Theragāthā 208

Verses of the Senior Monks 5.11

The Book of the Fives

Chapter One

Soṇa of the Sharp Ears

1 I’ve received ordination;

I am liberated, without defilements;

I’ve seen the Blessed One myself,

and even stayed together with him.

2 The Blessed One, the Teacher,

spent much of the night in the open;

then he, who is so skilled in meditation,

entered his dwelling.

3 Spreading his outer robe,

Gotama made his bed,

like a lion in a rocky cave,

with fear and dread given up.

4 Then, with lovely enunciation,

Soṇa, a disciple of the Buddha,

recited the true teaching

before the best of Buddhas.

5 When he has completely understood

the five aggregates,

developed the direct route,

and arrived at ultimate peace,

undefiled, he’ll be fully quenched.