SN 4.9

Paṭhamaāyusutta

Evaṁ me sutaṁ— ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā rājagahe viharati veḷuvane kalandakanivāpe. Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi: “bhikkhavo”ti. “Bhadante”ti te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ. Bhagavā etadavoca:

Lifespan (1st)

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!” “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

“Appamidaṁ, bhikkhave, manussānaṁ āyu. Gamanīyo samparāyo, kattabbaṁ kusalaṁ, caritabbaṁ brahmacariyaṁ. Natthi jātassa amaraṇaṁ. Yo, bhikkhave, ciraṁ jīvati, so vassasataṁ appaṁ vā bhiyyo”ti.

“Mendicants, the lifespan of humans is short. We are headed for lives to come. So we must do what is skillful, we must practice the spiritual life. No one born is immortal. A long life is a hundred years or a little more.”

Atha kho māro pāpimā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ gāthāya ajjhabhāsi:

Then Māra the Wicked went up to the Buddha and addressed him in verse:

“Dīghamāyu manussānaṁ, na naṁ hīḷe suporiso; Careyya khīramattova, natthi maccussa āgamo”ti.

“The life of humans is long! A true person wouldn’t scorn it. Live like a suckling babe, for Death has not come for you.”

“Appamāyu manussānaṁ, hīḷeyya naṁ suporiso; Careyyādittasīsova, natthi maccussa nāgamo”ti.

“The life of humans is short, and a true person scorns it. They should live as though their head was on fire, for Death comes for everyone.”

Atha kho māro …pe… tatthevantaradhāyīti.

Then Māra … vanished right there.