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When Buddha Hugged Mara: Non-Duality and Collective Healing
Īnānanda, absorbed in caring for the Buddha, fails to see the ripe golden rice fields below the Buddha’s hut until a bell of mindfulness rings. The Buddha points out that beauty, and even the city of Vaiśālī, is present in every moment. Ānanda’s next encounter—with Māra, the tempter—reveals how easily aversion and attachment arise. To Ānānanda’s surprise, the Buddha greets Māra with loving kindness, hugging him, sharing tea, and teaching a profound non-duality: like flowers and garbage, Buddha and Māra need each other, transform into each other, and together hold the secret of impermanence and renewal.
The practice of samatha (stopping) and vipassanā (looking deeply) allows body and mind to rest and heal. Fasting and mindful breathing draw out toxins; sitting and walking meditation become opportunities to touch the “refreshing and healing elements” of this moment. Mindful meals—chewing each morsel thirty-plus times, naming it by its true name—become acts of deep rest and joy, as powerful as formal retreats that erase the habit of running and unlock reserves of peace.
True healing on a global scale calls for collective meditation. Faced with youth addiction and social suffering, a Sangha’s presence—doctors, educators, artists, parents—must stop, look deeply, and embrace those trapped in “garbage” without judgment. Whether in formal meals, walking meditation, or the simple act of stopping together, the energy of mindfulness unites us: we breathe for one another, transform suffering into compost, and let the flowers of joy, compassion, and understanding bloom anew.
