Reading outline · Poetic recollection
Ubbirī’s grief
A voice addresses Ubbirī’s grieving and asks which of the many dead she mourns.
This outline follows the main passages. Open each reading to follow the story in full.
In this outline
At the funeral ground
A voice addresses Ubbirī’s grieving and asks which of the many dead she mourns.
“You cry ‘Live, my dear mother!’ in the forest. Ubbirī, get a hold of yourself! Eighty-four thousand people, all named ‘Live’, have been burnt in this funeral ground: which one do you grieve for?”
The arrow removed
Ubbirī describes release from grief for her daughter and taking refuge in the Buddha, teaching and community.
“Oh! For you have plucked the arrow from me, so hard to see, stuck in the heart. You’ve swept away the grief for my daughter in which I once was mired. Today I’ve plucked the arrow, I’m hungerless, quenched. I go for refuge to that sage, the Buddha, …
Sources & reading notes
Introductions and explanations are editorial writing. Quoted text retains its named edition; selections may be shortened with an ellipsis.
At the funeral ground. Editorial summary of the cited text; narrative setting is not independent historical confirmation. Source ↗
The arrow removed. Editorial summary of the cited text; narrative setting is not independent historical confirmation. Source ↗
Original scene outline
At the funeral ground
A voice addresses Ubbirī’s grieving and asks which of the many dead she mourns.
The arrow removed
Ubbirī describes release from grief for her daughter and taking refuge in the Buddha, teaching and community.