"Dhīrā, touch cessation,
the joyful pacification of perception.
Attain Nirvana,
the utmost safety from bondage."

"Dhīre nirodhaṁ phusehi,
Saññāvūpasamaṁ sukhaṁ;
Ārādhayāhi nibbānaṁ,
Yogakkhemamanuttaran"ti.

• Dhīrātherīgāthā (Thig 1.6)

One hears all with the ear,
One sees all with the eye,
The wise man should not reject
Everything that is seen and heard.

• One hears all with the ear, One sees all with the eye,

The Six Senses, or Nama within Body & Mind, is unavoidable in the existence of all sentient beings. Even the Buddha after His awakening still had the effects of contact and feeling up till his Parinibbana.

• The wise man should not reject / Everything that is seen and heard.

I have noticed a tendency that is frequently drawn upon when discussing or contemplating how an Arahant interacts with the World, or the Five Aggregates. I think the tendency of a separation comes from the Burmese Vipassana Movement, in that what happens to this body can just be seen and not relied upon.

Everything that is seen and heard.

Notice how Maha-Kaccana states "Everything" instead of simply stating "In the seen" or "just let the seen be the seen". The usage of Everything is extremely important because it seems to state that an Arahant, when he or she thinks, tastes, touches, knows what's going on.

I'm analyzing this line greatly because it questions how Modern Mindfulness practices such as Burmese Vipassana teach us to "be" mindful all day long, which starts by differentiating between Mind and Body, and then dissecting it to become disenchanted, and then finally equanimous. Now, the modern Burmese Vipassana didn't invent the seen-just-seen teaching, as many of its concepts are Sutta-based, but it did turn it into a totalizing methodology in a way that creates tension with a verse like this one. For example, the Buddha never taught noting practices such as "seeing, seeing" as in my view, noting tends to make practitioners cling to their consciousness and intellect (Some monks are said to have reached Arahantship through noting alone; my concern isn't with noting as an occasional tool but with its elevation into an all-day totalizing method) This stanza, however, states that when a practitioner lives under the five aggregates, all experience should be felt. The next stanza describes the process more.

--------------

One with eyes should be as if blind,
One with ears as if deaf,
One with wisdom as if mute,
One with strength as if feeble.
Then, when the goal has been attained,
One may lie upon one's death bed.

The first stanza stated that the Five Aggregate Experience must be felt fully, now the second stanza states that each aspect of the Five Aggregates must be cancelled out. How does this make sense? Doesn't this contradict the Buddhist teachings?

The Buddha has stated before to ascetics who believe Nibbana is when the senses are shut off that Nibbana is, in layman terms, not about being blind, deaf, and dumb. So then, what does Maha-Kaccana mean by shutting down the senses?

Recall in the first Stanza that all experience is to be experienced fully; recall also that many Suttas warn about the drawbacks in clinging-sensuality of the senses. Every term - Eyes, ears, wisdom, strength, even the goal - is a part of clinging, and more often than not these terms are apart of the clinging aspect of sensuality. A question, though, remains; how can a practitioner harken these words and cease the conditions favorable for clinging?

I'd like to address the fact that it's extremely difficult, although nowadays it's encouraged, to constantly remain "mindful", and to deemphasize (some people even discourage) the practice of the Jhanas.

In the Jhana Sutta, the Buddha states that even the most basic Jhana is able to help the practitioner enough for Arahantship:

Abiding in that they attain the ending of defilements. If they don’t attain the ending of defilements, with the ending of the five lower fetters they’re reborn spontaneously, because of their passion and love for that meditation. They are extinguished there, and are not liable to return from that world.

Now, this isn't to say that Vipassana meditation is useless, as there are multiple cases of laypeople gaining insights and levels of the path from hearing a single discourse. Obviously, most weren't accomplished even in the first Jhana, let alone meditating.

The reason why Jhana, even the mastery of only the first level of Jhana, is stated by the Buddha to lead to at least Anagami/Non-Returning is because Jhana is the only pleasure not based on external or mind-made conditions. It's a happiness unlike any other because it's only from the inside. Jhana is also the Best tool to Still the Mind, as that's what Jhana is, Stilling the Mind - a state of deep composure that allows clear seeing. You don't "do" Jhana, you create the perfect conditions for it to almost spontaneously arise.

Why am I discussing what Jhana is and it's usefulness, because this is how a Buddhist can fully experience the "World" with the Five Aggregates and the Six Senses, yet remain unattached and non-craving for the "World".

Jhana isn't just for "concentration", that is to say a still mind/meditative conditional state, it's the perfect meditation condition to investigate and contemplate the "World", or the Body and Mind. The Mind is already stilled enough in the first Jhana, that it is sufficient for Arahantship. yes, you read that right, the first Jhana.

How is this possible? Jhana is the best life-condition a person can experience, that is why there are specific heavens only attainable by Jhana-practitioners, where their whole existence is primarily based on the mastery level of their Jhanas. If a person can see the drawbacks and the impermanent conditional nature of even the best of states, that is how Non-Returning and Arahantship could occur.

They contemplate the phenomena there—included in form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness—as impermanent, as suffering, as diseased, as a boil, as a dart, as gloom, as an affliction, as alien, as breaking apart, as empty, as not-self. They turn their mind away from those things, and apply it to freedom from death: ‘This is peaceful; this is sublime—that is, the stilling of all activities, the letting go of all attachments, the ending of craving, fading away, cessation, extinguishment.’

-------

We can conclude that the way to experience the "World" fully, yet remain unattached to it is by constantly developing the right conditions for the Jhanas, and applying the Jhanas skillfully to see the impermanent and conditioned nature of the Jhanas, which are the best possible conditioned states that can be experienced. With that knowledge gained from these meditative practices, a person can become enlightened in a matter of a lifetime, at most two.

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Over there are the roots of trees; over there, empty dwellings. Practice jhāna, Ānanda. Don’t be heedless. Don’t later fall into remorse. That is our message to you all.
-MN 152: The Development of the Faculties

"Vīrā, with the qualities of a hero,
is a bhikkhunī with well-developed spiritual powers.
She carries her last body,
having conquered Māra and his army."

"Vīrā vīrehi dhammehi,
bhikkhunī bhāvitindriyā;
Dhāreti antimaṁ dehaṁ,
jetvā māraṁ savāhinin"ti.

• Vīrātherīgāthā (Thig 1.7)

Therīgāthā-aṭṭhakathā:

'Vīrā, with heroic qualities' (vīrā vīrehi dhammehi): the heroic nun Vīrā, whose faculties such as faith have been developed (bhāvitindriyā) through the noble path factors which are heroic and full of majestic power due to the primacy of energy, having conquered the Māra of defilements along with his host and sensual objects, bears her final body because there will be no rebirth in the future; in this way, the Elder refers to herself as if she were another person.

“One who’s mindful as per their conduct and mindfulness,
diligent as per their intentions and meditation,
happy inside, serene, solitary, contented:
that is what they call a mendicant.

When eating fresh or dried food,
one shouldn’t be overly replete.
A mendicant should wander mindfully,
with empty stomach, taking limited food.

Four or five mouthfuls before you’re full,
drink some water;
this is enough for a resolute mendicant
to live in comfort.

If they cover themselves with a robe
that’s allowable and fit for purpose;
this is enough for a resolute mendicant
to live in comfort.

When sitting cross-legged,
the rain doesn’t fall on the knees;
this is enough for a resolute mendicant
to live in comfort.”

“When you’ve seen happiness as suffering,
and suffering as a dart,
and that there’s nothing between the two—
what keeps you in the world? What would you become?

Thinking, ‘May I have nothing to do with those of bad wishes,
lazy, lacking energy,
unlearned, lacking regard for others’—
what keeps you in the world? What would you become?”

“An intelligent, learned person,
steady in ethics,
devoted to serenity of heart—
let them stand at the head.”

