Reading Notes: The Story of Buddha and Buddhism Week 13

These are notes over The Story of Buddha and Buddhism edited by Brian Brown. The Twin Truths section discusses the role of the mind; the mind determines everything and completely controls our experience of reality. Mara, death, is like a character in this discussion, representing everything that psychologically harms a person, like vanity and anger. Mara is compared to wind beating against a rocky crag, which is a very good illustration of the impermeability of a calm mind. This is also a very free visual because it makes the reader feel like all the troubles of life could not affect them if they train their mind. However, it is also accurate because it still maintains that the troubles do not go away. The wind is still there. This is an important thing to include so that the reader sees that troubles do not go away when the mind is trained; it is the reaction that changes.
A pure yellow robe is also used to signify someone "worthy" and temperate. This feel exclusive and in conflict with buddhist teachings. Yes, someone who has not trained there mind properly may have some more inner-work to do, but that does not mean they are not "worthy." In fact, making them feel worthy would probably help them on this journey. Thus, I do not like this use of the word worthy in the parable.

The Phenomenal Power of the Human Mind on Flickr