Newsgroup: it.cultura.religioni.buddhismo
Titolo: Merry Meet; the meeting.

Merry Meet; the meeting.
Venerable Sir or Lady,
May we and all our relatives be safe and secure
May we and all our relatives be happy at heart
May we and all our relatives want to prevent and abandon doings that lead to
someones downfall.
May we and all our relatives want to do doings that lead to blessings.
The meeting.
Digha Nikaya 20 - Maha-samaya Sutta - The Great Assembly
Translated from the Pali by Piyadassi Thera. For free distribution only.
Read an alternate translation by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
From The Book of Protection, translated by Piyadassi Thera (Kandy: Buddhist
Publication Society, 1999). Copyright ©1999 Buddhist Publication Society.
Used with permission.
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Thus have I heard:
On one occasion the Blessed One was living in the Maha-vana (great wood)
near the city of Kapilavatthu in the province of the Sakyans together with a
great retinue of monks, all of them Arahants, and five hundred in number.
Devas (gods) from ten thousand world-systems frequently assembled for the
purpose of seeing the Blessed One and the bhikkhu-sangha (ordained monks).
Then to four devas of the Suddhavasa (pure Abodes) brahma world, this
thought occurred: "The Blessed One is living in the Mahavana near the city
of Kapilavatthu in the province of the Sakyans with a great retinue of
monks, all of them Arahants, and five hundred in number. Devas are
frequently assembling there for the purpose of seeing the Blessed One and
the bhikkhu-sangha. It is well if we were also to repair to the place where
the Blessed One is, and each of us recite a stanza in his presence."
Then those devas as quickly as a strong man might stretch out his arm, or
bend his out-stretched arm, vanished from the pure abodes, and appeared
before the Blessed One, saluted him, and stood beside him. So standing one
of the devas recited this stanza in his presence:
1. "There is a great assembly in the forest. A host of devas has assembled.
We have come to this dhamma-assembly to see the invincible[1] sangha."
Then another deva recited this stanza in the presence of the Blessed One:
2. "The monks in this (assembly[2]) have collected their thoughts, and made
their minds upright. The wise (monks) guard their senses even as a
charioteer holds the reins."
Then another deva recited this stanza in the presence of the Blessed One:
3. "Having cut off the stake, having dug up the cross-bar (of lust, hate,
and delusion), devoid of desire, they go their way, pure, stainless, with
vision clear, and well tamed, these young Arahants move about like
elephants."[3]
Then another deva recited this stanza in the presence of the Blessed One:
4. "They who go for refuge to the Buddha shall not go to evil state of
existence; but will quit the human body and fill the ranks of the devas."
The Blessed One then addressed the monks: "Often, monks, devas from the ten
world-systems foregather to see the Tathagata (the Buddha) and the monks,
the community of bhikkhus. Devas have assembled before the consummate
(arahanto), supreme Buddhas of the past; devas will appear before the
consummate, supreme Buddhas of the future as they do assemble now before me.
I will tell you, monks, the names of the host of devas, I will reveal the
names of the host of devas. Listen, pay attention. I will speak." "Yes,
Venerable Sir," said the monks by way of assent. The Blessed One said
this:[4]
5-6. "In measured speech[5] I will give utterance. The terrestrial devas
remain in their realm. Those bent on meditation frequent rocky clefts. Well
composed they (Arahants) live like solitary lions overcoming the fear that
causes hair to stand on end, with immaculate minds, pure, serene, and
undefiled."
7. Knowing that there were in the forest, near the city of Kapilavatthu,
five hundred and more disciples, delighted in the word of the Buddha, the
Master thereupon addressed them:
8. "Monks, hosts of devas have assembled. Do know them well." And they (the
monks) hearing the word (sasanam) of the Buddha, strove ardently (to see and
know them).
9. There arose in them knowledge of perceiving the non-humans. Some saw one
hundred, some thousand non-humans (devas and brahmas), and others seventy
thousand non-humans.
10. Some saw one hundred thousand non-humans, others saw countless numbers,
every quarter being filled with them.
11. Thereupon the seeing One (the Buddha) knowing all things through super
knowledge, addressed the disciples delighted in the word of the Buddha:
12. "Monks, host of devas have assembled. I will announce them to you in
words, and in due order. Know ye them.
13. "Seven thousand terrestrial yakkhas[6] of Kapilavatthu possessed of
iddhi (super normal) power, radiant, comely, and followed by a retinue of
attendants,[7] have come rejoicing to the forest to see[8] the assembly of
(Arahant) monks.
14. "Six thousand Yakkhas from the Himalayan mountain, diverse in hue,
possessed of iddhi power, radiant, comely, and followed by a retinue of
attendants, have come rejoicing to this forest to see the assembly of monks.
15. "Three thousand Yakkhas from the Sata's mountain (satagira), diverse in
hue, possessed of iddhi power, radiant, comely, and followed by a retinue of
attendants, have come rejoicing to the forest to see the assembly of monks.
16. "Thus sixteen thousand Yakkhas, diverse in hue, possessed of iddhi
power, radiant, comely, and followed by a retinue of attendants, have come
rejoicing to the forest to see the assembly of monks.
17. "Five hundred Yakkhas from the Vessamitta mountain, diverse in hue,
possessed of iddhi power, radiant, comely, and followed by a retinue of
attendants, have come rejoicing to the forest to see the assembly of monks.
18. "Kumbhira of Rajagala town, having his dwelling on Vepulla's Mountain,
with more than a hundred thousand Yakkhas in his train, has come to the
forest to see the assembly of monks.
19-20. "Dhatarattha, King of the East, adviser to the Eastern clime, and
Chief of the Gandhabbas, followed by a retinue of attendants, and with his
many mighty sons (devaputtas), Inda their names, possessed of iddhi power,
radiant, comely, and with a retinue, has come rejoicing to the forest to see
the assembly of monks.
21-22. "Virulha, King of the South, adviser to the Southern clime, and Chief
of the Kumbhandas, followed by a retinue of attendants, and with his many
mighty sons, Inda their names, possessed of iddhi power, radiant, comely,
and with a retinue of attendants, has come rejoicing to the forest to see
the assembly of monks.
23-24. "Virupakkha, King of the West, adviser to the Western clime, and
Chief of the Nagas, followed by a retinue of attendants, and with his many
mighty sons, Inda their names, possessed of iddhi power, radiant, comely,
and with a retinue of attendants, has come rejoicing to the forest to see
the assembly of monks.
25-26. "Kuvera, King of the North, adviser to the Northern clime, and Chief
of the Yakkhas, followed by a retinue of attendants, and with his many
mighty sons, Inda their names, possessed of iddhi power, radiant, comely,
and with a retinue of attendants, has come rejoicing to the forest to see
the assembly of monks.
27-28. "Dhatarattha over the East, to the South Virulhaka, Westward
Virupakkha, Kuvera over the North -- these four great Kings stood
illuminating the four quarters of the forest in the vicinity of
Kapilavatthu.
29. "With them came their crafty, deceitful, cunning slaves: enticing
Kutendu, Vetendu, Vitucca, and Vituda.
30. "And (also the slaves) Candana, Kamasettha, Kinnughandu, and Nighandu.
There also came Panada and Opamanna and Matali charioteer of the Devas.
31. "Citta and Sena, the Ghandhabbas, Nala (kara), Janesabha (Janavasabha,
Pańcasikha, the Devas, Timbaru, the Gandhabba, and Suriyavaccasa (the
daughter of Timbaru) also came.
32. "Along with these (Gandhabba) kings, other Gandhabba kings too, have
come rejoicing with each other to the forest to see the assembly of monks.
33. "Then came the (divine) Nagas of the (lake Nabhasa), those of the Naga
realm Visali together with the Nagas named Tacchaka. Also came Nagas of
Kambala and Assatara and Payaga accompanied by their relatives.
34. "Nagas from Yamuna, and those of the race of Dhatarattha came with their
retinue of attendants, and Eravana, the great Naga too, came to the forest
to see the assembly of monks.
35. "Those birds (harpies, garula or suppana) who carry away Nagas by force,
endowed with divine power, and twice born,[9] with clear eyes (keen of
sight), have flown into the middle of the forest from the sky -- Citra and
Supanna are their names.
36. "At that time the Naga king (with other Nagas) were free from fear. The
Buddha vouchsafed his protection to the Nagas from the harpies (suppana).
Entreating one another with gentle words, the Nagas and Suppanas (harpies)
took refuge in the Buddha.
37. "The Asuras dwelling in the ocean were defeated by Vajirahattha (Sakka).
They are brethren of Vasavassa (Sakka)[10] possessed of iddhi power, and are
followed by a retinue of attendants.
38. "The terrible Kalakanjas, the Danaveghasas, Vepacitti, Sucitti, and
Paharada -- all Asuras have also come with Namuci (the Vasavatti Mara, the
Evil One).
39. "Hundreds of the sons of Bali, all of them named after Veroca (that is
their uncle Rahu), with an armed host of warriors, approached Rahu
(Asurendra, the lord of Asuras), and said: 'Lord, it is time to go to the
forest to see the assembly of monks.'
40. "The Devas Apo and Pathavi, Tejo, and Vayo[11] have also come to the
forest, and the Devas Varuna, Varuna, and Soma with Yasa.
41-42. "There also came the Devas Metta-kayika and Karunakayika[12] followed
by their attendants. These ten groups of Devas of diverse hue, possessed of
iddhi power, radiant, comely, and with a retinue of attendants, have come
rejoicing to the forest to see the assembly of monks.
43. "The Devas Venhu, Sahali, Asama, the two Yama, (ka), and those who
attend on the Moon god came preceded by him.
44. "Those Devas attending on the Sun god too, came preceded by him. Those
Devas attending the Planets came preceded by them. The Devas of the rain
clouds too, came.
45. "Also came Sakka, the chief of gods, who is also called Vasava and
Purindada. Also those ten groups of Devas of diverse hue, possessed of iddhi
power, radiant, comely, and with a retinue of attendants, have come
rejoicing to the forest to see the assembly of monks.
47. "Then too, came the Deva Sahabhu, shining like unto a flame of fire, the
Devas Aritthaka, Roja, and Ummapupphanibha.
48-49. "There came also the Devas Varuna Sahadhamma, Accuta and Anojaka,
Suleyya, Rucira, and Vasavanesi. All those ten groups of Devas of diverse
hue, possessed of iddhi power, radiant, comely, and with a retinue of
attendants, have come rejoicing to the forest to see the assembly of monks.
50. "The Devas Samana, Mahasamana, Manusa, Manusuttama, Khiddapadusika, and
Manopadusika all have come.
51. "Then came the Devas Hari, those of Lohita, Paraga, and Maha-paraga with
their retinue of attendants.
52. "All those ten groups of Devas of diverse hue, possessed of iddhi power,
radiant, comely, and with a retinue of attendants, have come rejoicing to
the forest to see the assembly of monks.
53. "There also came the Devas Sukha, Karumha, Aruna with Veghanasa. The
Deva Odatagayha, Pamokkha, and Vicakkhana alos came.
54. "Sadamatta, Haragaja, mighty Missaka and Pajjuna, who causes rain to
pour in every direction, came thundering.
55. "All these ten groups of Devas of diverse hue, possessed of iddhi power,
radiant, comely, and with a retinue of attendants, have come rejoicing to
the forest to see the assembly of monks.
56. "The Devas Khemiya, Tusita, Yama, the mighty Katthaka, Lambhitaka,
Lamasettha, Joti, and Asava also came.
57-58. "There also came the Devas Nimmanarati, and Paranimmita (Vasavatthi).
All these ten groups of Devas of diverse hue, possessed of iddhi power,
radiant, comely, and with a retinue of attendants, have come rejoicing to
the forest to see the assembly of monks.
59. "These sixty (six of ten groups, indicated in the order of Apo Deva,
etc.) Devas of diverse hue, according to their name and class, have come
with others (similar in name and class).
60. (These Devas came saying:) "'Let us see (the Sangha, the Arahant monks),
who have outlived birth, who have removed the stake (of lust, hate, and
delusion), who have crossed the four currents or streams (of
sense-pleasures, becoming, wrong views and ignorance),[13] free from taints.
(Let us also see the Buddha) who has crossed the streams, who is called Naga
(in the sense of one who commits no evil)[14] and shining like the unclouded
moon.'
61. "The Brahmas Subrahma and Paramatta, came (with other Brahmas) who are
possessed of iddhi power, and sons (disciples of the Buddha). The Brahmas
Sanankumara and Tissa also came to the forest (to see the assembly of
monks).
62-63. "There is born a Mahabrahma (for every Brahma world) excelling other
Brahmas, mighty in power, with a formidable stature, and of great glory.
Among them, ten chief Brahmas, lords over their retinues have come, and in
the midst of them with all his attendants came Brahma Harita.
64. "When all the Devas headed by Inda (Sakka), and all Brahmas headed by
Haritta had come, there came the host of Mara. Lo! The folly of Mara, the
Murky One, (Kanha).[15]
65. "'Come on, seize them, bind them, let them all be bound by lust,
surrounded on every side, suffer not anybody to escape' (Thus Vasavatti Mara
gave order).
66-67. "Mara thus striking the earth with his palm and thereby producing a
dreadful sound as when a storm cloud thunders and causes lightening during
rainy season, sent his black army to the midst of the Devas. Nevertheless,
unable to bring the Devas under his sway, he filled with anger. He recoiled.
