Sister Āḷavikā
Āḷavikā Sutta  (SN 5:1)

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Then, early in the morning, Āḷavikā the nun adjusted her robes and, taking her bowl & outer robe, went into Sāvatthī for alms. When she had gone for alms in Sāvatthī and had returned from her alms round, after her meal she went to the Grove of the Blind, aiming at seclusion.

Then Māra the Evil One, wanting to arouse fear, horripilation, & terror in her, wanting to make her fall away from concentration, approached her & addressed her in verse:

“There’s no
escape in the world,
so what are you trying to do
with seclusion?
Enjoy sensual delights.
Don’t be someone
who later regrets.”

Then the thought occurred to Āḷavikā the nun: “Now who has recited this verse—a human being or a non-human one?” Then it occurred to her: “This is Māra the Evil One who has recited this verse wanting to arouse fear, horripilation, & terror in me, wanting to make me fall away from seclusion.”

Then, having understood that “This is Māra the Evil One,” she replied to him in verses:

“There is
an escape in the world,
well touched by me
with discernment—
something that you,
you Evil One,
kinsman of the heedless,
don’t know.
Sensual pleasures
are like swords & spears;
the aggregates,
their executioner’s block.
What you call sensual delight
is no delight for me.”

Then Māra the Evil One—sad & dejected at realizing, “Āḷavikā the nun knows me”—vanished right there.

Source: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN5_1.html which has the following copyright: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ The author of www.dhammatalks.org also states: “There is some uncertainty about the meaning of ‘Commercial’ with regard to the CC NonCommercial License. For example, some consider the sale of content to support a non-profit entity to be ‘NonCommercial.’  The author and copyright holder of the content on this site considers any sale, including by non-profit entities for non-profit purposes, to be ‘Commercial’ and a copyright violation.“

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying among the Sakyans at Silāvatī. And on that occasion a large number of monks were staying not far from the Blessed One: heedful, ardent, & resolute.

Then Māra the Evil One, assuming the appearance of a brahman—with a large coiled top-knot, clad in an antelope hide, aged, crooked like a roof support, wheezing, holding a staff of fig wood—went to the monks and, on arrival, said to them, “You have gone forth while young, masters—black-haired, endowed with the blessings of youth in the first stage of life—without having played with sensuality. Enjoy human sensuality, monks. Don’t drop what is visible here-&-now in pursuit of what’s subject to time.”

“Brahman, we’re not dropping what’s visible here-&-now in pursuit of what’s subject to time. We’re dropping what’s subject to time in pursuit of what’s visible here-&-now. For the Blessed One has said that sensuality is subject to time, of much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks; whereas this Dhamma is visible here-&-now, not subject to time, inviting all to come & see, pertinent, to be known by the observant for themselves.”

When this was said, Māra the Evil One—shaking his head, wagging his tongue, raising his eyebrows so that his forehead was wrinkled in three furrows—left, leaning on his stick.

So the monks went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As they were sitting there they [told him what had happened].

“That wasn’t a brahman, monks. That was Māra the Evil One, come to blind you.”

Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion spoke these verses:

One who has seen the cause
from which suffering comes:
How could that person
incline to sensuality?
Having realized
that acquisition is a tie
in the world,
a person should train
to subdue
just that.

Source: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN4_21.html which has the following copyright: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ The author of www.dhammatalks.org also states: “There is some uncertainty about the meaning of ‘Commercial’ with regard to the CC NonCommercial License. For example, some consider the sale of content to support a non-profit entity to be ‘NonCommercial.’  The author and copyright holder of the content on this site considers any sale, including by non-profit entities for non-profit purposes, to be ‘Commercial’ and a copyright violation.“

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying among the Kosalans in a wilderness hut in a Himalayan district. Then, as he was alone in seclusion, this train of thought arose in his awareness: “Is it possible to exercise rulership without killing or causing others to kill, without dispossessing or causing others to dispossess, without sorrowing or causing others sorrow—righteously?”

Then Māra, the Evil One, knowing with his awareness the train of thought in the Blessed One’s awareness, went to him and on arrival said to him: “Exercise rulership, Blessed One! Exercise rulership, O One Well-Gone!—without killing or causing others to kill, without dispossessing or causing others to dispossess, without sorrowing or causing others sorrow—righteously!”

