sn.10.5 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)

With Sānu

At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.
Now at that time a certain lay woman had a son named Sānu who had been possessed by a native spirit.
And as that lay woman wept, on that occasion she recited these verses:
“I have heard this from the perfected ones.
The native spirits will not mess with anyone
who leads the spiritual life
by observing the sabbath
complete in all eight factors
on the fourteenth and the fifteenth days,
and the eighth day of the fortnight,
as well as on the fortnight of special displays.
But now today I see
native spirits messing with Sānu.”
“What you heard from the perfected ones is right.
The native spirits will not mess with anyone
who leads the spiritual life
by observing the sabbath
complete in all eight factors
on the fourteenth and the fifteenth days,
and the eighth day of the fortnight,
as well as on the fortnight of special displays.
When Sānu regains consciousness tell him
this saying of the native spirits:
Don’t do bad deeds
either openly or in secret.
If you should do a bad deed,
or you’re doing one now,
you won’t be freed from suffering,
though you fly away and flee.”
“Mum, they cry for the dead,
or for one who’s alive but has disappeared.
I’m alive and you can see me,
so mum, why do you weep for me?”
“Son, they cry for the dead,
or for one who’s alive but has disappeared.
But someone who has given up sensual pleasures
only to come back here again:
they cry for them as well,
for though still alive they’re really dead.
My dear, you’ve been rescued from hot coals,
and you want to plunge right back in them!
My dear, you’ve been rescued from the abyss,
and you want to plunge right back there!
Keep pushing forward, it’s what’s best for you!
Who have I got to complain to?
When your things have been saved from a fire,
would you want them to be burnt again?”