Dhammapada Reflection Verse 8

Verse 8

As a stormy wind cannot move
                  a mountain of rock,
so one who contemplates the reality of the body,
                          who develops faith and energy,
              is unmoved by Mara.

Reflections

Mara is the manifestation of unenlightenment;
the driving force of denial. Mara is the avoidance
of reality and is expressed as compulsiveness,
insensitivity, resentment. Our monastery in rural 
Northumberland is sometimes buffeted by
winds that can be frightening but this nothing
compared to the threat posed by the forces of
Mara. If we are to withstand the onslaught of 
our heedless habits, we must firmly establish our
contemplation in an awareness of the body, in faith 
and in energy. It is the ability and willingness
to come back, over and over again, to our body-
based practice, remembering to live in ways 
that lead to selfless confidence that sustains our
interest in discovering truth. This has the power to
make us unshakable.
Ajahn Munindo