thig14.1:0.1Verses of the Senior Nuns 14.1
thig14.1:0.2The Book of the Thirties
thig14.1:0.3Subhā of Jīvaka’s Mango Grove
thig14.1:1.1Going to the lovely mango grove
thig14.1:1.2of Jīvaka, the nun Subhā
thig14.1:1.3was held up by a rascal.
thig14.1:1.4Subhā said this to him:
thig14.1:2.1“What harm have I done to you,
thig14.1:2.2that you stand in my way?
thig14.1:2.3Respectable sir, it’s not proper that a man
thig14.1:2.4should touch a woman gone forth.
thig14.1:3.1This training was taught by the Holy One,
thig14.1:3.2it is a serious matter in my teacher’s instructions.
thig14.1:3.3I am pure and rid of blemishes,
thig14.1:3.4so why do you stand in my way?
thig14.1:4.1One whose mind is clouded against one unclouded;
thig14.1:4.2one who is lustful against one free of lust;
thig14.1:4.3unblemished, my heart is freed in every respect,
thig14.1:4.4so why do you stand in my way?”
thig14.1:5.1“You’re young and flawless—
thig14.1:5.2what will going-forth do for you?
thig14.1:5.3Throw away the ocher robe,
thig14.1:5.4come and play in the blossom grove.
thig14.1:6.1Everywhere, the scent of pollen wafts sweet,
thig14.1:6.2born of the flowering woods.
thig14.1:6.3The start of spring is a happy time—
thig14.1:6.4come and play in the blossom grove.
thig14.1:7.1And trees crested with flowers
thig14.1:7.2cry out, as it were, in the gale.
thig14.1:7.3But what kind of fun will you have
thig14.1:7.4if you plunge into the woods all alone?
thig14.1:8.1Frequented by packs of predators,
thig14.1:8.2and cow elephants aroused by rutting bulls;
thig14.1:8.3you wish to go without a friend
thig14.1:8.4to the deserted, awe-inspiring forest.
thig14.1:9.1Like a doll made of glittering gold,
thig14.1:9.2like a nymph wandering the park of bright vines,
thig14.1:9.3your matchless beauty will shine
thig14.1:9.4in graceful clothes of delicate Kāsian cloth.
thig14.1:10.1I’ll be under your sway,
thig14.1:10.2if we are to stay in the forest.
thig14.1:10.3I love no creature more than you,
thig14.1:10.4O pixie with such captivating eyes.
thig14.1:11.1Were you to take up my invitation—
thig14.1:11.2‘Come, be happy, and live in a house’—
thig14.1:11.3you’ll stay in a longhouse sheltered from wind;
thig14.1:11.4let the ladies look to your needs.
thig14.1:12.1Dressed in delicate Kāsian cloth,
thig14.1:12.2put on your garlands and your cosmetics.
thig14.1:12.3I’ll make all sorts of adornments for you,
thig14.1:12.4of lustrous gold and gems and pearls.
thig14.1:13.1Climb onto a costly bed,
thig14.1:13.2its coverlet so clean and nice,
thig14.1:13.3with a new woolen mattress,
thig14.1:13.4so fragrant, sprinkled with sandalwood.
thig14.1:14.1As a blue lily risen from the water
thig14.1:14.2remains untouched by men,
thig14.1:14.3so too, O chaste and holy lady,
thig14.1:14.4your limbs grow old unshared.”
thig14.1:15.1“This carcass is full of putrefaction, it swells
thig14.1:15.2the charnel ground, for its nature is to fall apart.
thig14.1:15.3What do you think is so essential in it
thig14.1:15.4that you stare at me so crazily?”
thig14.1:16.1“Your eyes are like those of a doe,
thig14.1:16.2or a pixie in the mountains;
thig14.1:16.3seeing them, erotic delight
thig14.1:16.4swells in me all the more.
thig14.1:17.1Your eyes are like a blue lily’s bud
thig14.1:17.2in your flawless face shining like coruscant gold.
