Saṃyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)

And then Māra the Wicked, knowing the Buddha’s train of thought, went up to him and said, “Rule, Blessed One! Rule, Holy One! Rule legitimately, without killing or having someone kill for you; without conquering or having someone conquer for you; without sorrowing or causing sorrow!” “But what do you see, Wicked One, that you say this to me?” “The Blessed One, sir, has developed and cultivated the four bases for psychic power, made them a vehicle and a basis, kept them up, consolidated them, and properly implemented them. If he wished, the Blessed One need only determine that the Himalaya, king of mountains, was gold, and it would turn into gold.”

“Take a golden mountain, entirely of native gold, and double it— it’s still not enough for one! Knowing this, live a moral life.

When a personage has seen where suffering comes from how could they incline toward sensual pleasures? Realizing that attachment is a chain in the world, a personage would train to remove it.”

Then Māra the Wicked, thinking, “The Buddha knows me! The Holy One knows me!” miserable and sad, vanished right there.

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Sakyans near Silāvatī. Now at that time several mendicants were meditating not far from the Buddha, diligent, keen, and resolute. Then Māra the Wicked manifested in the form of a brahmin with a large matted dreadlock, wearing an antelope hide. He was old, bent double, wheezing, and held a staff made of cluster fig tree wood. He went up to those mendicants and said, “You’ve gone forth while young, reverends. With pristine black hair, you’re blessed with youth, in the prime of life, and you’ve never flirted with sensual pleasures. Enjoy human sensual pleasures. Don’t give up what is apparent in the present to chase after what takes effect over time.” “Brahmin, that’s not what we’re doing. We’re giving up what takes effect over time to chase after what is apparent in the present. For the Buddha says that sensual pleasures take effect over time; they give much suffering and distress, and they are all the more full of drawbacks. But this teaching is apparent in the present life, immediately effective, inviting inspection, relevant, so that sensible people can know it for themselves.” When they had spoken, Māra the Wicked shook his head, waggled his tongue, raised his eyebrows until his brow puckered in three furrows, and left leaning on his staff.

Then those mendicants went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and told him what had happened. The Buddha said,

“Mendicants, that was no brahmin. That was Māra the Wicked who came to pull the wool over your eyes!” Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha spoke this verse:

“When a personage has seen where suffering comes from how could they incline toward sensual pleasures? Realizing that attachment is a chain in the world, a personage would train to remove it.”

At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Sakyans near Silāvatī. Now at that time Venerable Samiddhi was meditating not far from the Buddha, diligent, keen, and resolute. Then as Venerable Samiddhi was in private retreat this thought came to his mind, “I’m so fortunate, so very fortunate, to have a teacher who is a perfected one, a fully awakened Buddha! I’m so fortunate, so very fortunate, to have gone forth in a teaching and training so well explained! I’m so fortunate, so very fortunate, to have spiritual companions who are ethical and of good character.” And then Māra the Wicked, knowing Samiddhi’s train of thought, went up to him and made a terrifyingly loud noise close by him. It seemed as if the earth was shattering.

Then Samiddhi went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and told him what had happened. The Buddha said,

“Samiddhi, that’s not the earth shattering. That’s Māra the Wicked come to pull the wool over your eyes! Go back to that same place, Samiddhi, and meditate, diligent, keen, and resolute.” “Yes, sir,” replied Samiddhi. He rose from his seat, bowed, and respectfully circled the Buddha, keeping him on his right, before leaving. And for a second time Samiddhi was meditating in that same place, diligent, ardent, and resolute. And for a second time he had the same thought … and Māra made an earth-shattering noise. Then Samiddhi addressed Māra the Wicked in verse:

“I went forth out of faith from the lay life to homelessness. My mindfulness and wisdom are mature, my mind is serene in immersion. Make whatever illusions you want, it won’t bother me.”

Then Māra the Wicked, thinking, “The mendicant Samiddhi knows me!” miserable and sad, vanished right there.