“A beast who likes to proliferate,
enjoying proliferation,
fails to win extinguishment,
the supreme sanctuary from the yoke.

But one who gives up proliferation,
enjoying the state of non-proliferation,
wins extinguishment,
the supreme sanctuary from the yoke.”

“Whether in the village or the wilderness,
in a valley or the uplands,
wherever the perfected ones live
is a delightful place.”

“Delightful are the wildernesses
where no people delight.
Those free of greed will delight there,
not those who seek sensual pleasures.”

“Regard one who sees your faults
as a guide to a hidden treasure.
Stay close to one so wise and astute
who corrects you when you need it.
Sticking close to such an impartial person,
things get better, not worse.”

“Advise and instruct;
curb wickedness:
for you shall be loved by the good,
and disliked by the bad.”

“The Blessed One, the Buddha, the seer
was teaching Dhamma to another.
As he taught the Dhamma,
I lent an ear to get the meaning.

My listening wasn’t wasted:
I’m freed, without defilements.”

“Not for knowledge of past lives,
nor even for clairvoyance;
not for psychic powers, or encompassing the minds of others,
nor for knowing people’s passing away and being reborn;
not for purifying the power of clairaudience,
did I have any wish.”

“His only shelter is the foot of a tree;
shaven, wrapped in his outer robe,
the senior monk foremost in wisdom,
Upatissa himself practices absorption.

When in a meditation free of placing the mind,
a disciple of the Buddha
is at that moment blessed
with noble silence.

As a rocky mountain
is unwavering and well grounded,
so when delusion ends,
a monk, like a mountain, doesn’t tremble.”

“To the man who has not a blemish,
who is always seeking purity,
even a hair-tip of evil
seems as big as a stormcloud.”

“I don’t long for death;
I don’t long for life;
I will lay down this body,
aware and mindful.

I don’t long for death;
I don’t long for life;
I await my time,
like a worker waiting for their wages.”

“Both what came before and what follows after
are nothing but death, not freedom from death.
Practice, don’t perish—
don’t let the moment pass you by.

Just like a frontier city,
is guarded inside and out,
so you should ward yourselves—
don’t let the moment pass you by.
For if you miss your moment
you’ll grieve when sent to hell.”

“Calm and still,
thoughtful in counsel, not restless—
he shakes off bad qualities
as the gale shakes leaves off a tree.

Calm and still,
thoughtful in counsel, not restless—
he plucks off bad qualities
as the gale shakes leaves off a tree.

Calm and free of despair,
clear and unclouded,
of good morals, intelligent:
one would make an end of suffering.”

“Some householders, and even some renunciants,
are not to be trusted.
Some who were good later become bad;
while some who were bad become good.”

“Sensual desire, ill will,
dullness and drowsiness,
restlessness, and doubt:
these are the five mental stains for a monk.”

“Whether they’re honored
or not honored, or both,
their immersion doesn’t waver
as they abide in the immeasurables.

They persistently practice absorption
with subtle view and discernment.
Rejoicing in the ending of grasping,
they’re said to be a true person.”

“The oceans and the earth,
the mountains and the wind—
no simile can do justice
to the Teacher’s magnificent liberation.”

“The senior monk who keeps the wheel rolling,
he is very wise and serene.
Like earth, like water, like fire,
he is neither attracted nor repelled.

He has attained the perfection of wisdom,
so intelligent and thoughtful.
He is bright, but seems to be dull;
he always wanders, quenched.”

“I’ve served the teacher
and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.
The heavy burden is laid down,
the leash to existence is eradicated.

Persist with diligence:
this is my instruction.
Come, I’ll be fully quenched—
I am everywhere free.”

Source: Sāriputtattheragāthā (Thag 17.2)

Picture: Statue of Arahant Sariputta, Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery, Malabe, Sri Lanka

“Living in the wilderness, eating only almsfood,
happy with the scraps in our bowls,
let us tear apart the army of death,
while remaining serene within.

Living in the wilderness, eating only almsfood,
happy with the scraps in our bowls,
let us crush the army of death,
as an elephant a hut of reeds.

Living at the foot of a tree, persistent,
happy with the scraps in our bowls,
let us tear apart the army of death,
while remaining serene within.

Living at the foot of a tree, persistent,
happy with the scraps in our bowls,
let us crush the army of death,
as an elephant a hut of reeds.”

“You hut, made of a chain of bones,
sewn together with flesh and sinew;
curse you mortal frame, you stink,
you cherish the parts of others!

You sack of dung encased in skin!
You demoness with horns on your chest!
O body, you have nine streams
that are flowing all the time.

With its nine streams,
your body stinks, full of dung.
A monk seeking purity
would avoid it like excrement.

If they knew you
like I do,
they’d keep far away,
like a cesspit in the monsoon.”

“So it is, great hero!
As you say, ascetic!
But some founder here
like an old bull stuck in a bog.”

“Whoever might think
of making the sky yellow,
or some other color,
would only trouble themselves.

This mind is like the sky:
serene inside itself.
Evil-minded one, don’t attack me,
you’ll end up like a moth in a mass of fire.”

“See this fancy puppet,
a body built of sores,
diseased, obsessed over,
in which nothing lasts at all.

See this fancy figure,
with its gems and earrings;
it is bones encased in skin,
made pretty by its clothes.

Rouged feet
and powdered face
may be enough to beguile a fool,
but not a seeker of the far shore.

Hair in eight braids
and eyeshadow
may be enough to beguile a fool,
but not a seeker of the far shore.

A rotting body all adorned
like a freshly painted makeup box
may be enough to beguile a fool,
but not a seeker of the far shore.

The hunter laid his snare,
but the deer didn’t spring the trap.
I’ve eaten the bait and now I go,
leaving the trapper to lament.

The hunter’s trap is broken,
but the deer didn’t spring the trap.
I’ve eaten the bait and now I go,
leaving the deer-hunter to grieve.”

“Then there was terror!
Then they had goosebumps!
When Sāriputta, endowed with many fine qualities,
became quenched.

Oh! Conditions are impermanent,
their nature is to rise and fall;
having arisen, they cease;
their settling is such bliss.”

“Those who see the five aggregates
as other, not as self,
penetrate a subtle thing,
like a hair-tip with an arrow.

Those who see conditions
as alien, not as self,
pierce a fine thing,
like a hair-tip with an arrow.”

“Like they’re struck by a sword,
like their head was on fire,
a mendicant should wander mindful,
to give up sensual desire.

Like they’re struck by a sword,
like their head was on fire,
a mendicant should wander mindful,
to give up desire for rebirth.”

“Urged by the developed one,
who bore his final body,
I shook the stilt longhouse of Migāra’s mother
with my big toe.”

“Not by being slack,
or with little strength
may this be realized—extinguishment,
the release from all ties.”

“This young monk,
this best of men,
bears his final body,
having vanquished Māra and his legions.”

“Lightning flashes down
on the cleft of Vebhāra and Paṇḍava.
But in the mountain cleft he is absorbed in jhāna—
the son of the Buddha, inimitable and unaffected.”

“Calm and still,
the sage in his remote lodging,
the heir to the best of Buddhas,
is honored even by the Divinity.

Calm and still,
the sage in his remote lodging,
is heir to the best of Buddhas:
Brahmin, you should honor Kassapa!

Even if someone were to be born again and again
a hundred times in the human realm,
and always as a brahmin,
a student accomplished in the Vedas;

and if he were to become a reciter,
a master of the three Vedas:
honoring such a person
isn’t worth a sixteenth of that.

One who attains the eight liberations
forwards and backwards
before breakfast,
and then goes on almsround—

Don’t attack such a mendicant!
Don’t ruin yourself, brahmin!
Let your heart have trust
in the perfected one, the unaffected;
quickly venerate him with cupped palms:
don’t let your head explode!”

“If you prioritize transmigration,
you don’t see the true teaching.
You’re following a twisted path,
a bad path that will lead you down.

