SN 4.6

Sappasutta

Evaṁ me sutaṁ— ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā rājagahe viharati veḷuvane kalandakanivāpe. Tena kho pana samayena bhagavā rattandhakāratimisāyaṁ abbhokāse nisinno hoti, devo ca ekamekaṁ phusāyati.

A Cobra

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 the Buddha was meditating in the open during the dark of night, while a gentle rain drizzled down.

Atha kho māro pāpimā bhagavato bhayaṁ chambhitattaṁ lomahaṁsaṁ uppādetukāmo mahantaṁ sapparājavaṇṇaṁ abhinimminitvā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami. Seyyathāpi nāma mahatī ekarukkhikā nāvā; evamassa kāyo hoti. Seyyathāpi nāma mahantaṁ soṇḍikākiḷañjaṁ; evamassa phaṇo hoti. Seyyathāpi nāma mahatī kosalikā kaṁsapāti; evamassa akkhīni bhavanti. Seyyathāpi nāma deve gaḷagaḷāyante vijjullatā niccharanti; evamassa mukhato jivhā niccharati. Seyyathāpi nāma kammāragaggariyā dhamamānāya saddo hoti; evamassa assāsapassāsānaṁ saddo hoti.

Then Māra the Wicked, wanting to make the Buddha feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, manifested in the form of a big cobra king and approached him. Its body was like a big canoe carved from a single tree. Its hood was like a large brewer’s sieve. Its eyes were like big bronze cups from Kosala. Its tongue flickered from its mouth like lightning flashes in a thunderstorm. The sound of its breathing was like the puffing of a blacksmith’s bellows.

Atha kho bhagavā “māro ayaṁ pāpimā” iti viditvā māraṁ pāpimantaṁ gāthāhi ajjhabhāsi:

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

“Yo suññagehāni sevati, Seyyā so muni attasaññato; Vossajja careyya tattha so, Patirūpañhi tathāvidhassa taṁ.

“One who frequents empty buildings for lodging—that sage is self-restrained. It’s appropriate for that sort to live there after relinquishing.

Carakā bahū bheravā bahū, Atho ḍaṁsasarīsapā bahū; Lomampi na tattha iñjaye, Suññāgāragato mahāmuni.

Though there are lots of creepy crawlies, and lots of flies and reptiles, they wouldn’t stir a hair of a great sage in that empty hut.

Nabhaṁ phaleyya pathavī caleyya, Sabbepi pāṇā uda santaseyyuṁ; Sallampi ce urasi pakappayeyyuṁ, Upadhīsu tāṇaṁ na karonti buddhā”ti.

Though the firmament may split and the earth may quake, and all creatures be stricken with fear; and even if an arrow’s aimed at their breast, the Buddhas take no shelter in attachments.”

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.