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground. Now at that time Venerable Godhika was staying on the slopes of Isigili at the Black Rock. Then Venerable Godhika, meditating diligent, keen, and resolute, experienced temporary freedom of heart. But then he fell away from that temporary freedom of heart. For a second … third … fourth … fifth … sixth time Godhika experienced temporary freedom of heart. But for a sixth time he fell away from it. For a seventh time Godhika, meditating diligent, keen, and resolute, experienced temporary freedom of heart.

Then he thought, “I’ve fallen away from this temporary freedom of heart no less than six times. Why don’t I commit suicide?” And then Māra the Wicked, knowing Godhika’s train of thought, went up to the Buddha and addressed him in verse:

“O great hero, O greatly wise! Shining with power and glory. You’ve gone beyond all enmities and fears, I bow to your feet, O Clear-eyed One!

Great hero, master of death, your disciple longs for death, he’s planning for it. Stop him, O light-bringer!

For Blessed One, renowned among men, your disciple who loves your teaching, a trainee who hasn’t achieved their heart’s desire— how can they kill themselves?”

Now at that time Venerable Godhika had already committed suicide. Then the Buddha, knowing that this was Māra the Wicked, addressed him in verse:

“This is how the attentive act, for they don’t long for life. Having plucked out craving, root and all, Godhika is quenched.”

Then the Buddha said to the mendicants, “Come, mendicants, let’s go to the Black Rock on the slopes of Isigili where Godhika, who came from a good family, committed suicide.” “Yes, sir,” they replied.

Then the Buddha together with several mendicants went to the Black Rock on the slopes of Isigili. The Buddha saw Godhika off in the distance on his cot, lying with aggregates cast off. Now at that time a cloud of black smoke was moving east, west, north, south, above, below, and in-between.

Then the Buddha said to the mendicants, “Mendicants, do you see that cloud of black smoke moving east, west, north, south, above, below, and in-between?” “Yes, sir.” “That’s Māra the Wicked searching for Godhika’s consciousness, wondering: ‘Where is Godhika’s consciousness established?’ But since his consciousness is not established, Godhika is quenched.” Then Māra, carrying his arched harp made from the pale timber of wood-apple, went up to the Buddha and addressed him in verse:

“Above, below, all round, in the four quarters and in-between, I’ve been searching without success: where has that Godhika got to?”

“He was an attentive and steadfast sage, a meditator who loved absorption. By day and by night he applied himself, without concern for his life.

He defeated the army of death, and won’t return for any future life. Having plucked out craving, root and all Godhika is quenched.”

So stricken with sorrow that his harp dropped from his armpit, that spirit, downcast, vanished right there.

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying in Uruvelā at the goatherd’s banyan tree on the bank of the Nerañjarā River. Now at that time Māra the Wicked had been pursuing the Buddha for seven years hoping to find a vulnerability without success. Then Māra the Wicked went up to the Buddha and addressed him in verse:

“Are you swamped by sorrow <j>that you meditate in the forest? Have you lost a fortune, or do you long for one? Or perhaps you’ve committed <j>some crime in the village? Why don’t you get too close to people? And why does no one get close to you?”

“I’ve dug out the root of sorrow completely. I practice absorption free of guilt or sorrow. I’ve cut off all greed and muttered prayer for future lives. Undefiled, I practice absorption, <j>O kinsman of the negligent!”

“The things they call ‘mine’, and those who say ‘it’s mine’: if your mind remains there, you won’t escape me, ascetic!”

“The things they speak of aren’t mine; I’m not someone who speaks like that. So know this, Wicked One: you won’t even see the path I take.”

“If you’ve discovered the path that’s safe, and leads to freedom from death, go and walk that path alone— why teach it to anyone else?”

“Those crossing to the far shore ask what’s beyond the domain of Death. When I’m asked, I explain to them the truth without attachments.”

