SN.4.15. Mānasasutta ("A Mental Snare")

Saṁyutta Nikāya ("The Linked Discourses")

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.

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

“There’s a mental snare
wandering the sky.
I’ll bind you with it—
you won’t escape me, ascetic!”

“Sights, sounds, tastes, smells,
and touches so delightful:
desire for these is gone from me.
You’re beaten, terminator!”

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



Subscribe to The Empty Robot

Get the latest posts delivered right to your inbox



Spread the word: