Another Sāmā

Aparāsāmātherīgāthā

39 In the twenty-five years
since I went forth,
I don’t know that I had ever found
serenity in my mind.

39p_19Th2_70"Paṇṇavīsativassāni,
yato pabbajitāya me;
Nābhijānāmi cittassa,
samaṁ laddhaṁ kudācanaṁ.

40 I had failed to find peace of heart,
or any control over my mind.
When I remembered the victor’s instructions,
I was struck with a sense of urgency.

40p_19Th2_71Aladdhā cetaso santiṁ,
citte avasavattinī;
Tato saṁvegamāpādiṁ,
saritvā jinasāsanaṁ.

41 Though subject to so many painful things,
I have, through my love of diligence,
reached the ending of craving,
and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.
This is the seventh day
since my craving dried up.

41 p_19Th2_72Bahūhi dukkhadhammehi,
appamādaratāya me;
Taṇhakkhayo anuppatto,
kataṁ buddhassa sāsanaṁ;
Ajja me sattamī ratti,
yato taṇhā visositā"ti.

Uttamā

Uttamātherīgāthā

42 Four or five times
I left my dwelling.
I had failed to find peace of heart,
or any control over my mind.

42p_19Th2_74"Catukkhattuṁ pañcakkhattuṁ,
vihārā upanikkhamiṁ;
Aladdhā cetaso santiṁ,
citte avasavattinī.

43 I approached a nun
in whom I had faith.
She taught me the Dhamma:
the aggregates, sense fields, and elements.

43p_19Th2_75Sā bhikkhuniṁ upagacchiṁ,
yā me saddhāyikā ahu;
Sā me dhammamadesesi,
khandhāyatanadhātuyo.

44 When I had heard her teaching,
in accordance with her instructions,
I sat cross-legged for seven days without moving,
given over to rapture and bliss.
On the eighth day I stretched out my feet,
having shattered the mass of darkness.

44p_19Th2_76Tassā dhammaṁ suṇitvāna,
Yathā maṁ anusāsi sā;
Sattāhaṁ ekapallaṅkena,
Nisīdiṁ pītisukhasamappitā;
Aṭṭhamiyā pāde pasāresiṁ,
Tamokhandhaṁ padāliyā"ti.

Another Uttamā

Aparāuttamātherīgāthā

45 Of the seven awakening factors,
the path for attaining extinguishment,
I have developed them all,
just as the Buddha taught.

45p_19Th2_78"Ye ime satta bojjhaṅgā,
maggā nibbānapattiyā;
Bhāvitā te mayā sabbe,
yathā buddhena desitā.

46 I attain the meditations on emptiness
and signlessness whenever I want.
I am the Buddha’s rightful daughter,
always delighting in quenching.

46p_19Th2_79Suññatassānimittassa,
lābhinīhaṁ yadicchakaṁ;
Orasā dhītā buddhassa,
nibbānābhiratā sadā.

47 All sensual pleasures are cut off,
whether human or divine.
Transmigration through births is finished,
now there’ll be no more future lives.

47p_19Th2_80Sabbe kāmā samucchinnā,
ye dibbā ye ca mānusā;
Vikkhīṇo jātisaṁsāro,
natthi dāni punabbhavo"ti.

Dantikā

Dantikātherīgāthā

48 Leaving my day’s meditation
on Vulture’s Peak Mountain,
I saw an elephant on the riverbank
having just come up from his bath.

48p_19Th2_82"Divāvihārā nikkhamma,
gijjhakūṭamhi pabbate;
Nāgaṁ ogāhamuttiṇṇaṁ,
nadītīramhi addasaṁ.

49 A man, taking a pole with a hook,
asked the elephant: “Give me your foot.”
The elephant presented his foot,
and the man mounted him.

49p_19Th2_83Puriso aṅkusamādāya,
‘dehi pādan’ti yācati;
Nāgo pasārayī pādaṁ,
puriso nāgamāruhi.

50 Seeing a wild beast so tamed,
submitting to human control,
my mind became serene:
that is why I’ve gone to the forest!

50p_19Th2_84Disvā adantaṁ damitaṁ,
manussānaṁ vasaṁ gataṁ;
Tato cittaṁ samādhesiṁ,
khalu tāya vanaṁ gatā"ti.

