Cupid and the Buddha (sutra)

Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly based on Ven. Thanissaro translation ("Farmer Discourse," Kassaka Sutra about Mara Devaputra, SN 4.19)

Buddhist Māra or Mara Devaputra is Roman Cupid, Greek Eros, Hindu Kamadeva.

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Cupid (Mara) can appear so cute!

At one time the Buddha was residing in Savatthi. Now at that time the Blessed One was instructing, urging, rousing, and encouraging his disciples with a Dharma talk on nirvana (complete freedom).

The disciples were interested, attentive, enthusiastic, absorbed in their focus listening to the teaching.
 
Then the thought occurred to Cupid (Buddhist Devaputra Mara, Māra, Hindu Kamadeva, Greek Eros): "The ascetic Gautama is instructing, urging, rousing, and encouraging his disciples with a Dharma talk on nirvana. His disciples are interested, attentive, enthusiastic, absorbed in focus listening to the teaching. What if I were to go to the ascetic Gautama to obscure his vision?"

Cupid (Māra) visits the Buddha

Then Cupid, transforming at will into the shape of a farmer with a large plowshare over his shoulder, carrying a long goad stick -- his hair disheveled, wearing clothes of coarse hemp, feet splattered with mud -- went to the Blessed One and said: "Hey, ascetic, have you seen my oxen?"

 

"And what are your 'oxen,' Cupid?"

 

"Mine alone is the eye, ascetic. Mine are forms (visible objects), mine is the sphere of consciousness (vision), and eye-contact (the coming together of sense object and consciousness) at the eye. Where can you go to escape me?

• [This is an odd brag. Mara Devaputra, a Lucifer-figure, imagines himself the "god" or "lord" of the Sensual Sphere (Kama Loka). He does not imagine rulership over the two higher and more refined spheres, the Fine-Material and Immaterial, nor of nirvana, which transcends all three spheres and their 31 planes. Mara cannot stand that anyone escapes the Sensual Sphere. Yet, the Buddha not only found an escape but also taught others the path to full liberation. So why the pride, Mara/Cupid?]

God of erotic love Eros (wiki)

"Mine alone is the ear... nose... tongue... body...
 
"Mine alone is the mind, ascetic, and mine are objects of mind (thoughts, ideas, mental impressions, notions), mine is the sphere of consciousness, and mind-contact at the mind. Where can you go to escape me?"

"Yours alone is the eye, Cupid. Yours are forms, yours is the sphere of consciousness of contact at the eye. Where no eye exists, no forms (visible objects) exist, and no sphere of consciousness of contact at the eye exists: There, Cupid, you cannot go.

"Yours alone is the ear... nose... tongue... body...

"Yours alone is the mind, Cupid. Yours are objects of mind, yours is the sphere of consciousness of contact at the mind. Where no mind exists, no mental objects exist, no sphere of consciousness of contact at the mind exists: There, Cupid, you cannot go."

Mara: "Of what they say, 'This is mine'

And those who say, 'Mine,'

If your mind is here, ascetic,

You can't escape me.

 

The Buddha: "What they speak of is not mine,

And I am not one who speaks it.

Know this, Cupid,

You will not even see my tracks."

• [That is, Mara will have no way of seeing where one who experiences nirvana goes, like a flame that goes out, it cannot be sensibly asked, "Where did it go, which direction, north, south, east, west, up, down?]

Then Cupid, sad and dejected at realizing, "The Blessed One knows me, the One Well-gone knows me," vanished then and there.

• O, Science, where's my "Mr. Right"?
• O, Buddha, what is the way to nirvana?