SN 4.24

Sattavassānubandhasutta

Evaṁ me sutaṁ— ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā uruvelāyaṁ viharati najjā nerañjarāya tīre ajapālanigrodhe. Tena kho pana samayena māro pāpimā sattavassāni bhagavantaṁ anubandho hoti otārāpekkho otāraṁ alabhamāno. Atha kho māro pāpimā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ gāthāya ajjhabhāsi:

Seven Years of Pursuit

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:

“Sokāvatiṇṇo nu vanamhi jhāyasi, Vittaṁ nu jīno uda patthayāno; Āguṁ nu gāmasmimakāsi kiñci, Kasmā janena na karosi sakkhiṁ; Sakkhī na sampajjati kenaci te”ti.

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

“Sokassa mūlaṁ palikhāya sabbaṁ, Anāgu jhāyāmi asocamāno; Chetvāna sabbaṁ bhavalobhajappaṁ, Anāsavo jhāyāmi pamattabandhū”ti.

“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, O kinsman of the negligent!”

“Yaṁ vadanti mama yidanti, ye vadanti mamanti ca; Ettha ce te mano atthi, na me samaṇa mokkhasī”ti.

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

“Yaṁ vadanti na taṁ mayhaṁ, ye vadanti na te ahaṁ; Evaṁ pāpima jānāhi, na me maggampi dakkhasī”ti.

“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.”

“Sace maggaṁ anubuddhaṁ, khemaṁ amatagāminaṁ; Apehi gaccha tvameveko, kimaññamanusāsasī”ti.

“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?”

“Amaccudheyyaṁ pucchanti, ye janā pāragāmino; Tesāhaṁ puṭṭho akkhāmi, yaṁ saccaṁ taṁ nirūpadhin”ti.

“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.”

“Seyyathāpi, bhante, gāmassa vā nigamassa vā avidūre pokkharaṇī. Tatrassa kakkaṭako. Atha kho, bhante, sambahulā kumārakā vā kumārikāyo vā tamhā gāmā vā nigamā vā nikkhamitvā yena sā pokkharaṇī tenupasaṅkameyyuṁ; upasaṅkamitvā taṁ kakkaṭakaṁ udakā uddharitvā thale patiṭṭhapeyyuṁ. Yaṁ yadeva hi so, bhante, kakkaṭako aḷaṁ abhininnāmeyya taṁ tadeva te kumārakā vā kumārikāyo vā kaṭṭhena vā kathalāya vā sañchindeyyuṁ sambhañjeyyuṁ sampalibhañjeyyuṁ. Evañhi so, bhante, kakkaṭako sabbehi aḷehi sañchinnehi sambhaggehi sampalibhaggehi abhabbo taṁ pokkharaṇiṁ otarituṁ. Evameva kho, bhante, yāni kānici visūkāyikāni visevitāni vipphanditāni, sabbāni tāni bhagavatā sañchinnāni sambhaggāni sampalibhaggāni. Abhabbo dānāhaṁ, bhante, puna bhagavantaṁ upasaṅkamituṁ yadidaṁ otārāpekkho”ti. Atha kho māro pāpimā bhagavato santike imā nibbejanīyā gāthāyo abhāsi:

“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:

“Medavaṇṇañca pāsāṇaṁ, vāyaso anupariyagā; Apettha muduṁ vindema, api assādanā siyā.

“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.’

Aladdhā tattha assādaṁ, vāyasetto apakkame; Kākova selamāsajja, nibbijjāpema gotamā”ti.

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