“But what do you see in me, Evil One, that you say to me, ‘Exercise rulership, Blessed One! Exercise rulership, O One Well-Gone!—without killing or causing others to kill, without dispossessing or causing others to dispossess, without sorrowing or causing others sorrow—righteously!’?”

“Lord, the Blessed One has developed the four bases of power,1 pursued them, given them a means of transport, given them a grounding, steadied them, consolidated them, and undertaken them well. If he wanted to, he could resolve on the Himalayas, king of mountains, as gold, and it would become a mountain of gold.”2

The Buddha:

“The entirety of a mountain of gold, of solid bullion: Even twice that wouldn’t suffice for one person. Knowing this, live evenly, in tune with the contemplative life. When you see stress, and from where it comes, how can you incline to sensuality? Knowing acquisition to be a bond in the world, train for its subduing.”

Then Māra the Evil One—sad & dejected at realizing, “The Blessed One knows me; the One Well-Gone knows me”—vanished right there.

Notes

1. The foundations for psychic abilities. See SN 51:20.

2. The implication here is that, with so much gold, the Buddha could cure the world’s miseries and buy off his enemies.

Source: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN4_20.html which has the following copyright: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ The author of www.dhammatalks.org also states: “There is some uncertainty about the meaning of ‘Commercial’ with regard to the CC NonCommercial License. For example, some consider the sale of content to support a non-profit entity to be ‘NonCommercial.’  The author and copyright holder of the content on this site considers any sale, including by non-profit entities for non-profit purposes, to be ‘Commercial’ and a copyright violation.“

Near Sāvatthī. Now at that time the Blessed One was instructing, urging, rousing, & encouraging the monks with a Dhamma talk concerning unbinding. The monks—attentive, interested, lending ear, focusing their entire awareness—were listening to the Dhamma.

Then the thought occurred to Māra, the Evil One: “Gotama the contemplative is instructing, urging, rousing, & encouraging the monks with a Dhamma talk concerning unbinding. The monks—attentive, interested, lending ear, focusing their entire awareness—are listening to the Dhamma. What if I were to go to Gotama the contemplative to obscure his vision?”

Then Māra the Evil One, taking on the form of a farmer with a large plowshare over his shoulder, carrying a long goad stick—his hair disheveled, his clothes made of coarse hemp, his feet splattered with mud—went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, said, “Hey, contemplative. Have you seen my oxen?”

“And what are your oxen, Evil One?”

“Mine alone is the eye, contemplative. Mine are forms, mine is the dimension of consciousness & contact at the eye. Where can you go to escape me? Mine alone is the ear… the nose… the tongue… the body… Mine alone is the intellect, contemplative. Mine are ideas, mine is the dimension of consciousness & contact at the intellect. Where can you go to escape me?”

“Yours alone is the eye, Evil One. Yours are forms, yours is the sphere of consciousness & contact at the eye. Where no eye exists, no forms exist, no dimension of consciousness & contact at the eye exists: There, Evil One, you cannot go. Yours alone is the ear… the nose… the tongue… the body… Yours alone is the intellect, Evil One. Yours are ideas, yours is the dimension of consciousness & contact at the intellect. Where no intellect exists, no ideas exist, no dimension of consciousness & contact at the intellect exists: There, Evil One, you cannot go.”

Māra:

“Of what they say,
‘This is mine’;
and those who say,
‘Mine’:
If your intellect’s here,
contemplative,
you can’t escape
from me.”

The Buddha:

“What they speak of
isn’t mine,
and I’m not one of those
who speak it.
Know this, Evil One:
You won’t even see
my tracks.”

Then Māra the Evil One—sad & dejected at realizing, “The Blessed One knows me; the One Well-Gone knows me”—vanished right there.

See also: MN 49; SN 35:115; SN 35:117; SN 35:202; Dhp 92–93; Ud 1:10; Sn 5:15

Source https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN4_19.html which has the following copyright: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ The author of www.dhammatalks.org also states: “There is some uncertainty about the meaning of ‘Commercial’ with regard to the CC NonCommercial License. For example, some consider the sale of content to support a non-profit entity to be ‘NonCommercial.’  The author and copyright holder of the content on this site considers any sale, including by non-profit entities for non-profit purposes, to be ‘Commercial’ and a copyright violation.“

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Rājagaha in the Maddakucchi Deer Reserve. Now at that time his foot had been pierced by a stone sliver. Excruciating were the bodily feelings that developed within him—painful, fierce, sharp, wracking, repellent, disagreeable—but he endured them mindful, alert, & unperturbed. Having had his outer robe folded in four and laid out, he lay down on his right side in the lion’s posture—with one foot placed on top of the other—mindful & alert.

