“You’ve come, nun,
to this Sal tree
with its fine flowering crest,
and stand alone
at its root,
with no one
to match you in beauty.
In your foolishness,
aren’t you afraid
of rape?”
“If even a hundred-thousand rapists
came across me like this,
I wouldn’t stir a hair.
I’d feel no terror,
and I’m not afraid of you, Māra,
even alone like this.
Here—I disappear.
I slip into your belly
or stand between your eyebrows,
and you
don’t see me.
I have mastery
over the mind,
have well-developed
the bases of power.1
I’m released from all bonds,
and not afraid of you,
my friend.”
Notes
1. See SN 51:20
Origin URL: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN5_5.html