Verses of the Elder Sīhā (THIG5.3)

Verses of the Elder Bhikkhunīs

Chapter of the Fives

Verses of the Elder Sīhā

“Not applying the mind to see the origin of things,

I was afflicted with longing to gratify the senses.

I was restless,

and I had no power over the mind.

Overwhelmed by defilements,

I chased anything attractive.

Controlled by craving,

I could not attain tranquility of mind.

Emaciated, ugly, feeble,

I wandered for seven years,

never finding happiness by day or by night,

full of suffering.

Then I took a rope

and entered into the forest.

Better for me to be strangled here

than to go back to the inferior life.

I made a strong noose,

and hung it from the branch of a tree.

As soon as I placed the noose around my neck

my mind was liberated.”

The Elder Sīhā