Then Māra the Evil One went to the Blessed One and recited this verse in his presence:

“Are you lying there in a stupor,
or drunk on poetry?
Are your goals so very few?
All alone in a secluded lodging,
what is this dreamer, this sleepy-face?”

The Buddha:

“I lie here,
not in a stupor,
nor drunk on poetry.
My goal attained,
I am sorrow-free.
All alone in a secluded lodging,
I lie down with sympathy
for all beings.
Even those pierced in the chest
with an arrow,
their hearts rapidly,
rapidly
beating:
even they with their arrows
are able to sleep.
So why shouldn’t I,
with my arrow         removed?
I’m not awake with worry,
nor afraid to sleep.
Days & nights
don’t oppress me.
I see no threat of decline
in any world at all.
That’s why I sleep
with sympathy
for all beings.”

Then Māra the Evil One—sad & dejected at realizing, “The Blessed One knows me; the One Well-Gone knows me”—vanished right there.

See also: SN 1:38; SN 5:1–10; SN 36:6; AN 5:129

Source https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN4_13.html which has the following copyright: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ The author of www.dhammatalks.org also states: “There is some uncertainty about the meaning of ‘Commercial’ with regard to the CC NonCommercial License. For example, some consider the sale of content to support a non-profit entity to be ‘NonCommercial.’  The author and copyright holder of the content on this site considers any sale, including by non-profit entities for non-profit purposes, to be ‘Commercial’ and a copyright violation.“

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Then Māra the Evil One went to the Blessed One and recited this verse in his presence:

“Those with children
delight
because of their children.
Those with cattle
delight
because of their cows.
A person’s delight
comes from acquisitions,
since a person with no acquisitions
doesn’t delight.”
The Buddha:
“Those with children
grieve
because of their children.
Those with cattle
grieve
because of their cows.
A person’s grief
comes from acquisitions,
since a person with no acquisitions
doesn’t grieve.”

Then Māra the Evil One—sad & dejected at realizing, “The Blessed One knows me; the One Well-Gone knows me”—vanished right there.

See also: MN 87; SN 1:20; AN 5:49; Ud 2:7; Ud 8:8; Sn 1:2

Source: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN4_8.html which has the following copyright: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ The author of www.dhammatalks.org also states: “There is some uncertainty about the meaning of ‘Commercial’ with regard to the CC NonCommercial License. For example, some consider the sale of content to support a non-profit entity to be ‘NonCommercial.’  The author and copyright holder of the content on this site considers any sale, including by non-profit entities for non-profit purposes, to be ‘Commercial’ and a copyright violation.“

Near Sāvatthī. Then King Pasenadi Kosala went to the Blessed One in the middle of the day and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, the Blessed One said to him: “Well now, great king, where are you coming from in the middle of the day?”

“Just now, lord, I was engaged in the sort of royal affairs typical of head-anointed noble-warrior kings intoxicated with the intoxication of sovereignty, obsessed by greed for sensuality, who have attained stable control in their country, and who rule having conquered a great sphere of territory on earth.”

“What do you think, great king? Suppose a man, trustworthy & reliable, were to come to you from the east and on arrival would say: ‘If it please your majesty, you should know that I come from the east. There I saw a great mountain, as high as the clouds, coming this way, crushing all living beings (in its path). Do whatever you think should be done.’ Then a second man were to come to you from the west… Then a third man were to come to you from the north… Then a fourth man were to come to you from the south and on arrival would say: ‘If it please your majesty, you should know that I come from the south. There I saw a great mountain, as high as the clouds, coming this way, crushing all living beings. Do whatever you think should be done.’ If, your majesty, such a great peril should arise, such a terrible destruction of human life—the human state being so hard to obtain—what should be done?”

“If, lord, such a great peril should arise, such a terrible destruction of human life—the human state being so hard to obtain—what else should be done but Dhamma-conduct, right conduct, skillful deeds, meritorious deeds?”

