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 wholesome breezes of perfume, and the angry thunderbolts were changed into lotus-blossoms.

When Māra saw this, he fled away with his army from the Bodhi-tree, whilst from above a rain of heavenly flowers fell, and voices of good spirits were heard:

"Behold the great muni! his heart unmoved by hatred. The wicked Māra's host 'gainst him did not prevail. Pure is he and wise, loving and full of mercy.

"As the rays of the sun drown the darkness of the world, so he who perseveres in his search will find the truth and the truth will enlighten him."

The Bodhisatta, having put Māra to flight, gave himself up to meditation. All the miseries of the world, the evils produced by evil deeds and the sufferings arising therefrom, passed before his mental eye, and he thought:

"Surely if living creatures saw the results of all their evil deeds, they would turn away from them in disgust. But selfhood binds them, and they cling to their obnoxious desires.

"They crave pleasure for themselves and they cause pain to others; when death destroys their individuality, they find no peace; their thirst for existence abides and their self-hood reappears in new births.

"Thus they continue to move in the coil and can find no escape from the hell of their own making. And how empty are their pleasures, how vain are their endeavors! Hollow like the plantain-tree and without contents like the bubble.

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