Theragāthā 170

Verses of the Senior Monks 3.1

The Book of the Threes

Chapter One

1 Seeking purity the wrong way,

I served the sacred fire in a grove.

Not knowing the path to purity,

I practiced endless mortification.

2 I’ve gained this happiness by means of happiness:

behold the clear rightness of the teaching!

I’ve attained the three knowledges

and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.

3 I used to be brahmin only by kin,

but now I really am a brahmin!

I am master of the three knowledges,

I’m a bathed initiate,

I’m a scholar and a knowledge master.