Subduing Mara ~ NaPoWriMo Day 11

NaPoWriMo/GloPoWriMo 2025

Day 11 … a little Buddha, if you please.

Bhumisparsa Mudra – Calling the Earth to Witness

In the moments before Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment, thus becoming Buddha, the demon Mara tempted him with various evils in an attempt to distract him. Siddhartha reached for Earth, calling upon the Earth Goddess, Thorani, to aid and witness his enlightenment.  With her aid, and through his own steadfast imperturbability, he was successful.

Upon achieving enlightenment, and rather than ascending to Nibbana, the Buddha chose to remain on the Earthly plain in order to teach others how to attain enlightenment, to free themselves from the bond of suffering in the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

Buddha Subduing Mara is the most common Buddha image found in Thailand. The statue in this photograph is in the ruins of ancient Sukhothai, once the capitol of Siam. Buddhists have applied gold leaf to the fingertips in homage to Buddha and his teachings.

What is NaPoWriMo? National Poetry Writing Month.  AKA GloPoWriMo for Global Poetry Writing Month because, you know, it’s a worldwide event. During the month of April, poets challenge themselves to write at least one poem a day, every day, for the entire month. So, 30 poems in 30 days.

If you’d like to join in, or just want to learn more about this annual poetry writing event, the more-or-less official website is NaPoWriMo.net.

I am also one of the admins for a small, private FB group, NaPoWriMo/GloPoWriMo 2025 if you want to follow other poets on their journey. Just click “Join”.