sn.5.7 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)

Upacala

At Savatthi. Then, in the morning, the bhikkhuni Upacala dressed … she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.

Then Mara the Evil One approached the bhikkhuni Upacala and said to her: “Where do you wish to be reborn, bhikkhuni?”

“I do not wish to be reborn anywhere, friend.”

“There are Tavatiṁsa and Yama devas,
And devatās of the Tusita realm,
Devas who take delight in creating,
And devas who exercise control.
Direct your mind there to those realms
And you’ll experience delight.”

The bhikkhuni Upacala:

“There are Tavatiṁsa and Yama devas,
And devatās of the Tusita realm,
Devas who take delight in creating,
And devas who exercise control.
They are still bound by sensual bondage,
They come again under Mara’s control.

“All the world is on fire,
All the world is burning,
All the world is ablaze,
All the world is quaking.

“That which does not quake or blaze,
That to which worldlings do not resort,
Where there is no place for Mara:
That is where my mind delights.”

Then Mara the Evil One, realizing, “The bhikkhuni Upacala knows me, sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.

- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi

- Editor: Blake Walsh

---

With Upacālā

At Sāvatthī.
Then the nun Upacālā robed up in the morning …
and sat at the root of a tree for the day’s meditation.
Then Māra the Wicked went up to Upacālā and said to her,
“Nun, where do you want to be reborn?”
“I don’t want to be reborn anywhere, sir.”
“There are the Gods of the Thirty-Three, and those of Yama;
also the Joyful Deities,
the Gods Who Love to Create,
and the Gods Who Control the Creations of Others.
Set your heart on such places,
and you’ll undergo delight.”
“The Gods of the Thirty-Three, and those of Yama;
also the Joyful Deities,
the Gods Who Love to Create,
and the Gods Who Control the Creations of Others—
they’re bound with the bonds of sensuality;
they fall under your sway again.
All the world is on fire,
all the world is smoldering,
all the world is ablaze,
all the world is rocking.
My mind adores that place
where Māra cannot go;
it’s not shaking or burning,
and not frequented by ordinary people.”
Then Māra the Wicked, thinking, “The nun Upacālā knows me!” miserable and sad, vanished right there.