Mahāpajāpati Gotamī (THIG6.6)

Verses of the Senior Nuns 6.6

The Book of the Sixes

Mahāpajāpati Gotamī

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.