overwhelmingly tall, its measured tread shaking the earth, and riding it was a large, somewhat paunchy
man bearing a sneer of pure malice. This, surely, was the Evil One.
"Come out, cowards!" Mara bawled.
Siddhattha remained seated. "The Evil One has eight armies," he explained to Brother Paul. "They are
called Discontent, Hunger, Desire, Sloth, Cowardice, Doubt, and Hypocrisy. Few can conquer such
minions; but whoever is victorious obtains joy."
Brother Paul wrinkled his brow. "I believe that's only seven armies. Not that those aren't sufficient!"
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Siddhattha's brow wrinkled in turn. "I always forget one or two. Evils are not my specialty." Surely the
understatement of the millennium!
Now the three women came forward. They were seductively garbed and moved their torsos in a manner
calculated to enhance their sexual appeal. "Come meet my daughters," Mara cried. "They are experts in
the pleasing of men." And, acting as one, the three beckoned enticingly.
Brother Paul felt the allure. Somehow the Animation had produced a triple image of Amaranth, and she
was good at this type of role.
"Now I remember Mara's other army!" Siddhattha exclaimed happily. "Lust!" But he seemed to be
pleased only by the intellectual aspect; these lush bodies did not tempt him.
The women turned about and left with a final triple flirt of the hips. It was obvious they had failed.
Siddhattha would not be corrupted by sex. And why should he be? He had a wife and son at home, along
with a crown, and probably a full harem, if he ever felt the need.
Now armed men came forward, dressed in animal skins, gesticulating wildly, screaming. They resembled
demons. The sun was now down, but the moonlight illuminated them with preternatural clarity.
Siddhattha was not alarmed. "Mara personifies the triple thirst for existence, pleasure, and power. The
satisfaction of selfishness is Hell, and those who pursue selfishness are demons." And the demon-men
could not touch him.
"A most apt summary," Brother Paul agreed. He liked this man and found nothing objectionable in his
philosophy. But how was he to be certain whether the Buddhist God was or was not the God of Tarot?
"You and I can sit here and reflect on the Ten Perfections," Siddhattha said.
The demon soldiers retreated. Mara was furious. "I tried to be gentle with you, " he cried, "but you would
not have it. Now taste the wrath of my magic."
No more Mr. Nice Guy, Brother Paul thought, almost smiling.
Mara raised one hand. Immediately a whirlwind blew, forming an ominous black funnel that swept in to
encompass the entire Bo Tree. But in the center was the calm, and not a leaf stirred. Brother Paul looked
out at the whirling wall of dust in amazement and with not a little apprehension, but Siddhattha ignored
it. "It is only air," he murmured to Brother Paul.
The whirlwind vanished. "Well, try water, then!" Mara screamed. A terrible storm formed, and rain
pelted down, causing instant flooding all about the area. But not a drop penetrated the foliage of the Bo
Tree, and Siddhattha sat serene and dry. Instead, Mara's elephant trumpeted and splashed its feet in the
water like a skittish woman, upset.
"Earth!" Mara cried. And the storm converted to a barrage of rocks, sand, and mud. Yet again these
things had no effect on the seated man, who had not changed his position since Brother Paul appeared in
the scene. The few stones that penetrated the Bo Tree fell to the ground like harmless flowers. Those that
struck the elephant, in contrast, made havoc; the poor creature danced cumbersomely about, trying to
protect itself.
Mara was livid. "Fire!" he cried. And live coals came down, setting fire to the grass and brush outside the
Bo Tree and hissing into the river. Siddhattha was not afraid, and so he was inviolate.
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"You have conquered the attack of the four elements," Brother Paul said. "You have beaten the Evil
One."
"No, the battle has just begun. Now he will lay siege to my spirit."
Mara gestured, and the bright moonlight went out, making the world black. But a glow arose from the Bo
Tree, restoring visibility there. From the darkness beyond, Mara bawled: "Siddhattha, arise from that
seat! It is not yours, but mine!"
The seated man only shook his head in mild negation.
"I am the Prince of the World!" Mara said. "I hold the Wheel of Life and Death!" Light returned,
revealing him standing just beyond the Tree, clutching a huge wheel with five spokes so that only his
head, feet and hands showed around its rim. His body, oddly, did not show behind it at all; the center was
filled with moving images.
"The Wheel of Becoming," Siddhattha agreed. "The hand of death is on every one who is born. Yet I
shall not die, O Evil One, until my mission in life has been accomplished."
"And what is that mission, O Ignorant One?" Mara demanded with a sneer.
"To spread the Truth," Siddhattha replied simply.
"What Truth?"
Siddhattha, who had been doing so well before, was unable to answer. Brother Paul saw this as another
variation of the Dozens, with the Buddha turning away insults by soft replies. But now he was in trouble.
Mara advanced, bearing his Wheel forward. It was an impressive and sinister thing, its various aspects
turning in opposite directions, confusing the eye. "If you cannot answer, O Shriveled Ascetic, the victory
is mine!" The role-player was Therion, of course, and he was enjoying this.
Siddhattha looked at Brother Paul beside him. "Friend, I fear I have lost the battle, for the Truth has not
yet come to me, and Mara must have his answer." There were tears in the man's eyes.
"But the Evil One will bring only evil upon the world!" Brother Paul said, as though that could help. "He
controls the Wheel of Becoming, and he is the Prince of the World. Only your good can stop him!" He
put his hand on Siddhattha's frail shoulder.
With that contact, something happened. "I feel-the spirit of God," Siddhattha said wonderingly. "Are you
a messenger from-?"
"No, no!" Brother Paul said hastily. It had been the contact of auras the man had felt. "I am only another
Seeker."
Still the thing grew. What had been quiescent in Siddhattha all his life was now awakening. He was
becoming conscious of his aura-and it was an extremely powerful one. "The spirit of God-is in me," he
said, certainty coalescing. "And now-I have found the key to Wisdom, the First Law of Life! It was
within me all the time, awaiting this moment."
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Siddhattha stood. He was not tall, but his new enhancement gave him stature. "Listen, Mara, and damned:
FROM GOOD MUST COME GOOD, AND FROM EVIL MUST COME EVIL."
Brother Paul was troubled by this statement. From what he remembered of symbolic logic, a false
hypothesis that led to a true conclusion was regarded as valid. That suggested that it was possible for
Good to come from Evil. Obviously this man did not subscribe to that notion.
Mara gave a cry of pure anguish. He staggered back, seeking his elephant-but when he touched it, the
beast collapsed. All his minions scrambled away from the Bo Tree in a rout.
Brother Paul stood watching, amazed. And realized that Siddhattha was now the Buddha, the Awakened
One. And that, symbolic logic or not, the God of this man-could indeed be the God of Tarot. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]