[mikelangr]

When the subject of whether this or that being is real or not comes up, I always wonder, "Do you mean 'real' as compared to the one asking? I am a student of Vajrayana (Tibetan Buddhism), which you may know has a seemingly endless parade of monsters and deities, and this 'are they real?" question pops up frequently. And the funny thing is, this presumes that there is an actual, permanent 'self' (atma) asking the question. When, through analytical meditation (vipassna) it is determined that there is no place where an existing 'self' can be found to exist, then questions such as whether Mara is real or not take on a whole new dimension. I like to think, "Yes, Mara is real, but no more real than you or I".