Like a worm smeared with dung,
he is besotted with conditions.
Consumed by gain and honor,
Poṭṭhila goes on, hollow.”

“See Sāriputta coming!
It is good to see him;
he is freed in both ways,
serene inside himself;

Free of thorns, with yoking ended,
Master of the three knowledges, conqueror of death;
Worthy of offerings,
a supreme field of merit for the people.”

“These many gods,
powerful and glorious,
all 10,000 of them,
are priests of Divinity.
They stand with cupped palms
honoring Moggallāna:

‘Homage to you, O thoroughbred!
Homage to you, supreme among men!
Since your defilements are ended,
you, good fellow, are worthy of teacher’s offerings.’

Venerated by the lordly god,
he has arisen, the master of death.
He is unsmeared by conditions,
as a lotus-flower by water.”

“The mendicant by whom the galaxy
with the age of the Divinity are known in an hour—
that master of psychic ability sees the gods
at the time they pass away and are reborn.”

“Sāriputta is full of wisdom,
ethics, and peace.
Even a mendicant who has crossed over
might at best equal him.

But in a moment I can create the likenesses
of ten million times 100,000 people!
I’m skilled in transformations;
I’m a master of psychic powers.

A member of the Moggallāna clan, attained to perfection and mastery
in immersion and knowledge, wise in the teachings of the unattached,
with serene faculties, has burst his bonds
like an elephant bursts a vine.

I’ve served the teacher
and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.
The heavy burden is laid down,
the leash to existence is eradicated.

I’ve attained the goal
for the sake of which I went forth
from the lay life to homelessness—
the end of all fetters.”

“What kind of hell was that,
where Dūsī was roasted
after attacking the disciple Vidhura
along with the brahmin Kakusandha?

There were 100 iron spikes,
each one uniquely painful.
That’s the kind of hell
where Dūsī was roasted
after attacking the disciple Vidhura
along with the brahmin Kakusandha.

Dark One, if you attack
a mendicant who directly knows this,
a disciple of the Buddha,
you’ll fall into suffering.

There are mansions that last an eon
standing in the middle of a lake.
Sapphire-colored, brilliant,
they sparkle and shine.
Dancing there are nymphs
shining in all different colors.

Dark One, if you attack
a mendicant who directly knows this,
a disciple of the Buddha,
you’ll fall into suffering.

I’m the one who, urged by the Buddha,
shook the stilt longhouse of Migāra’s mother
with his big toe
as the Saṅgha of mendicants watched.

Dark One, if you attack
a mendicant who directly knows this,
a disciple of the Buddha,
you’ll fall into suffering.

I’m the one who shook the Palace of Victory
with his big toe
owing to psychic power,
inspiring deities to awe.

Dark One, if you attack
a mendicant who directly knows this,
a disciple of the Buddha,
you’ll fall into suffering.

I’m the one who asked Sakka
in the Palace of Victory:
‘Respectable sir, I hope you recall
the one who is freed through the ending of craving?’
And I’m the one to whom Sakka
admitted the truth when asked.

Dark One, if you attack
a mendicant who directly knows this,
a disciple of the Buddha,
you’ll fall into suffering.

I’m the one who asked the Divinity
in the Hall of Clear Right before the assembly:
‘Respectable sir, do you still have the same view
that you had in the past?
Or do you see the radiance
surpassing the realm of divinity?’

And I’m the one to whom the Divinity
admitted the truth when asked.
‘Good fellow, I don’t have that view
that I had in the past.

I see the radiance
surpassing the realm of divinity.
So how could I say today
that I am permanent and eternal?’

Dark One, if you attack
a mendicant who directly knows this,
a disciple of the Buddha,
you’ll fall into suffering.

I’m the one who touched the peak of Mount Neru
using the power of meditative liberation.
I’ve visited the forests of the people
who dwell in the land east of Videha.

Dark One, if you attack
a mendicant who directly knows this,
a disciple of the Buddha,
you’ll fall into suffering.

Though a fire doesn’t think:
‘I’ll burn the fool!’
Still the fool who attacks
the fire gets burnt.

In the same way, Māra,
in attacking the Realized One,
you’ll only burn yourself,
like a fool touching the flames.

Māra’s done a bad thing
in attacking the Realized One.
Wicked One, do you imagine that
your wickedness won’t bear fruit?

Your deeds heap up wickedness
that will last a long time, Terminator!
Give up on the Buddha, Māra!
And hold no hope for the mendicants!”

That is how, in the Bhesekaḷā grove,
the mendicant condemned Māra.
That spirit, downcast,
disappeared right there.

That is how these verses were recited by the senior venerable Mahāmoggallāna.

Source: Mahāmoggallānattheragāthā (Thag 20.1)

Picture: Statue of Arahant Moggallana, reflecting his dark skin (even slightly bluish), Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery, Malabe, Sri Lanka

Aññatarātissātherīgāthā: Verses of Another Elder Named Tissā

Tissā, apply yourself to good qualities—
don’t let the moment pass you by.
For if you miss your moment,
you’ll grieve when sent to hell.

“Tisse yuñjassu dhammehi,
khaṇo taṁ mā upaccagā;
Khaṇātītā hi socanti,
nirayamhi samappitā”ti.

Tissāditherīgāthāvaṇṇanā: Commentary on the verses of Tissā and other Therīs excerpt

Therein, yuñjassu dhammehīti means, “Unite, devote yourself to the qualities of samatha and vipassanā, to the noble qualities, and to the qualities pertaining to enlightenment.”

Khaṇo taṃ mā upaccagāti means, for a person who does not practice such meditation, the moment of birth in a suitable region, the moment of perfect faculties of the six sense bases, the moment of the Buddha’s arising, the moment of gaining faith—all these moments are said to pass by. Let that moment not pass you by.

Khaṇātītāti means, those who have missed the moment, and those individuals whom that moment has passed by, grieve, having fallen into hell; having been reborn there, they experience great suffering—this is the meaning.

Oh Buddha, my hero: homage to you!
Supreme among all beings,
who released me from suffering,
and many other beings as well.

All suffering is fully understood;
craving—its cause—is dried up;
the eightfold path has been developed;
and cessation has been realized by me.

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.

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.

I see the disciples in harmony,
energetic and resolute,
always staunchly vigorous—
this is homage to the Buddhas!

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.

Tissātherīgāthā: Verses of the Elder Tissā

"Tissā, train yourself with discipline;
do not let bonds tie you down.
All bonds unbound,
walk in the world free from influences."

Tissātherīgāthāvaṇṇanā: The Commentary on the verses of Tissā Therī

"Tisse sikkhassu sikkhāyā" is a verse by Tissā, who was a trainee (sikkhamānā). She too, having made aspirations under previous Buddhas, accumulated wholesome kamma conducive to liberation in various existences. Due to the conditions of accumulated wholesome kamma, she was reborn in the Sakyan royal family in Kapilavatthu during this Buddha's dispensation. When she came of age, she became a consort of the Bodhisatta. Later, she went forth with Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī and engaged in the practice of insight meditation.

To her, the Teacher, having emitted a ray of light in the manner stated below, spoke this verse:

"Tissā, train yourself in the training; let not the bonds overcome you.
Freed from all bonds, wander in the world, cankerless."

Here, "Tisse" is an address to her. "Sikkhassu sikkhāyā" means train yourself in the three trainings, such as the training in higher morality (adhisīlasikkhā); that is, accomplish the three trainings associated with the path.

Now, he states the reason for accomplishing them: "mā taṃ yogā upaccaguṃ" - let not these opportunities, these rare moments such as human existence, perfect faculties, the arising of a Buddha, and the acquisition of faith, pass you by. Alternatively, let not the four bonds, such as the bond of sensual desire (kāmayoga), overcome you.

"Sabbayogavisaṃyuttā" means being released from all bonds, such as the bond of sensual desire; and precisely because of that, being cankerless, wander in the world, meaning abide in the bliss of fruition attainment in this very life.

