to go to other buddha-lands. Apart from that, sentient beings may do whatever they wish, and he will not interfere—as long as they cannot escape the desire realm. The more sentient beings delight in the five desires, the more delighted Pāpīyas becomes, for only the desire realm has the five desires; those who crave the five desires certainly cannot leave the desire realm and will forever remain among his descendants and retinue.

Everyone should observe themselves: how many mental actions are those that Pāpīyas delights in and approves of? How many habitual tendencies conform to the demon's mind and demon's nature, making one easily receptive to the demon's power and blessing? Those who are extremely lax in cultivation find worldly dharmas going very smoothly for them; but as soon as they cultivate with courage and diligence and step up to a higher level, things start going badly, and demonic obstructions appear. Thus those who cultivate well can cultivate out their karmic obstructions, while those whose cultivation is not yet effective often sail along smoothly with the wind and water, without hindrance. A true bodhisattva: the more the demon interferes, the firmer his resolve for the Path becomes, the better his meditative concentration, and the deeper his wisdom. Demonic disturbance is like pouring oil on fire—the more the demon interferes, the more vigorously the fire blazes. A bodhisattva does not fear demons.

The demon king Pāpīyas constantly receives the permeation of these buddhadharmas, including the Mahāyāna teachings—what does he not understand? He can understand it all, but he cannot realize it. Because his greed and desire blaze fiercely, he does not truly wish to cultivate the Path, much less does he want to eliminate self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) and subdue his own afflictions. Moreover, because Pāpīyas understands the principles of both the greater and lesser vehicles, he has more convenient conditions for destroying the Dharma. Ordinary sentient beings generally do not understand as much as he does; when he expounds the Dharma, most sentient beings come to revere him. Then, within his teaching, he secretly adds dharmas that bind one to birth-and-death, which no one can identify; those who follow and cultivate accordingly will fall into the demonic path.

Pāpīyas can often see Śākyamuni Buddha and listen to the Buddha expound the Dharma; he frequently comes into contact with Mahāyāna bodhisattvas and listens to their instruction; he frequently comes into contact with arhats and listens to their instruction. He has taken every advantage the buddhadharma offers and has planted wholesome roots in the buddhadharma; he ought to be grateful to the Three Jewels, yet instead he schemes by every means to slander the Buddha and destroy the Dharma, guiding sentient beings toward the three evil destinies—a person who repays kindness with enmity. Pāpīyas behaves this way even face to face with the Buddha, extremely disrespectful and contemptuous; toward arhats he is even more scornful and dismissive; toward other sentient beings he is quite discriminatory and abusive. Whoever blocks his path, he will destroy, without mercy and beyond reason. Pāpīyas's capacity of mind is extremely small; he quibbles over every penny and lets no single person slip away. He is displeased even that the Buddha lies outside his jurisdiction; anyone who wishes to leave the desire realm causes him worry and distress. When Pāpīyas's current lifespan ends, he will fall directly into hell. After emerging from hell, who knows when his wholesome roots will ripen so that he repents and reforms, begins to truly study and cultivate the buddhadharma, and walks the right path. After he sincerely repents, his evil karma will be eliminated, and his cultivation will proceed quite quickly—after all, the Three Jewels allowed him to plant so many wholesome roots and so much merit.