SN 4.20

Rajjasutta

Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā kosalesu viharati himavantapadese araññakuṭikāyaṁ. Atha kho bhagavato rahogatassa paṭisallīnassa evaṁ cetaso parivitakko udapādi: “sakkā nu kho rajjaṁ kāretuṁ ahanaṁ aghātayaṁ ajinaṁ ajāpayaṁ asocaṁ asocāpayaṁ dhammenā”ti?

Ruling

At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Kosalans, 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?”

Atha kho māro pāpimā bhagavato cetasā cetoparivitakkamaññāya yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “kāretu, bhante, bhagavā rajjaṁ, kāretu, sugato, rajjaṁ ahanaṁ aghātayaṁ ajinaṁ ajāpayaṁ asocaṁ asocāpayaṁ dhammenā”ti. “Kiṁ pana me tvaṁ, pāpima, passasi yaṁ maṁ tvaṁ evaṁ vadesi: ‘kāretu, bhante, bhagavā rajjaṁ, kāretu sugato, rajjaṁ ahanaṁ aghātayaṁ ajinaṁ ajāpayaṁ asocaṁ asocāpayaṁ dhammenā’”ti? “Bhagavatā kho, bhante, cattāro iddhipādā bhāvitā bahulīkatā yānīkatā vatthukatā anuṭṭhitā paricitā susamāraddhā. Ākaṅkhamāno ca, bhante, bhagavā himavantaṁ pabbatarājaṁ suvaṇṇaṁ tveva adhimucceyya suvaṇṇañca panassā”ti.

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.”

“Pabbatassa suvaṇṇassa, jātarūpassa kevalo; Dvittāva nālamekassa, iti vidvā samañcare.

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

Yo dukkhamaddakkhi yatonidānaṁ, Kāmesu so jantu kathaṁ nameyya; Upadhiṁ viditvā saṅgoti loke, Tasseva jantu vinayāya sikkhe”ti.

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.”

Atha kho māro pāpimā “jānāti maṁ bhagavā, jānāti maṁ sugato”ti dukkhī dummano tatthevantaradhāyīti.

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