Verses of the Elder Mahāpajāpati Gotamī (THIG6.6)

Verses of the Elder Bhikkhunīs

Chapter of the Sixes

Verses of the Elder Mahāpajāpati Gotamī

“Homage to you, Buddha, Hero!

Best of all beings,

who released me and many others

from suffering.

All suffering is fully understood,

craving, its cause, has been made to wither,

the Eightfold Path has been developed,

and I have attained cessation.

In the past I was a mother, a child, a father, a brother,

and a grandmother.

Blind to the truth,

I returned again and again, never finding in the darkness what I sought.

I have seen the Bhagavant—

indeed, this is my last body.

Destroyed is rebirth in saṁsāra,

now there is no coming back to any state of being.

See the disciples on the path—

established in energy, self-directed,

always making a sincere effort:

this is paying homage to the Buddhas!

Indeed, for the benefit of many beings,

Māyā gave birth to Gotama.

Sickness, death,

and the mass of suffering are vanquished.”

The Elder Mahāpajāpati Gotamī