SA 1101（一一〇一） 师子

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was staying in the Deer Park at the Sage's Abode in the country of Varanasi.

At that time, the World-Honored One told the bhikṣus, "The Tathāgata's śrāvakas roar like lions, saying, 'I know! I know!' But what are the dharmas that the Tathāgata's śrāvakas know and know, and therefore roar like lions? They are the noble truth of suffering, the noble truth of the origin of suffering, the noble truth of the cessation of suffering, and the noble truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering."

At that time, the demon king Mara thought, "The śramaṇa Gautama is staying in the Deer Park at the Sage's Abode in the country of Varanasi, teaching the Dharma to the śrāvakas, up to the knowledge of the four noble truths. I should go now to create obstacles for him." He transformed himself into a young man and stood in front of the Buddha, speaking a verse:

Why do you roar like a fearless lion in the
great assembly, calling yourself without an equal, hoping to subdue all?

At that time, the World-Honored One had this thought: "The evil demon king Mara wants to create disturbances." He then spoke a verse:

The Tathāgata roars the lion's roar of skillful means in
all the profound and correct Dharma teachings, fearless in the
Dharma. Why would one who has wisdom be afraid of oneself?

At that time, Mara the Evil One thought, "The Shakyamuni Ascetic already knows my mind." He was inwardly distressed and disappeared.