68. "Then the Seeing One (the Buddha) knowing perfectly well what had
transpired, addressed his disciples who take delight in the word of the
Buddha.
69. "'Monks, the host of Mara have come (and gone). Know them (beware of
them).' And they (non-Arahants) hearing the word of the Buddha, strove (to
gain Deliverance) from their defilements. (From the passion-free Arahants)
the army of Mara has departed; even so much as a hair in them (Arahants) was
not affected.
70. "All those disciples (monks) are victors in the war of passions; they
are free from fear, glorious, and renowned among mankind. They live
rejoicing with Aryan disciples." (Praising thus Mara departed.)
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Revised: Wed 25 June 2003 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/digha/dn20a.html
Well these letters are based on a article I read at the Unitairian
Universalist Affirmation UUA. An organisation that affirms the dignity and
worth in every being. The Dalai Lama went there and responded to their help
"Thank you. We need every help". As a psychiatric patient or as a person
with a sick mind am I not so good in helping; many defilements increase with
others when I help. And one can wonder if it is help at all, but I know that
my intention is there so it is wholesome. I fail to oversee the consequences
of my actions towards others, but the intention seems there. And for me it
is hard to raise wholesome thoughts while for example giving, so I go for
the recollection to do it right. Unfortunalty do I have a very weak memory,
I dont remember gifts from a couple of weeks ago when questioned about so
lots of things go wrong.
May all beings be safe and secure
May all beings be happy at heart
May all beings want to prevent and abandon doings that lead to someones
downfall.
May all beings want to do doings that lead to blessings.
Blessed Be everyone
Merry part and perhaps ...
Merry meet again.
with mudita
Ratana Mata

Other interesting guests; the great seers of the mount Isigili
Venerable Sir or Lady,
May we and all our relatives be safe and secure
May we and all our relatives be happy at heart
May we and all our relatives want to prevent and abandon doings that lead to
someones downfall.
May we and all our relatives want to do doings that lead to blessings
Blessed Be everyone and merry meet.
Majjhima Nikaya 116
Isigili Sutta
The Discourse at Isigili
Translated from the Pali by Piyadassi Thera.
For free distribution only.
From The Book of Protection, translated by Piyadassi Thera (Kandy: Buddhist
Publication Society, 1999). Copyright ©1999 Buddhist Publication Society.
Used with permission.
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Thus have I heard:
On one occasion the Blessed One was living on Isigili mountain near
Rajagaha. Then he addressed the monks saying, "O monks." "Bhante (Venerable
Sir)," replied those monks in assent to the Blessed One. Thereupon he said
this:
"Do you, monks, see this Vebhara mountain?"
"Yes, bhante."
"There was another name, monks, for this Vebhara mountain, another
designation. Do you, monks, see this Pandava mountain?"
"Yes, bhante."
"There was another name, monks, for this Pandava mountain, another
designation. Do you, monks, see this Vepulla mountain?"
"Yes, bhante."
"There was another name, monks, for this Vepulla mountain, another
designation. Do you, monks, see this Gijjhakuta mountain?"
"Yes, bhante."
"There was another name, monks, for this Gijjhakuta mountain, another
designation. Do you, monks, see this Isigili mountain?"
"Yes, bhante."
"This has been the very name, monks, the very designation for this Isigili
mountain. In the past, monks, five hundred paccekabuddhas[1] lived for a
long time on this Isigili mountain. As they were entering the mountain they
were visible, but once they have entered, they were invisible. People seeing
this remarked: 'This mountain swallows these seers (isigilati)'; hence the
name Isigili came into being.
"I will tell you, monks, the names of the paccekabuddhas. I will reveal,
monks, the names of the paccekabuddhas. Listen, pay close attention, I will
speak."
"Yes, bhante," replied the monks.
The blessed One said:
"Arittha,[2] monks, was a paccekabuddha who lived for a long time on this
Isigili mountain, Uparittha... Tagarasikhi... Yasassi... Sudassana...
Piyadassi... Gandhara... Pindola... Upasabha... Nitha... Tatha... Sutava...
Bhavitatta, monks, was a paccekabuddha who lived for a long time on this
Isigili mountain.
i. "The names of those supreme beings[3] who are free from sorrow and
desire, who have overcome their passions,[4] and have individually attained
enlightenment, noble among men. I make known. Listen to me:
ii. "Arittha, Uparittha, Tagarasikhi, Yasassi, Sudassana, Piyadassi the
enlightened.[5]
Gandhara, Pindola and Upasabha, Nitha, Tatha, Sutava, Bhavitatta.
iii. "Sumbha, Subha, Methula, Atthama, and then Megha, Anigha, Sudatha are
paccekabuddhas whose desire for becoming (re-living) is destroyed.
Hingu and Hinga of great power.
iv. "The two sages Jali[6] and Atthaka, then Kosala, the enlightened one,
then Subahu,
Upanemisa, Nemisa, Santacitta, Sacca, Tatha, Viraja, and Pandita.
v. "Kala, Upakala, Vijita and Jita, Anga and Panga and Gutijjita. Passi
removed defilements, the root of suffering.
Aparajita, conqueror of Mara's might.
vi. "Sattha, Pavatta, Sarabhanga, Lomahamsa, Uccangamaya, Asita, Anasava.
Manomaya and Bandhuma, the destroyers of pride; Tadadhimutta, Vimala, and
Ketuma.
vii. "Ketumbaraga and Matanga, Ariya. Then Accuta and Accutagamabyamaka.
Sumangala, Dabbila, Suppatitthita, Asayha, Khemabhirata, and Sorata.
viii. "Durannaya, Sangha, and Uccaya, and then the sage Sayha of sublime
energy.
Ananda, Nanda, Upananda, the twelve paccekabuddhas,[7] Bharadvaja bearing
his last body.[8]
ix. "Bodhi, Mahanama, and then Uttara; Kesi, Sikhi, Sundara, and Bharadvaja.
Tissa, Upatissa, Upasidari, the destroyer of the bonds of becoming, and
Sidari, the destroyer of craving.
x. "Mangala was the lust-free paccekabuddha, Usabha who cut away the
ensnaring root of suffering.
Upanita who attained state of Calm (Nibbana), Uposatha, Sundara, and
Saccanama.
xi. "Jeta, Jayanta, Paduma, and Uppala; Padumuttara, Rakkhita, and Pabbata.
Manatthaddha, Sobhita, Vataraga, and the paccekabuddha Kanha well freed in
mind.
xii. "These and others are paccekabuddhas of great power whose desires for
becoming (re-living) are destroyed.
Do salute these great sages of immeasurable (virtue) who have gone beyond
all attachment[9] and attained Parinibbana."
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Notes
1. They are Buddhas, who have attained enlightenment independent of
another's aid, but lack the faculty of convincing others. [Go back]
2. For stories connected with these thirteen names see Dictionary of Pali
Proper Names, G. P. Malalasekera. [Go back]
3. Literally those essences of beings, MA. iv. 129. Having declared the
names of these thirteen paccekabuddhas, the names of those others who are
the essences of beings, are now revealed in verse. [Go back]
4. Literally removed the spike of passions (visalla). [Go back]
5. It would appear that the reason why in the Pali stanzas attributes are
mentioned in respect of some paccekabuddhas, and not all, is for metrical
purposes. [Go back]
6. Culla Jali and Maha Jali. [Go back]
7. Four Anandas, four Nandas and four Upanandas, MA., iv. 129. [Go back]
8. The five aggregates of: body; feelings or sensations; perceptions;
formations and consciousness. [Go back]
9. Sangha, attachment or grasping, they are: lust, hate, delusion, pride,
and false views. [Go back]
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Revised: Wed 25 June 2003 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/majjhima/mn116.html
As a psychiatric patient or as a person with a sick mind I know of a Zen
saying; "When a wise person points at the moon a fool looks at his finger."
I am not wise, but I hope that you too look at what I am pointing at and not
at my finger or anything that is very attached to it.
May all beings be safe and secure
May all beings be happy at heart
May all beings want to prevent and abandon doings that lead to someones
downfall.
May all beings want to do doings that lead to blessings
Blessed Be everyone
Merry Part and perhaps ...


Other interesting guests; those mentioned in the therigatha
Venerable Sir or Lady,
May we and all our relatives be safe and secure
May we and all our relatives be happy at heart
May we and all our relatives want to prevent and abandon doings that lead to
someones downfall.
May we and all our relatives want to do doings that lead to blessings
Blessed Be everyone and merry meet.
Translator Reverend Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Chapter I -- Single Verses
For free distribution only.
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I.1 -- An Anonymous Bhikkhuni {v. 1}
Sleep, little theri, sleep comfortably,
wrapped in the robe that you've made,
for your passion is stilled --
    like a pot of pickled greens
        boiled dry.
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I.3 -- Punna {v. 3}
Punna, grow full with good qualities
like the moon on the fifteenth day.
With discernment at total fullness, burst
    the mass
    of darkness.
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I.11 -- Mutta {v. 11}
So freed! So thoroughly freed am I! --
from three crooked things set free:
    from mortar, pestle,
    & crooked old husband.
Having uprooted the craving
that leads to becoming,
I'm set free from aging & death.
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I.17 -- Dhamma {v. 17}
Wandering for alms --
weak, leaning on a staff,
with trembling limbs --
I fell down right there on the ground.
Seeing the drawbacks of the body,
my mind was then
            set free.
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Revised: Fri 12 April 2002 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thig01.html
Translator Reverend Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Therigatha - Chapter II -- Pairs of Verses For free distribution only.
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II.3 -- Sumangala's Mother {vv. 23-24}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
So freed! So freed!
So thoroughly freed am I --
    from my pestle,
    my shameless husband
    & his sun-shade making,
    my moldy old pot
    with its water-snake smell.
Aversion & passion
I cut with a chop.
Having come to the foot of a tree,
I meditate, absorbed in the bliss:
    "What bliss!"
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Revised: Fri 12 April 2002 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thig02.html
Unless mentioned differently translator Reverend Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Therigatha - Chapter III -- The Threes
For free distribution only.
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III.2 -- Uttama {vv. 42-44}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
Four times, five, I ran amok from my dwelling,
    having gained no peace of awareness,
    my thoughts out of control.
So I went to a trustworthy nun.
She taught me the Dhamma:
    aggregates, sense spheres, & elements.
Hearing the Dhamma,
    I did as she said.
For seven days I sat in one spot,
absorbed in rapture & bliss.
On the eighth, I stretched out my legs,
    having burst the mass
    of darkness.
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III.4 -- Dantika and the Elephant {vv. 48-50}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans. Read an alternate translation by C.A.F. Rhys
Davids.]
Coming out from my day's abiding
on Vulture Peak Mountain,
I saw on the bank of a river
    an elephant
emerged from its plunge.
A man holding a hook requested:
        "Give me your foot."
The elephant
    extended its foot.
The man
    got up on the elephant.
Seeing what was untrained now tamed
brought under human control,
with that I centered my mind --
    why I'd gone to the woods
        in the first place.
* * *
III.4 -- Dantika and the Elephant {vv. 48-50}
[C.A.F. Rhys Davids, trans. From Taming the Mind: Discourses of the Buddha
(WH 51), edited by the Buddhist Publication Society, (Kandy: Buddhist
Publication Society, 1983). Copyright ©1983 Buddhist Publication Society.
Used with permission. Read an alternate translation by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.]
Coming from noonday-rest on Vulture's Peak
I saw an elephant, his bathing done,
Forth from the river issue. And a man,
Taking his goad, bade the great creature stretch
His foot: 'Give me thy foot.' The elephant
Obeyed, and to his neck the driver sprang.
I saw the untamed tamed, I saw him bent
To master's will; and making inwardly,
I passed into the forest depths and there
I' faith I trained and ordered all my heart.
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III.5 -- Ubbiri {vv. 51-53}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
"'Jiva, my daughter,'
you cry in the woods.
Come to your senses, Ubbiri.
        84,000
    all named Jiva
have been burned in that charnel ground.
For which of them do you grieve?"
Pulling out
    -- completely out --
the arrow so hard to see,
embedded in my heart,
he expelled from me
    -- overcome with grief --
the grief
over my daughter.
Today -- with arrow removed,
    without hunger, entirely
        Unbound --
to the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha I go,
    for refuge to
    the Sage.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Revised: Thu 1 August 2002 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thig03.html
Chapter IV -- The Four
For free distribution only.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
IV.1 -- Bhadda Kapilani {vv. 63-66}
[Hellmuth Hecker/Nyanaponika Thera, trans. From Maha Kassapa: Father of the
Sangha (WH 345), by Hellmuth Hecker, translated from the German by Sister
Khema, (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1987). Copyright ©1987 Buddhist
Publication Society. Used with permission.]
Son of the Buddha and his heir is he,
Great Kassapa -- his mind serene, collected.
Vision of previous lives is his,
Heaven and hell he penetrates.
The ceasing of rebirth he has obtained,
And supernormal knowledge he has mastered.
With these three knowledges possessed by him
He is a brahman true, of threefold knowledge.
So has she, too, Bhadda the Kapilani, gained for herself
The threefold knowledge and has vanquished death.
Having bravely vanquished Mara and his host,
It is the last formation of a body that she bears.
Seeing the world's deep misery, we both went forth
And are now both free of cankers, with well-tamed minds.
Cooled of passions, we have found deliverance;
Cooled of passions, we have found our freedom.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Revised: Fri 12 April 2002 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thig04.html
Chapter V -- The Fives
For free distribution only.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
V.2 -- Vimala, the Former Courtesan {vv. 72-76}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
Intoxicated with my complexion
figure, beauty, & fame;
haughty with youth,
    I despised other women.
