SA 1202（一二〇二） 石室

Thus have I heard:

At one time the Buddha was staying at Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park in the Jeta Grove near Śrāvastī.

At that time, the nun Śīla was staying in the nunnery in the King’s Park in Śrāvastī. In the morning, she put on her robe and took her bowl and entered Śrāvastī to beg for food. After eating, she returned to the nunnery, put away her robe and bowl, washed her feet, took her sitting mat, put it on her shoulder, entered the Ānanda Grove, sat under a tree, and entered the right concentration during the day.

At that time, Māra the Evil One thought, “Now the Śramaṇa Gautama is staying at Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park in the Jeta Grove near Śrāvastī. The nun Śīla is staying in the nunnery in the King’s Park in Śrāvastī. In the morning, she put on her robe and took her bowl and entered Śrāvastī to beg for food. After eating, she returned to the nunnery, put away her robe and bowl, washed her feet, took her sitting mat, put it on her shoulder, entered the Ānanda Grove, sat under a tree, and entered the right concentration during the day. I shall now go and create obstacles for her.” He then transformed himself into a young man of handsome appearance and went to the nun Śīla, speaking a verse:

How do beings come into existence? Who is their creator? Where
do beings arise, and where do they go when they die?

The nun Śīla thought, "Who is this? Is it a person or a non-human trying to frighten me? Is it a deceitful person?" Having thought this, she immediately became aware, "This is the evil Māra trying to create obstacles." She then spoke a verse:

You say there are sentient beings, but this is the view of the evil
Māra. There are only the aggregates of emptiness, no such thing as sentient beings
Just as when various materials are assembled, the world calls it a chariot, the
aggregates are assembled through causes and conditions, and it is provisionally called a sentient
being. When it is born, it is born in suffering, and when it abides
it abides in suffering. There is no other phenomenon that gives rise to suffering
Suffering arises and suffers itself to cease. Abandoning all suffering of attachment, separating from
all darkness and obscurity, having already realized quiescence, peacefully abiding in the exhaustion of
all taints. I have already recognized you, evil Māra, and you will then disappear
on your own.

At that time, Māra Pāpīyān thought, "The nun Śīla has already known my mind." Feeling sorrowful and distressed, he then disappeared.