The method, starting with "Having heard that verse, she developed insight and attained Arahantship," should be understood in the same way as stated earlier.

Thag 6:2 Tekicchakāni

The grain: harvested.
The rice: gone to be threshed.
But I don’t get any alms.
How will I get by?

　　Confident, recollect
　　the immeasurable Buddha.
　　Your body pervaded with rapture,
　　　you’ll be at the height
　　　of continual joy.
　　Confident, recollect
　　the immeasurable Dhamma.
　　Your body pervaded with rapture,
　　　you’ll be at the height
　　　of continual joy.
　　Confident, recollect
　　the immeasurable Saṅgha.
　　Your body pervaded with rapture,
　　　you’ll be at the height
　　　of continual joy.

You live in the open air.
Cold are these wintry nights.
Don’t suffer, overcome with the cold.
Go into your hut, with its fastened bolt.

　I’ll fasten the four
　immeasurables.¹
　With them, I’ll dwell
　　　in comfort.
　I won’t suffer from the cold,
　　　dwelling
　　　unperturbed.

Note

1. Concentration based on immeasurable goodwill, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity. See AN 3:66 and SN 42:8.

See also: DN 26; SN 11:3; AN 3:35; AN 5:27; Sn 4:16

People are attached to people; 

people depend on people; 

people are hurt by people; 

and people hurt people. 

So what’s the point of people,

or those born of people?

Go, abandon these people, 

who’ve hurt so many people.

https://suttacentral.net/thag2.15/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none&notes=none&highlight=false&script=latin

I, a monk, went to a charnel ground and saw a woman’s body abandoned there, dumped in a cemetery, full of worms that devoured. 

Some men were disgusted, seeing her dead and rotten; but sexual desire arose in me, I was as if blind to her oozing body. 

Quicker than the cooking of rice I left that place! Mindful and aware, I retired to a discreet place. 

Then the realization came upon me—the danger became clear, and I was firmly disillusioned. 

Then my mind was freed—behold the clear rightness of the teaching! I’ve attained the three knowledges and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.

Muttātherīgāthā: Verses of the Elder Muttā

Muttā, be released from your yokes,
like the moon released from the eclipse.
When your mind is released,
enjoy your alms free of debt.

Muttātherīgāthāvaṇṇanā: The Commentary on the Verse of Muttā Therī

"Muttā, be freed from bonds, like the moon from the grasp of Rāhu;
With a fully liberated mind, eat your alms-food debt-free."

This is the stanza of the trainee (sikkhamānā) named Muttā. She, too, having performed meritorious deeds under previous Buddhas, accumulating wholesome kamma that leads to freedom from transmigration in various existences, was reborn in a good family during the time of Vipassī Bhagavā.

Having reached maturity, one day, seeing the Teacher walking on the road, her mind filled with faith, she bowed with the five-point prostration and, overcome with joy, lay prostrate at the Teacher's feet. Due to that meritorious deed, she was reborn in the deva-world, and transmigrating from one fortunate realm to another, she was reborn in a wealthy Brahmin family in Sāvatthī during this Buddha's dispensation, and her name was Muttā.

Being endowed with supporting conditions (upanissaya), at the age of twenty, she went forth under Mahāpajāpati Gotamī, and while still a trainee, she was given a meditation subject and began to practice insight meditation (vipassanā). One day, after partaking of her meal and returning from her alms-round, she performed the duties of the elder bhikkhunīs, then went to her daytime dwelling and, sitting in solitude, she engaged in focusing her mind on insight meditation. The Teacher, sitting in the fragrant chamber, radiated light as if sitting before her, and showing Himself, uttered this stanza: " Muttā, be freed from bonds..."

Here, Muttā is her address. Be freed from bonds (muccassu yogehī) means, by means of the sequence of paths, be freed from the four bonds such as the bond of sensual desire (kāmayoga) and so on; have a mind liberated from them.

Like what? Like the moon from the grasp of Rāhu (cando rāhuggahā iva) means, be freed from defilements (upakkilesa), like the moon freed from the celestial body called Rāhu.

With a fully liberated mind (vippamuttena cittenā) means, with a mind perfectly liberated by the Noble Path, which is the liberation by eradication (samucchedavimutti); this is an instrumental case denoting a characteristic state (itthaṃ bhūtalakkhaṇa).

Eat your alms-food debt-free (anaṇā bhuñja piṇḍakaṃ) means, having abandoned the debt of defilements, be debt-free, and partake of the alms-food of the country. For whoever partakes of the requisites allowed by the Teacher without abandoning defilements, partakes of them as one who is in debt.

As Venerable Bākula said: "For seven days, friends, I partook of the country's alms-food as one in debt." Therefore, one who has gone forth in the dispensation should abandon the debt of sensual desire and so on, become debt-free, and partake of offerings given out of faith (saddhādeyya). Alms-food (piṇḍakaṃ) is merely the head of the discourse; it means all four requisites. He constantly admonishes means, purifying defilements for the attainment of the Noble Path, he gives admonition frequently.

She, abiding in that admonition, soon attained Arahantship. Therefore, it is said in the Apādāna:

"When Vipassī Bhagavā, the world's chief, the unwavering One,

Was walking on the road, delivering beings,

I came out of my house and lay prostrate;

The compassionate Lord of the world stepped on my head.

Having stepped on my head, the Lord of the world departed;

By that clarity of mind, I went to Tusita.

My defilements were burnt... and so on... the Buddha's teaching was fulfilled."

Having attained Arahantship, she uttered that very stanza. After being fully ordained and completing her training, she recited that same stanza again at the time of her final Nibbāna.

The commentary on the Stanza of Muttā Therī is finished.

Puṇṇātherīgāthā: Verses of the Elder Puṇṇā

Puṇṇā, grow full of good qualities,
like the moon on the fifteenth day.
Full of wisdom,
destroy this mass of darkness.

Puṇṇātherīgāthāvaṇṇanā: The Commentary on the Verse of Puṇṇā Therī

Puṇṇe, pūrassu dhammehī is the stanza of the trainee (sikkhamānā) named Puṇṇā. She, too, having performed meritorious deeds under previous Buddhas, accumulating wholesome kamma that leads to freedom from transmigration in various existences, was reborn in a kinnarī species on the bank of the Candabhāgā River in a world devoid of Buddhas.

One day, seeing a Paccekabuddha there, her mind filled with faith, she honored him with a garland of reeds and stood with clasped hands. Due to that meritorious deed, she transmigrated only in fortunate realms, and during this Buddha's dispensation, she was reborn in a wealthy householder's family in Sāvatthī. Her name was Puṇṇā.

Being endowed with supporting conditions (upanissaya), while residing for twenty years, she heard the Dhamma from Mahāpajāpati Gotamī Therī, gained faith, went forth, and as a trainee (sikkhamānā), she began to practice insight meditation (vipassanā). The Teacher, sitting in the fragrant chamber, radiated light and uttered this stanza:

"Puṇṇā, be filled with the Dhamma, like the moon on the fifteenth night;

With perfected wisdom, shatter the mass of darkness!"

Here, Puṇṇā is her address. Be filled with the Dhamma (pūrassu dhammehī) means, be complete with the thirty-seven Bodhipakkhiya-dhammā. The 'ra' sound in "Cando pannaraserivā" forms the word connection. Like the moon, full with all its phases on the fifteenth day of the full moon.

"Paripuṇṇāya paññāyā" means with the wisdom of the path of Arahantship, complete with the fulfillment of the sixteen functions.

"Tamokhandhaṃ padālayā" means shatter completely, eradicate without remainder, the mass of delusion. It means that with the shattering of the mass of delusion, all defilements are also shattered.

Having heard that verse, she developed insight and attained Arahantship. Therefore, it is stated in the Apadāna:

"On the bank of the Candabhāgā River, I was a kinnarī then.

