sutta » sn » sn5 » Saṁyutta Nikāya 5.9

Selāsutta

Selā With Selā

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.
At Sāvatthī.
At Sāvatthī.

Atha kho selā bhikkhunī pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā …pe…
Then, in the morning, the bhikkhunī Selā dressed …
Then the nun Selā robed up in the morning …

aññatarasmiṁ rukkhamūle divāvihāraṁ nisīdi.
she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.
and sat at the root of a tree for the day’s meditation.

Atha kho māro pāpimā selāya bhikkhuniyā bhayaṁ chambhitattaṁ lomahaṁsaṁ uppādetukāmo …pe…
Then Māra the Evil One, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in the bhikkhunī Selā, desiring to make her fall away from concentration, approached her and addressed her in verse:
Then Māra the Wicked, wanting to make the nun Selā feel fear, terror, and goosebumps …

selaṁ bhikkhuniṁ gāthāya ajjhabhāsi:
addressed her in verse:

“Kenidaṁ pakataṁ bimbaṁ,
By whom has this puppet been created?
“Who created this puppet?

kvanu bimbassa kārako;
Where is the maker of the puppet?
Where is its maker?

Kvanu bimbaṁ samuppannaṁ,
Where has the puppet arisen?
Where has the puppet arisen?

kvanu bimbaṁ nirujjhatī”ti.
Where does the puppet cease?”
And where does it cease?”

Atha kho selāya bhikkhuniyā etadahosi:
Then it occurred to the bhikkhunī Selā:
Then the nun Selā thought,

“ko nu khvāyaṁ manusso vā amanusso vā gāthaṁ bhāsatī”ti?
“Now who is this… ?
“Who’s speaking this verse, a human or a non-human?”

Atha kho selāya bhikkhuniyā etadahosi:
Then she thought,

“māro kho ayaṁ pāpimā mama bhayaṁ chambhitattaṁ lomahaṁsaṁ uppādetukāmo samādhimhā cāvetukāmo gāthaṁ bhāsatī”ti.
This is Māra the Evil One … desiring to make me fall away from concentration. ”
“This is Māra the Wicked, wanting to make me feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, wanting to make me fall away from immersion!”

Atha kho selā bhikkhunī “māro ayaṁ pāpimā” iti viditvā māraṁ pāpimantaṁ gāthāhi paccabhāsi:
Then the bhikkhunī Selā, having understood, “This is Māra the Evil One, ” replied to him in verses:
Then Selā, knowing that this was Māra the Wicked, replied to him in verse:

“Nayidaṁ attakataṁ bimbaṁ,
“This puppet is not made by itself,
“This puppet isn’t self-made,

nayidaṁ parakataṁ aghaṁ;
Nor is this misery made by another.
nor is this misery made by another.

Hetuṁ paṭicca sambhūtaṁ,
It has come to be dependent on a cause;
It comes to be because of a cause,

hetubhaṅgā nirujjhati.
With the cause’s breakup it will cease.
and ceases when the cause breaks up.

Yathā aññataraṁ bījaṁ,
“As when a seed is sown in a field
It’s like a seed that’s sown

khette vuttaṁ virūhati;
It grows depending on a pair of factors:
in a field; it grows

Pathavīrasañcāgamma,
It requires both the soil’s nutrients
relying on both the soil’s nutrients

sinehañca tadūbhayaṁ.
And a steady supply of moisture:
as well as moisture.

Evaṁ khandhā ca dhātuyo,
“Just so the aggregates and elements,
In the same way the aggregates and elements

cha ca āyatanā ime;
And these six bases of sensory contact,
and these six sense fields

Hetuṁ paṭicca sambhūtā,
Have come to be dependent on a cause;
come to be because of a cause,

hetubhaṅgā nirujjhare”ti.
With the cause’s breakup they will cease. ”
and cease when the cause breaks up.”

Atha kho māro pāpimā “jānāti maṁ selā bhikkhunī”ti dukkhī dummano tatthevantaradhāyīti.
Then Māra the Evil One, realizing, “The bhikkhunī Selā knows me, ” sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.
Then Māra the Wicked, thinking, “The nun Selā knows me!” miserable and sad, vanished right there.