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- Samyutta Nikaya IV.20
- Rajja Sutta
- Rulership
- For free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying among the Kosalans in a wilderness hut in a Himalayan
district. Then, as he was alone in seclusion, this train of thought arose in his
awareness: "Is it possible to exercise rulership without killing or causing others to
kill, without confiscating or causing others to confiscate, without sorrowing or causing
others sorrow -- righteously?"
Then Mara, the Evil One, knowing with his awareness the train of
thought in the Blessed One's awareness, went to him and on arrival said to him:
"Exercise rulership, Blessed One! Exercise rulership, O One Well-gone! -- without
killing or causing others to kill, without confiscating or causing others to confiscate,
without sorrowing or causing others sorrow -- righteously!"
"But what do you see in me, Evil One, that you say to me, 'Exercise rulership,
Blessed One! Exercise rulership, O One Well-gone! -- without killing or causing others to
kill, without confiscating or causing others to confiscate, without sorrowing or causing
others sorrow -- righteously!'?"
"Lord, the Blessed One has developed the four bases of power, pursued them, given
them a means of transport, given them a grounding, steadied them, consolidated them, and
undertaken them well. If he wanted to, he could resolve on the Himalayas, king of
mountains, as gold, and it would become a mountain of gold."
[The Buddha:]
The
entirety
of a mountain of gold,
of solid bullion:
even twice that
wouldn't suffice
for one person.
Knowing this,
live evenly,
in tune with the contemplative life.
When you see stress,
and from where it comes,
how can you incline
to sensual pleasures?
Knowing acquisition
to be a bond in the world,
train for
its subduing.
Then Mara the Evil One -- sad & dejected at realizing, "The Blessed One knows
me; the One Well-gone knows me" -- vanished right there.