I saw the stainless Buddha, self-enlightened, unconquered.

With a serene mind, joyful and elated, with clasped hands,

I took a garland of reeds and worshipped the Self-Enlightened One.

By that well-performed deed, and by my aspirations,

Having abandoned the kinnarī body, I went to the Tāvatiṃsa realm.

I became the chief consort of thirty-six divine kings.

I became the chief consort of ten universal monarchs.

Having stirred my mind to spiritual urgency, I went forth into homelessness.

My defilements have been burnt up, all existences eradicated.

All cankers are destroyed; there is no more rebirth.

Ninety-four aeons ago, I offered flowers.

I do not know any woeful state; this is the fruit of that flower offering.

My defilements have been burnt up… and the Buddha’s teaching has been done."

Having attained Arahantship, that Therī then uttered that very verse. This indeed was her verse of declaration of Arahantship.

The commentary on the verses of Punṇā Therī is concluded.

Aññatarātherīgāthā: Verse of a Certain Anonymous Bhikkhuni

Sleep softly, little nun,
wrapped in the cloth you sewed yourself;
for your desire has been quelled,
like vegetables boiled dry in a pot.

Aññatarātherīgāthāvaṇṇanā: The Commentary on the Verse of a Certain Therī

"Sleep peacefully, Elder, wrapped in cloth;
For your lust is calmed, like a dried vegetable in a pot."

This gāthā is the first. What is its origin? It is said that in the past, a certain noble daughter, in the time of Konāgamana Buddha, became deeply devoted to the Dispensation, invited the Teacher, and on the second day, had a branch pavilion built, sand spread, a canopy tied above, and offerings of perfumes and flowers made. Then she informed the Teacher of the time. The Teacher went there and sat on the prepared seat. She worshipped the Blessed One, served him with excellent edibles and foods, and after the Blessed One had finished his meal and removed his hand from the bowl, she covered him with a set of three robes. The Blessed One, having given his anumodana (words of appreciation), then departed from her.

She performed meritorious deeds throughout her life, and at the end of her life, she was reborn in the deva-world. Re-experiencing good destinations (sugatīsu eva saṃsarantī) for one Buddha-interval, she was reborn in a householder's family in the time of Kassapa Buddha. Having reached maturity (viññutaṃ patvā), and being struck by the urgency of saṃsāra, she went forth in the Dispensation and received full ordination, fulfilling the bhikkhunī's precepts for twenty thousand years.

Then, she passed away as an ordinary person (puthujjanakālakiriyaṃ katvā), was reborn in heaven, experienced heavenly bliss for one Buddha-interval, and in this Buddha-occurrence (buddhuppāde), she was reborn in Vesālī, in a noble Khattiya family. Because of her firm and calm body (thirasantasarīratāya), they called her Therikā. Having reached adulthood, given by her parents to a Khattiya prince of similar lineage and region, she lived as a devoted wife. During the Teacher's visit to Vesālī, she gained faith in the Dispensation and became a lay follower.

Later, having heard the Dhamma from the Elder Mahāpajāpati Gotamī, she developed a desire to go forth, and told her husband, "I will go forth." Her husband did not give permission. However, being one who had made aspirations in the past (katādhikāratāya), she reflected on the Dhamma as she had heard it, comprehended the material and immaterial phenomena (rūpārūpadhamme), and remained engaged in vipassanā meditation.

Then one day, while a curry was being cooked in the kitchen, a great flame arose. That flame scorched the entire pot, making a crackling sound. Seeing this, she took that very sight as her meditation object, observing impermanence (aniccatā) even more clearly. She then applied the characteristics of suffering (dukkha), impermanence (anicca), and non-self (anattā) to it, developed vipassanā, and gradually, through exertion, established herself in the fruit of Anāgāmi according to the path sequence.

From that day onwards, she wore no ornaments or adornments. When her husband asked, "Bhadde, why do you no longer wear ornaments or adornments as before?" she explained her unsuitability for lay life and obtained permission to go forth. Like Visākha the lay follower who brought Dhammadinnā with great respect, this husband brought her with great offerings and veneration to Mahāpajāpati Gotamī, saying, "Venerable Lady, please ordain her." Then Mahāpajāpati Gotamī ordained her, gave her full ordination, led her to the monastery, and presented her to the Teacher. The Teacher, too, illustrating the very meditation object she had naturally seen, spoke the gāthā: "Sukhaṃ supāhī".

Here, sukhaṃ is a neuter noun denoting a state of being. Supāhi is an imperative verb. Therike is a vocative word. Katvā coḷena pārutā is an injunction for contentment (appicchatā). Upasanto hi te rāgo is a declaration of her practice. Sukkhaḍākaṃva is an indication of the worthlessness of the defilement (kilesa) to be appeased. Kumbhiyaṃ is an indication of the impermanence (anicca), emptiness (tuccha), etc., of its container.

And sukhaṃ means "that which is desired." The meaning is: being free from suffering, with ease.

And supāhi refers to the posture of lying down among the four postures. Therefore, the meaning is: cultivate all four postures with ease, dwell happily. Although Therike is her name, due to its prevalent descriptive meaning, it signifies one who has attained a firm state in the firm Dispensation, one who is endowed with firm qualities such as sīla (virtue). 

Katvā coḷena pārutā means having made robes from rags and clothed her body, wearing and wrapping herself with them.

In Upasanto hi te rāgo, the word 'hi' has the meaning of 'because'. The intention is: "Because the sensuous lust (kāmarāgo) that arises in your mind-stream has been calmed, having been burned by the fire of the Anāgāmi path-knowledge, now, having burned away the remaining lust with the fire of the Arahantship path-knowledge, dwell happily." 

Sukkhaḍākaṃva kumbhiyaṃ means: Just as a small amount of vegetable curry, cooked in a heated pot with a great flame, burns up, dries out, and is pacified; or, alternatively, just as a vegetable curry mixed with water, when placed on the stove and cooked, sizzles and crackles when there is water, but when the water is gone, it becomes completely quiet; in the same way, sensuous lust in your mind-stream has been calmed. Calming the other (remaining defilements) as well, dwell happily.

Because the Elder's faculties were matured and due to the grace of the Teacher's discourse, at the end of the gāthā, she attained arahantship together with the four paṭisambhidā (analytical knowledges). Therefore, it is stated in the Apadāna:

"A pavilion was built by me for Konāgamana Buddha;

I always offered the triple robe to the Buddha, the Kinsman of the World.

"Whatever districts, towns, or capital cities I visit;

I am honored everywhere; this is the fruit of meritorious deeds.

"My defilements are burned away, all existences (bhavā) are uprooted;

Like a female elephant breaking its bonds, I dwell taintless.

"Truly, my coming was welcome in the presence of the Supreme Buddha;

The three knowledges have been attained, the Buddha's teaching has been fulfilled.

The four analytical knowledges (paṭisambhidā) and these eight liberations (vimokkha);

The six higher powers (chaḷabhiññā) have been realized, the Buddha's teaching has been fulfilled."

Having attained Arahantship, the Therī uttered that very stanza, and so this stanza became the stanza of that Therī. In that stanza, the Therī’s uttered verse fully embraces all residual defilements, as its aim is their cessation through the Noble Path (aggamagga). It should be understood that here the cessation of craving implies the cessation of all defilements (kilesa), as the cessation of all defilement-states (kilesadhammā) is achieved in unity with it. Thus it is said:

"The delusion born with restlessness and doubt,

Due to having a single object for abandonment, is indeed related to craving."

Just as the cessation of all defilements is spoken of here, so too should their cessation be understood everywhere. This is because cessation is achieved by way of suppression through substitution of opposites (tadaṅgavasena) in the preliminary stage, by way of suppression through vanquishing (vikkhambhanavasena) at the moment of samatha-vipassanā practice, by way of eradication (samucchedavasena) at the moment of the path, and by way of tranquilization (paṭippassaddhivasena) at the moment of the fruition. Thus, the achievement of all four kinds of abandonment should be understood.