Adorning this body
embellished to delude foolish men,
I stood at the door to the brothel:
    a hunter with snare laid out.
I showed off my ornaments,
and revealed many a private part.
I worked my manifold magic,
laughing out loud at the crowd.
Today, wrapped in a double cloak,
    my head shaven,
    having wandered for alms,
I sit at the foot of a tree
and attain the state of no-thought.
All ties -- human & divine -- have been cut.
Having cast off all effluents,
cooled am I,        unbound.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
V.4 -- Nanda's Vision {vv. 82-86}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
"Sick, putrid, unclean:
look, Nanda, at this physical heap.
Through contemplation of the foul,
develop your mind,
make it one, well-centered.
    As this [your body], so that.
    As that, so this.
It gives off a foul stench,
the delight of fools."
Considering it thus,
untiring, both day & night,
I, with my own discernment
    dissecting it,
        saw.
And as I, heedful,
    examined it aptly,
this body -- as it actually is --
was seen inside & out.
Then was I disenchanted with the body
    & dispassionate within:
Heedful, detached,
    calmed was I.
        Unbound.
* * *
V.4 -- Nanda, The Half-sister of the Awakened One {vv. 82-86}
[Hellmuth Hecker/Sister Khema, trans. From Buddhist Women at the Time of The
Buddha (WH 292/293), by Hellmuth Hecker, translated from the German by
Sister Khema, (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1982). Copyright ©1982
Buddhist Publication Society. Used with permission.]
Sick, impure and foul as well,
Nanda, see this congeries
With the unlovely, develop mind
Well-composed to singleness.
As is that, thus will this likewise be.
Exhaling foulness, evil smells,
A thing it is enjoyed by fools.
Diligently considering it,
By day and night thus seeing it,
With my own wisdom having seen,
I turned away, dispassionate.
With my diligence, carefully
I examined the body
And saw this as it really is --
Both within and without.
Unlusting and dispassionate
Within this body then was I:
By diligence from fetters freed,
Peaceful was I and quite cool.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
V.6 -- Mittakali {vv. 92-96}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
Going forth through conviction
from home into homelessness,
I wandered this place & that,
greedy for gain & offerings.
Missing out on the foremost goal,
I pursued a lowly one.
Under the sway of defilements
I surrendered the goal
of the contemplative life.
Then, sitting in my dwelling,
I suddenly came to my senses:
I'm following a miserable path.
I'm under the sway of
        craving.
    Next to nothing, my life --
            crushed
    by aging & illness.
    Before the body breaks apart,
    I have no time
        for heedlessness.
After watching, as it actually was,
the rising & falling of aggregates,
I stood up with mind released,
the Awakened One's bidding
        done.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
V.8 -- Sona, Mother of Ten {vv. 102-106}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
Ten children I bore
from this physical heap.
Then weak from that, aged,
I went to a nun.
She taught me the Dhamma:
    aggregates, sense spheres, & elements.
Hearing her Dhamma,
I cut off my hair & ordained.
Having purified the divine eye
while still a probationer,
I know my previous lives,
where I lived in the past.
I develop the theme-less meditation,
well-focused oneness.
I gain the liberation of immediacy --
from lack of clinging, unbound.
The five aggregates, comprehended,
stand like a tree with its root cut through.
    I spit on old age.
There is now no further becoming.
* * *
V.8 -- Sona, with Many Children {vv. 102-106}
[Hellmuth Hecker/Sister Khema, trans. From Buddhist Women at the Time of The
Buddha (WH 292/293), by Hellmuth Hecker, translated from the German by
Sister Khema, (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1982). Copyright ©1982
Buddhist Publication Society. Used with permission.]
Ten children having borne
from this bodily congeries,
so I, now weak and old,
approached a Bhikkhuni.
The Dhamma she taught me --
groups, sense-spheres and elements,
I heard the Dhamma,
and having shaved my hair, went forth.
While still a probationer
I purified the eye divine;
Former lives I knew,
and where I lived before.
One-pointed, well-composed,
the Signless I developed,
immediately released,
unclinging now and quenched!
Knowing the five groups well,
they still exist; but with their roots removed.
Unmovable am I,
on a stable basis sure,
now rebirth is no more.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
V.9 -- Bhadda Kundalakesa, the Former Jain Ascetic {vv. 107-111}
[Hellmuth Hecker/Sister Khema, trans. From Buddhist Women at the Time of The
Buddha (WH 292/293), by Hellmuth Hecker, translated from the German by
Sister Khema, (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1982). Copyright ©1982
Buddhist Publication Society. Used with permission.]
I traveled before in a single cloth,
With shaven head, covered in dust,
Thinking of faults in the faultless,
While in the faulty seeing no faults.
When done was the day's abiding,
I went to Mount Vulture Peak
And saw the stainless Buddha
By the Order of Bhikkhus revered.
Then before Him my hands in añjali
Humbly, I bowed down on my knees.
"Come, Bhadda," He said to me:
And thus was I ordained.
Debt-free, I traveled for fifty years
In Anga, Magadha and Vajji,
In Kasi and Kosala, too,
Living on the alms of the land.
That lay-supporter -- wise man indeed --
May many merits accrue to him!
Who gave a robe to Bhadda for
Free of all ties is she.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
V.10 -- Patacara {vv. 112-116}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
[I thought:]
"Plowing the field with plows,
sowing the ground with seed,
supporting their wives & children,
young men gather up wealth.
So why is it that I,
    consummate in virtue,
    a doer of the teacher's bidding,
don't gain Unbinding?
I'm not lazy or proud."
Washing my feet, I noticed
        the
        water.
And in watching it flow from high
        to
        low,
    my heart was composed
    like a fine thoroughbred steed.
Then taking a lamp, I entered the hut,
    checked the bedding,
    sat down on the bed.
And taking a pin, I pulled out the wick:
    Like the flame's unbinding
    was the liberation
        of awareness.
* * *
V.10 -- Patacara, Preserver of the Vinaya {vv. 112-116}
[Hellmuth Hecker/Sister Khema, trans. From Buddhist Women at the Time of The
Buddha (WH 292/293), by Hellmuth Hecker, translated from the German by
Sister Khema, (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1982). Copyright ©1982 B
uddhist Publication Society. Used with permission.]
With plows the fields are plowed;
With seed the earth is sown;
Thus wives and children feed;
So young men win their wealth.
Then why do I, of virtue pure,
Doing the Master's Teaching,
Not lazy nor proud,
Nibbana not attain?
Having washed my feet,
Then I watched that water,
Noticing the foot-water
Flowing from high to low.
With that the mind was calmed
Just as a noble, thoroughbred horse.
Having taken my lamp,
I went into my hut,
Inspected the sleeping-place,
Then sat upon the couch.
Having taken a pin,
I pushed the wick right down, and
Just as the lamp went out,
So all delusion of the heart went too.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
V.11 -- Patacara's Thirty Students {vv. 117-121}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
[Patacara taught:]
"Taking the pestle,
young men grind the corn.
Supporting their wives & children,
they gather up wealth.
Do the Awakened One's bidding,
    which, having done,
    you'll have no regret.
Intent on tranquillity of awareness,
do the Awakened One's bidding.
Quickly:
    Having washed your feet,
    go sit to one side."
Hearing these words,
Patacara's bidding,
they washed their feet
and retired to one side.
Intent on tranquillity of awareness,
they did the Awakened One's bidding.
In the first watch of the night,
    they recollected their previous lives.
In the middle watch,
    purified the divine eye.
In the last,
    burst the mass of darkness.
Getting up, they bowed down to her feet.
"We have done your bidding.
Like the thirty devas honoring Indra,
unvanquished in battle,
we -- three-knowledge women,
    fermentation-free --
will continue honoring you."
* * *
V.11 -- Patacara's Thirty Students {vv. 117-121}
[Hellmuth Hecker/Sister Khema, trans. From Buddhist Women at the Time of The
Buddha (WH 292/293), by Hellmuth Hecker, translated from the German by
Sister Khema, (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1982). Copyright ©1982
Buddhist Publication Society. Used with permission.]
Having taken flails,
Young men thresh the corn.
Thus wives and children feed;
So young men win their wealth.
So likewise as to Buddha's Teachings,
From doing which there's no remorse.
Quickly cleanse your feet
And sit you down alone.
Devote yourselves to calm of mind,
And thus do Buddha's Teachings.
When they heard these words --
Patacara's instructions,
Having washed their feet,
They sat down, each one alone,
Devoted themselves to calm of mind.
And thus followed the Buddha's Teachings.
In the night's first watch
Past births were remembered;
In the middle watch of the night
The eye divine was purified;
In the night's last watch
They rent asunder the mass of gloom.
Having risen, they bowed at her feet,
Her instructions having done;
We shall live revering you
Like the thirty gods to Indra,
Undefeated in war.
We are with triple knowledge true
And gone are all the taints.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
V.12 -- Canda, the Beggar {vv. 122-126}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
Before, I had fallen on evil times:
    no husband, no children,
    no relatives, friends,
    no way to obtain clothing & food.
So, taking a staff & bowl in hand,
begging for alms from house to house,
feverish from the cold & heat,
I wandered for seven full years.
Then seeing a nun
obtaining food & drink,
I approached her & said:
    "Let me go forth into homelessness."
She, Patacara, from sympathy,
let me go forth;
then, exhorting me,
urged me on to the highest goal.
Hearing her words,
I did her bidding.
Her exhortation was not in vain.
    I'm a three-knowledge woman,
    fermentation-free.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Revised: Thu 14 November 2002 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thig05.html
Therigatha
Chapter VI -- The Sixes
For free distribution only.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
VI.1 -- Patacara's 500 Students {vv. 127-132}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
[Patacara recounts the Buddha's words:]
"You don't know
    the path
of his coming or going,
that being who has come
    from         where? --
the one you lament as 'my son.'
But when you know
    the path
of his coming or going,
you don't grieve after him,
for that is the nature
    of beings.
Unasked,
he came from there.
Without permission,
he went from here --
coming from     where?
having stayed a few days.
And coming one way from here,
he goes yet another
    from there.
Dying in the human form,
he will go wandering on.
As he came, so he has gone --
    so what is there
    to lament?"
Pulling out
    -- completely out --
the arrow so hard to see,
embedded in my heart,
he expelled from me
    -- overcome with grief --
the grief
over my son.
Today -- with arrow removed,
    without hunger, entirely
        Unbound --
to the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha I go,
    for refuge to
    the Sage.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
VI.2 -- Vasitthi the Madwoman {vv. 133-138}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
Overwhelmed with grief for my son --
    naked, demented,
    my hair dishevelled
    my mind deranged --
I went about here & there,
living along the side of the road,
in cemeteries & heaps of trash,
    for three full years,
afflicted with hunger & thirst.
Then I saw
the One Well-gone,
gone to the city of Mithila:
    tamer of those untamed,
    Self-Awakened,
    with nothing to fear
    from anything, anywhere.
Regaining my mind,
paying him homage,
    I sat myself down.
He, Gotama, from sympathy
taught me the Dhamma.
Hearing his Dhamma,
I went forth into homelessness.
Applying myself to the Teacher's words,
I realized the state of auspicious bliss.
All griefs have been cut off,
        abandoned,
        brought to this end,
for I've comprehended
the grounds from which griefs
come into play.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
VI.4 -- The Verses of Final Knowledge of Bhikkhuni Sujata {vv. 145-150}
[Hellmuth Hecker/Sister Khema, trans. From Buddhist Women at the Time of The
Buddha (WH 292/293), by Hellmuth Hecker, translated from the German by
Sister Khema, (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1982). Copyright ©1982
Buddhist Publication Society. Used with permission.]
With subtle veils adorned,
Garlands and sandal-wood bedecked,
Covered all over with ornaments,
Surrounded by my servants,
Taking with us food and drink,
Eatables of many kinds,
Setting off from the house,
To the forest grove we took it all.
Having enjoyed and sported there,
We turned our feet to home
But on the way I saw and entered
Near Saketa, a monastery.
Seeing the Light of the World
I drew near, bowed down to Him;
Out of compassion the Seeing One
Then taught me Dhamma there.
Hearing the words of the Great Sage,
I penetrated Truth:
The Dhamma passionless,
I touched the Dhamma of Deathlessness.
When the True Dhamma had been known,
I went forth to the homeless life;
The three True Knowledges are attained,
Not empty the Buddha's Teaching!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
VI.5 -- Anopama, the Millionaire's Daughter {vv. 151-156}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
Born in a high-ranking family
with much property, great wealth,
consummate in complexion & figure,
I was the daughter of Majjha, the treasurer.
Sons of kings sought for me,
sons of rich merchants
    longed for me.
One of them sent my father a messenger,
saying, "Give me Anopama.
I will give in return
    eight times her weight
    in jewels & gold."
But I, having seen
    the One Self-awakened,
    unsurpassed, excelling the world,
paid homage to his feet,
sat down to one side.
He, Gotama, from sympathy,
taught me the Dhamma.
And as I sat in that very seat,
    I attained the third fruit
    [of non-return.]
Then I cut off my hair,
and went forth into homelessness.
