on that mortification of the flesh was not the way to Nirvana (Lopez 39). Siddhartha, although scorned by the other ascetics for abandoning their ways, went on trying to find a way to attain Nirvana. Huston Smith writes, Siddhartha, one evening, sat down underneath a peepul tree, which has now come to be called the Bodhi tree, and vowed not to move from that spot until enlightenment is achieved (85-86). At this time the evil one, Mara, fearing that the Siddhartha will attain his objective begins to make his presence felt through doubts emerging from to back of Siddhartha’s mind. The Evil One, Mara, begins to attack in battalions and Siddhartha says to Mara, as Donald S. Lopez writes, “O Mara, lust is your first battalion, your second is called discontent. Your third is hunger and thirst, your fourth is craving. Your fifth is sloth and torpor, your sixth is known as fear. Your seventh battalion is doubt and your eighth is hypocrisy and cant (42).” At these words Mara attempted to frighten and drive Gautama away with a whirlwind, a cloudburst, a shower of meteors, and a dense blackness, but to no avail. The wind, which could have uprooted trees, did not even cause the edges of Siddhartha’s robe to flutter. The rain did not wet him: and the cinders that fell from the sky scattered themselves at Siddhartha’s feet and changed into flowers and incense. And the darkness vanished like shadow in sunlight when it reached the radiant figure of Siddhartha. Reaching forth with his right hand, Siddhartha touched the ground with his finger and a thunderous roar ensued causing the armies of Mara and Mara himself to disperse (Mitchell 42–43). The darkness cleared and Siddhartha arose, having attained enlightenment or rather had become awakened, was now and forever to be known as the Buddha.Although many think that Siddhartha was born with the title of Buddha and that he didn’t have to live through a...
