The Buddha, resting in the lion's posture, and Māra the Wicked
Form
A taunting verse aimed at an ordinary bodily act, met by a verse reframing what that act actually means
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — the smallest possible provocation, met by one of this vagga's sharpest replies
Why this discourse
After a full night of walking meditation, the Buddha lies down mindfully in the lion's posture as dawn breaks, focused on the time to rise. Māra seizes on this most ordinary of human acts — sleeping past sunrise — and mocks it directly: you sleep like a loser, thinking your hut is empty, sleeping when the sun is already up. The Buddha's reply does not defend the timing but redefines what his sleep actually is: for one with no craving left to track them anywhere, with all attachments ended, this is simply what an awakened Buddha's sleep looks like — and none of Māra's business.
Reading guide
The smallest possible provocation in this vagga
Where earlier discourses offered elephants, serpents, and cosmic claims about bondage, this one finds Māra attacking something almost mundane: the simple fact of sleeping past dawn, suggesting Māra's tactics range from the spectacular to the pettiest available criticism.
Mockery aimed at appearance, not substance
Māra's taunt does not claim the Buddha is bound or unfree; it simply ridicules how his conduct looks from the outside — sleeping in, assuming privacy, missing the sunrise — an attack on appearance and social perception rather than on any doctrinal claim.
A precise description of the Buddha's posture beforehand
The setting note is unusually specific about physical detail: a full night of mindful walking, washing the feet at dawn, then lying down ‘in the lion's posture — on the right side, placing one foot on top of the other — mindful and aware’, establishing that what looks like ordinary sleep is, in fact, a deliberately maintained practice.
The weaver and the clinger: naming what's actually absent
The Buddha's reply names craving through two specific images — ‘the weaver, the clinger’ — as having nothing left to track him, redirecting the entire exchange away from the visible act of sleeping toward the invisible absence that makes it different from ordinary rest.
A dismissal with real edge: what's that got to do with you?
The verse's closing line does not merely deny Māra's claim; it questions his standing to comment at all — ‘what's that got to do with you, Māra?’ — a personal, almost impatient register distinct from the more formal ‘you're beaten, terminator’ used elsewhere in this vagga.
Key terms
suppati — “sleeping (well)” — the ordinary act Māra mocks, giving this discourse its title.
sīhaseyya — “the lion's posture” — the specific manner of lying down the Buddha adopts, on the right side with one foot atop the other.
tantavāya upādāya — “the weaver, the clinger” — the Buddha's images for craving, named as having nothing left to track him.
sabbupadhīnaṁ khayā — “with the ending of all attachments” — the condition under which the awakened Buddha's sleep occurs.
kiṁ tuyhettha māra — “what's that got to do with you, Māra?” — the verse's sharply personal closing line.
The text
The discourse in full: the Buddha's mindful rest, Māra's mocking taunt, and the pointed reply. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground. He spent much of the night walking mindfully in the open. At the crack of dawn he washed his feet and entered his dwelling. He laid down in the lion’s posture—on the right side, placing one foot on top of the other—mindful and aware, and focused on the time of getting up. Then Māra the Wicked went up to the Buddha and addressed him in verse:
§2“What, you’re asleep? Really, you’re asleep? You sleep like a loser—what’s up with that? You sleep, thinking that the hut is empty. You sleep when the sun has come up—what’s up with that?”
§3“For them there is no craving—the weaver, the clinger—to track them anywhere. With the ending of all attachments the awakened Buddha sleeps. What’s that got to do with you, Māra?”
§4Then Māra … vanished right there.
· · ·
Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What ordinary act does Māra mock in this discourse?
Correct: A. The smallest possible provocation compared to this vagga's earlier elephants and serpents.
Question 2 of 10
What kind of attack is Māra's taunt, compared to earlier discourses in this vagga?
Correct: A. Ridiculing how conduct looks from the outside rather than challenging any teaching.
Question 3 of 10
What specific posture does the Buddha adopt before Māra's taunt?
Correct: A. Establishing that what looks like ordinary sleep is a deliberately maintained practice.
Question 4 of 10
What had the Buddha done before lying down, according to the setting note?
Correct: A. Specific physical detail preceding the rest Māra mocks.
Question 5 of 10
What two images does the Buddha's reply use for craving?
Correct: A. Named as having nothing left to track the awakened Buddha anywhere.
Question 6 of 10
What does the Buddha's reply redirect the exchange toward?
Correct: A. What makes this rest different from ordinary sleep is what has ended, not how it looks.
Question 7 of 10
How does this verse's closing line differ in tone from “you're beaten, terminator”?
Correct: A. Questioning Māra's standing to comment at all, a sharper register than the more formal refrain.
Question 8 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. The same location as SN 4.6, its immediate predecessor.
Question 9 of 10
What condition does the verse say the Buddha's sleep occurs under?
Correct: A. The specific state that distinguishes this rest from ordinary sleep.
Question 10 of 10
What does Māra's specific criticism suggest about his range of tactics in this saṃyutta?
Correct: A. This discourse finding fault with something almost mundane, unlike the elephant or serpent manifestations.
