Therīgāthā 57

Change translation

Verses of the Senior Nuns 6.8

The Book of the Sixes

Vijayā

1 Four or five times

I left my dwelling;

I had failed to find peace of heart,

or any control over my mind.

2 I approached a nun

and politely questioned her.

She taught me the Dhamma:

the elements and sense fields,

3 the four noble truths,

the faculties and the powers,

the awakening factors, and the eightfold path

for the attainment of the highest goal.

4 After hearing her words,

I did her bidding.

In the first watch of the night,

I recollected my past lives.

5 In the middle watch of the night,

I purified my clairvoyance.

In the last watch of the night,

I shattered the mass of darkness.

6 I then meditated pervading my body

with rapture and bliss.

On the seventh day I stretched out my feet,

having shattered the mass of darkness.