“I inform you, great king, I announce to you, great king: aging & death are rolling in on you. When aging & death are rolling in on you, what should be done?”

“As aging & death are rolling in on me, lord, what else should be done but Dhamma-conduct, right conduct, skillful deeds, meritorious deeds?

“There are, lord, elephant battles (fought by) head-anointed noble-warrior kings intoxicated with the intoxication of sovereignty, obsessed by greed for sensuality, who have attained stable control in their country, and who rule having conquered a great sphere of territory on earth; but there is no use for those elephant battles, no scope for them, when aging & death are rolling in. There are cavalry battles… chariot battles… infantry battles… but there is no use for those infantry battles, no scope for them, when aging & death are rolling in. In this royal court there are counselors who, when the enemies arrive, are capable of dividing them by their wits; but there is no use for those battles of wits, no scope for them, when aging & death are rolling in. In this royal court there is abundant bullion & gold stored in vaults & depositories, and with such wealth we are capable of buying off enemies when they come; but there is no use for those battles of wealth, no scope for them, when aging & death are rolling in. As aging & death are rolling in on me, lord, what else should be done but Dhamma-conduct, right conduct, skillful deeds, meritorious deeds?”

“So it is, great king! So it is, great king! As aging & death are rolling in on you, what else should be done but Dhamma-conduct, right conduct, skillful deeds, meritorious deeds?”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, further said this:

“Like massive boulders, mountains pressing against the sky, moving in from all sides, crushing the four directions, so aging & death come rolling over living beings: noble warriors, brahmans, merchants, workers, outcastes, & scavengers. They spare nothing. They trample everything. Here elephant troops can hold no ground, nor can chariots or infantry, nor can a battle of wits or wealth win out. So a wise person, seeing his own good, steadfast, secures confidence in the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha. One who practices the Dhamma in thought, word, & deed, receives praise here on earth and after death rejoices in heaven.”

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN3_25.html

Copyright: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ The author of www.dhammatalks.org also states: “There is some uncertainty about the meaning of ‘Commercial’ with regard to the CC NonCommercial License. For example, some consider the sale of content to support a non-profit entity to be ‘NonCommercial.’  The author and copyright holder of the content on this site considers any sale, including by non-profit entities for non-profit purposes, to be ‘Commercial’ and a copyright violation.“

Archery Skills
Issattha Sutta  (SN 3:24)

Near Sāvatthī. As he was sitting to one side, King Pasenadi Kosala said to the Blessed One: “Where, lord, should a gift be given?”

“Wherever the mind feels confidence, great king.”1

“But a gift given where, lord, bears great fruit?”

“This (question) is one thing, great king—‘Where should a gift be given?’—while this—‘A gift given where bears great fruit?’—is something else entirely. What is given to a virtuous person—rather than to an unvirtuous one—bears great fruit. In that case, great king, I will ask you a counter-question. Answer as you see fit.

“What do you think, great king? There is the case where you have a war at hand, a battle imminent. A noble-warrior youth would come along—untrained, unpracticed, undisciplined, undrilled, fearful, terrified, cowardly, quick to flee. Would you take him on? Would you have any use for a man like that?”

“No, lord, I wouldn’t take him on. I wouldn’t have any use for a man like that.”

“Then a brahman youth… a merchant youth… a laborer youth would come along—untrained, unpracticed, undisciplined, undrilled, fearful, terrified, cowardly, quick to flee. Would you take him on? Would you have any use for a man like that?”

“No, lord, I wouldn’t take him on. I wouldn’t have any use for a man like that.”

“Now, what do you think, great king? There is the case where you have a war at hand, a battle imminent. A noble-warrior youth would come along—trained, practiced, disciplined, drilled, fearless, unterrified, not cowardly, not quick to flee. Would you take him on? Would you have any use for a man like that?”

“Yes, lord, I would take him on. I would have use for a man like that.”

“Then a brahman youth… a merchant youth… a laborer youth would come along—trained, practiced, disciplined, drilled, fearless, unterrified, not cowardly, not quick to flee. Would take you him on? Would you have any use for a man like that?”

“Yes, lord, I would take him on. I would have use for a man like that.”

