[560] "Then, Wicked One (pāpima), this occurred to Māra Dūsī: 'I know neither the coming nor the going of these bhikkhus who are virtuous and of good character. Suppose I were to take possession of the brahmins and householders, saying: "Come, you all — abuse, revile, scold, and harass the bhikkhus who are virtuous and of good character; perhaps, when they are being abused, reviled, scolded, and harassed by you, there will arise some alteration in their minds, whereby Māra Dūsī might find an opening (otāra)."'
"Then, Wicked One, Māra Dūsī took possession of the brahmins and householders, saying: 'Come, you all — abuse, revile, scold, and harass the bhikkhus who are virtuous and of good character; perhaps, when they are being abused, reviled, scolded, and harassed by you, there will arise some alteration in their minds, whereby Māra Dūsī might find an opening.'
"Then, Wicked One, those brahmins and householders, possessed by Māra Dūsī, abused, reviled, scolded, and harassed the bhikkhus who were virtuous and of good character, saying: 'These shaveling petty ascetics, menials, dark ones, offspring of the Kinsman's feet, claim, "We are meditators! We are meditators!" — and with shoulders drooping, heads hanging down, grown languid, they meditate, premeditate, out-meditate, and mis-meditate. Just as an owl on a tree branch, watching for a mouse, meditates, premeditates, out-meditates, and mis-meditates, so too these shaveling petty ascetics, menials, dark ones, offspring of the Kinsman's feet, claim, "We are meditators! We are meditators!" — and with shoulders drooping, heads hanging down, grown languid, they meditate, premeditate, out-meditate, and mis-meditate. Just as a jackal on a riverbank, watching for fish, meditates, premeditates, out-meditates, and mis-meditates, so too these shaveling petty ascetics, menials, dark ones, offspring of the Kinsman's feet, claim, "We are meditators! We are meditators!" — and with shoulders drooping, heads hanging down, grown languid, they meditate, premeditate, out-meditate, and mis-meditate. Just as a cat beside an alley, a drain, or a rubbish heap, watching for a mouse, meditates, premeditates, out-meditates, and mis-meditates, so too these shaveling petty ascetics, menials, dark ones, offspring of the Kinsman's feet, claim, "We are meditators! We are meditators!" — and with shoulders drooping, heads hanging down, grown languid, they meditate, premeditate, out-meditate, and mis-meditate. Just as a donkey relieved of its load, standing beside an alley, a drain, or a rubbish heap, meditates, premeditates, out-meditates, and mis-meditates, so too these shaveling petty ascetics, menials, dark ones, offspring of the Kinsman's feet, claim, "We are meditators! We are meditators!" — and with shoulders drooping, heads hanging down, grown languid, they meditate, premeditate, out-meditate, and mis-meditate.'
"Now, Wicked One, the human beings who died at that time were, for the most part, on the breaking up of the body, after death, reborn in a state of deprivation, a bad destination, the downfall, even in hell."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.