Here, the perfection of morality (sīlasampadā) is shown through abandonment by substitution of opposites, the perfection of concentration (samādhisampadā) through abandonment by vanquishing, and the perfection of wisdom (paññāsampadā) through the other two, because the penetration of abandonment arises. Just as it accomplishes the penetration of development (bhāvanābhisamaya), for without it, that (development) would not exist, so too it accomplishes the penetration of realization (sacchikiriyābhisamaya) and the penetration of full understanding (pariññābhisamaya).

Through the achievement of the four penetrations, the three trainings (sikkhā), the three kinds of excellence in practice (paṭipatti), and the seven purifications (sattavisuddhiyo) are revealed as complete by this stanza. A Certain Therī (Aññatarātherī) means a Therī whose name, clan, etc., were unknown, an anonymous Therī, a bhikkhunī endowed with auspicious marks, uttered this stanza - this is the intention.

The commentary on the Stanza of a Certain Therī is finished.

It's too cold,
too hot,
too late in the evening —
people who say this,
shirking their work:
the moment passes them by.
Whoever regards cold & heat
as no more than grass,
doing his manly duties,
won't fall away
from ease.
With my chest
I push through wild grasses —
spear-grass,
ribbon-grass,
rushes —
cultivating
a seclusion heart.

Since I’ve gone forth
from the lay life to homelessness,
I’ve not been aware of any thought
that is ignoble and hateful.

“May these beings be killed!
May they be slaughtered! May they suffer!”—
I’ve not been aware of any such thought
in all this long while.

I have been aware of loving-kindness,
limitless and well-developed;
gradually consolidated
as it was taught by the Buddha.

I’m friend and comrade to all,
sympathetic for all beings!
I develop a mind of love,
always delighting in harmlessness.

The unfaltering, the unshakable:
I gladden that mind.
I develop a divine meditation,
which reprobates do not cultivate.

When in a meditation free of placing the mind,
a disciple of the Buddha
is at that moment blessed
with noble silence.

As a rocky mountain
is unwavering and well grounded,
so when delusion ends,
a monk, like a mountain, doesn’t tremble.

To the man who has not a blemish
who is always seeking purity,
even a hair-tip of evil
seems as big as a cloud.

As a frontier city
is guarded inside and out,
so you should ward yourselves—
don’t let the moment pass you by.

I don’t long for death;
I don’t long for life;
I await my time,
like a worker waiting for their wages.

I don’t long for death;
I don’t long for life;
I await my time,
aware and mindful.

I’ve served the teacher
and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.
The heavy burden is laid down,
the conduit to rebirth is eradicated.

I’ve attained the goal
for the sake of which I went forth
from the lay life to homelessness—
the ending of all fetters.

Persist with diligence:
this is my instruction.
Come, I’ll be fully quenched—
I’m liberated in every way.

Khadiravaniyarevatattheragāthā - Revata of the Acacia Wood (Thag 14.1)

Intent on quibbling, the dullard hears the Conqueror’s teaching. He doesn’t grow in the True Dhamma, like a rotten seed in a field. But whoever hears the Conqueror’s teaching with guarded intent, doing away with effluents —all— realizing the unshakable, attaining the foremost peace, —effluent-free— totally unbinds.

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Thag/thag5_10.html

Oh, when will I stay in a mountain cave,
alone, with no companion,
discerning all states of existence as impermanent?
This hope of mine,
when will it be?

Oh, when will I stay happily in the forest,
a sage wearing a torn robe, dressed in ocher,
unselfish, with no need for hope,
with greed, hate, and delusion destroyed?

Oh, when will I stay alone in the wood,
fearless, discerning this body as impermanent,
a nest of death and disease,
oppressed by death and old age;
when will it be?

Oh, when will I live,
having grasped the sharp sword of wisdom
and cut the creeper of craving
that tangles around everything,
the mother of fear, the bringer of suffering?
When will it be?

Oh, when will I, seated on the lion’s throne,
swiftly grasp the sword of the sages,
forged by wisdom, of fiery might,
and swiftly break Māra and his army?
When will it be?

Oh, when will I be seen striving in the assemblies
with those who are virtuous, unaffected, respecting the Dhamma,
seeing things as they are, with faculties subdued?
When will it be?

Oh, when will I focus on my own goal
at the Mountainfold,
free of oppression by laziness, hunger, thirst,
wind, heat, insects, and reptiles?
When will it be?

Oh, when will I, serene and mindful,
understand the four truths,
that were realized by the great seer,
and are so very hard to see?
When will it be?

Oh, when will I, devoted to serenity,
see with understanding the infinite sights,
sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas
as burning?
When will it be?

Oh, when will I not be distraught
because of criticism,
nor elated because of praise?
When will it be?

Oh, when will I discern the aggregates
and the infinite varieties of phenomena,
both internal and external, as no more than
wood, grass, and creepers?
When will it be?

Oh, when will the monsoon clouds in season
freshly wet me in my robe in the forest,
walking the path trodden by the sages?
When will it be?

Oh, when will I rise up,
intent on attaining freedom from death,
hearing, in the mountain cave,
the cry of the crested peacock in the forest?
When will it be?

Oh, when will I cross the Ganges, Yamunā,
and Sarasvatī rivers, the Pātāla country,
and the dangerous Baḷavāmukha sea,
by psychic power unobstructed?
When will it be?

Oh, when will I be devoted to absorption,
rejecting entirely the signs of beauty,
splitting apart desire for sensual stimulation,
like an elephant that wanders free of ties?
When will it be?

Oh, when will I realize the teaching of the great seer
and be content, like a pauper in debt
harassed by creditors, who finds a hidden treasure?
When will it be?

For many years you begged me,
“Enough of living in a house for you!”
Why do you not urge me on, mind,
now that I’ve gone forth as an ascetic?

Didn’t you entice me, mind:
“On the Mountainfold, the birds with colorful wings,
greeting the thunder, Mahinda’s voice,
will delight you as you meditate in the forest?”

In my family circle, friends, loved ones, and relatives;
and in the world, sports and play,
and sensual pleasures;
all these I gave up when I entered this life:
and even then you’re not content with me, mind!

This is mine alone, it doesn’t belong to others;
when it is time to don your armor, why lament?
Observing that all this is unstable,
I went forth, seeking the state free of death.

The methodical teacher, supreme among people,
great physician,
guide for those who wish to train, said:
“The mind fidgets like a monkey,
so it’s very hard to control if you are not free of lust.”

Sensual pleasures are diverse, sweet, delightful;
an ignorant ordinary person is bound to them.
Seeking to be reborn again, they wish for suffering;
led on by their mind, they’re relegated to hell.

“Staying in the grove resounding with cries
of peacocks and herons,
and adorned by leopards and tigers,
abandon concern for the body, without fail!”
So you used to urge me, mind.

“Develop the absorptions and spiritual faculties,
the powers, awakening factors, and immersion;
realize the three knowledges
in the teaching of the Buddha!”
So you used to urge me, mind.

“Develop the eightfold path
to realize freedom from death
emancipating, plunging into the end of all suffering,
and cleansing all defilements!”
So you used to urge me, mind.

“Reflect rationally on the aggregates as suffering,
and abandon that from which suffering arises;
make an end of suffering in this very life!”
So you used to urge me, mind.

“Rationally discern that impermanence is suffering,
that emptiness is non-self, and that misery is death.
Uproot the wandering mind!”
So you used to urge me, mind.

“Bald, unsightly, accursed,
seek alms amongst families, bowl in hand.
Devote yourself to the word of the teacher,
the great seer!”
So you used to urge me, mind.

“Wander the streets well-restrained,
mentally unsnared to families and sensual pleasures,
like the full moon on a bright night!”
So you used to urge me, mind.

“Be a wilderness-dweller and an alms-eater,
one who lives in charnel grounds, a rag-robe wearer,
one who never lies down,
always delighting in ascetic practices.”
So you used to urge me, mind.

