Introduction

Joseph Goldstein: In one description of the Bodhis Enlightenment, he's sitting under the Bodhi tree in Bodhaya, India. He sat with the resolve that he was not going to get up from his seat until he had achieved full realization. The different forms of Mara appeared in his mind and they were terrifying visions of violence and aggression but seductive visions of heavenly and celestial pleasures. His mind remained non-reactive, unmoving. And this line can really be the reference point for all of our practices.