The Life of Shakyamuni Buddha - Realisation
Choosing a pipal tree close to the river, he undertook to meditate
until he attained the knowledge he sought. A local grasscutter offered him some soft green kusha grass for
a cushion and he walked around the tree seven times and then he prepared his seat. Sitting down facing eastwards
he began to meditate, vowing that he would not get up from that spot until he had attained enlightenment.
As he sat deep in meditation Mara, Lord of Delusion, who symbolises the delusions and obscurations of our own mind, was unable to bear the sight of Siddhartha's imminent realisation of ultimate truth. He came with his army to distract Siddhartha from his contemplation. They came in the form of beautiful maidens, and then in the form of fearful demons. They tried to break Siddhartha's concentration through temptations and then through fear. But the Buddha-to-be remained impervious to the illusions and spells with which Mara tried to undermine his efforts.
Mara then taunted Siddhartha, trying to win the battle by sowing the seeds of doubt, but Siddhartha only stretched down his hand and touched the earth, calling it to bear witness to his eons of striving for virtuous ends. The earth goddess Vasudhara appeared and testified that over countless lifetimes the meditator had practiced the perfections of generosity,discipline, patience, effort, concentration and wisdom. Mara, recognising defeat, fled with his army of illusions.
During that night he entered deeper and deeper states of meditative absorption. He realised the interdependence of all phenomena and directly perceived that nowhere was there even one atom that had even the slightest independent existence. He saw that every instant of suffering stemmed from the inability to understand the way in which all things exist. The very subtle layers of obscuration that veiled the pure clear light nature of his mind were removed and at dawn he arose as a fully awakened one. He had conquered sorrow and attained supreme bliss. Sitting under that pipal tree Siddhartha had become a Buddha.