“Sir, suppose there was a lotus pond not far from a town or village, and a crab lived there. Then several boys or girls would leave the town or village and go to the pond, where they’d pull out the crab and put it on solid ground. Whenever that crab extended a claw, those boys or girls would snap, crack, and break it off with a stick or a stone. And when that crab’s claws had all been snapped, cracked, and broken off it wouldn’t be able to return down into that lotus pond. In the same way, sir, the Buddha has snapped, cracked, and broken off all my twists, ducks, and dodges. Now I’m not able to approach the Buddha again in hopes of finding a vulnerability.” Then Māra the Wicked recited these verses of disappointment in the Buddha’s presence:

“A crow once circled a stone that looked like a lump of fat. ‘Perhaps I’ll find something tender,’ it thought, ‘perhaps there’s something tasty.’

But finding nothing tasty, the crow left that place. Like the crow that pecked the stone, I leave Gotama disappointed.”

And then Māra the Wicked, after reciting these verses of disillusionment in the Buddha’s presence, left that place. He sat cross-legged on the ground not far from the Buddha, silent, dismayed, shoulders drooping, downcast, depressed, with nothing to say, scratching the ground with a stick. Then Māra’s daughters Craving, Malignancy, and Lust went up to Māra the Wicked, and addressed him in verse:

“Why so downhearted, dad? What man are you upset about? We’ll catch him with the snare of lust, like an elephant in the wild. We’ll tie him up and bring him back— he’ll fall under your sway!”

“In this world he is the perfected one, the Holy One. He’s not easily seduced by lust. He has slipped free of Māra’s dominion; that’s why I’m so upset.”

Then Māra’s daughters Craving, Malignancy, and Lust went up to the Buddha, and said to him, “We serve at your feet, ascetic.” But the Buddha ignored them, since he was freed with the supreme ending of attachments.

Then Craving, Malignancy, and Lust withdrew to one side to think up a plan. “Men have a diverse spectrum of tastes. Why don’t we each manifest in the form of a hundred young maidens?” So that’s what they did. Then they went up to the Buddha and said to him, “We serve at your feet, ascetic.” But the Buddha still ignored them, since he was freed with the supreme ending of attachments.

Then Craving, Malignancy, and Lust withdrew to one side to think up a plan. “Men have a diverse spectrum of tastes. Why don’t we each manifest in the form of a hundred women who have never given birth?” So that’s what they did. Then they went up to the Buddha and said to him, “We serve at your feet, ascetic.” But the Buddha still ignored them, since he was freed with the supreme ending of attachments.

Then Craving, Malignancy, and Lust … each manifested in the form of a hundred women who have given birth once …

women who have given birth twice … middle-aged women …

old women … But the Buddha still ignored them, since he was freed with the supreme ending of attachments. Then Craving, Malignancy, and Lust withdrew to one side and said, “What our father said is true:

‘In this world he is the perfected one, the Holy One. He’s not easily seduced by lust. He has slipped free of Māra’s dominion; that’s why I’m so upset.’

For if we had come on to any ascetic or brahmin like this who was not free of lust, his heart would explode, or he’d spew hot blood from his mouth, or he’d go mad or lose his mind. He’d dry up, wither away, and shrivel up like a green reed that was mowed down.”

Then Māra’s daughters Craving, Malignancy, and Lust went up to the Buddha, and stood to one side. Māra’s daughter Craving addressed the Buddha in verse:

“Are you swamped by sorrow <j>that you meditate in the forest? Have you lost a fortune, or do you long for one? Or perhaps you’ve committed <j>some crime in the village? Why don’t you get too close to people? And why does no one get close to you?”

“I’ve reached the goal, peace of heart. Having conquered the army <j>of the likable and pleasant, alone, practicing absorption, I awakened to bliss. That’s why I don’t get too close to people, and no one gets too close to me.”

Then Māra’s daughter Malignancy addressed the Buddha in verse:

“How does a mendicant who has crossed five floods usually meditate here while crossing the sixth? How do they usually practice absorption <j>so that sensual perceptions are blocked out and don’t get hold of them?”