Today is the seventh day
since I made craving
    wither away.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Revised: Fri 12 April 2002 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thig06.html
Therigatha
Chapter X -- The Eleven
For free distribution only.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
X.1 -- Kisagotami, The Woman with the Dead Child {excerpt: vv. 213-217, 220,
222-223}
[Hellmuth Hecker/Sister Khema, trans. From Buddhist Women at the Time of The
Buddha (WH 292/293), by Hellmuth Hecker, translated from the German by
Sister Khema, (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1982). Copyright ©1982
Buddhist Publication Society. Used with permission.]
The Sage has emphasized and praised
Noble friendship for the world.
If one stays with a Noble Friend,
even a fool will become a wise person.
Stay with them of good heart
for the wisdom of those who stay with them grows.
And while one is staying with them,
from every kind of dukkha one is freed.
Dukkha one should know well,
and how dukkha arises and ceases,
and the Eightfold Path,
and the Four Noble Truths.
"Woman's state is painful,"
declares the Trainer of tamable men.
"A wife with others is painful
and once having borne a child,
some even cut their throats;
others of delicate constitution
poison take, then pain again;
and then there's the baby obstructing the birth,
killing the mother too."
...
Miserable woman, your kin all dead
and limitless dukkha you've known.
So many tears have you shed
in these many thousands of births.
...
Wholly developed by me is
the Eightfold Noble Path going to Deathlessness,
Nibbana realized,
I looked into the Mirror of the Dhamma.
With dart removed am I,
the burden laid down, done what was to be done,
The elder nun Kisagotami,
freed in mind and heart, has chanted this.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Revised: Fri 12 April 2002 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thig10.html
Therigatha
Chapter XII -- The Sixteens
For free distribution only.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
XII -- Punnika and the Brahman {vv. 236-251}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
[Punnika:]
I'm a water-carrier, cold,
always going down to the water
from fear of my mistresses' beatings,
harrassed by their anger & words.
But you, Brahman,
    what do you fear
that you're always going down to the water
with shivering limbs, feeling great cold?
[The Brahman:]
Punnika, surely you know.
You're asking one doing skillful kamma
& warding off evil.
Whoever, young or old, does evil kamma
is, through water ablution,
from evil kamma set free.
[Punnika:]
Who taught you this
-- the ignorant to the ignorant --
'One, through water ablution,
is from evil kamma set free?'
In that case, they'd all go to heaven:
    all the frogs, turtles,
    serpents, crocodiles,
    & anything else that lives in the water.
Sheep-butchers, pork-butchers,
fishermen, trappers,
thieves, executioners,
& any other evil doers,
would, through water ablution,
be from evil kamma set free.
If these rivers could carry off
the evil kamma you've done in the past,
they'd carry off your merit as well,
and then you'd be
    completely left out.
Whatever it is that you fear,
that you're always going down to the water,
    don't do it.
Don't let the cold hurt your skin."
[The Brahman:]
I've been following the miserable path, good lady,
and now you've brought me
    back to the noble.
I give you this robe for water-ablution.
[Punnika:]
Let the robe be yours. I don't need it.
If you're afraid of pain,
if you dislike pain,
then don't do any evil kamma,
in open, in secret.
But if you do or will do
any evil kamma,
you'll gain no freedom from pain,
even if you fly up & hurry away.
If you're afraid of pain,
if you dislike pain,
go to the Awakened One for refuge,
go to the Dhamma & Sangha.
Take on the precepts:
    That will lead to your liberation.
[The Brahman:]
I go to the Awakened One for refuge;
I go to the Dhamma & Sangha.
I take on the precepts:
    That will lead to my liberation.
Before, I was a kinsman to Brahma;
now, truly a brahman.
I'm a three-knowledge man.
consummate in knowledge,
    safe & washed clean.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Revised: Fri 12 April 2002 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thig12.html
Therigatha
Chapter XIII -- The Nineteens
For free distribution only.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
XIII.1 -- Ambapali {vv. 252-270}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
Black was my hair
-- the color of bees --
& curled at the tips;
    with age, it looked like coarse hemp.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Fragrant, like a perfumed basket
filled with flowers: my coiffure.
    With age it smelled musty,
    like animal fur.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Thick & lush, like a well-tended grove,
made splendid, the tips elaborate
with comb & pin.
    With age, it grew thin
    & bare here & there.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Adorned with gold & delicate pins,
it was splendid, ornamented with braids.
    Now, with age,
    that head has gone bald.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Curved, as if well-drawn by an artist,
my brows were once splendid.
    With age, they droop down in folds.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Radiant, brilliant like jewels,
my eyes: elongated, black -- deep black.
    With age, they're no longer splendid.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Like a delicate peak, my nose
was splendid in the prime of my youth.
    With age, it's like a long pepper.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Like bracelets -- well-fashioned, well-finished --
my ears were once splendid.
    With age, they droop down in folds.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Like plaintain buds in their color,
my teeth were once splendid.
    With age, they're broken & yellowed.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Like that of a cuckoo in the dense jungle,
flitting through deep forest thickets:
sweet was the tone of my voice.
    With age, it cracks here & there.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Smooth -- like a conch shell well-polished --
my neck was once splendid.
    With age, it's broken down, bent.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Like rounded door-bars -- both of them --
my arms were once splendid.
    With age, they're like dried up patali trees.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Adorned with gold & delicate rings,
my hands were once splendid.
    With age, they're like onions & tubers.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Swelling, round, firm, & high,
both my breasts were once splendid.
    In the drought of old age, they dangle
    like empty old water bags.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Like a sheet of gold, well-burnished,
my body was splendid.
    Now it's covered with very fine wrinkles.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Smooth in their lines, like an elephant's trunk,
both my thighs were once splendid.
    With age, they're like knotted bamboo.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Adorned with gold & delicate anklets,
my calves were once splendid.
    With age, they're like sesame sticks.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
As if they were stuffed with soft cotton,
both my feet were once splendid.
    With age, they're shriveled & cracked.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
Such was this physical heap,
now: decrepit, the home of pains, many pains.
    A house with its plaster all fallen off.
The truth of the Truth-speaker's words
        doesn't change.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
XIII.2 -- Rohini {vv. 271-290}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
[Rohini's father:]
You go to sleep saying,
    "Contemplatives."
You wake up,
    "Contemplatives."
You praise only
    contemplatives.
No doubt you will be
    a contemplative.
Abundant food & drink
you give to contemplatives.
Now, Rohini, I ask you:
    Why do you hold
    contemplatives dear?
They don't like to work,
    they're lazy,
living off what's given by others,
full of hankerings,
wanting delicious things:
    Why do you hold
    contemplatives dear?
[Rohini:]
For a long time, father,
you've quizzed me
about contemplatives.
I'll praise to you
their    discernment,
    virtue,
    endeavor.
They do like to work,
    they're not lazy.
They do the best work:
        They abandon
        passion & anger.
    That's why I hold
    contemplatives dear.
They rid themselves
of the three evil roots,[1]
doing pure actions.
        All their evil's
        abandoned.
    That's why I hold
    contemplatives dear.
Clean         their bodily action,
so is         their verbal action.
Clean         their mental action:
    That's why I hold
    contemplatives dear.
Spotless, like mother of pearl,
pure within & without,
perfect in clear qualities:
    That's why I hold
    contemplatives dear.
Learned,     maintaining the Dhamma,
noble, living the Dhamma,
they teach the goal
        & the Dhamma:
    That's why I hold
    contemplatives dear.
Learned,     maintaining the Dhamma,
noble, living the Dhamma,
with unified minds
        & mindful:
    That's why I hold
    contemplatives dear.
Traveling far, mindful,
giving counsel unruffled,
they discern the end
        of suffering:
    That's why I hold
    contemplatives dear.
When they leave any village
they don't turn to look back
        at anything.
How free from concern
they go!
    That's why I hold
    contemplatives dear.
They don't store in a granary,
        pot,
        or basket.
They hunt [only]
for what's already cooked:
    That's why I hold
    contemplatives dear.
They take neither silver,
    nor gold,
    nor money.
They live off whatever is present:
    That's why I hold
    contemplatives dear.
Having gone forth
from different families
& from different countries,
        still they hold
        one another dear:
    That's why I hold
    contemplatives dear.
[Rohini's father:]
Rohini, truly for our well-being
were you born in our family.
You have conviction
in the Buddha & Dhamma,
and strong respect
for the Sangha.
You truly discern
this field of merit
    unexcelled.
These contemplatives will receive
our offering, too,
for here we'll set up
our abundant sacrifice.
[Rohini:]
If you're afraid of pain,
if you dislike pain,
go to the Buddha for refuge,
go to the Dhamma & Sangha.
Take on the precepts:
    That will lead
    to your well-being.
[Rohini's father:]
I go to the Buddha for refuge;
I go to the Dhamma & Sangha.
I take on the precepts:
    That will lead
    to my well-being.
Before, I was a kinsman to Brahma;
now, truly a brahman.
I'm a three-knowledge man & safe,
consummate in knowledge,
    washed clean.
Note:
1. The three unskillful roots are greed, aversion, and delusion. [Go back]
See also: SN VII.17; Sn I.4.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
XIII.5 -- Subha, the Goldsmith's Daughter {vv. 339-367}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
"I was child, with clean clothes,
when I first heard the Dhamma.
And within me, heedful,
was a break-through to the truth.
Then I arrived
at an enormous dissatisfaction
with all sensuality.
Seeing the danger
    in self-identity,
I longed only
    for renunciation.
Leaving my circle of relatives,
slaves, workers,
prosperous villages & fields,
delightful, enticing possessions,
I went forth,
abandoning not-insignificant wealth.
Having gone out through conviction
in the well-taught true Dhamma,
it wouldn't be proper for me --
    aspiring to nothingness --
having cast off gold & silver
to take them back.
Gold & silver
    don't buy Awakening,
    don't buy peace.
This [gold] isn't proper for contemplatives.
This isn't noble wealth.
    This is
greediness, intoxication,
delusion, bondage to dust,
suspicion, many troubles.
There's no lasting stability here.
It's to this extent that many, many men
    -- heedless, their hearts defiled --
opposing one another, create
conflicts, murder, bondage,
calamity, loss, grief, & lamentation.
Many misfortunes are seen
for those head-over-heels in sensuality.
    So, my relatives:
    Why do you, like enemies,
    try to bind me to sensuality?
You know I've gone forth,
seeing the danger in sensuality.
Gold coin & bullion
can't put an end to fermentations.
Sensuality is an enemy,
a murderer,
hostile, arrows & bonds.
    So, my relatives:
    Why do you, like enemies,
    try to bind me to sensuality?
You know I've gone forth
with shaven head, wrapped in a patchwork cloak.
Leftover alms-scraps, gleanings,
a robe made from cast-off cloth:
    That's what's proper for me --
    the requisites of one with no home.
The great seers have rejected sensuality,
    both human & divine.
Released are they,     in the place of security.
Arrived are they,     in unshakeable ease.
So may I not come into union
with sensuality, in which no shelter is found.
It's an enemy, a murderer
    -- sensuality --
painful, like a mass of flame.
    Greed:
an obstacle, fearful, threatened,
full of thorns,
very out-of-tune,
a great cause of delusion.
    Sensuality:
a frightening attack,
like a snake's head
in which fools delight --
blinded, run-of-the-mill.
Because many people in the world
are stuck in the mud of sensuality,
    unknowing,
they don't realize the end of birth & death.
Many people follow the path
to bad destinations
because of sensuality,
bringing disease on themselves.
Thus sensuality creates enemies.
It burns, is defiled.
It's the bait of the world,
constraining, the bondage of death,
maddening, deceptive, agitating the mind.
It's a net cast by Mara
for the defilement of living beings:
with endless drawbacks, much pain,
    great poison,
giving little enjoyment, creating conflict,
drying up the good side [of the mind].
I, having caused much trouble like this
because of sensuality,
    will not return to it,
as I always delight in Unbinding.
Doing battle with sensuality
in hopes of the cool state,
I will stay heedful, finding delight
in the ending of fetters.
I follow the path --
    eightfold, straight,
    griefless, stainless, secure --
over which great seers
have crossed."
See this Subha, the goldsmith's daughter,
standing firm in the Dhamma,
entering the imperturbable state,[1]
doing jhana at the foot of a tree.
This is the eighth day of her going forth
confident, beautiful through the true Dhamma.
Trained by Uppalavanna,
she's a three-knowledge woman
who's left death behind;
freed from slavery, debtless,
a nun with developed faculties,[2]
set loose from all ties,
her task done,
fermentation-    free.
Sakka, lord of beings,
with his community of devas,
approaching her through supranormal power,
pays homage to her:
    Subha the goldsmith's daughter.
Notes:
1. See MN 106. [Go back]
2. This can mean that she has achieved restraint over her sense faculties,
or that she has fully developed the faculties of conviction, persistence,
mindfulness, concentration, and discernment. See. SN XLVIII.10 and AN IV.37.
[Go back]
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Revised: Wed 25 June 2003 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thig13.html
Therigatha
Chapter XIV -- The Thirties
For free distribution only.
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XIV -- Subha and the Libertine {vv. 366-399}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
As Subha the nun was going through Jivaka's delightful mango grove, a
libertine (a goldsmith's son) blocked her path, so she said to him:
'What wrong have I done you
that you stand in my way?
It's not proper, my friend,
that a man should touch
a woman gone forth.
I respect the Master's message,
the training pointed out by the one well-gone.
I am pure, without blemish:
    Why do you stand in my way?
You -- your mind agitated, impassioned;
I -- unagitated, unimpassioned,
with a mind entirely freed:
    Why do you stand in my way?'
'You are young & not bad-looking,
what need do you have for going forth?
