So, then, having let go these things, and forsaken them, I am now free as the air or as space, which cannot be bour a chain, etc."

The three daughters of Mâra then suddenly a and enter into a similar controversy with him, of the following is a summary:

"Illustrious son of Sakya, the kingly office is yours,
Why, then, sit you thus beneath this spreading tree-
For like the spring-tide buds and flowers appear,
So now should man and woman join in love;
See how the birds delight in mutual fellowship :
It cannot be that Love's true course should cease.

The time is fit; you also may indulge in love;

Why, then, with guarded heart, do you behold us not!
We three have come, that now and henceforth,

There should be one accordant purpose between us and you

Then, like the sun first rising, the illustrious saint,
By the accumulated merit of ages past,

Unmoved in heart, sat firm as Sumeru,

His words reverberating like the thunder-roll,
His mien like the lion for quiet dignity,

His speech so full of profit, thought (or spake) thus

'Because the world is full of covetous desire,
This causes endless quarrellings and disputations,
And this again leads on to litigation;

And thus the ignorant and the besotted

Are immersed in countless troubles and vexations;
The wise man follows none of these things,

But rejecting all, forsakes his home and lives apart,
And finds his pleasure 'mid the lonely hills and glens;

And as for all the gods ye name, through all the heavens
They all are prone to change-no constancy;
Why should I covet, then, the pleasures you describe."

To whom they rejoined―

"Youth! see you not these trees and flowers,

These butterflies, these birds with mellow notes!
The earth is carpeted with glossy green,

The trees and all the woods produce their varied tints;
Hark to the pleasing sounds, like angel-trills,

Oh, what a pleasant time is this for joy and love!"

To whom Bodhisatwa replied

"The trees in season bear their fruits and flowers,

The butterflies and birds sip nectar and enjoy the sweets;
The sun progresses to its height, the earth is parched,
The joys of heavenly wisdom still abide the same."

Again the women spake :

"Oh youth, our face is shining as the silvery moon!
Look then on us, bright as the lotus flower!
Behold our teeth so white, without a fault,
Few in the heavens to be compared with us;
Much less on earth-come then, possess the prize,
And shun us not, oh youth! let us be one."

To whom Bodhisatwa replied:

"I see your bodies full of all impurity,
Disgusting worms in every pore I see.
Your bodies destined to unnumbered ills,
Birth, death, disease, old age, are yours.

I seek the highest prize, hard to attain with men,
The true and constant wisdom of the wise."

66

'Thou, although supreme in the world of Desire,

Hast no authority or power in the Spiritual world.
Thou art acquainted only with the wretched beings in Hel
But I belong not to either of the three material worlds.
It is I who hereafter will destroy thine abode, O Mâra!
And wrest from you your power and your dominion,”

Then Mâra Pisuna continued his address to Bôdhisatwa t "Oh thou son of Sâkya, rise up and begone quickly from place. Of a very truth you shall become a supreme Chakra monarch, governing the four quarters of the world, lord of great earth, possessed of the seven imperial insignia, ruling all hills and vales. Is it possible, oh Sâkyaputra, that you do recollect the true and notable predictions of all the Rishis specting you! how they declared that you must become a K Rise then quickly; take the power given you over the wo receive the homage and reverence of those over whom you s reign with righteousness. Oh! Sâkyaputra, thou art yet you and of vigorous body—go, enjoy the sweets of your palace. Th are but few people in this wild desert; the beasts prowl about their prey. I fear much for your safety; arise then, Oh son Sakya! return to thy palace, leave this place—search no long after that wisdom which is so hard to find; but indulge in t pleasures of life, and forget thy present quest."

Having so spoken, Mâra stood silently before Bôdhisaty awaiting his reply. Then Bôdhisatwa rejoined, "Waste no furth words, Mâra! for well do I know the miseries attending t indulgence of pleasure and the gratifications of sense. How i constant and perishable are such things, empty and unreal as th dew on the leaf-to be avoided as the touch of an angry snakefilthy as the secretions of the body, leading to strifes, murder and bloodshed. Yea, just as the ripe fruit ready to fall to th earth (and there to rot), or as a dream, a phantom, a bubble, lightning flash-they are without any true being or endurance