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Samyutta Nikaya

# SN 23.1 Māra Sutta (Who or What is Māra?) SN 23.1

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    [page 1]
    SN 23.1
    Saṁyutta Nikāya
    The Connected Discourses

    Khandhavagga Saṁyutta
    Group of Discourses Connected to the Aggregates
    Rādha Saṁyutta
    Connected Discourses to the Venerable Rādha
    Paṭhama Māra Vagga
    (Section on Māra – Part 1)

    Māra Sutta
    “Who or What is Māra?”

    Translated by Candana Bhikkhu

    Copyright © Bhikkhu Candana 2024

    Once, while The Blessed One was residing in Sāvatthī, the Venerable Rādha went and
    approached Him, and after respectfully paying homage to The Teacher, he sat to one side, and
    began asking a question:

    “Bhante, people keep exclaiming: ‘O This is Māra!’ or ‘That was Māra!’ But, Bhante, who or
    what exactly is being referred to here, by the term ‘Māra’?

    “How is one to clearly get a definition of this ‘Māra’?”

    a. “Rādha, while encountering any kind of form (rūpa), it is necessary to know how that form
    itself could be none other than Māra himself! That is, the form one is witnessing may end up
    ultimately being there to trap and assassinate him, to murder and destroy him. And thus, form
    becomes the very representative of death, the gateway and the means by which the person ends
    up being stuck in the cycles of death!

    “Therefore, Rādha, you must constantly be vigilant in knowing and seeing that any kind of form
    could be Māra himself! That is, the form could be there, as a matter of fact, to simply trap and
    assassinate you, to murder and destroy you, because ultimately, form is the very representative of
    death, the gateway and the means by which you end up being stuck in the cycles of death!

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    “So, you must strive to see form as none other than a wound that keeps oozing with pus; a
    disease or sickness to heal from. You should look upon form as a poisonous arrow, a miserable
    pain, and the very source itself of such misery.

    “For this reason, those who indeed have the right vision, that is, the ability to correctly see form
    for what it truly is, are the ones who witness and experience form in just this manner, Rādha.

    b. “Rādha, while encountering any kind of feeling (vedanā), it is necessary to know how that
    feeling itself could be none other than Māra himself! That is, the feeling one is witnessing may
    end up ultimately being there to trap and assassinate him, to murder and destroy him. And thus,
    feeling becomes the very representative of death, the gateway and the means by which the person
    ends up being stuck in the cycles of death!

    “Therefore, Rādha, you must constantly be vigilant in knowing and seeing that any kind of
    feeling could be Māra himself! That is, the feeling could be there, as a matter of fact, to simply
    trap and assassinate you, to murder and destroy you, because ultimately, feeling is the very
    representative of death, the gateway and the means by which you end up being stuck in the
    cycles of death!

    “So, you must strive to see feeling as none other than a wound that keeps oozing with pus; a
    disease or sickness to heal from. You should look upon feeling as a poisonous arrow; a miserable
    pain, and the very source itself of such misery.

    “For this reason, those who indeed have the right vision, that is, the ability to correctly see
    feeling for what it truly is, are the ones who witness and experience feeling in just this manner,
    Rādha.

    c. “Rādha, while encountering any kind of perception or memory (saññā), it is necessary to know
    how that perception itself could be none other than Māra himself! That is, the perception one is
    witnessing may end up ultimately being there to trap and assassinate him, to murder and destroy
    him. And thus, perception becomes the very representative of death, the gateway and the means
    by which the person ends up being stuck in the cycles of death!

    “Therefore, Rādha, you must constantly be vigilant in knowing and seeing that any kind of
    perception could be Māra himself! That is, the perception could be there, as a matter of fact, to
    simply trap and assassinate you, to murder and destroy you, because ultimately, perception is the
    very representative of death, the gateway and the means by which you end up being stuck in the
    cycles of death!

    “So, you must strive to see perception as none other than a wound that keeps oozing with pus; a
    disease or sickness to heal from. You should look upon perception as a poisonous arrow, a
    miserable pain, and the very source itself of such misery.

