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Making Friends with Mara: Composting Suffering into Buddha Nature
Buddha is a human being who suffered, practiced, and transformed his own suffering into freedom—he is our spiritual ancestor, not a god. Within each of us reside two “natures”:
• buddhatā (Buddha nature)—our capacity for understanding, compassion, freshness, joy, equanimity
• māratā (Mara nature)—forgetfulness, narrow‐mindedness, craving, anger, despair
These two are not enemies but friends: like lotus and mud, day and night, they mutually support each other. The practice of Mahayana Buddhism is non-dual—it does not seek to fight or eliminate Mara but to recognize, embrace, and transform it alongside Buddha nature.
All our afflictions and wholesome qualities are organic “mental formations.” Just as an organic gardener turns garbage into compost for cucumbers and flowers, we learn to:
- See garbage (anger, hatred, fear, craving) as raw material, not shameful defeat
- Use mindful breathing, body care, Sangha support, and understanding of consciousness to help the body and mind evacuate toxins
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Water the seeds of peace, calm, concentration, insight, forgiveness, and compassion so that unwholesome seeds remain small and harmless
By giving wholesome seeds more opportunities to grow and gently embracing our Mara nature, we cultivate lasting peace and transform our daily life into a clean, tender, and enlightened home.
