While the Buddha meditates on Vulture's Peak in the rain at night, Māra crushes boulders nearby to terrify him; the Buddha declares in verse that the rightly released and awakened are unshaken even if the mountain shook.

SN 4.11 Boulders

Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā rājagahe viharati gijjhakūṭe pabbate. Tena kho pana samayena bhagavā rattandhakāratimisāyaṁ abbhokāse nisinno hoti, devo ca ekamekaṁ phusāyati.

Atha kho māro pāpimā bhagavato bhayaṁ chambhitattaṁ lomahaṁsaṁ uppādetukāmo yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavato avidūre mahante pāsāṇe padālesi.

Atha kho bhagavā “māro ayaṁ pāpimā” iti viditvā māraṁ pāpimantaṁ gāthāya ajjhabhāsi:

“Sacepi kevalaṁ sabbaṁ,
gijjhakūṭaṁ calessasi;
Neva sammāvimuttānaṁ,
buddhānaṁ atthi iñjitan”ti.

Atha kho māro pāpimā “jānāti maṁ bhagavā, jānāti maṁ sugato”ti dukkhī dummano tatthevantaradhāyīti.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā rājagahe viharati gijjhakūṭe pabbate.

At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, on the Vulture’s Peak Mountain.

Tena kho pana samayena bhagavā rattandhakāratimisāyaṁ abbhokāse nisinno hoti, devo ca ekamekaṁ phusāyati.

Now at that time the Buddha was meditating in the open during the dark of night, while a gentle rain drizzled down.

Atha kho māro pāpimā bhagavato bhayaṁ chambhitattaṁ lomahaṁsaṁ uppādetukāmo yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavato avidūre mahante pāsāṇe padālesi.

Then Māra the Wicked, wanting to make the Buddha feel fear, terror, and goosebumps, approached him, and crushed some large boulders close by him.

Atha kho bhagavā “māro ayaṁ pāpimā” iti viditvā māraṁ pāpimantaṁ gāthāya ajjhabhāsi:

Then the Buddha, knowing that this was Māra the Wicked, addressed him in verse:

“Sacepi kevalaṁ sabbaṁ,

“Even if you shake

gijjhakūṭaṁ calessasi;

this entire Vulture’s Peak,

Neva sammāvimuttānaṁ,

the rightly released,

buddhānaṁ atthi iñjitan”ti.

the awakened, are unshaken.”

Atha kho māro pāpimā “jānāti maṁ bhagavā, jānāti maṁ sugato”ti dukkhī dummano tatthevantaradhāyīti.

Then Māra the Wicked, thinking, “The Buddha knows me! The Holy One knows me!” miserable and sad, vanished right there.

Topics & Qualities:

Craving

Craving

A driving ‘thirst’ that reaches out toward experiences, identities, or outcomes as the place to find satisfaction—“if only I had that.” It spins stories of lack, binds the mind to becoming, and invariably leads to suffering.

Also known as: wanting, yearning, longing, lit. thirst
Pāli: taṇha, abhijjhā
View all discourses →
Fear

Fear

A constricting mental state that arises when the mind perceives threat or danger. It agitates and destabilizes, driving the mind toward avoidance, paralysis, or desperate action.

Also known as: feeling afraid, timid, dread, fright, horror, panic, terror
Pāli: bhaya, dara
View all discourses →
Flexible

Flexible

A quality of the cultivated mind—malleable, workable, and free from rigidity and resistance. Akin to refined gold, a flexible mind is suitable for cultivation of direct knowledge.

Also known as: gentle, pliable, workable, malleable, yielding, ready, suitable for use
Pāli: mudu, kammañña, soracca
View all discourses →
Imperturbable

Imperturbable

A stable clarity of mind that does not react strongly to changing circumstances, remaining even and composed in both pleasant and difficult conditions.

Also known as: unagitated, unmoved, unruffled, unshaken, untroubled, unwavering, without mental unease
Pāli: aparitassa, anigha, aneja, avihaññamāna
View all discourses →
Liberation

Liberation

Liberation can imply a temporary release of the mind, i.e. liberated from certain unwholesome mental qualities or complete liberation from all unwholesome qualities of the mind, i.e. Nibbāna.

Also known as: freedom, release, emancipation, deliverance
Pāli: vimutti, vimokkha, cetovimutti, paññāvimutti, akuppā cetovimutti
View all discourses →

Last updated on July 27, 2026