Here is part II of a multi-part series in which I share a preliminary translation of a text on Maras – ‘demonic’ obstacles on the spiritual path – by the nineteenth century Tibetan Buddhist teacher Patrül Rinpoche. As I mentioned in Part I, this text is Patrül’s reworking of an earlier text by the twelfth century Kadampa master Chegompa (see Part I for more details). In the opening section of the text, Chegompa describes the Four General Maras – these maras are ‘general’ because they are overarching, they encompass the obstacles and challenges of samsaric broadly. In this next Part, Chegom outlines three levels of specific or particular maras – chedrak ki dü, བྱེ་བྲག་གི་བདུད་ – namely, outer level maras, inner level maras, and secret level maras. There are six types for each level, making eighteen specific maras in total. The scheme of ‘outer, inner, secret’ – chi nang sang sum, ཕྱི་ནང་གསང་གསུམ་ in Tibetan – will be familiar to many readers. It is an ubiquitous framework in Tibetan Buddhism and charts a spectrum from other beings and gross, external, objective reality on one end, to more internal, intangible, personal, and subjective experiences and orientations on the other. Let’s dive right into the translation (I’ll include some reflections on the section at the end!).
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