At Ajakalāpaka (UD1.7)

Heartfelt Sayings 1.7

At Ajakalāpaka

So I have heard.

At one time the Buddha was staying in Pāvā at the Ajakalāpaka Shrine, the haunt of the native spirit Ajakalāpaka.

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

Then Ajakalāpaka, wanting to make the Buddha feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, approached him, and while not far away yelled three times, “Havoc and heck!” Then he added,¹

“Now that’s a goblin for you, ascetic!”

Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment:

“When a brahmin gets over

their own issues,

they transcend this goblin

and his havoc.”