The Buddha said to Mara, "That army of yours, which the world together with the gods cannot overcome, I shall destroy with understanding as if smashing an unfired pot with a pebble. Having brought my thoughts under control, and established mindfulness, I shall wander from country to country, training many followers."
Stephen Batchelor, in after buddhism, says: This passage acknowledges that Mara's army cannot be defeated by conventional or even divine powers. The Buddha is fully aware that these forces cannot be excised by performing a kind of spiritual lobotomy. The key to overcoming Mara lies in the use of one's intelligence: the ability one has to change how one thinks and imagines. If we represent Mara's forces as an invading army, then we are liable to see ourselves as vulnerable and defenseless. But if we imagine them as unfired pots, we picture ourselves in a different way. Instead of being cowering wimps, we could be transformed into people with a well-honed skill in throwing stones.
Note: Please remember, Mara is not the Buddhist equivalent of Satan. Mara is one's own anger, greed, delusion, inertia, fear, reactivity, and unwillingness to act.
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