1At Sāvatthī. Now on that occasion the Blessed One was instructing, exhorting, inspiring, and gladdening the bhikkhus with a Dhamma talk concerning Nibbāna. And those bhikkhus were listening to the Dhamma with eager ears, attending to it as a matter of vital concern, applying their whole minds to it. sn.i.115

1Sāvatthinidānaṁ. Tena kho pana samayena bhagavā bhikkhūnaṁ nibbānapaṭisaṁyuttāya dhammiyā kathāya sandasseti samādapeti samuttejeti sampahaṁseti. Te ca bhikkhū aṭṭhiṁ katvā manasi katvā sabbacetasā samannāharitvā ohitasotā dhammaṁ suṇanti.

2Then it occurred to Māra the Evil One: "This ascetic Gotama is instructing, exhorting, inspiring, and gladdening the bhikkhus … who are applying their whole minds to it. Let me approach the ascetic Gotama in order to confound them." Then Māra the Evil One manifested himself in the form of a farmer, carrying a large plough on his shoulder, holding a long goad stick, his hair dishevelled, wearing hempen garments, his feet smeared with mud. He approached the Blessed One and said to smeared with mud. He approached the Blessed One and said to him: "Maybe you’ve seen oxen, ascetic?"

2Atha kho mārassa pāpimato etadahosi: "Ayaṁ kho samaṇo gotamo bhikkhūnaṁ nibbānapaṭisaṁyuttāya dhammiyā kathāya … pe … yannūnāhaṁ yena samaṇo gotamo tenupasaṅkameyyaṁ vicakkhukammāyā"ti. Atha kho māro pāpimā kassakavaṇṇaṁ abhinimminitvā mahantaṁ naṅgalaṁ khandhe karitvā dīghapācanayaṭṭhiṁ gahetvā haṭahaṭakeso sāṇasāṭinivattho kaddamamakkhitehi pādehi yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "api, samaṇa, balībadde addasā"ti?

"What are oxen to you, Evil One?"

"Kiṁ pana, pāpima, te balībaddehī"ti?

"The eye is mine, ascetic, forms are mine, eye-contact and its base of consciousness are mine.[n.296] I follow Spk, which resolves cakkhusamphassaviññāṇayatana thus: cakkhuviññāṇena sampayutto cakkhusamphasso pi viññāṇayatanam pi; "eye-contact associated with eye-consciousness and also the base of consciousness." Spk says that "eye-contact" implies all the mental phenomena associated with consciousness; "the base of consciousness," all types of consciousness that have arisen in the eye door beginning with the adverting consciousness (avajjanacitta). The same method applies to the ear door, etc. But in the mind door, "mind" (mano) is the bhavaṅgacitta together with adverting; "mental phenomena" are the mental objects (arammaṇadhamma); "mind-contact," the contact associated with bhavaṅga and adverting; and "the base of consciousness," the javanacitta and tadārammaṇacitta, i.e., the "impulsion" and "registration" consciousness. For an account of these types of consciousness (fundamental to the Pali Abhidhamma), see CMA 3:8.
Māra's reply, and the Buddha’s rejoinder, hinge on the practice of using Pali words for cattle metaphorically to signify the sense faculties. See GD, pp. 141–42, n. to 26–27. Where can you go, ascetic, to escape from me? The ear is mine, ascetic, sounds are mine … The nose is mine, ascetic, odours are mine … The tongue is mine, ascetic, tastes are mine … The body is mine, ascetic, tactile objects are mine … The mind is mine, ascetic, mental phenomena are mine, mind-contact and its base of consciousness are mine. Where can you go, ascetic, to escape from me?"

"Mameva, samaṇa, cakkhu, mama rūpā, mama cakkhusamphassaviññāṇāyatanaṁ. Kuhiṁ me, samaṇa, gantvā mokkhasi? Mameva, samaṇa, sotaṁ, mama saddā … pe … mameva, samaṇa, ghānaṁ, mama gandhā; mameva, samaṇa, jivhā, mama rasā; mameva, samaṇa, kāyo, mama phoṭṭhabbā; mameva, samaṇa, mano, mama dhammā, mama manosamphassaviññāṇāyatanaṁ. Kuhiṁ me, samaṇa, gantvā mokkhasī"ti?

3"The eye is yours, Evil One, forms are yours, eye-contact and its base of consciousness are yours; but, Evil One, where there is no eye, no forms, no eye-contact and its base of consciousness—there is no place for you there, Evil One.[n.297] Here the Buddha is obviously referring to Nibbāna. Cp. SN35.117 on the cessation of the six sense bases. The ear is yours, Evil One, sounds are yours, ear-contact and its base of consciousness are yours; but, Evil One, where there is no ear, no sounds, no ear-contact and its base of consciousness—there is no place for you there, Evil One. The nose is yours, Evil One, odours are yours, nose-contact and its base of consciousness are yours; but, Evil One, where there is no nose, no odours, no nose-contact and its base of consciousness—there is no place for you there, Evil One. sn.i.116 The tongue is yours, Evil One, tastes are yours, tongue-contact and its base of consciousness are yours; but, Evil One, where there is no tongue, no tastes, no tongue-contact and its base of consciousness—there is no place for you there, Evil One. The body is yours, Evil One, tactile objects are yours, body-contact and its base of consciousness are yours; but, Evil One, where there is no body, no tactile objects, no body-contact and its base of consciousness—there is no place for you there, Evil One. The mind is yours, Evil One, mental phenomena are yours, mind-contact and its base of consciousness are yours; but, Evil One, where there is no mind, no mental phenomena, no mind-contact and its base of consciousness—there is no place for you there, Evil One."

3"Taveva, pāpima, cakkhu, tava rūpā, tava cakkhusamphassaviññāṇāyatanaṁ. Yattha ca kho, pāpima, natthi cakkhu, natthi rūpā, natthi cakkhusamphassaviññāṇāyatanaṁ, agati tava tattha, pāpima. Taveva, pāpima, sotaṁ, tava saddā, tava sotasamphassaviññāṇāyatanaṁ. Yattha ca kho, pāpima, natthi sotaṁ, natthi saddā, natthi sotasamphassaviññāṇāyatanaṁ, agati tava tattha, pāpima. Taveva, pāpima, ghānaṁ, tava gandhā, tava ghānasamphassaviññāṇāyatanaṁ. Yattha ca kho, pāpima, natthi ghānaṁ, natthi gandhā, natthi ghānasamphassaviññāṇāyatanaṁ, agati tava tattha, pāpima. Taveva, pāpima, jivhā, tava rasā, tava jivhāsamphassaviññāṇāyatanaṁ … pe … taveva, pāpima, kāyo, tava phoṭṭhabbā, tava kāyasamphassaviññāṇāyatanaṁ … pe … taveva, pāpima, mano, tava dhammā, tava manosamphassaviññāṇāyatanaṁ. Yattha ca kho, pāpima, natthi mano, natthi dhammā, natthi manosamphassaviññāṇāyatanaṁ, agati tava tattha, pāpimā"ti.

Māra:

The Blessed One:

6Then Māra the Evil One … disappeared right there.

6Atha kho māro pāpimā … pe … tatthevantaradhāyīti.