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    “For this reason, those who indeed have the right vision, that is, the ability to correctly see
    perception for what it truly is, are the ones who witness and experience perception in just this
    manner, Rādha.

    d. “Rādha, while encountering any kind of saṅkhāra or habitual tendency, it is necessary to know
    how that habitual tendency itself could be none other than Māra himself! That is, the habitual
    tendency one is witnessing may end up ultimately being there to trap and assassinate him, to
    murder and destroy him. And thus, habitual tendency becomes the very representative of death,
    the gateway and the means by which the person ends up being stuck in the cycles of death!

    “Therefore, Rādha, you must constantly be vigilant in knowing and seeing, that any kind of
    habitual tendency could be Māra himself! That is, the habitual tendency could be there, as a
    matter of fact, to simply trap and assassinate you, to murder and destroy you, because ultimately,
    habitual tendency is the very representative of death, the gateway and the means by which you
    end up being stuck in the cycles of death!

    “So, you must strive to see habitual tendency as none other than a wound that keeps oozing with
    pus; a disease or sickness to heal from. You should look upon habitual tendency as a poisonous
    arrow, a miserable pain, and the very source itself of such misery.

    “For this reason, those who indeed have the right vision, that is, the ability to correctly see
    habitual tendency for what it truly is, are the ones who witness and experience habitual tendency
    in just this manner, Rādha.

    e. “Rādha, while encountering any kind of viññāṇa or consciousness, it is necessary to know how
    that consciousness itself could be none other than Māra himself! That is, the consciousness one is
    witnessing may end up ultimately being there to trap and assassinate him, to murder and destroy
    him. And thus, consciousness becomes the very representative of death, the gateway and the
    means by which the person ends up being stuck in the cycles of death!

    “Therefore, Rādha, you must constantly be vigilant in knowing and seeing that any kind of
    consciousness could be Māra himself! That is, the consciousness could be there, as a matter of
    fact, to simply trap and assassinate you, to murder and destroy you, because ultimately,
    consciousness is the very representative of death, the gateway and the means by which you end
    up being stuck in the cycles of death!

    “So, you must strive to see consciousness as none other than a wound that keeps oozing with
    pus; a disease or sickness to heal from. You should look upon consciousness as a poisonous
    arrow, a miserable pain, and the very source itself of such misery.

    “For this reason, those who indeed have the right vision, that is, the ability to correctly see
    consciousness for what it truly is, are the ones who witness and experience consciousness in just
    this manner, Rādha.

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    1. Then, the Venerable Rādha asked a further question:

    “As to ‘right vision’ Bhante, for what purpose is it, the capacity to see correctly?”

    And The Blessed One replied by saying:
    “The purpose of right vision, Rādha, of having the capacity to see correctly, is experiencing
    disgust, becoming disillusioned.”

    2. “Bhante, for what purpose is the experiencing of disgust and becoming disillusioned?”

    “The purpose of experiencing disgust and disillusionment, Rādha, is to experience dispassion
    and the fading away of all manner of passions.”

    3. “But, Bhante, for what purpose is the experiencing of dispassion and the fading away of all
    passions?”

    “The purpose of experiencing dispassion and the fading away of all passions, Rādha, is to
    experience freedom and release.”

    4. “But, Bhante, for what purpose is the experiencing of freedom and release?”

    “The purpose of experiencing freedom and release, Rādha, is to experience Nibbāna.”

    5. “Bhante, for what purpose is the experiencing of Nibbāna?”

    “Ah Rādha, now you’ve asked a question that is far beyond your level of understanding! You
    should therefore know, that there are limits to your questioning, and what it is that such queries
    could provide for you, that is, with mere intellectual responses you’re seeking!

    “However, know this, Rādha -

    “The Holy Life unmistakably flows and merges into Nibbāna!

    “The main goal and consummation of living The Holy Life is Nibbāna itself!

    “Therefore, Nibbāna itself is the culmination and very purpose of living The Holy Life!”

    Sādhu
    Sādhu
    Sādhu

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