Throw off your ochre robe --
    Come, let's delight in the flowering grove.
A sweetness they exude everywhere,
the towering trees with their pollen.
The beginning of spring is a pleasant season --
    Come, let's delight in the flowering grove.
The trees with their blossoming tips
moan, as it were, in the breeze:
What delight will you have
if you plunge into the grove alone?
Frequented by herds of wild beasts,
disturbed by elephants rutting & aroused:
you want to go
    unaccompanied
into the great, lonely, frightening grove?
Like a doll made of gold, you will go about,
like a goddess in the gardens of heaven.
With delicate, smooth Kasi fabrics,
you will shine, O beauty without compare.
I would gladly do your every bidding
if we were to dwell in the glade.
For there is no creature dearer to me
    than you, O nymph with the languid regard.
If you do as I ask, happy, come live in my house.
Dwelling in the calm of a palace,
    have women wait on you,
    wear delicate Kasi fabrics,
    adorn yourself with garlands & creams.
I will make you many & varied ornaments
    of gold, jewels, & pearls.
Climb onto a costly bed,
scented with sandalwood carvings,
with a well-washed coverlet, beautiful,
spread with a woolen quilt, brand new.
Like a blue lotus rising from the water
where no human beings dwell,
you will go to old age with your limbs unseen,
if you stay as you are in the holy life.'
'What do you assume of any essence,
here in this cemetery grower, filled with corpses,
this body destined to break up?
What do you see when you look at me,
    you who are out of your mind?'
'Your eyes are like those of a fawn,
like those of a sprite in the mountains.
Seeing your eyes, my sensual delight
    grows all the more.
Like tips they are, of blue lotuses,
in your golden face
    -- spotless:
Seeing your eyes, my sensual delight
    grows all the more.
Even if you should go far away,
I will think only of your pure,
    long-lashed gaze,
for there is nothing dearer to me
    than your eyes, O nymph with the languid regard.'
'You want to stray from the road,
you want the moon as a plaything,
you want to jump over Mount Sineru,
you who have designs on one born of the Buddha.
For there is nothing anywhere at all
in the cosmos with its gods,
that would be an object of passion for me.
    I don't even know what that passion would be,
    for it's been killed, root & all, by the path.
Like embers from a pit -- scattered,
like a bowl of poison -- evaporated,
    I don't even see what that passion would be,
    for it's been killed, root & all, by the path.
Try to seduce one who hasn't reflected on this,
or who has not followed the Master's teaching.
But try it with this one who knows
    and you suffer.
For in the midst of praise & blame,
    pleasure & pain,
my mindfulness stands firm.
Knowing the unattractiveness
    of things compounded,
my mind cleaves to nothing at all.
I am a follower of the one well-gone,
riding the vehicle of the eightfold way:
My arrow removed, effluent-free,
I delight, having gone to an empty dwelling.
For I have seen well-painted puppets,
hitched up with sticks & strings,
made to dance in various ways.
When the sticks & strings are removed,
thrown away, scattered, shredded,
smashed into pieces, not to be found,
    in what will the mind there make its home?
This body of mine, which is just like that,
when devoid of dhammas doesn't function.
When, devoid of dhammas, it doesn't function,
    in what will the mind there make its home?
Like a mural you've seen, painted on a wall,
smeared with yellow orpiment,
there your vision has been distorted,
meaningless your human perception.
Like an evaporated mirage,
like a tree of gold in a dream,
like a magic show in the midst of a crowd --
    you run blind after what is unreal.
Resembling a ball of sealing wax,
set in a hollow,
with a bubble in the middle
and bathed with tears,
eye secretions are born there too:
The parts of the eye
are rolled all together
in various ways.'
Plucking out her lovely eye,
with mind unattached
she felt no regret.
'Here, take this eye. It's yours.'
Straightaway she gave it to him.
Straightaway his passion faded right there,
and he begged her forgiveness.
'Be well, follower of the holy life.
    This sort of thing
    won't happen again.
Harming a person like you
is like embracing a blazing fire,
It is as if I have seized a poisonous snake.
So may you be well. Forgive me.'
And released from there, the nun
went to the excellent Buddha's presence.
When she saw the mark of his excellent merit,
    her eye became
    as it was before.
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Revised: Fri 12 April 2002 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thig14.html
Well as a psychiatric patient or as a person with a sick mind do I have a
weakness in all of this; I always seem to have forgotten to invite those
mentioned in the Therigatha.
May all be safe and secure
May all be happy at heart
May all beings want to prevent and abandon doings that lead to someones
downfall.
May all beings want to do doings that lead to blessings.
Blessed Be everyone
Merry part and perhaps,
Merry Meet again...
with mudita
Ratana Mata

Other interesting guests; those mentioned in the Theragatha
Venerable Sir or Lady,
May we and all our relatives be safe and secure
May we and all our relatives be happy at heart
May we and all our relatives want to do doings that lead to blessings
May we and all our relatives want to prevent and abandon doings that lead to
someones downfall.
Blessed Be everyone and merry meet.
Ps in chapter 3.14 (pi) you will find the sage Gotama(buddha). The Buddha
remembered many, many, very many previous lives; also those in lower realms.
Theragatha
Chapter I -- Single Verses (Selected suttas)
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. For free distribution only.
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I.1 -- Subhuti {v. 1}
My hut is roofed, comfortable,
    free of drafts;
my mind, well-centered,
    set free.
I remain ardent.
    So, rain-deva.
    Go ahead & rain.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
I.2 -- Mahakotthika {v. 2}
Calmed, restrained,
giving counsel unruffled,
he lifts off evil states of mind --
    as the breeze,
    a leaf from a tree.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
I.3 -- Kankharevata {v. 3}
    See this:
the discernment
of the Tathagatas,
like a fire ablaze in the night,
giving light, giving eyes,
to those who come,
subduing their doubt.
[See also: Ud V.7 (Kankharevata = Revata the Doubter).]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
I.7 -- Bhalliya {v. 7}
Who scatters the troops
of the King of Death --
as a great flood,
a very weak bridge made of reeds --
    is victorious,
for his fears are dispersed.
    He's tamed,
    unbound,
    steadfast in himself.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
I.14 -- Vanavaccha's pupil {v. 14}
My preceptor said to me:
    Let's go from here, Sivaka.
My body stays in the village,
my mind has gone to the wilds.
Even though I'm lying down,
    I go.
There's no tying down
    one who knows.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
I.16 -- Belatthasisa {v. 16}
Just as a fine thoroughbred steed,
with swishing tail & mane
runs with next-to-no effort,
so my days & nights
run with next-to-no effort
now that I've gained a happiness
        not of the flesh.
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----
I.22 -- Cittaka {v. 22}
    Peacocks,
crested, blue, with gorgeous necks,
    cry out
in the Karamvi woods,
thrilled by the cold wind.
They awaken the sleeper
    to meditate.
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----
I.26 -- Abhaya {v. 26}
Hearing the well-spoken words
of the Awakened One,
Kinsman of the Sun,
I pierced what is subtle --
    as if, with an arrow,
    the tip of a horse-tail hair.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
I.29 -- Harita {v. 29}
    Harita,
raise yourself up-
    right
and, straightening your mind
-- like a fletcher, an arrow --
    shatter ignorance
        to bits.
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----
I.32 -- Suppiya {v. 32}
I'll make a trade:
aging for the Ageless,
burning for the Unbound:
    the highest peace,
    the unexcelled rest
        from the yoke.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
I.39 -- Tissa {v. 39}
As if struck by a sword,
as if his head were on fire,
a monk should live the wandering life
    -- mindful --
for the abandoning of sensual passion.
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----
I.41 -- Sirivaddha {v. 41}
Lightning lands on the cleft
between Vebhara & Pandava,
    but,
having gone to the cleft in the mountains,
he's absorbed in jhana -- the son
    of the one without compare,
    the one who is Such.
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I.43 -- Sumangala {v. 43}
So freed! So freed!
So thoroughly freed am I
from three crooked things:
my sickles, my shovels, my plows.
Even if they were here,
        right here,
I'd be done with them,
        done.
Do jhana, Sumangala.
Do jhana, Sumangala.
Sumangala, stay heedful.
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I.49 -- Ramaneyyaka {v. 49}
Even with all the whistles & whistling,
the calls of the birds,
this, my mind, doesn't waver,
for my delight is in
        oneness.
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----
I.50 -- Vimala {v. 50}
The earth's sprinkled
with rain, wind
is blowing, lightning
wanders the sky,
but my thoughts are stilled,
    well-centered
    my mind.
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----
I.56 -- Kutiviharin (1) {v. 56}
Who's in the hut?
A monk's in the hut --
    free from passion,
    with well-centered mind.
Know this, my friend:
    The hut you built
    wasn't wasted.
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----
I.57 -- Kutiviharin (2) {v. 57}
This was your old hut,
    and you aspire to another,
        new hut.
Discard your hope for a hut, monk.
A new hut will be
    painful all over again.[1]
Note:
1. Compare Dhp 153-154. [Go back]
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----
I.61 -- Vappa {v. 61}
One who sees
    sees who sees,
    sees who doesn't.
One who doesn't see
        doesn't
    see who sees
    or who doesn't.
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----
I.68 -- Ekuddaniya {v. 68}
Exalted in mind & heedful:
a sage trained in sagacity's ways.
He has no sorrows, one who is Such,[1]
    calmed & ever mindful.
Note:
1. Tadi: "Such," an adjective to describe one who has attained the goal. It
indicates that the person's state is indefinable but not subject to change
or influences of any sort. [Go back]
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----
I.73 -- Manava {v. 73}
On seeing an old person;
    &
a person in pain, diseased;
    &
a person dead, gone to life's end,
    I left
for the life gone forth,
abandoning the sensuality
    that entices the heart.
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----
I.84 -- Nita {v. 84}
Asleep the whole night,
delighting in company by day:
    when, when
    will the fool
    bring suffering & stress
        to an end?
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----
I.93 -- Eraka {v. 93}
Sensual pleasures are stressful,
            Eraka.
Sensual pleasures aren't ease.
Whoever loves sensual pleasures
    loves stress,     Eraka.
Whoever doesn't,
    doesn't love stress.
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----
I.95 -- Cakkhupala {v. 95}
I'm blind,
my eyes are destroyed.
I've stumbled
on a wilderness track.
    Even
if I must crawl,
    I'll go on,
but not with an evil companion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
I.104 -- Khitaka {v. 104}
How light my body!
Touched by abundant
rapture & bliss,
-- like a cotton tuft
borne on the breeze --
it seems to be floating
        -- my body!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
I.111 -- Jenta {v. 111}
Going forth is hard;
    houses are hard places to live;
the Dhamma is deep;
    wealth, hard to obtain;
it's hard to keep going
with whatever we get:
    so it's right that we ponder
    continually
    continual
    inconstancy.
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----
I.113 -- Vanavaccha {v. 113}
With clear waters &
    massive boulders,
frequented by monkeys &
    deer,
covered with moss &
    water weeds,
those rocky crags refresh me.
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I.118 -- Kimbila {v. 118}
As if sent by a curse,
it drops on us --
        aging.
The body seems     other,
though it's still the same one.
I'm still here
& have never been absent from it,
but I remember myself
as if somebody else's.
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I.120 -- Isidatta {v. 120}
The five aggregates,
having been comprehended,
stand with their root
    cut through.
For me
    the ending of stress
        is reached;
    the ending of fermentations,
        attained.
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Revised: Wed 25 June 2003 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thag01.html
Theragatha Chapter II -- Pairs of Verses (Selected suttas)
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
For free distribution only.
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II.13 -- Heraññakani {vv. 145-146}
Days & nights
        fly past.
Life
    comes to an end.
The span of mortals
        runs out,
like the water of a piddling stream.
But the fool doing evil deeds
doesn't realize that later
it's bitter for him:
evil for him
        the result.
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----
II.16 -- Mahakala {vv. 151-152}
This swarthy woman
[preparing a corpse for cremation]
    -- crow-like, enormous --
breaking a thigh & then the other
    thigh,
breaking an arm & then the other
            arm,
cracking open the head,
    like a pot of curds,
she sits with them heaped up beside her.
Whoever, unknowing,
makes acquisitions
    -- the fool --
returns over & over
to suffering & stress.
So, discerning,
don't make acquisitions.
    May I never lie
    with my head cracked open
        again.
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----
II.24 -- Valliya {vv. 167-168}
What needs to be done
with firm persistence,
what needs to be done
by someone who hopes for Awakening,
    that I will do.
    I will not fail.
See: persistence & striving!
You show me the path:
    the straight,
    the plunge into Deathlessness.
I, through sagacity,
will reach it, know it,
as the stream of the Ganges,
    the sea.
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----
II.26 -- Punnamasa {vv. 171-172}
Shedding five hindrances
so as to reach the unexcelled rest
        from the yoke,
taking the Dhamma as mirror
for knowing & seeing myself,
I reflected on this body --
    the whole thing,
    inside & out,
    my own & others'.
How vain & empty it looked!
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----
II.27 -- Nandaka {vv. 173-174}
Just as a fine thoroughbred steed
stumbling, regains its stance,
feeling all the more urgency,
& draws its burden
    undaunted.
In the same way, remember me:
consummate in vision,
a disciple of the Rightly
Self-awakened One,
the Awakened One's thoroughbred child,
        his son.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
II.30 -- Kanhadinna {vv. 179-180}
Men of integrity
    have been attended to,
the Dhamma repeatedly
    listened to.
