This is a recording of a public talk given to the Kettering Buddhist Group during Rohatsu Week - the commemoration of the Buddha's Enlightenment.
This talk centres on the three temptations of Māra, the Lord of Samsara who was the final obstacle the Great Bodhisattva who sat under the Bodhi Tree had to face prior to his Enlightenment.
The character of Māra is important in both early and developed Buddhism. In the Mahayana sutras he is converted to Buddhism but does not lose his character rather becomes a part of Buddhist cosmology and thus has two roles. One is as tempter the other to test those who seek to enter Nirvana to see if they are ready.
This talk uses this platform to explore the nature of emotion and attachment in Buddhist practice.