“With tranquil body and mind well freed, without making choices, mindful, homeless; understanding the teaching, <j>they practice absorption without placing the mind; they’re not shaking or drifting or rigid.

That’s how a mendicant who has crossed five floods usually meditates here while crossing the sixth. That’s how they usually practice absorption <j>so that sensual perceptions are blocked out and don’t get hold of them.”

Then Māra’s daughter Lust addressed the Buddha in verse:

“He lives with his community after cutting off craving, and many of the faithful will cross over for sure. Alas, this homeless one will snatch many men away, and lead them past the King of Death!”

“The great heroes they lead by means of the true teaching. When the Realized Ones are leading by the teaching, how could anyone who knows be jealous?”

Then Māra’s daughters Craving, Malignancy, and Lust went up to Māra the Wicked. Māra the Wicked saw them coming off in the distance, and addressed them in verse:

“Fools! You drill into a mountain with lotus stalks! You dig up a hill with your nails! You chew iron with your teeth!

You seek a footing in the abyss, as it were, while lifting a rock with your head! After attacking a stump with your breast, as it were, you leave Gotama disappointed.”

They came dazzling— Craving, Malignancy, and Lust. But the Teacher brushed them off right there, like the gale, a fallen tuft.

The Linked Discourses with Māra are complete.

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Then the nun Āḷavikā robed up in the morning and, taking her bowl and robe, entered Sāvatthī for alms. She wandered for alms in Sāvatthī. After the meal, on her return from almsround, she went to the Dark Forest seeking seclusion. Then Māra the Wicked, wanting to make the nun Āḷavikā feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, wanting to make her fall away from seclusion, went up to her and addressed her in verse:

“There’s no escape in the world, so what will seclusion do for you? Enjoy erotic delights; don’t regret it later.”

Then the nun Āḷavikā thought, “Who’s speaking this verse, a human or a non-human?” Then she thought, “This is Māra the Wicked, wanting to make me feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, wanting to make me fall away from seclusion!” Then Āḷavikā, knowing that this was Māra the Wicked, replied to him in verse:

“There is an escape in the world, and I’ve personally experienced it with wisdom. O Wicked One, kinsman of the negligent, you don’t know that state.

Sensual pleasures are like swords and spears; the aggregates are their chopping block. What you call erotic delight is now no delight for me.”

Then Māra the Wicked, thinking, “The nun Āḷavikā knows me!” miserable and sad, vanished right there.

At Sāvatthī. Then the nun Somā robed up in the morning and, taking her bowl and robe, entered Sāvatthī for alms. She wandered for alms in Sāvatthī. After the meal, on her return from almsround, she went to the Dark Forest for the day’s meditation, plunged deep into it, and sat at the root of a tree to meditate. Then Māra the Wicked, wanting to make the nun Somā feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, wanting to make her fall away from immersion, went up to her and addressed her in verse:

“That state’s very challenging; it’s for the sages to attain. With her two-inch wisdom, it’s not possible for a woman.”

Then the nun Somā thought, “Who’s speaking this verse, a human or a non-human?” Then she thought, “This is Māra the Wicked, wanting to make me feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, wanting to make me fall away from immersion!” Then Somā, knowing that this was Māra the Wicked, replied to him in verse:

“What difference does womanhood make when the mind is serene, and knowledge is present as you rightly discern the Dhamma.

Surely someone who might think: ‘I am woman’, or ‘I am man’, or ‘I am’ anything at all, is fit for Māra to address.”

Then Māra the Wicked, thinking, “The nun Somā knows me!” miserable and sad, vanished right there.

