Māra's Meritorious Karma and Demonic Karma

Māra Pāpīyas has great merit and a very long lifespan, counted in kalpas. Only when his merit is exhausted through the creation of evil karma does his lifespan end, and then he goes straight to hell. Throughout the long duration of his lifespan, he must possess the greatest number of descendants and followers to satisfy his greed. Therefore, as long as sentient beings cannot leave the desire realm—including the three evil destinies—within one or several kalpas, they all belong to 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, because only the desire realm has the five desires; those who crave the five desires certainly cannot leave the desire realm and will forever belong to 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 māra's mind and māra's nature, making one susceptible to the māra's blessing and empowerment? Those who are very lax in cultivation find worldly affairs going very smoothly for them; but as soon as they cultivate with courage and diligence and step up to a higher level, things start to go badly, and māra obstructions appear. Therefore, those who cultivate well can cultivate out their karmic obstructions, while those whose cultivation is not yet effective often sail along smoothly with favorable winds and no obstacles. A true bodhisattva: the more the māra interferes, the firmer his resolve for the Path becomes, the better his meditative concentration, and the deeper his wisdom. Māra's disturbance is like pouring oil on fire—the more the māra disturbs, the more vigorously the fire blazes. A bodhisattva does not fear the māra.

The māra-king Pāpīyas constantly receives this permeation of the Buddha's teachings, including the Mahāyāna teachings—what does he not understand? He understands it all, but cannot realize it. Because his greed and desire are blazing, he does not want to truly cultivate the Path, much less does he want to eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and subdue his own afflictions. Moreover, because Pāpīyas understands the doctrinal principles of both the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna, he has more convenient conditions for destroying the Dharma. Ordinary sentient beings do not understand as much as he does; when he expounds the Dharma, most sentient beings will worship him. Then, while expounding the Dharma, he secretly mixes in teachings that bind one to birth and death, which no one can identify; those who follow and cultivate accordingly will fall into the māra's path.

Pāpīyas can often see Śākyamuni Buddha and listen to the Buddha expound the Dharma; he often comes into contact with Mahāyāna bodhisattvas and listens to the bodhisattvas' instructions; he often comes into contact with arhats and listens to the arhats' instructions. He has taken every advantage of the Buddha's teachings and planted wholesome roots in the Buddha-Dharma; he ought to be grateful to the Three Jewels, yet instead he does everything possible to slander the Buddha and destroy the Dharma, guiding sentient beings toward the three evil destinies—a person who repays kindness with enmity. Pāpīyas shows such an attitude even face to face with the Buddha, being extremely disrespectful and contemptuous; toward arhats he is even more contemptuous 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 mind is extremely narrow; he begrudges every penny and spares no one. He is displeased even that the Buddha is not within his jurisdiction, and anyone who wishes to leave the desire realm causes him worry and distress. When Pāpīyas's current lifespan ends, he will go straight to 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 Buddha-Dharma, and walks the correct path. After he sincerely repents, his evil karma will be extinguished, and his cultivation will still be quite rapid—after all, the Three Jewels have enabled him to plant so many wholesome roots and so much merit.