Introduction
All living beings wish to be happy, but again and again they find their attainment of happiness frustrated by obstacles or hindrances – both external and internal. External hindrances can arise from animate objects such as malevolent humans and wild animals; or from inanimate objects such as the four external elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, which can give rise to earthquakes, floods, destructive fires, and hurricanes. Internal hindrances arise from causes within our body and mind. If the four internal elements are in a state of harmonious equilibrium, our body is healthy, but when they are out of balance our body experiences a variety of problems and diseases. If our mind is filled with negative thoughts and delusions, such as desirous attachment, anger, and ignorance, we experience great harm and suffering as a result. They prevent us from maintaining a peaceful mind, and also destroy whatever happiness we may have gained.
The main obstacles that hinder our progress to liberation and enlightenment can be summarized as the four maras, ‘mara’ being a Sanskrit word meaning ‘demon’. These are: the mara of the delusions, the mara of the aggregates, the mara of the Lord of Death, and Devaputra mara. Anyone who conquers these four maras completely is a Buddha, or a ‘Conqueror’.
All the suffering that we experience arises as a result of our delusions and the actions we create under their influence. As well as disrupting our temporary happiness and peace, delusions also hinder our progress towards the ultimate happiness of liberation and enlightenment.
Our contaminated aggregates are the very nature of samsara and the basis of all our suffering. For as long as we have these aggregates, we shall be unable to attain liberation.
The mara of the Lord of Death refers to ordinary, uncontrolled death, which deprives us of the chance to complete our spiritual practice. Unless we have thoroughly purified our negative actions and gained firm control over our body, speech, and mind, we cannot be confident that, after death, we shall not fall into a lower rebirth, where spiritual practice is impossible and escape is very difficult.
The Devaputra maras are actual beings, such as Black Ishvara, who interfere with our spiritual progress to liberation and enlight- enment. For example, when Buddha Shakyamuni was about to demonstrate the attainment of enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, it was the Devaputra maras who tried to disturb him.
If we are to attain temporary happiness while we remain in samsara, and if we are to progress unimpeded towards the ultimate happiness of liberation and enlightenment, we need a special method for averting and overcoming hindrances in general and the four maras in particular. This booklet contains such a practice, which involves the recitation and contemplation of the Essence of Wisdom Sutra, or Heart Sutra. This practice can be used to overcome both external and internal hindrances, and it can be performed either for one’s own sake or for the sake of others. The last part of this booklet explains how to do the practice.
The extent to which we are successful in overcoming obstacles through this practice depends upon the strength of our faith. We can increase our faith by contemplating illustrations of the practice, such as the time when the god Indra overcame the anger and jealousy of the demi-gods who were attacking him, or the time when Lama Ukarwa averted the murderous threat of a black magician. Accounts of these, as well as a more detailed explanation of the different types of hindrance and the four maras, can be found in the book Heart of Wisdom, which is a commentary to the Essence of Wisdom Sutra.