Siddhartha's three temptations Flashcards
What was the name of the tree where Siddhartha meditated?
Bodhi tree
Who came to tempt him?
Mara
A demon that represents desire and delusion
Why did the demon come to disturb Siddhartha?
Mara appeared to stop Siddhartha from achieving enlightenment.
What was the first temptation?
Sex
Mara sent his daughters to seduce Siddhartha with visions of beauty, pleasure, and desire. However, Siddhartha remained unmoved and focused on his meditation.
What was the second temptation?
Fear and doubt
Mara also tried to instill fear and doubt in Siddhartha’s mind, questioning the validity of his quest and his worthiness to attain enlightenment.
What was the third temptation?
Challenges and Threats
Mara summoned an army of demons and subjected Siddhartha to various threats and challenges, attempting to create chaos and disturb his meditation.
Who did Siddhartha call as a witness to show his resolve not to be tempted?
The earth
He touched the earth, calling it as his witness, and finally, he attained enlightenment and became the Buddha
The efforts to distract and tempt Siddhartha were unsuccessful, what does this symbolise?
that wisdom and compassion will triumpth over the forces of ignorance and desire
Give another reason why this story is important to Buddhists?
it shows the internal and external challenges that people face to achieve enlightenment.