Having listened,
    I followed the straight way,
    the plunge into Deathlessness.
Passion for becoming,
    having been killed by me,
no further such passion
    is found in me.
It neither was
    nor will be
    nor is found in me
        even now.
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----
II.37 -- Sona Potiriyaputta {vv. 193-194}
It's not for sleeping,
    the night garlanded
    with zodiac stars.
The night, for one who knows,
    is for staying awake.
If I were to fall from my elephant's shoulder,
and a tusker trampled me,
death in battle would be better for me,
than that I, defeated,
        survive.
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----
Revised: Fri 12 April 2002 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thag02.html
Theragatha - Chapter III -- The Threes (Selected suttas)
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.For free distribution only.
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III.5 -- Matangaputta {vv. 231-233}
It's too cold,
too hot,
too late in the evening --
people who say this,
shirking their work:
    the moment passes them by.
Whoever regards cold & heat
as no more than grass,
doing his manly duties,
    won't fall away
    from ease.
With my chest
I push through wild grasses --
    spear-grass,
    ribbon-grass,
    rushes --
cultivating
        a seclusion heart.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
III.8 -- Yasoja {vv. 243-245}
His limbs knotted
like a kala plant,
his body lean
& lined with veins,
knowing moderation
in food & drink:
    the man of undaunted heart.
Touched by gnats
& horseflies
    in the wilds,
    the great wood,
like an elephant
at the head of a battle:
    he, mindful,
    should stay there
    endure.
One alone is like Brahma,
two, like devas,
three, like a village,
more than that:
    a hullabaloo.
[See also: Ud III.3.]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
III.12 -- Abhibhuta {vv. 255-257}
Listen, kinsmen, all of you,
as many as are assembled here.
I will teach you the Dhamma:
    Painful is birth,
    again & again.
Rouse yourselves.
    Go forth.
Apply yourselves
to the Awakened One's bidding.
Scatter the army of Death
as an elephant would
a shed made of reeds.
He who,
in this doctrine & discipline,
remains heedful,
abandoning birth,
    the wandering-on,
will put an end
to suffering & stress.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
III.14 -- Gotama {vv. 258-260}
While wandering on
I went to hell;
    went again & again
to the world of the hungry shades;
    stayed countless times, long,
in the pain of the animal womb;
    enjoyed
the human state;
went to heaven
    from time to time;
settled in the elements of form,
the elements of formlessness,
neither-perception, perception-less.
Ways of taking birth
are now known:
    devoid of essence,
    unstable,
    conditioned,
    always driven along.
Knowing them
as born from my self,
mindful
I went right to peace.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
III.15 -- Harita (2) {vv. 261-263}
Whoever wants to do later
what he should have done first,
falls away from the easeful state
    & later repents.
One should speak
as one would act,
& not
as one wouldn't.
When one speaks without acting,
the wise, they can tell.
How very easeful:
    Unbinding,
as taught by the Rightly
Self-awakened One --
        sorrowless,
        dustless,
        secure,
where stress
& suffering
cease.
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Revised: Fri 12 April 2002 ;
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Theragatha
Chapter IV -- The Fours
(Selected suttas)
For free distribution only.
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IV.8 -- Rahula {vv. 295-298}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
    In both ways
    consummate,[1]
I'm known as Rahula
    the Fortunate:
because     I'm the son of the Buddha,
because     I've the eye that sees Dhammas,
because     my fermentations are ended,
because     I've no further becoming.
I'm deserving of offerings,
a worthy one
    a three-knowledge man,[2]
    with sight
    of the Deathless.
    Those
blinded     by sensuality
covered     by the net,
veiled     by the veil of craving,
bound     by the Kinsman of the heedless,[3]
    are like fish in the mouth of a trap.
Throwing that sensuality aside,
cutting through Mara's bond,
pulling out craving, root & all,
    cooled am I,
    Unbound.
Notes:
1. This phrase can be taken in two ways: (a) consummate in that he has a
pure lineage on both his mother's and his father's side; and (b) consummate
in that he belongs both to a well-born lineage in the worldly sense and, by
means of his meditative attainments, to the lineage of the noble ones. [Go
back]
2. One with knowledge of past lives, knowledge of the passing away and
rearising of living beings, and knowledge of the ending of mental
fermentations. [Go back]
3. Mara. [Go back]
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Theragatha - Chapter V -- The Fives (Selected suttas)
For free distribution only.
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V.1 -- Rajadatta {vv. 315-319}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
I, a monk,
gone to the charnel ground,
saw a woman cast away,
    discarded
there in the cemetery.
Though some were disgusted,
seeing her -- dead, evil --
            lust
    appeared,
as if I were blind
    to the oozings.
In less time than it takes
for rice to cook,
I got out of that place.
Mindful, alert, I
sat down to one side.
Then apt attention arose in me,
the drawbacks appeared,
    disenchantment stood
    at an even keel:
With that, my heart was released.
See the Dhamma's true rightness!
The three knowledges
have been attained;
the Awakened One's bidding,
        done.
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----
V.8 -- Vakkali {vv. 350-354}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
Stricken by sharp, wind-like pains,
you, monk, living in the forest grove
-- harsh, with limited range for alms --
    what, what will you do?
Suffusing my body
with abundant rapture & joy,
& enduring what's harsh,
    I'll stay in the grove.
Developing the frames of reference,
strengths, faculties,
the factors for Awakening,
    I'll stay in the grove.
Reflecting on those who are resolute,
their persistence aroused,
constantly firm in their effort,
united in concord,
    I'll stay in the grove.
Recollecting the One Self-awakened,
self-tamed & centered,
untiring both day & night,
    I'll stay
    in the grove.
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----
V.9 -- Vijitasena {vv. 355-359}
[K.R. Norman, trans. From Taming the Mind: Discourses of the Buddha (WH 51),
edited by the Buddhist Publication Society (Kandy: Buddhist Publication
Society, 1983). Copyright ©1983 Buddhist Publication Society. Used with
permission.]
I shall fasten you, mind, like an elephant at a small gate. I shall not
incite you to evil, you net of sensual pleasure, body-born.
When fastened, you will not go, like an elephant not finding the gate open.
Witch-mind, you will not wander again, and again, using force, delighting in
evil.
As the strong hook-holder makes an untamed elephant, newly taken, turn
against its will, so shall I make you turn.
As the excellent charioteer, skilled in the taming of excellent horses,
tames a thoroughbred, so shall I, standing firm in the five powers, tame
you.
I shall bind you with mindfulness; with purified self shall cleanse [you].
Restrained by the yoke of energy you will not go far from here, mind.
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V.10 -- Yasadatta {vv. 360-364}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
    Intent on quibbling,
the dullard hears the Conqueror's teaching.
        He's as far from the True Dhamma
        as the ground is from the sky.
    Intent on quibbling,
the dullard hears the Conqueror's teaching.
        He wanes from the True Dhamma,
        like the moon in the dark half of the month.
    Intent on quibbling,
the dullard hears the Conqueror's teaching.
        He withers away in the True Dhamma,
        like a fish in next to no water.
    Intent on quibbling,
the dullard hears the Conqueror's teaching.
        He doesn't grow in the True Dhamma,
        like a rotten seed in a field.
But whoever hears the Conqueror's teaching
    with guarded intent,
    doing away with effluents -- all --
    realizing the unshakable,
    attaining the foremost peace,
        is -- free from effluent --
            totally unbound.
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Revised: Fri 12 April 2002 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thag05.html
Theragatha - Chapter VI -- The Sixes (Selected suttas)
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
For free distribution only.
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VI.2 -- Tekicchakani {vv. 381-386}
The grain: harvested.
The rice: gone to be threshed.
But I don't get any alms.
How will I get by?
Confident, recollect
the immeasurable Buddha.
Your body pervaded with rapture,
    you'll be at the height
    of continual joy.
    Confident, recollect
    the immeasurable Dhamma.
    Your body pervaded with rapture,
        you'll be at the height
        of continual joy.
    Confident, recollect
    the immeasurable Sangha.
    Your body pervaded with rapture,
        you'll be at the height
        of continual joy.
You live in the open air.
Cold are these wintry nights.
Don't suffer, overcome with the cold.
Go into your hut, with its fastened bolt.
    I'll fasten the four
    immeasurables.
    With them, I'll dwell
        in comfort.
    I won't suffer from the cold,
        dwelling
        unperturbed.
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----
VI.6 -- Sappadasa {vv. 405-410}
Twenty five years since my going forth,
and no peace of awareness
-- not a finger-snap's worth --
    attained.
Having gained no oneness of mind,
I was wracked with lust.
Wailing, with my arms upheld,
I ran amok from my dwelling --
"Or... or shall I take the knife?
What's the use of life to me?
If I were to renounce the training,
what sort of death would I have?"
So, taking a razor,
I sat down on a bed.
And there was the razor,
placed ready to cut my own vein,
    when apt attention arose in me,
the drawbacks appeared,
    disenchantment stood
    at an even keel:
With that, my heart was released.
See the Dhamma's true rightness!
The three knowledges
have been attained;
the Awakened One's bidding,
        done.
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----
VI.9 -- Jenta, the Royal Chaplain's Son {vv. 423-428}
    I was
drunk with the intoxication
of my birth, wealth, & sovereignty.
Drunk with the intoxication
of my body's build, coloring, & form,
I wandered about,
regarding no one
as my equal or better,
    foolish, arrogant, haughty,
    my banner held high.
I -- disrespectful, arrogant, proud --
bowed down to no one,
not even     mother,
        father,
or those commonly held
in respect.
Then -- seeing the ultimate leader,
supreme, foremost of charioteers,
    like a blazing sun,
arrayed with a squadron of monks --
casting away pride & intoxication
through an awareness serene & clear,
    I bowed down
    my
    head
to him, supreme
among all living beings.
Haughtiness & contempt
    have been abandoned
    -- rooted out --
the conceit "I am" is extracted,
all forms of pride, destroyed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
VI.10 -- Sumana the Novice {vv. 429-434}
When I was seven
& newly gone forth,
having conquered with my power
the great powerful serpent,
I was fetching water for my preceptor
from the great lake, Anotatta,[1]
when the Teacher saw me & said:
"Look, Sariputta, at that one,
the young boy coming there,
carrying a pot of water,
well-centered within,
his practices -- inspiring;
his bearing -- admirable.
He's Anuruddha's novice,
mature in his powers,
made thoroughbred by a thoroughbred,
good by one who is good,
tamed by Anuruddha,
trained by one whose task
    is done.
He,     having reached the highest peace
    & realized the unshakable,
Sumana the novice
    wants this:
'Don't let anyone know me.'"
Note:
1. Anotatta: A fabulous lake located in the Himalayas, famed for the purity
of its cool waters. Sumana would have had to use his psychic powers to fetch
water from there. [Go back]
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----
VI.13 -- Sirimanda {vv. 447-452}
Rain soddens what's covered
& doesn't sodden what's exposed.
So open up what's covered up,
so that it won't get soddened by the rain.
Attacked by death
    is the world,
surrounded by aging,
beset by the arrow of craving,
always obscured by desire.
Attacked by death
    is the world,
& encircled by aging,
constantly beaten, with no shelter,
    like a thief
sentenced to punishment.
They encroach like masses of flame,
    these three:
    death, aging, & illness.
There's no strength to confront them,
no speed to run away.
Make the day not-in-vain,
a little or a lot.
However much
the day passes,
that's how much less
    is life.
Your last day approaches.
    This isn't your time
    to be heedless.
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Revised: Wed 25 June 2003 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thag06.html
Theragatha
Chapter VII -- The Sevens
(Selected suttas)
For free distribution only.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
VII.1 -- Sundara Samudda and the Courtesan {vv. 459-465}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
Ornamented, finely clothed
    garlanded, adorned,
her feet stained red with lac,
    she wore slippers:
        a courtesan.
Stepping out of her slippers --
    her hands raised before me,
    palm-to-palm over her heart --
she softly, tenderly,
    in measured words
    spoke to me first:
"You are young, recluse.
    Heed my message:
Partake of human sensuality.
    I will give you luxury.
Truly I vow to you,
    I will tend to you as to a fire.
When we are old,
    both leaning on canes,
then we will both become contemplatives,
    winning the benefits of both worlds."
And seeing her before me --
    a courtesan, ornamented, finely clothed,
    hands palm-to-palm over her heart --
        like a snare of death laid out,
apt attention arose in me,
    the drawbacks appeared,
        disenchantment stood
        at an even keel:
With that, my heart was released.
See the Dhamma's true rightness!
The three knowledges
have been attained;
the Buddha's bidding,
    done.
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Theragatha - Chapter VIII - The Eights (Selected suttas)
For free distribution only.
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VIII.1 -- Maha-Kaccana {vv. 494-501}
[Bhikkhu Bodhi, trans. From Maha Kaccana: Master of Doctrinal Exposition (WH
405/406), by Bhikkhu Bodhi (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1995).
Copyright ©1995 Buddhist Publication Society. Used with permission.]
One should not do much work
One should avoid people,
One should not bustle (to obtain gifts).
One who is eager and greedy for flavors
Misses the goal that entails happiness.
They knew as a bog this homage and veneration
Obtained among devoted families.
A subtle dart, difficult to extract,
Honor is hard for a vile man to discard.
It is not on account of another
That a mortal's kamma is evil.
On one's own accord one should not resort to evil,
For mortals have kamma as their kinsmen.
One is not a thief by another's word,
One is not a sage by another's word;
It is as one knows oneself
That the devas also know one.