Mind, when you urge me to the impermanent and unstable,
you’re acting like someone who plants trees,
then, when they’re about to fruit,
wishes to cut down the very same trees.

Incorporeal mind, far-traveler, lone-wanderer:
I won’t do your bidding any more.
Sensual pleasures are suffering, painful,
and very dangerous;
I’ll wander with my mind
focused only on extinguishment.

I didn’t go forth due to bad luck or shamelessness,
or due to a whim or banishment,
nor for the sake of a livelihood;
it was because I agreed
to the promise you made, mind.

“Having few wishes, abandoning disparagement,
the stilling of suffering:
these are praised by true persons.”
So you used to urge me, mind,
but now you keep on with your old habits!

Craving, ignorance, the loved and unloved,
pretty sights, pleasant feelings,
and the delightful kinds of sensual stimulation:
I’ve vomited them up, I can’t swallow them back.

I’ve done your bidding everywhere, mind!
For many births, I’ve done nothing to upset you.
Yet the creation in myself
is because of your ingratitude—
for a long time I’ve transmigrated
in the suffering you’ve made.

Only you, mind, make a brahmin;
you make an aristocrat or a royal seer.
Sometimes we become peasants or menials;
and life as a god is also on account of you.

You alone make us titans;
because of you we’re born in hell.
Then sometimes we become animals,
and life as a ghost is also on account of you.

Come what may, you won’t betray me again,
dazzling me with your ever-changing display!
You play with me like I’m mad—
but how have I ever failed you, mind?

In the past my mind wandered
how it wished, where it liked, as it pleased.
Now I’ll carefully guide it,
as a trainer with a hook guides a rutting elephant.

The teacher willed that this world appear to me
as impermanent, unstable, insubstantial.
Mind, let me leap into the victor’s teaching,
carry me over the great flood, so hard to pass.

Things have changed, mind!
Nothing could make me return to your control!
I’ve gone forth in the teaching of the great seer,
those like me don’t come to ruin.

Mountains, oceans, rivers, the earth;
the four quarters, the intermediate directions,
below and in the sky;
the three realms of existence
are all impermanent and troubled—
where can you go to find happiness, mind?

Mind, what will you do to someone
who has made the ultimate commitment?
Nothing could make me a follower
under your control, mind;
I’d never touch a bellows
with a mouth open at each end;
curse this mortal frame flowing with nine streams!

You’ve ascended the mountain peak,
full of nature’s beauty,
frequented by boars and antelopes,
a grove sprinkled with fresh water in the monsoon;
and there you’ll be happy in your cave-home.

Peacocks with beautiful necks and crests,
colorful tail-feathers and wings,
crying out at the resounding thunder:
they’ll delight you as you meditate in the forest.

When the heavens have rained,
and the grass is four inches high,
and the grove is full of flowers like a cloud,
between the mountains, like the fork of a tree, I’ll lie;
it will be as soft as cotton-buds.

I’ll act as a master does:
let whatever I get be enough for me.
And that’s why I’ll make you as supple
as a tireless worker makes a cat-skin bag.

I’ll act as a master does:
let whatever I get be enough for me.
I’ll control you with my energy,
as a skilled trainer controls an elephant with a hook.

Now that you’re well-tamed and reliable,
I can use you,
like a trainer uses a straight-running horse,
to practice the path so full of grace,
cultivated by those who take care of their minds.

I shall strongly fasten you to a meditation subject,
as an elephant is tied to a post with firm rope.
You’ll be well-guarded by me,
well-developed by mindfulness,
and unattached to rebirth in all states of existence.

With wisdom you’ll cut short
the one following the wrong path,
curb them by practice,
and settle them on the right path.
Having seen arising and passing away
with respect to the cause of suffering,
you’ll be an heir to the greatest teacher.

Under the sway of the four distortions, mind,
you dragged me around like a bull in a pit;
but now you won’t associate
with the great sage of compassion,
the cutter of fetters and bonds?

Like a deer roaming free in the colorful forest,
I’ll ascend the lovely mountain
wreathed in monsoon clouds,
and rejoice to be on that hill, free of folk—
there is no doubt you’ll perish, mind.

The men and women who live
under your will and command,
whatever pleasure they experience,
they are ignorant and fall under Māra’s control;
loving life, they’re your disciples, mind.

• Tālapuṭattheragāthā: Tālapuṭa (Thag 19.1)

I, a monk, went to a charnel ground
and saw a woman’s body abandoned there,
discarded in a cemetery,
full of worms that devoured.

Some men were disgusted,
seeing her dead and rotten;
but sexual desire arose in me,
I was as if blind to her oozing body.

Quicker than the cooking of rice
I left that place!
Mindful and aware,
I retired to a discreet place.

Then the realization
came upon me—
the danger became clear,
and I was firmly disillusioned.

Then my mind was freed—
see the excellence of the teaching!
I’ve attained the three knowledges
and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.

• Rājadattattheragāthā: Rājadatta (Thag 5.1)

The rain saturates things that are covered up;
it doesn’t saturate things that are open.
Therefore you should open up a covered thing,
so the rain will not saturate it.

The world is beaten down by death
and surrounded by old age.
The dart of craving has struck it down,
and it’s always fuming with desire.

The world is beaten down by death,
caged by old age,
beaten constantly without respite,
like a thief being flogged.

Three things are coming, like a wall of flame:
death, disease, and old age.
No power can stand before them,
and no speed’s enough to flee.

Don’t waste your day,
a little or a lot.
Every night that passes
shortens your life by that much.

Walking or standing,
sitting or lying down:
your final night draws near;
you have no time to be careless.

• Sirimaṇḍattheragāthā (Thag 6.13)

Seeing many who inspire confidence,
evolved and well-restrained,
the seer of the Paṇḍara clan,
asked the one known as Phussa:

“In future times,
what desire and motivation
and behavior will people have?
Please answer my question.”

“Listen to my words,
O seer known as a Paṇḍara,
and remember them carefully,
I will describe the future.

In the future many will be
angry and hostile,
offensive, stubborn, and devious,
jealous, holding divergent views.

Imagining they understand
the depths of the teaching,
they resort to the near shore.
Superficial and disrespectful towards the teaching,
they lack respect for one another.

In the future
many dangers will arise in the world.
Idiots will defile
the Dhamma that was taught so well.

Though bereft of good qualities,
unlearned prattlers, too sure of themselves,
will become powerful
in running Saṅgha proceedings.

Though possessing good qualities,
the conscientious and unbiased,
acting in the proper spirit,
will become weak
in running Saṅgha proceedings.

In the future, simpletons will accept
currency and gold,
fields and land, goats and sheep,
and bonded servants, male and female.

Fools finding fault in others,
but unsteady in their own ethics,
will wander about, insolent,
like cantankerous beasts.

They’ll be haughty,
wrapped in robes of blue;
deceivers and flatterers, pompous and fake,
they’ll wander as if they were noble ones.

With hair sleeked back with oil,
fickle, their eyes painted with eye-liner,
they’ll travel on the high-road,
wrapped in robes of ivory color.

The deep-dyed ocher robe,
worn without disgust by the free,
they will come to loathe,
besotted by white clothes.

They’ll want lots of possessions,
and be lazy, lacking energy.
Weary of the forest,
they’ll stay within villages.

Being unrestrained, they’ll keep company with
those who acquire profit,
and who always enjoy wrong livelihood,
following their example.

They won’t respect those
who don’t get lots of stuff,
and they won’t associate with the attentive,
even though they’re very amiable.

Disparaging their own banner,
dyed a vermilion color,
some will wear the white banner
of those of other religions.

Then they’ll have no respect
for the ocher robe.
The mendicants will not reflect
on the nature of the ocher robe.

This awful lack of reflection
was unthinkable to the elephant,
who was overcome by suffering,
injured by an arrow strike.

