Māratajjhanīya Sutta: When Māra Is Not Outside Us, but Within
In the study of the Pāli Canon, many suttas employ narrative as a gateway to profound doctrinal insight. The Māratajjhanīya Sutta stands out as a compelling example. Rather than beginning with abstract teaching, it opens with a seemingly ordinary physical discomfort.
Mahā Moggallāna, the Buddha’s foremost disciple in supernormal powers, experiences an unusual heaviness in his body while practicing walking meditation. For an ordinary person, such a sensation might suggest illness or indigestion. For a monk trained in careful attention, however, it becomes an object of mindful investigation. What he discovers is not a bodily disorder, but Māra intruding into his body.
From the outset, the sutta makes its intention clear. Māra here is not merely a mythic antagonist, but a mirror through which the reader is invited to examine the workings of the mind.
Awareness Before Confrontation
Upon recognizing Māra’s presence, Mahā Moggallāna does not immediately resort to supernormal power. Instead, he applies yoniso manasikāra, wise and systematic attention, until the situation becomes unmistakably clear. Only then does he address Māra directly, warning him of the long-term consequences of harassing the Buddha and his disciples.
Māra, confident and dismissive, assumes that a disciple could never penetrate his thoughts, especially when even the Buddha does not always expose them. Yet this very thought is immediately revealed by the elder.
From a canonical perspective, this episode illustrates a central Buddhist insight. Defilements are not defeated by force, but by being clearly seen. What is fully known loses its power.
A Relationship Across Lifetimes
The narrative then takes an unexpected turn. Mahā Moggallāna reveals that in a former existence he himself had been Māra, known as Dūsī, and that the Māra now before him had been his nephew in that life.
This disclosure carries significant doctrinal weight. It dismantles any rigid division between good and evil as fixed identities. In the worldview of the Pāli Canon, one’s present position is the outcome of past actions, and transformation remains possible as long as ignorance is abandoned and cultivation continues.
Māra’s Strategy Against the Saṅgha
Mahā Moggallāna recounts his past deeds during the time of Buddha Kakusandha, when he was Dūsī Māra. His strategy to undermine the Saṅgha unfolded in two stages.
First, he incited householders and brahmins to insult and abuse monks, hoping to provoke anger and disrupt their discipline. When this failed due to the Buddha’s instruction in loving-kindness, Māra adopted a subtler approach.
He encouraged excessive reverence, praise, and lavish offerings, aiming to ensnare monks in attachment to gain, honor, and reputation.
For modern readers, this passage is strikingly relevant. Threats to spiritual practice do not always appear as hostility. Often they arise disguised as admiration and success.
Karma That Requires No Delay
As Māra’s misconduct escalates to the possession of a child used to harm a noble disciple, Buddha Kakusandha merely observes and states that Māra has exceeded all bounds.
No further intervention is required. Karma operates immediately. Dūsī Māra is swallowed by the earth and reborn in a great hell realm.
The sutta does not dwell on punishment for dramatic effect. Rather, it illustrates a fundamental principle of Buddhist thought. Actions rooted in delusion and excess produce their results according to causal law, without the need for judgment or decree.
Supernormal Power and Its True Place
Toward the end, Mahā Moggallāna mentions his extraordinary abilities, not as a display of superiority, but as a clarification. Even such powers offer no protection when wisdom and restraint are absent.
Within the framework of the Pāli Canon, supernormal abilities are not the goal of practice. They are incidental outcomes of mental cultivation and hold no intrinsic value apart from ethical conduct and insight.
Conclusion
The Māratajjhanīya Sutta exemplifies how narrative in the Pāli Canon functions as a vehicle for deep psychological and ethical reflection. Māra may appear as an external being entering the body, but on a deeper level he represents defilements that quietly occupy the mind.
Mahā Moggallāna’s story demonstrates that even grave error in the past does not preclude liberation. Through disciplined practice and clear understanding, one may transcend former patterns entirely.
The sutta ultimately teaches not fear of Māra, but vigilance of the mind. When awareness arises before defilements gain a foothold, Māra finds no place to remain.
