sn4.24:8.1 “Sir, suppose there was a lotus pond not far from a town or village,
sn4.24:8.2 and a crab lived there.
sn4.24:8.3 Then several boys or girls would leave the town or village and go to the pond, where they’d pull out the crab and put it on solid ground.
sn4.24:8.4 Whenever that crab extended a claw, those boys or girls would snap, crack, and break it off with a stick or a stone.
sn4.24:8.5 And when that crab’s claws had all been snapped, cracked, and broken off it wouldn’t be able to return down into that lotus pond.
sn4.24:8.6 In the same way, sir, the Buddha has snapped, cracked, and broken off all my twists, ducks, and dodges.
sn4.24:8.7 Now I’m not able to approach the Buddha again in hopes of finding a vulnerability.”
sn4.24:8.8 Then Māra the Wicked recited these verses of disappointment in the Buddha’s presence: