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SN 23.12PTS SN 3.1951 min read

Subject to Māra

Māradhammasutta

Rādha asks the Buddha about being subject to Māra, and the Buddha explains in terms of the five aggregates.

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 23.12Linked Discourses 23.12
  • 0.22. Dutiyamāravagga2. About Māra (2nd)

0.3MāradhammasuttaSubject to Māra

1.1Sāvatthinidānaṁ.At Sāvatthī.

1.2Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā rādho bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:Seated to one side, Venerable Rādha said to the Buddha:

1.3“‘māradhammo, māradhammo’ti, bhante, vuccati.“Sir, they speak of ‘Māra nature’.11.4Katamo nu kho, bhante, māradhammo”ti?What is of Māra nature?”

1.5“Rūpaṁ kho, rādha, māradhammo, vedanā māradhammo, saññā māradhammo, saṅkhārā māradhammo, viññāṇaṁ māradhammo.“Rādha, form is of Māra nature. Feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness are of Māra nature.

1.6Evaṁ passaṁ …pe…Seeing this …1.7nāparaṁ itthattāyāti pajānātī”ti.They understand: ‘… there is nothing further for this place.’”

1.8Dutiyaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. “Māra nature” is māradhamma, glossed by the commentary as “liable to die” (maraṇadhamma). In this Saṁyutta, the suffix -dhamma, which normally creates an adjective of the sense “liable to”, is construed as a noun.

    ↩ sn23.12:1.3