At Sāvatthī. Then the nun Kisāgotamī robed up in the morning and, taking her bowl and robe, entered Sāvatthī for alms. She wandered for alms in Sāvatthī. After the meal, on her return from almsround, she went to the Dark Forest for the day’s meditation, plunged deep into it, and sat at the root of a tree to meditate. Then Māra the Wicked, wanting to make the nun Kisāgotamī feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, wanting to make her fall away from immersion, went up to her and addressed her in verse:

“Why do you sit alone and cry as if your children have died? You’ve come to the woods all alone— are you looking for a man?”

Then the nun Kisāgotamī thought, “Who’s speaking this verse, a human or a non-human?” Then she thought, “This is Māra the Wicked, wanting to make me feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, wanting to make me fall away from immersion!”

Then Kisāgotamī, knowing that this was Māra the Wicked, replied to him in verse:

“I’ve got over the death of children, and I’m finished with men. I don’t grieve or lament, and I’m not afraid of you, sir!

Relishing is banished in every respect, and the mass of darkness is shattered. I’ve defeated the army of death, and live without defilements.”

Then Māra the Wicked, thinking, “The nun Kisāgotamī knows me!” miserable and sad, vanished right there.

At Sāvatthī. Then the nun Vijayā robed up in the morning … and sat at the root of a tree for the day’s meditation. Then Māra the Wicked, wanting to make the nun Vijayā feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, wanting to make her fall away from immersion, went up to her and addressed her in verse:

“You’re so young and beautiful, and I’m a youth in my prime. Come, my lady, let us enjoy the music of a five-piece band.”

Then the nun Vijayā thought, “Who’s speaking this verse, a human or a non-human?” Then she thought, “This is Māra the Wicked, wanting to make me feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, wanting to make me fall away from immersion!” Then Vijayā, knowing that this was Māra the Wicked, replied to him in verse:

“Sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and touches so delightful. I hand them right back to you, Māra, for I have no use for them.

This body is rotting, decaying and frail. I’m horrified and repelled by it, and I’ve eradicated sensual craving.

There are beings in the realm of luminous form, and others stuck in the formless. I’ve destroyed the darkness regarding all such peaceful attainments.”

Then Māra the Wicked, thinking, “The nun Vijayā knows me!” miserable and sad, vanished right there.

At Sāvatthī. Then the nun Uppalavaṇṇā robed up in the morning … and stood at the root of a sal tree in full flower. Then Māra the Wicked, wanting to make the nun Uppalavaṇṇā feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, wanting to make her fall away from immersion, went up to her and addressed her in verse:

“You’ve come to this sal tree all crowned with flowers, and stand at its root all alone, O nun. Your beauty is second to none— silly girl, aren’t you afraid of rascals?”

Then the nun Uppalavaṇṇā thought, “Who’s speaking this verse, a human or a non-human?” Then she thought, “This is Māra the Wicked, wanting to make me feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, wanting to make me fall away from immersion!” Then Uppalavaṇṇā, knowing that this was Māra the Wicked, replied to him in verse:

“Even if 100,000 rascals like you were to come here, I’d stir not a hair nor panic. I’m not scared of you, Māra, even alone.

I’ll vanish, or I’ll enter your belly; I could stand between your eyebrows and you still wouldn’t see me.

I’m the master of my own mind, I’ve developed the bases of psychic power well. I’m free from all bonds, and I’m not afraid of you, sir!”

Then Māra the Wicked, thinking, “The nun Uppalavaṇṇā knows me!” miserable and sad, vanished right there.

At Sāvatthī. Then the nun Cālā robed up in the morning … and sat at the root of a tree for the day’s meditation. Then Māra the Wicked went up to Cālā and said to her, “Nun, what don’t you approve of?” “I don’t approve of rebirth, sir.”

“Why don’t you approve of rebirth? When you’re born, you get to enjoy sensual pleasures. Who put this idea in your head: ‘Nun, don’t approve of rebirth’?”

“Death comes to those who are born, when you’re born you undergo sufferings— killing, caging, misery— that’s why you shouldn’t approve of rebirth.

The Buddha taught me the Dhamma for transcending rebirth, for giving up all suffering; he settled me in the truth.