Kakusandha Buddha looked at Mara

I saw a post on dhammawheel today where a member cited Majjhima Nikāya 50, the passage where, as Kakusandha Buddha looked at mara Desi, the mara passed away and was reborn in hell. The poster thought it was the Buddha who caused this by ‘accerating the bad vipaka’.

Here is the commentary:

Sahāpalokanāyāti kakusandhassa bhagavato apalokaneneva saha taṅkhaṇaññeva. Tamhā ca ṭhānā cavīti tamhā ca devaṭṭhānā cuto, mahānirayaṃ upapannoti attho. Cavamāno hi na yattha katthaci ṭhito cavati, tasmā vasavattidevalokaṃ āgantvā cuto, ‘‘sahāpalokanāyā’’ti ca vacanato na bhagavato apalokitattā cutoti veditabbo, cutikāladassanamattameva hetaṃ. Uḷāre pana mahāsāvake viraddhattā kudāriyā pahaṭaṃ viyassa āyu tattheva chijjitvā gatanti veditabbaṃ. Tayo nāmadheyyā hontīti tīṇi nāmāni honti. Chaphassāyatanikoti chasu phassāyatanesu pāṭiyekkāya vedanāya paccayo.

“‘Simultaneously with the look’: that is, at that very instant, simultaneously with the look of the Blessed One Kakusandha. ‘And he fell from that state’: he fell from that divine state; the meaning is that he was reborn in the Great Hell. For one who is falling does not fall from just anywhere; therefore, having gone to the Vasavatti deva-world, he fell from there. And from the phrase ‘simultaneously with the look,’ it should not be understood that he fell because the Blessed One looked; this is merely an indication of the time of his fall. But it should be understood that because he had offended the eminent great disciples, his lifespan was cut short right there, like something struck with an axe. ‘They have three names’: this means they have three names. ‘Pertaining to the six sense bases’: in the six sense bases, it is a condition for a particular feeling.”

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It would be great to have a condensed list of these “ways to go wrong without the commentaries.” It would be a clear way to explain why they are needed for understanding the suttas.

I would say, though, that for this one, a person who has complete confidence in the definition of a Buddha, would never ever think that a Buddha could kill someone by looking at them. But people don’t start out with that confidence.

Actually to be fair the poster believed that the Buddha only “accelerated the bad vipaka” - so not quite as bad as killing him. I just added that clarification to my OP>

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