The real War in Heaven (sutra)

Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Quintero, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Ven. Thanissaro (trans.), Deva Sutra, "The Devas (About Jhāna)" (AN 9.39); Ed Grimsley
(LSS) American Ed Grimsley has definitive proof of the "war in heaven," that is, the UFOs battling in Earth's night sky: these events are visible using military-grade nightvision goggles.

Golden Buddha in Thailand behind revered arhat, an enlightened elder (Jon/AF2899/flickr)

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Deva Sutra

Ven. Thanissaro (trans.), Deva Sutra, edited by Wisdom Quarterly (AN 9.39)

UFO Wars (edgrimsley.com)

"Once, meditators, a battle between the shining ones (devas) and titans (asuras) was raging.

"In that battle, the titans won and the shining ones lost. Having lost, they fled while the titans, heading north, attacked them.

"Then the thought occurred to the shining ones, 'The titans are still attacking. Why not do battle a second time?'

Shining ones and titans warring in space, Angkor Wat, churning "milk" of the galaxy (wiki)

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Golden skinned, blue eyed Buddha

"So the shining ones did battle with the titans a second time. And a second time, the titans won. The shining ones were again defeated. Having lost, they fled while the titans, heading north, attacked them. Then the thought occurred, 'The titans are still attacking. Why not do battle a third time?'
 

Angels vs. demons? No, it's not that simple.

"So the shining ones did battle with the titans a third time. And a third time the titans won, and the shining ones were defeated. Having lost, the shining ones -- afraid -- entered their capital. Having returned to their capital, they thought, 'Having come to this shelter for the fearful, we will now keep here to ourselves, having nothing to do with the titans.'

• Buddhist cosmology (study of the cosmos) is complex

"'And the titans also thought, 'Having gone to this shelter for the fearful, the shining ones will now keep here to themselves, having nothing to do with us.'

Meditative absorptions and the mind

Buddha holding mudra, Thiksey Gompa, Ladakh, Himalayan Buddhist India (WQ)

 

31 Planes of Existence (Buddhanet.net)

"In the same way, meditators, on whatever occasion a recluse (ascetic, monastic, wanderer, a person bent on spiritual exertion) -- secluded from sensuality, secluded from unskillful qualities -- enters the first absorption (jhāna) with rapture and supersensual pleasure born of withdrawal and seclusion, accompanied by initial and sustained attention, on that occasion the thought occurs to one, 'Having come to this shelter for the fearful, I will now keep here to myself, having nothing to do with Māra [metaphorically Death, the things that lead to death and endless rebirth, the Defilements of the Heart and Mind].'

"And the thought occurs to Māra Namuci ("Mara the Evil One"), 'Having gone to this shelter for the fearful, a meditator will now keep here to oneself, having nothing to do with me.' 

 
[The same is said of the second, third, and fourth absorptions, of eight, which are referred to as the "form jhānas" to distinguish them from the four succeeding formless absorptions.]
 
"On whatever occasion a meditator, with the complete transcending of perceptions of (physical) form, with the disappearance of perceptions of diversity, and not heeding perceptions of diversity, (perceiving instead,) 'Infinite space,' enters the dimension of the boundlessness of space, that person is said to be one who has put Māra in the dark [Note 1].

• 1. The text here has "has put an end to" (antamakāsi), which does not fit the context as well as the reading, "has put in the dark" (andhamakāsi) found in the parallel passage in MN 25, so the latter reading has been followed here.

"Having bound Māra's eyes and leaving no opening, one has become invisible to the Evil One [2].

• 2. The interpretation of this image here differs from that in MN 25, which states that puts Māra in the dark upon entering the first absorption. In either case -- putting Māra in the dark beginning with the first absorption, or only beginning with the dimension of the boundlessness of space -- the "dark" is temporary, lasting only as long as one maintains that attainment.

[The same is said with regard to the dimensions of the boundlessness of consciousness, nothingness, and neither-perception-nor-non-perception.]
 

 "On whatever occasion, with the complete transcending of the dimension of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, one enters and remains in the cessation of perception and feeling. And having seen [that] with insight (wisdom), one's defilements are completely ended. One is said to be a meditator who has put Māra in the dark. Having bound Māra's eyes and leaving no opening, one has become invisible to 'the Evil One,' having crossed over attachment to the world" [3]. 

• 3. This is the only one of these attainments that inherently contains the insight that takes one, once and for all, beyond attachment in the world.
  

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Horseshoe Bend, Grand Canyon, USA

The Colorado River is the principal river of the Southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. Rising in the western Rocky Mountains, the 1,450-mile (2,330 km) river drains a vast arid region of the Colorado Plateau and the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts as it heads towards the Gulf of California. Known for its dramatic scenery and its whitewater, the Colorado carves numerous gorges, including the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona.