Verses of the Elder Bhikkhunīs

Chapter of the Sixes

Verses of the Elder Vāseṭṭhi

“When I lost my child I was taken over by grief;

I went deranged, I lost my mind.

Naked and with disheveled hair,

I wandered here and there,

living in middens,

roadsides, and cemeteries.

I wandered for three years,

afflicted by hunger and thirst.

When I arrived at the town of Mithilā,

and I saw the one who fares well -

tamer of the untamed,

the self-enlightened one, fearless everywhere -

I returned to sanity.

I paid respects and sat down.

Gotama taught me the Dhamma

out of compassion.

After I heard his Dhamma,

I went forth into homelessness.

I bound myself to the words of the Teacher;

I realized the path of joy.

All woes have been cut off,

abandoned, finished.

Now I have fully understood

how grief comes into being.”

The Elder Vāseṭṭhī