Others do not understand
That we all come to an end here.
But those wise ones who understand this
Thereby settle their quarrels.
The wise man lives indeed
Even despite the loss of his wealth.
But if one does not obtain wisdom,
Then even though rich one is not alive.
One hears all with the ear,
One sees all with the eye,
The wise man should not reject
Everything that is seen and heard.
One with eyes should be as if blind,
One with ears as if deaf,
One with wisdom as if mute,
One with strength as if feeble.
Then, when the goal has been attained,
One may lie upon one's death bed.
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Theragatha - Chapter X -- The Tens (Selected suttas)
For free distribution only.
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X.5 -- Kappa {vv. 567-576}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
Full of the many clans of impurities,
the great manufacturer of excrement,
like a stagnant pool,
    a great tumor,
    great wound,
full of blood & lymph,
immersed in a cesspool,
trickling liquids,         the body
is oozing foulness -- always.
Bound together with sixty sinews,
plastered with a stucco of muscle,
wrapped in a jacket of skin,
this foul body is of no worth at all.
Linked together with a chain of bones,
stitched together with tendon-threads,
it produces its various postures,
from being hitched up together.
Headed surely to death,
in the presence of the King of Mortality,
the man who learns to discard it right here,
    goes wherever he wants.
Covered with ignorance,
the body's tied down with a four-fold tie,[1]
    sunk in the floods,[2]
    caught in the net of latencies,[3]
    conjoined with five hindrances,[4]
    given over to thought,
    accompanied with the root of craving,
    roofed with delusion's roofing.
That's how the body functions,
compelled by the compulsion of kamma,
    but its attainment ends
        in ruin.
    Its many becomings go
        to ruin.
These who hold to this body as mine
-- blind fools, people run-of-the-mill --
fill the horrific cemetery,
taking on further becoming.
Those who stay uninvolved with this body
-- as they would with a serpent
    smeared with dung --
disgorging the root of becoming,[5]
from lack of effluent,
    will be totally Unbound.
Notes:
1. The four-fold tie: greed, ill will, attachment to precepts & practice,
and dogmatic obsession with views. [Go back]
2. Floods: passion for sensuality, becoming, views, and ignorance. [Go back]
3. Latencies: pride, ignorance, lust, aversion, uncertainty, delusion, and
craving for becoming. [Go back]
4. Hindrances: sensual desire, ill will, sloth & drowsiness, restlessness &
anxiety, and uncertainty. [Go back]
5. The root of becoming: craving. [Go back]
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Revised: Wed 25 June 2003 ;
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Theragatha - Chapter XII -- The Twelves (Selected suttas)
For free distribution only.
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XII.2 -- Sunita the Outcaste {vv. 620-631}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
In a lowly family I was born,
poor, with next to no food.
My work was degrading:
I gathered the spoiled,
the withered flowers from shrines
    and threw them away.
People found me disgusting,
despised me, disparaged me.
Lowering my heart,
I showed reverence to many.
Then I saw the One Self-awakened,
arrayed with a squadron of monks,
the Great Hero, entering the city,
supreme, of the Magadhans.
Throwing down my carrying pole,
I approached him to do reverence.
He -- the supreme man -- stood still
    out of sympathy
    just
    for me.
After paying homage
to the feet of the teacher,
    I stood to one side
    & requested the Going Forth from him,
supreme among all living beings.
The compassionate Teacher,
sympathetic to all the world, said:
    "Come, monk."
That was my formal Acceptance.
Alone, I stayed in the wilds,
    untiring,
I followed the Teacher's words,
just as he, the Conqueror, had taught me.
In the first watch of the night,
    I recollected previous lives;
in the middle watch,
    purified the divine eye;
in the last,
    burst the mass of darkness.
Then, as night was ending
& the sun returning,
Indra & Brahma came to pay homage to me,
hands palm-to-palm at their hearts:
    "Homage to you, O thoroughbred of men,
    Homage to you, O man supreme,
    whose fermentations are ended.
    You, dear sir, are worthy of offerings."
Seeing me, arrayed with a squadron of devas,
the Teacher smiled & said:
    "Through austerity, celibacy,
    restraint, & self-control:
    That's how one is a brahman.
    He is a brahman supreme."
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Revised: Fri 12 April 2002 ;
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Theragatha - Chapter XIV -- The Fourteens (Selected suttas)
For free distribution only.
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XIV.1 -- Revata's Farewell {vv. 645-658}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
Since I went forth
from home into homelessness,
I haven't known
an ignoble, aversive resolve.
"May these beings
        be destroyed,
        be slaughtered,
        fall into pain" --
I've not known this resolve
in this long, long time.
But I have known good will,
    unlimited,
    fully developed,
    nurtured step after step,
as taught by the One
        Awake:
    to all, a friend;
    to all, a comrade;
    for all beings, sympathetic.
And I develop a mind of good will,
delighting in non-malevolence -- always.
Unvanquished, unshaken,
I gladden the mind.
I develop the sublime abiding,
    not frequented by
    the lowly.
Attaining no-thinking,
the disciple of the Rightly
Self-awakened One
is endowed with noble silence
    straightaway.
As a mountain of rock
    is unmoving,
    firmly established,
so a monk, with the ending of delusion,
like a mountain, doesn't quake.
To a person without blemish,
constantly in search of what's pure,
a hair-tip of evil
seems a storm cloud.
As a frontier fortress is guarded
    within & without,
you should safeguard yourselves.
Don't let the moment
        pass you by.
I don't delight in death,
don't delight in living.
I await my time
like a worker his wage.
I don't delight in death,
don't delight in living.
I await my time
mindful, alert.
The Teacher has been served by me;
the Awakened One's bidding,
            done;
the heavy load,         laid down;
the guide to becoming,     uprooted.
And the goal for which I went forth
from home life into homelessness
I've reached:
            the end
            of all fetters.
Attain completion through heedfulness:
        that is my message.
So then, I'm about to be
Unbound.
I'm released
            everywhere.
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----
XIV.2 -- Godatta {vv. 659-672}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
Just as a fine, well-bred bull
    yoked to a load,
    enduring his load,
            crushed
    by the heavy burden,
        doesn't throw down his yoke;
so, too, those who are filled with discernment
    -- as the ocean, with water --
        don't look down on others.
This is nobility among beings.
Having fallen in time
    under the sway of time,
having come under the sway
    of becoming-becoming,
people fall subject to pain
        & they grieve.
Elated by the causes of pleasure,
& cast down by causes of pain,
fools are destroyed by both,
not seeing them for what they are.
While those who, in the midst of
    pleasure & pain
have gone past the seamstress of craving,
stand firm
    like a boundary pillar,
    neither elated nor cast down.
Not to gain or loss
not to status or honor,
not to praise or blame,
not to pleasure or pain:
    everywhere
they do not adhere --
    like a water bead
    on a lotus.
    Everywhere
they are happy, the enlightened,
    everywhere
        un-
    defeated.
No matter what
    the unrighteous gain
    or the righteous loss,
righteous loss is better
    than if there were unrighteous gain.
No matter what
    the status of the unaware
    or the lowliness of those who know,
the lowliness of those who know
            is better,
    not the status of those
    unaware.
No matter what
    the praise from fools
    or the censure from those who know,
the censure from those who know
            is better
    than if there were praise
    from fools.
And as for the pleasure
    from sensuality
and the pain from seclusion,
    the pain from seclusion
            is better
    than if there were pleasure
    from sensuality.
And as for living through unrighteousness
and dying for righteousness,
    dying for righteousness
            is better,
    than if one were to live
    through unrighteousness.
Those who've abandoned
    sensuality & anger,
    whose minds are calmed
    from becoming & non-,
go through the world
            unattached.
For them there is nothing
        dear or undear.
Developing
    the factors for Awakening,
    faculties,
    & strengths,
attaining the foremost peace,
without fermentation, they
    are entirely
    Unbound.
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Revised: Fri 12 April 2002 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thag14.html
Theragatha - Chapter XVI -- The Twenties (Selected suttas)
For free distribution only.
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XVI.1 -- Adhimutta and the Bandits {vv. 705-725}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
[The bandit chief:]
Those who
    for the sake of sacrifice
    for the sake of wealth
we have killed in the past,
    against their will
    have trembled & babbled
    from fear.
But you --
    you show no fear;
    your complexion brightens.
Why don't you lament
in the face of what's greatly to be feared
[Ven. Adhimutta:]
There are no painful mental states, chieftain,
in one without longing.
In one whose fetters are ended,
all fears are overcome.
With the ending of [craving]
the guide to becoming,
when phenomena are seen
    for what they are,
then just as in the laying down of a burden,
there's no fear in death.
I've lived well the holy life,
well-developed the path.
Death holds no fear for me.
It's like the end of a disease.
I've     lived well the holy life,
    well-developed the path,
    seen states of becoming
as devoid of allure,
like poison spit out
after it's drunk.
One gone to the far shore
without clinging
without effluent
his task completed,
welcomes the ending of life,
as if freed from a place of execution.
Having attained the supreme Rightness,
unconcerned with all the world,
as if released from a burning house,
    he doesn't sorrow at death.
Whatever's compounded,
wherever a state of becoming's obtained,
all that has no one in charge:
    so says the Great Seer.
Whoever discerns this,
as taught by the Awakened One,
would no more grasp hold of any state of becoming
than he would a hot iron ball.
I have no 'I was,'
    no 'I will be.'
Fabrications will simply go out of existence.
    What's to lament there in that?
For one who sees, as it actually is,
the pure arising of phenomena,
the pure seriality of fabrications,
    there's no fear.
When seeing the world with discernment
as on a par with grass & twigs,
finding no 'mine-ness,'
thinking, 'There's nothing of mine,'
    he feels no sorrow.
Dissatisfied with this carcass,
I'm unconcerned with becoming.
This body will break up
and there will not be another.
    Do as you like with this carcass.
    From that I will feel
    neither hatred nor love.
Hearing these awesome, hair-raising words,
the young men threw down their weapons & said:
What have you done, sir,
or who have you taken as mentor?
Because of whose teachings
is this lack of sorrow acquired?
[Ven. Adhimutta:]
The     all-knowing,
    all-seeing conqueror:
He is my mentor.
Greatly compassionate teacher,
all the world's healer,
this doctrine is his,
unexcelled, leading to ending.
Because of his teachings
is this lack of sorrow acquired.
The bandits, hearing the good words of the seer,
threw down their swords & their weapons.
Some relinquished their life of crime,
some chose the Going Forth.
Having gone forth in the teachings
of the one well-gone,
developing the powers & factors for Awakening,
    wise, happy,
    exultant in mind,
    their faculties ripened,
they touched uncompounded Unbinding.
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Theragatha - Chapter XVIII -- The Forties For free distribution only.
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XVIII -- Maha Kassapa {vv. 1051-1090}
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]
One shouldn't go about
surrounded, revered
by a company:
    one gets distracted;
    concentration
    is hard to gain.
Fellowship with many people
        is painful.
Seeing this,
    one shouldn't approve
    of a company.
A sage shouldn't visit families:
    one gets distracted;
    concentration
    is hard to gain.
He's eager & greedy for flavors,
    whoever misses the goal
    that brings bliss.
They know it's a bog --
    the reverence & veneration
    of families --
a subtle arrow, hard to extract.
Offerings are hard for a worthless man
    to let go.
    * * *
Coming down from my dwelling place,
I entered the city for alms,
stood courteously next to a leper
eating his meal.
He, with his rotting hand,
tossed me a morsel of food,
and as the morsel was dropping,
a finger fell off
    right there.
Sitting next to a wall,
I ate that morsel of food,
and neither while eating it,
nor having eaten,
did I feel
any disgust.
Whoever has mastered
    left-over scraps for food,
    smelly urine for medicine,
    the foot of a tree for a dwelling,
    cast-off rags for robes:
He is a man
of the four directions.
    * * *
Where some are exhausted
climbing the mountain,
there
the Awakened One's heir
    -- mindful, alert,
    buoyed by his psychic power --
Kassapa climbs.
Returning from his alms round,
climbing the peak,
Kassapa does jhana
with no sustenance/clinging,
    having abandoned terror
    & fear.
Returning from his alms round,
climbing the peak,
Kassapa does jhana
with no sustenance/clinging,
    unbound
    among those who burn.
Returning from his alms round,
climbing the peak,
Kassapa does jhana
with no sustenance/clinging,
    free of fermentation,
    his duty
    done.
Spread with garlands of vines,
places delighting the mind,
resounding with elephants,
appealing:
        those rocky crags
        refresh me.
The color of blue-dark clouds,
    glistening,
cooled with the waters
of clear-flowing streams
covered with ladybugs:
        those rocky crags
        refresh me.
Like the peaks of blue-dark clouds,
like excellent peaked-roof buildings,
resounding with tuskers,
appealing:
        those rocky crags
        refresh me.
Their lovely surfaces wet with rain,
mountains frequented
    by seers
& echoing
    with peacocks:
        those rocky crags
        refresh me.
This is enough for me --
    desiring to do jhana,
    resolute, mindful;
enough for me --
    desiring the goal,
    resolute,
    a monk;
enough for me --
    desiring comfort,
    resolute,
    in training;
enough for me --
    desiring my duty,
    resolute,
    Such.
Flax-flower blue,
    like the sky
covered over with clouds;
filled with flocks
of various birds:
        those rocky crags
        refresh me.