thig14.1:17.3Seeing them, sensual excitement
thig14.1:17.4swells in me all the more.
thig14.1:18.1Though you may wander far, I’ll still think of you,
thig14.1:18.2with lashes so long and eyes so bright.
thig14.1:18.3I love no eyes more than yours,
thig14.1:18.4O pixie with such bashful eyes.”
thig14.1:19.1“You’re setting out on the wrong road!
thig14.1:19.2You’re looking to take the moon for your toy!
thig14.1:19.3You’re trying to leap over Mount Meru!
thig14.1:19.4You, who are hunting a child of the Buddha!
thig14.1:20.1For in this world with all its gods,
thig14.1:20.2there will be no more lust anywhere in me.
thig14.1:20.3I don’t even know what kind it could be,
thig14.1:20.4it’s been smashed root and all by the path.
thig14.1:21.1Cast out like sparks from fiery coals,
thig14.1:21.2it’s worth no more than a bowl of poison.
thig14.1:21.3I don’t even see what kind it could be,
thig14.1:21.4it’s been smashed root and all by the path.
thig14.1:22.1Well may you try to seduce the type of lady
thig14.1:22.2who has not reflected on these things,
thig14.1:22.3or who has never attended the Teacher:
thig14.1:22.4but this is a lady who knows—now you’re in trouble!
thig14.1:23.1No matter if I am reviled or praised,
thig14.1:23.2or feel pleasure or pain: I stay mindful.
thig14.1:23.3Knowing that conditions are ugly,
thig14.1:23.4my mind clings to nothing.
thig14.1:24.1I am a disciple of the Holy One,
thig14.1:24.2riding in the carriage of the eightfold path.
thig14.1:24.3The dart pulled out, free of defilements,
thig14.1:24.4I’m happy to have reached an empty place.
thig14.1:25.1I’ve seen brightly painted
thig14.1:25.2dolls and wooden puppets,
thig14.1:25.3tied to sticks and strings,
thig14.1:25.4and made to dance in many ways.
thig14.1:26.1But when the sticks and strings are taken off—
thig14.1:26.2loosed, disassembled, dismantled,
thig14.1:26.3irrecoverable, stripped to parts—
thig14.1:26.4on what could the mind be fixed?
thig14.1:27.1That’s what my body is really like,
thig14.1:27.2without those things it can’t go on.
thig14.1:27.3This being so,
thig14.1:27.4on what could the mind be fixed?
thig14.1:28.1It’s like when you saw a mural made
thig14.1:28.2by painting yellow orpiment on a wall,
thig14.1:28.3and your vision was deceived by that—
thig14.1:28.4the perception ‘human’ is pointless.
thig14.1:29.1Like an illusion cast before you,
thig14.1:29.2or a golden tree in a dream,
thig14.1:29.3you chase what is hollow, blind one,
thig14.1:29.4like a painted doll among the people.
thig14.1:30.1Like a ball in a socket,
thig14.1:30.2with a pupil in the middle, and tears,
thig14.1:30.3and mucus comes from there as well,
thig14.1:30.4different eye-parts are lumped together.”
thig14.1:31.1Having plucked it out, the fair-eyed lady
thig14.1:31.2was undismayed, unchained in mind.
thig14.1:31.3“Come now, take this eye,”
thig14.1:31.4she said, and gave it to the man right then.
thig14.1:32.1And right then he lost his lust,
thig14.1:32.2and asked for her forgiveness:
thig14.1:32.3“May you be well, O chaste and holy lady;
thig14.1:32.4such a thing will not happen again.
thig14.1:33.1Attacking a person such as this
thig14.1:33.2is like holding on to a blazing fire,
thig14.1:33.3or grabbing a deadly viper!
thig14.1:33.4May you be well, please forgive me.”
thig14.1:34.1When that nun was released
thig14.1:34.2she went to the presence of the excellent Buddha.
thig14.1:34.3Seeing the one with excellent marks of merit,
thig14.1:34.4her eye became just as it was before.