#type/zk/zettel #a/maturity/sapling # [[What I mean by Mara]] Let me introduce you to [[Mara]]. You may have already met. Mara is one of those little voices in your head that gets to way in on the choices you make. Mara is the one that cares for pleasure, and couldn’t care less about tomorrow. He’s the one that says “just one more drink, we’re having fun right?” when another part of you just said “let’s go home, we need to work tomorrow and don’t like being tired.” You know like having an angle and a devil on your shoulder in cartoons? It’s like that, except for that they are both you. Many people call Mara by different names: my dark side/self, the real me, the fake me, the devil, Vaatu, THE dark side. I like to call them Mara. Whatever name you prefer, you probably know what I mean. [[Socrates]] refers to it as the irrational part of the soul. One may be thirsty but refuse to drink. The irrational part of the soul (Mara) bids the person to drink, but the rational (in this case stronger) part of the soul forbids the person to drink. [[Plato's Republic (Plato, 2001)]] --- Sowed on:: [[2023-09-27]] Sources:: See also:: Related references:: Further reading:: > [!comment] [[2024-09-14]] > Tbh, I don't know much about the proper usage of the name Mara in Buddhist context, but this is how I like to use it. And at least [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mara_(demon)) seems mostly in line with my interpretation. I guess [[Kleśa-māra]] aligns most.