Māra throws a boulder (SA-2.27)

Thus have I heard, once, the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha on Gijjhakūṭa Mountain. The sky was covered with clouds. It rained lightly and lightning flashed brightly everywhere. At that time the World-honored One was walking in the open at night. There King Māra the Bad had this thought: “The renunciant Gotama is staying in Rājagaha on Gijjhakūṭa Mountain; the sky is covered with clouds, it is raining lightly, and lightning is flashing brightly everywhere. While he is walking in the open at night, I should go and disturb him.” Having thought thus, King Māra went up that mountain and pushed a large boulder down to hit the Buddha. The boulder however shattered by itself. At that time the World-honored One spoke a verse:

“You might destroy Gijjhakūṭa Mountain /
turn it to dust;
you might break apart /
the vast continents and the immense ocean.
However, to inspire fear /
in someone who has attained true liberation,
to make his hair stand on end /
will never be possible.”

At that time King Māra thought: “The renunciant Gotama knows my thoughts.” He became depressed and dispirited, made his body invisible and returned to his heavenly palace.

Translation by Marcus Bingenheimer, 2005–8 (minor revisions 2009). First version published in Buddhist Studies Review vol. 23.1 (2006). The translations used here were revised by the translator and published in his Studies in Āgama Literature—with Special Reference to the Shorter Chinese Saṁyuktāgama, Dharma Drum Buddhist College, 2010.

Translated from the Taishō text of the CBETA-Database (Version Feb. 2006). All sutta titles added by the translator.

This series of translations were part of the project “A Digital Comparative Edition of the Bieyi za ahan jing” conducted at the Chung-hwa Institute for Buddhist Studies (中華佛學研究所) and the Dharma Drum Buddhist College (法鼓佛教研修學院), funded by the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange (蔣經國國際學術交流基金會). The full project, including parallel Chinese, Pali, and Sanskrit texts, is available online here.

Used with kind permission of the translator.

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Bhikkhu Sujato.