Thank you ynot!
This is a bit talking to myself and to you too.
There are five higher fetters which are still there when one is an anagami, not yet an arahant. There is rupa- and arupa raga, there is mana, uddhacca and avijja. I have always understood it this way: when one is an anagami (or lower) those can become active and fetter in that moment the mind, take hold/grasp of the mind. That can manifest in speech and phyiscal ways. One can talk about this proces of becoming fettered as becoming under the sway of Mara.
It was not correct of me to say that we are (all the time) under Mara’s sway untill arahanthood. Thanks for letting me see this. Just like it is not correct to say that we are always under the sway of avijja or tanha.
I think it is better to say, that as long as there exist conditions (such as anusaya) which can give rise to defilements, we can become under the sway of Mara, i.e. when anusaya are triggered.
For example, an anagami has still the mana anusaya. Well, suppose this anusaya becomes triggered and mana manifest itself in the mind. Does a anagami always become immediately aware of it and does he/she abandon that immediately?
I have always understood it this way that an anagami can become fettered by mana. Mana can still take hold of his/her mind. Do i see this wrong?
Suppose it is possible, then there is still an influence of that mana on the mind of an anagami. I think we can talk about this as mara’s sway, at that moment.
Siebe