Alavika Sutta: Sister Alavika

SN 5.1

CDB i 221

translated from the Pali by

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Alternate translation: Bodhi

At Savatthi . Then, early in the morning, Alavika the nun put on her robes and, taking her bowl & outer robe, went into Savatthi for alms. When she had gone for alms in Savatthi and had returned from her alms round, after her meal she went to the Grove of the Blind to spend the day. Having gone deep into the Grove of the Blind, she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day's abiding.

Then Mara the Evil One, wanting to arouse fear, horripilation, & terror in her, wanting to make her fall away from seclusion , approached her & addressed her in verse:

There's no escape in the world, so what are you trying to do with solitude? Enjoy sensual delights. Don't be someone who later regrets.

Then the thought occurred to Alavika the nun: "Now who has recited this verse — a human being or a non-human one?" Then it occurred to her: "This is Mara the Evil One, who has recited this verse wanting to arouse fear, horripilation, & terror in me, wanting to make me fall away from seclusion."

Then, having understood that "This is Mara the Evil One," she replied to him in verses:

There is an escape in the world, well touched by me with discernment — something that you, you Evil One, kinsman of the heedless, don't know. Sensual pleasures are like swords & spears; the aggregates, their executioner's block. What you call sensual delight is no delight for me.

Then Mara the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing, "Alavika the nun knows me" — vanished right there.

The text of this page ("Alavika Sutta: Sister Alavika", by Thanissaro Bhikkhu) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License . To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ . Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. Transcribed from a file provided by the translator. Last revised for Access to Insight on 30 November 2013.

How to cite this document (a suggested style): "Alavika Sutta: Sister Alavika" (SN 5.1), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition) , 30 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn05/sn05.001.than.html .