Ubbiri

Ubbiritherīgāthā

51 “You cry ‘Please be living!’ in the forest.
Ubbirī, get a hold of yourself!
Eighty-four thousand people,
all named ‘living being’,
have been burnt in this funeral ground:
which one do you grieve for?”

51p_19Th2_86"Amma jīvāti vanamhi kandasi,
Attānaṁ adhigaccha ubbiri;
Cullāsītisahassāni,
Sabbā jīvasanāmikā;
Etamhāḷāhane daḍḍhā,
Tāsaṁ kamanusocasi".

52 “Oh! For you have plucked the arrow from me,
so hard to see, stuck in the heart.
You’ve swept away the grief for my daughter
in which I once was mired.

52 p_19Th2_87"Abbahī vata me sallaṁ,
duddasaṁ hadayassitaṁ;
Yaṁ me sokaparetāya,
dhītusokaṁ byapānudi.

53 Today I’ve plucked the arrow,
I’m hungerless, extinguished.
I go for refuge to that sage, the Buddha,
to his teaching, and to the Saṅgha.”

53p_19Th2_88Sājja abbūḷhasallāhaṁ,
Nicchātā parinibbutā;
Buddhaṁ dhammañca saṁghañca,
Upemi saraṇaṁ munin"ti.

Sukkā

Sukkātherīgāthā

54 “What’s up with these people in Rājagaha?
They sprawl like they’ve been drinking mead!
They don’t attend on Sukkā
as she teaches the Buddha’s instructions.

54p_19Th2_90"Kiṁme katā rājagahe manussā,
Madhuṁ pītāva acchare;
Ye sukkaṁ na upāsanti,
Desentiṁ buddhasāsanaṁ.

55 But the wise—
it’s as if they drink it up,
so irresistible, delicious and nutritious,
like travelers enjoying a cool cloud.”

55p_19Th2_91Tañca appaṭivānīyaṁ,
asecanakamojavaṁ;
Pivanti maññe sappaññā,
valāhakamivaddhagū.

56 “She’s known as Sukkā because of her bright qualities,
free of greed, serene.
She bears her final body,
having vanquished Māra and his mount.”

56p_19Th2_92Sukkā sukkehi dhammehi,
vītarāgā samāhitā;
Dhāreti antimaṁ dehaṁ,
jetvā māraṁ savāhinin"ti.

Selā

Selātherīgāthā

57 “There’s no escape in the world,
so what will seclusion do for you?
Enjoy the delights of sensual pleasure;
don’t regret it later.”

57p_19Th2_94"Natthi nissaraṇaṁ loke,
kiṁ vivekena kāhasi;
Bhuñjāhi kāmaratiyo,
māhu pacchānutāpinī".

58 “Sensual pleasures are like swords and stakes
the aggregates are their chopping block.
What you call sensual delight
is now no delight for me.

58p_19Th2_95"Sattisūlūpamā kāmā,
khandhāsaṁ adhikuṭṭanā;
Yaṁ tvaṁ ‘kāmaratiṁ’ brūsi,
‘aratī’ dāni sā mama.

59 Relishing is destroyed in every respect,
and the mass of darkness is shattered.
So know this, Wicked One:
you’re beaten, terminator!”

59p_19Th2_96Sabbattha vihatā nandī,
Tamokhandho padālito;
Evaṁ jānāhi pāpima,
Nihato tvamasi antakā"ti.

Somā

Somātherīgāthā

60 “That state’s very challenging;
it’s for the sages to attain.
It’s not possible for a woman,
with her two-fingered wisdom.”

60p_19Th2_98"Yaṁ taṁ isīhi pattabbaṁ,
ṭhānaṁ durabhisambhavaṁ;
Na taṁ dvaṅgulapaññāya,
sakkā pappotumitthiyā".

61 “What difference does womanhood make
when the mind is serene,
and knowledge is present
as you rightly discern the Dhamma.

61p_19Th2_99"Itthibhāvo no kiṁ kayirā,
cittamhi susamāhite;
Ñāṇamhi vattamānamhi,
sammā dhammaṁ vipassato.

62 Relishing is destroyed in every respect,
and the mass of darkness is shattered.
So know this, Wicked One:
you’re beaten, terminator!”

62 p_19Th2_100Sabbattha vihatā nandī,
Tamokhandho padālito;
Evaṁ jānāhi pāpima,
Nihato tvamasi antakā"ti.