Therīgāthā 55

Verses of the Senior Nuns 6.6

The Book of the Sixes

Mahāpajāpati Gotamī

1 Oh Buddha, my hero: homage to you!

Supreme among all beings,

who released me from suffering,

and many other beings as well.

2 All suffering is fully understood;

craving—its cause—is dried up;

the eightfold path has been developed;

and cessation has been realized by me.

3 Previously I was a mother, a son,

a father, a brother, and a grandmother.

Failing to grasp the true nature of things,

I transmigrated without reward.

4 Since I have seen the Blessed One,

this bag of bones is my last.

Transmigration through births is finished,

now there’ll be no more future lives.

5 I see the disciples in harmony,

energetic and resolute,

always staunchly vigorous—

this is homage to the Buddhas!

6 It was truly for the benefit of many

that Māyā gave birth to Gotama.

He swept away the mass of suffering

for those stricken by sickness and death.