SN 1–11 The Group of Connected Discourses With Verses – Sagāthāvaggasaṁyutta > SN 4 Connected Discourses With Māra – Mārasaṁyutta > SN 4.24 Seven Years of Following

Linked Discourses 4.24 – Saṁyutta Nikāya 4.24

3. Māra – 3. Tatiyavagga

SN 4.24 Seven Years of Following – Sattavassānubandhasutta

So I have heard.

Evaṁ me sutaṁ—

At one time the Buddha was staying near Uruvelā at the goatherd’s banyan tree on the bank of the Nerañjarā River.

ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā uruvelāyaṁ viharati najjā nerañjarāya tīre ajapālanigrodhe.

Now at that time Māra the Wicked had been following the Buddha for seven years hoping to find a vulnerability without success.

Tena kho pana samayena māro pāpimā sattavassāni bhagavantaṁ anubandho hoti otārāpekkho otāraṁ alabhamāno.

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

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

“Are you swamped by sorrow that you meditate in the forest?

“Sokāvatiṇṇo nu vanamhi jhāyasi,

Have you lost a fortune, or do you long for one?

Vittaṁ nu jīno uda patthayāno;

Or perhaps you’ve committed some crime in the village?

Āguṁ nu gāmasmimakāsi kiñci,

Why don’t you get too close to people?

Kasmā janena na karosi sakkhiṁ;

And why does no-one get close to you?”

Sakkhī na sampajjati kenaci te”ti.

“I’ve dug out the root of sorrow completely.

“Sokassa mūlaṁ palikhāya sabbaṁ,

I practice absorption free of guilt or sorrow.

Anāgu jhāyāmi asocamāno;

I’ve cut off all greed and prayer for future lives.

Chetvāna sabbaṁ bhavalobhajappaṁ,

Undefiled, I practice absorption, O kinsman of the negligent!”

Anāsavo jhāyāmi pamattabandhū”ti.

“The things they call ‘mine’,

“Yaṁ vadanti mama yidanti,

and those who say ‘it’s mine’:

ye vadanti mamanti ca;

if your mind remains there,

Ettha ce te mano atthi,

you won’t escape me, ascetic!”

na me samaṇa mokkhasī”ti.

“The things they speak of aren’t mine;

“Yaṁ vadanti na taṁ mayhaṁ,

I’m not someone who speaks like that.

ye vadanti na te ahaṁ;

So know this, Wicked One:

Evaṁ pāpima jānāhi,

you won’t even see the path I take.”

na me maggampi dakkhasī”ti.

“If you’ve discovered the path

“Sace maggaṁ anubuddhaṁ,

that’s safe, and leads to the deathless,

khemaṁ amatagāminaṁ;

go and walk that path alone—

Apehi gaccha tvameveko,

why teach it to anyone else?”

kimaññamanusāsasī”ti.

“Those crossing to the far shore

“Amaccudheyyaṁ pucchanti,

ask what’s beyond the domain of Death.

ye janā pāragāmino;

When I’m asked, I explain to them

Tesāhaṁ puṭṭho akkhāmi,

the truth without attachments.”

yaṁ saccaṁ taṁ nirūpadhin”ti.

“Sir, suppose there was a lotus pond not far from a town or village,

“Seyyathāpi, bhante, gāmassa vā nigamassa vā avidūre pokkharaṇī.

and a crab lived there.

Tatrassa kakkaṭako.

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 dry land.

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.

Whenever that crab extended a claw, those boys or girls would snap, crack, and break it off with a stick or a stone.

Yaṁ yadeva hi so, bhante, kakkaṭako aḷaṁ abhininnāmeyya taṁ tadeva te kumārakā vā kumārikāyo vā kaṭṭhena vā kathalāya vā sañchindeyyuṁ sambhañjeyyuṁ sampalibhañjeyyuṁ.

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.

Evañhi so, bhante, kakkaṭako sabbehi aḷehi sañchinnehi sambhaggehi sampalibhaggehi abhabbo taṁ pokkharaṇiṁ otarituṁ.

In the same way, sir, the Buddha has snapped, cracked, and broken off all my tricks, dodges, and evasions.

Evameva kho, bhante, yāni kānici visūkāyikāni visevitāni vipphanditāni, sabbāni tāni bhagavatā sañchinnāni sambhaggāni sampalibhaggāni.

Now I’m not able to approach the Buddha again in hopes of finding a vulnerability.”

Abhabbo dānāhaṁ, bhante, puna bhagavantaṁ upasaṅkamituṁ yadidaṁ otārāpekkho”ti.

Then Māra the Wicked recited these verses of disappointment in the Buddha’s presence:

Atha kho māro pāpimā bhagavato santike imā nibbejanīyā gāthāyo abhāsi:

“A crow once circled a stone

“Medavaṇṇañca pāsāṇaṁ,

that looked like a lump of fat.

vāyaso anupariyagā;

‘Perhaps I’ll find something tender,’ it thought,

Apettha muduṁ vindema,

‘perhaps there’s something tasty.’

api assādanā siyā.

But finding nothing tasty,

Aladdhā tattha assādaṁ,

the crow left that place.

vāyasetto apakkame;

Like the crow that pecked the stone,

Kākova selamāsajja,

I leave Gotama disappointed.”

nibbijjāpema gotamā”ti.