in a wilderness hut on the slopes of the Himalayas.
Then as he was in private retreat this thought came to his mind, “I wonder if it’s possible to rule legitimately, without killing or having someone kill for you; without conquering or having someone conquer for you; without sorrowing or causing sorrow?”
And then Māra the Wicked, knowing the Buddha’s train of thought, went up to him and (disrupted)
“legitimately” → approved directly by 100% of the population, so there could be no dissidents
“having someone kill for you” → police, prison system, defense militia, weapon industry, meat industry, agriculture with their insecticides, heavy industry with their chemicals and pollution
“conquering” → wage wars to expand the border with the army
“having someone conquer for you” → have a border already established
I mean, with the weirdness and extravagance of certain experiences / realms, I think it might be possible to have everything you want, as an on-going experience. “Himalayas turning into gold” sounds like an analogy for such a power and experience.
The problem, however, seems that even that is not enough. So perhaps the solution isn’t being in a position to have whatever you want, but rathed, not being driven by wanting in the first place.
It seems to me that the sutta is telling us: It’s possible and the requirement would be: You must have the ability to create no matter how large amount of gold whenever you want.
Mara was trying to make a deceiving trick by proposing that the one with psychic power (such as the Buddha) can satisfy that requirement so lead to the urge: the Buddha should rule as a benevolent king.
The trick is: beside psychic power or the ability of a cakkavati with 7 ultimate treasures, there is a hidden hook: greed.
So when the Buddha pointed out that hidden hook, Mara knew that he was defeated and disappeared.