    Uncrowded
by householders,
    frequented
by herds of deer
filled with flocks
of various birds:
        those rocky crags
        refresh me.
With clear waters &
    massive boulders,
frequented by monkeys &
    deer,
covered with moss &
    water weeds:
        those rocky crags
        refresh me.
There is no such pleasure for me
in the music of a five-piece band
as there is when my mind
    is at one,
seeing the Dhamma
        aright.
    * * *
One shouldn't do lots of work,
should avoid people,
shouldn't busy oneself.
He's eager & greedy for flavors,
    whoever misses the goal
    that brings bliss.
One shouldn't do lots of work,
should avoid
what doesn't lead to the goal.
The body gets wearied,
fatigued.
Aching, one finds
no tranquillity.
    * * *
Simply by flapping the mouth
one doesn't see
even oneself.
One goes around stiff-
    necked,
thinking, 'I'm better
    than they.'
Not better,
he thinks himself better,
    the fool:
the wise don't praise him,
the stiff-necked man.
But whoever isn't stirred
by the modes of
    'I'm better,
    not better.
    I'm worse.
    I'm like that';
one who's discerning,
who acts as he says,
well-centered
in virtues,
committed to
tranquillity of awareness, he
is the one
    the wise
        would praise.
One with no respect
for his fellows in the holy life,
is as far
        from the true Dhamma
as the earth
        is from the sky.
But those whose conscience
& fear of evil
are always rightly established: they
have flourished in the holy life.
    For them
there's no further becoming.
A monk conceited & vain,
even though clad
in a robe of cast-off rags,
like a monkey in a lion's skin,
    doesn't shine because of it.
But a monk not conceited
    or vain,
    masterful,
    his faculties restrained, shines
because of his robe of cast-off rags,
    like a lion
    in the cleft of a mountain.
    * * *
These many devas,
powerful, prestigious
    -- 10,000 devas --
all of Brahma's retinue,
stand with their hands over their hearts,
paying homage to Sariputta,
the Dhamma-general,
    enlightened,
    centered,
    great master of jhana,
        [saying:]
'Homage to you, O thoroughbred man.
Homage to you, O superlative man --
of whom we have no direct knowledge
even of that
in dependence on which
    you do jhana.
'How very amazing:
the awakened ones'
very own deep range --
of which we have no direct knowledge,
though we have come
as hair-splitting archers.'
Seeing Sariputta,
a man worthy of worship,
worshipped by deva retinues,
Kappina
smiled.
    * * *
As far as this buddha-field extends
    -- except for the great sage himself --
I'm the one
outstanding
in ascetic qualities.
There's no one else
like me.
The Teacher has been served by me;
the Awakened One's bidding,
            done;
the heavy load,         laid down;
the guide to becoming,     uprooted.
Neither to robe,
nor dwelling,
nor food
does he cling:
    Gotama,
    like a lotus unspotted
    by water, inclining
    to renunciation,     detached
    from the three planes of becoming.
He,
the great sage,
has the frames of reference
    as his neck,
conviction
    as hands,
discernment
    as head.
The great master of jhana
he goes about
    always unbound.
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See also: AN IV.259.
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Revised: Mon 2 September 2002 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thag18.html
Theragatha - Chapter XIX -- The Fifties For free distribution only.
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XIX -- Talaputa {vv. 1091-1145}
[Bhikkhu Khantipalo, trans. From Forest Meditations: The Verses of the
Arahant Talaputa Thera (WH 243/244), by Bhikkhu Khantipalo (Kandy: Buddhist
Publication Society, 1983). Copyright ©1983 Buddhist Publication Society.
Used with permission.]
I. Thoughts Before Going Forth
1. When, O when shall I live all alone
in mountain caves, unmated with desire,
clear seeing as unstable all that comes to be?
This wish of mine, when indeed will it be?
2. When shall I, wearing the patchwork robes
of color dun, be sage, uncraving, never making mine,
with greed, aversion and delusion slain
and to the wild woods gone, in bliss abide?
3. When shall I, this body seeing clear --
unstable nest of dying and disease
oppressed by age and death, dwell free from fear
in the woods alone? When indeed will it be?
4. When indeed shall I dwell seizing the sharpened sword
of wisdom made? When cut the craving creeper --
breeder of fear, bringer of pain and woe,
and twining everywhere? When indeed will it be?
5. When lion-like in the victor's stance
shall I draw quick the sage's sword
of wisdom forged and fiery might
quick breaking Mara with his host? When indeed will it be?
6. When myself exerting, shall I be seen
in goodly company of those esteeming Dhamma?
Those with faculties subdued who see things as they are?
Those who are 'Thus'? When indeed will it be?
7. When indeed will weariness not worry me --
hunger, thirst and wind, heat, bugs and creeping things,
while bent on my own good, the Goal,
in Giribbaja's wilds? When indeed will it be?
8. When indeed shall I, self-mindful and composed
win to that wisdom known by Him,
the Greatest Sage, the Four Truths won within,
so very hard to see? When indeed will it be?
9. When shall I, possessed of meditation's calm
with wisdom see the forms innumerable,
sounds, smells and tastes, touches and dhammas too,
as a raging blaze? When will this be for me?
10. When shall I indeed, when with abusive words
addressed, not be displeased because of that,
and then again when praised be neither pleased
because of that? When will this be for me?
11. When shall I indeed weigh as the same:
wood, grass and creepers with these craved-for groups,
both inner and external forms
the dhammas numberless? When will it be for me?
12. When in the season of the black raincloud
shall I follow the path within the wood
trodden by those that See; robes moistened
by new falling rain? When indeed will it be?
13. When in a mountain cave having heard the peacock's cry,
that crested twice-born, bird down in the wood,
shall I arise and collect together mind
for attaining the undying? When indeed will it be?
14. When shall I, the Ganges and the Yamuna,
the Sarasvati and the awful ocean mouth
of the Balava-abyss, by psychic might
untouching go across? When indeed will it be?
15. When shall I, like charging elephant unbound,
break up desire for sensual happiness
and shunning all the marks of loveliness
strive in concentrated states? When indeed will it be?
16. When, as pauper by his debts distressed,
by creditors oppressed, a treasure finds,
shall I be pleased the Teaching to attain
of the Greatest Sage? When indeed will it be?
II. Self-admonishments After Going Forth
17. Long years have I been begged by you
'Enough for you of this living in a house.'
by now I have gone forth to homelessness
what reason is there, mind, for you not to urge me on?
18. Was I not, O mind, assured by you indeed:
'The brightly plumaged birds on Giribbaja's peaks
greeting the thunder, the sound of great Indra,
will bring to you joy meditating in the wood?'
19. Dear ones and friends and kin within the family,
playing and loving, sensual pleasures of the world:
all have I given up and reached at last to this,
even now, O mind, you are not pleased with me.
20. Mine you are, mind, possessed by none but me;
why then lament when comes this time to arm?
Seeing all as unstable this is now renounced:
longing for, desirous of the Undying State.
21. Said He who speaks the best, Best among mankind,
man-taming trainer, Physician Great indeed:
'Unsteady, likened to a monkey is the mind,
extremely hard to check by not rid of lust.'
22. For varied, sweet, delightful are desires of sense;
blind, foolish common men long have lain in them
seeking after birth again, 'tis they who wish for ill,
by mind they are led on to perish in hell.
23. 'In the jungle you should dwell, resounding with the cries
of peacocks and herons, by pard and tiger hailed:
Abandon longing for the body -- do not fail'
So indeed my mind you used to urge me on.
24. 'Grow in concentrations, the faculties and powers,
develop wisdom-factors by meditation deep
and then with Triple Knowledge touch the Buddha-sasana.'
So indeed my mind you used to urge me on.
25. 'Grow in the Eightfold Way for gaining the Undying
leading to Release and cleansing of all stains;
Plunge to the utter destruction of all Ill!'
So indeed my mind you used to urge me on.
26. 'Thoroughly examine the craved-for groups as Ill.
Abandon that from which arises ill.
Here and now make you an end of ill.'
So indeed my mind you used to urge me on.
27. 'Thoroughly see inward the impermanent as ill,
the void as without self, and misery as bane,
and so the mind restrain in its mental wanderings.'
So indeed my mind you used to urge me on.
28. 'Head-shaven and unsightly, go to be reviled,
among the people beg with skull-like bowl in hand.
To the Greatest Sage, the Teacher's word devote yourself.'
So indeed my mind you used to urge at me on.
29. 'Wander well-restrained among the streets and families
having a mind to sensual pleasures unattached,
as the full moon shining clear at night.'
So indeed my mind you used to urge me on.
30. 'You should be a forest-dweller, almsman too,
a graveyard-dweller and a rag-robe wearer too,
one never lying down, delighting in austerities.'
So indeed my mind you used to urge me on.
31. As he who having planted trees about to fruit
should wish to cut a tree down to the root:
that simile you made, mind, that do you desire
when on me urge the unstable and the frail.
32. Formless one, far-traveler, a wanderer alone,
no more shall I your bidding do, for sense desires
are ill, leading to bitter fruit, to brooding fear:
with mind Nibbana-turned I shall walk on.
33. Not from lack of luck did I go forth,
nor shamelessness, nor caused by mind's inconstancy,
nor banishment nor caused by livelihood,
and therefore I agreed with you, O mind.
34. 'Having few wishes, disparagement's abandoning,
with the stilling of all ill is praised by goodly men'
so indeed, my mind, then you urged at me,
but now you go back to habits made of old.
35. Craving, unknowing, the liked and the disliked,
delighting in forms and pleasing feelings too,
dear pleasures of the senses -- all have been vomited:
never to that vomit can I make myself return.
36. In every life, O mind, your word was done by me,
In many births I have not sought to anger you.
That which within oneself produced by you, ingrate,
long wandered on in ill create by you.
37. Indeed it is you, mind, makes us brahmanas,
you make us noble warriors, kings and seers as well,
sometimes it is merchant or workers become,
or led by you indeed we come to gods' estate.
38. Indeed you are the cause of becoming titans too,
and you are the root for becoming in the hells;
sometimes there is going to birth as animals,
or led by you indeed be come to ghosts' estate.
39. Not now will you injure me ever and again,
moment by moment as though showing me a play,
as with one gone mad you play with me --
but how, O mind, have you been failed by me?
40. Formerly this wandering mind, a wanderer,
went where it wished, wherever whim or pleasure led,
today I shall thoroughly restrain it
as a trainer's hook the elephant in rut.
41. He, the Master made me see this world --
unstable, unsteady, lacking any essence;
now in the Conqueror's Teaching, mind make me leap
cross me over the great floods so very hard to cross!
42. Now it's not for you, mind, as it was before,
not likely am I to return to your control --
in the Greatest Sage's Sasana I have gone forth
and those like me are not by ruin wrapped.
43. Mountains, seas, rivers, and this wealthy world,
four quarters, points between, the nadir and the heavens
all the Three Becomings unstable and oppressed.
Where, mind, having gone will you happily delight?
44. Firm, firm in my aim! What will you do, my mind?
No longer in your power, mind, nor your follower.
None would even handle a double-ended sack,
let be a thing filled full and flowing with nine streams.
45. Whether peak or slopes or fair open space
or forest besprinkled with fresh showers in the Rains,
where frequently are found boar and antelope,
there will you delight to a grotto-lodging gone.
46. Fair blue-throated and fair-crested, the peacock fair of tail,
wing-plumes of many hues, the passengers of air,
greeting the thunder with fair-sounding cries
will bring to you joy meditating in the wood.
47. When the sky-god rains on the four inch grass
and on full-flowering cloud-like woods,
within the mountains like a log I'll lie
and soft that seat to me as cotton down.
48. Thus will I do even as a master should:
Let whatever is obtained be enough for me,
that indeed I'll do to you as energetic man
by taming makes supple a catskin bag.
49. Thus will I do even as a master should;
Let whatever is obtained be enough for me,
by energy I'll bring you in my power
as a skilled trainer the elephant in rut.
50. With you well-tamed, no longer turning round,
like to a trainer with a straight running horse,
I am able to practice the safe and blissful Path
ever frequented by them who guard the mind.
51. I'll bind you by strength to the meditation-base
as elephant to post by a strong rope bound;
well-guarded by me, well-grown with mindfulness,
you shall, by all becomings, be without support.
52. With wisdom cutting off wending the wrong path,
by endeavor restrained, established in the Path,
having seen the origin of passing, rising too --
you will be an heir to the Speaker of the Best.
53. You dragged me, mind, as on an ox's round,
in the power of the Four Perversions set;
come now, serve the Great Sage, Compassionate,
He the sure cutter of fetters and bonds.
54. As a deer roams in the very varied woods
and goes to the pleasant crest garlanded by clouds,
so there you will delight on that unentangled mount.
There is no doubt, mind, you'll be established there.
55. Men and women enjoying any happiness
controlled by thy desires and delighting in life,
blind fools they are who comply with Mara's power,
they driven on, O mind, servants are of thee.
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Revised: Fri 12 April 2002 ;
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/therigatha/thag19.html
Well as a psychiatric patient or as a person with a sick mind do I have a
weakness in all of this. I always seem to have forgotten to organise a
meeting where those mentioned in the Theragata were invited by name.
May all beings be safe and secure
May all beings be happy at heart
May all beings want to prevent and abandon doings that lead to someones
downfall.
May all beings want to do doings that lead to blessings
Blessed Be everyone
merry part and perhaps ...
merry meet again.
with mudita
Ratana Mata

 Publication Society, 1999).
PLONK !!
vegan
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