Gotama (2nd) (THAG3.14)

Verses of the Senior Monks 3.14

The Book of the Threes

Chapter One

Gotama (2nd)

Transmigrating, I went to hell,

and to the ghost realm time and again.

Many times I dwelt long

in the animal realm, so full of pain.

I was also reborn as a human,

and from time to time I went to heaven.

I’ve stayed in realms of luminous form and formlessness,

among the neither-percipient-nor-non-percipient, and the non-percipient.

I know well these created states are insubstantial—¹

conditioned, quivering, always in motion.

When I understood that this is created in myself,

mindful, I found peace.