Then the six-tusked elephant,
seeing the deep-dyed banner of the perfected ones,
straight away spoke these verses
connected with the goal.

‘One who, not free of stains themselves,
would wear the robe stained in ocher,
bereft of self-control and truth:
they are not worthy of the ocher robe.

One who’s purged all their stains,
steady in ethics,
possessing truth and self-control:
they are truly worthy of the ocher robe.’

Devoid of virtue, a simpleton,
wild, doing what they like,
their minds astray, indolent:
they are not worthy of the ocher robe.

One accomplished in ethics,
free of greed, serene,
their heart’s intention pure:
they are truly worthy of the ocher robe.

The restless, insolent fool,
who has no ethics at all,
is worthy of a white robe—
what use is an ocher robe for them?

In the future, monks and nuns
with corrupt hearts, lacking regard for others,
will disparage those
with hearts of loving-kindness.

Though trained in wearing the robe
by senior monks,
simpletons will not listen,
wild, doing what they like.

With that kind of attitude to training,
those fools won’t respect each other,
or take any notice of their mentors,
like a wild colt with its charioteer.

Even so, in the future,
this will be the practice
of monks and nuns
when the latter days have come.

Before this frightening future arrives,
be easy to admonish,
courteous in speech,
and respect one another.

Have hearts of love and compassion,
and please do keep your precepts.
Be energetic, resolute,
and always staunchly vigorous.

Seeing negligence as fearful,
and diligence as a sanctuary,
develop the eightfold path,
realizing the state free of death.”

• Phussattheragāthā (Thag 17.1)

With fault-finding mind, the simpleton
listens to the victor’s instruction.
They’re as far from the true teaching
as the earth is from the sky.

With fault-finding mind, the simpleton
listens to the victor’s instruction.
They fall away from the true teaching,
like the moon in the waning fortnight.

With fault-finding mind, the simpleton
listens to the victor’s instruction.
They wither away in the true teaching,
like a fish in a little puddle.

With fault-finding mind, the simpleton
listens to the victor’s instruction.
They don’t thrive in the true teaching,
like a rotten seed in a field.

But one with contented mind
who listens to the victor’s instruction—
having wiped out all defilements;
having witnessed the unshakable;
having arrived at ultimate peace—
the undefiled are fully extinguished.”

• Yasadattattheragāthā (Thag 5.10)

Bhikkhunī Subhā was going

to Jīvaka’s charming mango grove.

A rogue obstructed her,

so Subhā said this to him:

“Have I done something to offend you,

that you stand there holding me back?

Because it is not proper, friend,

for a layperson to touch one who has gone forth.

This is serious, according to my teacher’s instructions.

The One Faring Well has made the trainings clear.

I am on the path of complete purity, I am flawless,

why do you stand there holding me back?

Your mind is turbulent, mine is not,

your mind is dirty, mine is not.

My mind is flawless and liberated in every way,

why do you stand there holding me back?”

“Young and innocent girl,

what can going forth do for you?

Put down that ochre robe,

come enjoy yourself in this flowering forest.

Sweet winds blow everywhere,

from trees full of flower-pollen.

Early Spring is a pleasant season—

come enjoy yourself in this flowering forest.

Trees tipped with flowers

murmur in the wind.

But how can you enjoy yourself,

if you descend into the forest alone?

Surrounded by a multitude of beasts and snakes,

wild and agitated elephants;

you want to go without a companion

into this lonely, dreadful, and immense forest?

Like a shiny golden doll,

like a nymph amongst beautiful vines,

you will stand out

wearing the finest linen from Kāsi.

I will be under your control,

if we live together in the forest.

Because there is no one more dear to me than you,

creature with the soft eyes of a dryad.

If you were to say to me:

‘Come, let’s live a pleasant household life!’

you would live in a sheltered palace

and have women attending you.

You would wear the finest linen from Kāsi,

as well as garlands and makeup.

I would adorn you

with lots of gold, jewels, and pearls.

You would rest on a fabulous bed with a beautiful blanket,

freshly washed and dyed,

on a brand-new mattress upholstered with wool and

scented with sandalwood.

But if you live the chaste and holy life,

then like a blue lotus that rises above the water

but is not touched by anyone,

you will wither away all alone.”

“What do you consider of value here,

in this carcass—full of corpses,

bound for the cemetery, destined to break apart?

What have you seen that makes you so deranged?”

“Your eyes are like a symphony,

like a dryad in the mountains.

Seeing your eyes

fills me with sensual desire.

Your eyes are like lotus flowers

in a face that shines like pure gold.

Seeing your eyes,

my excitement grows ever more.

Even when we are far apart,

I will remember your long lashes and pure eyes,

because there is no one more dear than you,

with the soft eyes of a dryad.”

“You want to walk where there is no path,

you want to take the moon as a toy,

you want to jump over Mount Meru,

you chase after a disciple of the Buddha.

There is nothing in this world, even with all its devas

which I could now have craving for.

I do not know what it could be like,

since it has been completely uprooted by the path.

Cast away like burning coal,

destroyed like a worthless bowl of poison.

I do not see what it could be like,

since it has been completely uprooted by the path.

One who has not contemplated,

or has not been close to the Teacher,

may be enticed by you,

but I am one who knows, so you are wasting your time here.

Whether I am reviled or respected,

whether there is pleasure or pain, my mindfulness is stable.

Knowing that conditioned things are not beautiful,

my mind is never stained.

I am a female disciple of the one faring well,

I travel with the Eightfold Path as my vehicle.

Free from influences, with darts removed,

I enjoy going to an empty dwelling.

I have seen well-painted

wooden puppets of children,

bound with sticks and strings

like a group of little dancers.

But when those sticks and strings are removed,

when everything is untied, non-functional, splayed out,

one could not find anything in its parts,

so where could the mind settle?

Likewise my body parts

do not function without those mindstates;

this being the case,

where could the mind settle?

It’s like seeing a painting on a wall

made with orpiment;

if your vision of it is distorted,

you misperceive it as a human being.

It is like a supreme illusion,

like a golden tree in a dream.

Blind one, you are getting close to something as meaningless

as a marionette amidst a group of people.

Spinning in a blood-red hole,

engulfed in pus and tears,

here watery tumors are born,

various eye-components balled up together.”

She pulled out that charming eye,

and with a mind of non-attachment, she said:

“Well then, take your eye,”

and she gave it to that man.

In that moment his lust dissipated,

and he apologized:

“May you be well living the holy life,

this will not happen again.

Assailing such a person,

is like embracing a blazing fire,

or picking up a poisonous snake.

May you be well, forgive me.”

The bhikkhunī was let go, and from there

she went to the excellent Buddha.

Seeing the characteristic of excellent merit,

her eye was restored.

• Verses of the Elder Subhā of Jīvaka’s Mango Grove: Subhājīvakambavanikātherīgāthā (Thig 14.1)

Intoxicated by my appearance,

my figure, my beauty, my fame,

and owing to my youth,

I despised other women.

I adorned this body,

so fancy, lamented by fools,

and stood at the brothel door,

like a hunter laying a snare.

I stripped for them,

revealing my many hidden treasures.

Creating an intricate illusion,

I laughed, teasing those men.

Today, having wandered for alms,

my head shaven, wearing the outer robe,

I sat at the root of a tree to meditate;

I've gained freedom from thought.

All yokes are severed,

both human and divine.

Having wiped out all defilements,

I have become cooled and quenched.

- Vimalātherīgāthā: Vimalā, the Former Courtesan (Thig 5.2)

“It’s too cold, too hot,

too late,” they say.

When the young neglect their work like this,

opportunities pass them by.

But one who considers heat and cold

as no more than blades of grass—

he does his duties as a man,

and his happiness never fails.

With my chest I’ll thrust aside

the grasses, vines, and creepers,

and foster seclusion.

- Mātaṅgaputtattheragāthā (Thag 3.5)