“In the same way, great king. When someone has gone forth from the home life into homelessness—no matter from what clan—and he has abandoned five factors and is endowed with five, what is given to him bears great fruit.

“And which five factors has he abandoned? He has abandoned sensual desire… ill will… sloth & drowsiness… restlessness & anxiety… uncertainty. These are the five factors he has abandoned. And with which five factors is he endowed? He is endowed with the aggregate of virtue of one beyond training… the aggregate of concentration of one beyond training… the aggregate of discernment of one beyond training… the aggregate of release of one beyond training… the aggregate of knowledge & vision of release of one beyond training. These are the five factors with which he is endowed.

“What is given to one who has abandoned five factors and is endowed with five factors in this way bears great fruit.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“As a king intent on battle would hire a youth in whom there are archery skills, persistence, & strength, and not, on the basis of birth, a coward; so, too, you should honor a person of noble conduct, wise, in whom are established composure & patience, even though his birth may be lowly. Let donors build pleasant hermitages and there invite the learned to stay. Let them make reservoirs in dry forests and walking paths where it’s rough. Let them, with a clear, calm awareness, give food, drink, snacks, clothing, & lodgings to those who’ve become straightforward. Just as a hundred-billowed, lightning-garlanded, thundering cloud, raining down on the wealth-bearing [earth], fills the highlands & low, even so a person of conviction & learning, wise, having stored up provisions, satisfies wayfarers with food & drink. Delighting in distributing alms, ‘Give to them! Give!’ he says. That is his thunder, like a raining cloud’s. That shower of merit, abundant, rains back on the one who gives.”

Note 1. The non-offense clauses to Nissaggīya Pācittiya 30 state that, when donors ask a monk where they should give an intended gift, he should say, “Give wherever your gift would be used, or would be well-cared for, or would last long, or wherever your mind feels confidence.” In other words, monks should not tell lay people where to give their donations.

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN3_24.html

Copyright: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ The author of www.dhammatalks.org also states: “There is some uncertainty about the meaning of ‘Commercial’ with regard to the CC NonCommercial License. For example, some consider the sale of content to support a non-profit entity to be ‘NonCommercial.’  The author and copyright holder of the content on this site considers any sale, including by non-profit entities for non-profit purposes, to be ‘Commercial’ and a copyright violation.“

(Qualities of) the World
Loka Sutta  (SN 3:23)

Near Sāvatthī. As he was sitting to one side, King Pasenadi Kosala said to the Blessed One: “How many qualities of the world that, when arising, arise for harm, stress, & discomfort?”

“Three qualities of the world, great king, when arising, arise for harm, stress, & discomfort. Which three? Greed, great king, is a quality of the world that, when arising, arises for harm, stress, & discomfort. Aversion… Delusion is a quality of the world that, when arising, arises for harm, stress, & discomfort. These are the three qualities of the world, great king, that when arising, arise for harm, stress, & discomfort.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“Greed, aversion, & delusion
—born from oneself—
destroy
the person of evil awareness,
as its own fruit, the reed.”

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN3_23.html

Copyright: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ The author of www.dhammatalks.org also states: “There is some uncertainty about the meaning of ‘Commercial’ with regard to the CC NonCommercial License. For example, some consider the sale of content to support a non-profit entity to be ‘NonCommercial.’  The author and copyright holder of the content on this site considers any sale, including by non-profit entities for non-profit purposes, to be ‘Commercial’ and a copyright violation.“

Excerpt From the Heirless (2)
Aputtaka Sutta  (SN 3:20)

“Grain, wealth, silver, gold,
or whatever other belongings you have;
slaves, servants, errand-runners,
& any dependents:
You must go without taking
any of them;
you must leave
all of them
behind.
What you do
with body, speech, or mind:
that      is yours;
taking
that      you go;
that’s
your follower,
like a shadow
that never leaves.
Thus you should do what is fine
as a stash for the next life.
Acts of merit
are the support for beings
in their after-death world.”

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN3_20.html

Copyright: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ The author of www.dhammatalks.org also states: “There is some uncertainty about the meaning of ‘Commercial’ with regard to the CC NonCommercial License. For example, some consider the sale of content to support a non-profit entity to be ‘NonCommercial.’  The author and copyright holder of the content on this site considers any sale, including by non-profit entities for non-profit purposes, to be ‘Commercial’ and a copyright violation.“