Verses of the Elder Bhikkhunīs

Chapter of the Fives

Verses of the Elder Sakulā

“I was a householder

when I heard the Dhamma from a bhikkhu.

I saw the stainless Dhamma,

the path to Nirvana, that which never dies.

I left behind daughter and son,

wealth and grain.

I had my hair cut off,

and went forth into homelessness.

I trained myself peacefully,

cultivating the path forward.

I discarded passion and aversion,

and all other influences.

As an ordained bhikkhunī

I have remembered my previous lives.

My divine eye is purified,

flawless, and well-developed.

I have seen formations as alien,

arisen due to conditions, and subject to decay.

I have eliminated all the influences,

I have become cool and quenched.”

The Elder Sakulā