The Book of the Elevens

Chapter One

Saṅkicca

thag11.1:1 “What good does it do you to be in the grove, my dear? You’re like a little bird in the monsoon! The city of Verambhā is nice for you— seclusion is for meditators.”

thag11.1:2 “Just as the wind in Verambhā scatters the monsoon clouds as they pour down, so the city scatters my perception of seclusion.”

thag11.1:3 “It’s all black and born of an egg— the crow whose abode is the charnel ground rouses my mindfulness, based on dispassion for the body.”

thag11.1:4 “He who is not guarded by others, and who does not guard others, truly sleeps at ease, mendicant, unconcerned for sensual pleasures.”

thag11.1:5 “The water’s clear and the rocks are broad, monkeys and deer are all around; festooned with dewy moss, these rocky crags delight me!

thag11.1:6 I’ve stayed in the wilderness, in caves and caverns and remote lodgings frequented by beasts of prey.

thag11.1:7 ‘May these beings be killed! May they be slaughtered! May they suffer!’— I’m not aware of having any such ignoble, hateful thoughts.

thag11.1:8 I’ve served the Teacher and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions. The heavy burden is laid down, the leash to existence is eradicated.

thag11.1:9 I’ve attained the goal for the sake of which I went forth from the lay life to homelessness— the ending of all fetters.

thag11.1:10 I don’t long for death; I don’t long for life; I await my time, like a worker waiting for their wages.

thag11.1:11 I don’t long for death; I don’t long for life; I await my time, aware and mindful.”