The Book of the Sixes

Five Hundred Students of Paṭācārā

thig6.1:1 “One whose path you do not know, not whence they came nor where they went; though they came from who knows where, you mourn that being, crying, ‘Oh my son!’

thig6.1:2 But one whose path you do know, whence they came or where they went; that one you do not lament— such is the nature of living creatures.

thig6.1:3 Unasked he came, he left without leave. He must have come from somewhere, and stayed who knows how many days. He left from here by one road, he will go from there by another.

thig6.1:4 Departing with the form of a human, he will go on wandering astray. As he came, so he went: why weep over that?”

thig6.1:5 “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 son, in which I once was mired.

thig6.1:6 Today I’ve plucked the arrow, I’m hungerless, quenched. I go for refuge to that sage, the Buddha, to his teaching, and to the Saṅgha.”

thig6.1:7 That is how five hundred nuns declared their enlightenment.

The Book of the Sixes

Vāseṭṭhī

thig6.2:1 Struck down with grief for my son, deranged, out of my mind, nude, my hair flying, I wandered here and there.

thig6.2:2 I lived on rubbish heaps, in cemeteries and highways. For three years I wandered, stricken by hunger and thirst.

thig6.2:3 Then I saw the Holy One back at the city of Mithilā. Tamer of the untamed, the Awakened One fears nothing from any quarter.

thig6.2:4 Regaining my mind, I paid homage and sat down. Out of compassion Gotama taught me the Dhamma.

thig6.2:5 After hearing his teaching, I went forth to homelessness. Applying myself to the Teacher’s words, I realized the state of grace.

thig6.2:6 All sorrows are cut off, given up, they end here. I’ve fully understood the basis from which grief comes to be.

The Book of the Sixes

Khemā

thig6.3:1 “You’re so young and beautiful! I too am young, just a youth. Come, Khemā, let us enjoy the music of a five-piece band.”

thig6.3:2 “This body is rotting, ailing and frail, I’m horrified and repelled by it, and I’ve eradicated sensual craving.

thig6.3:3 Sensual pleasures are like swords and spears; the aggregates are their chopping block. What you call erotic delight is now no delight for me.

thig6.3:4 Relishing is banished in every respect, and the mass of darkness is shattered. So know this, Wicked One: you’re beaten, terminator!”

thig6.3:5 “Worshiping the stars, serving the sacred flame in a grove; failing to grasp the true nature of things, foolish me, I thought this was purity.

thig6.3:6 But now I honor the Awakened One, supreme among men. Doing the Teacher’s bidding, I am released from all suffering.”

The Book of the Sixes

Sujātā

thig6.4:1 I was adorned with jewelry and all dressed up, with garlands, and sandalwood makeup piled on, all covered over with decorations, and surrounded by my maids.

thig6.4:2 Taking food and drink, staples and dainties in no small amount, I left my house and took myself to the park.

thig6.4:3 I enjoyed myself there and played about, and then, returning to my own house, I saw a monastic dwelling, and so I entered the Añjana wood at Sāketa.

thig6.4:4 Seeing the light of the world, I paid homage and sat down. Out of compassion the Clear-eyed One taught me the Dhamma.

thig6.4:5 When I heard the great seer, I penetrated the truth. Right there I found the stainless Dhamma, the state free of death.

thig6.4:6 Then, having understood the true teaching, I went forth to homelessness. I’ve attained the three knowledges; the Buddha’s bidding was not in vain.

The Book of the Sixes

Anopamā

thig6.5:1 I was born into an eminent family, affluent and wealthy, endowed with a beautiful complexion and figure; Majjha’s true-born daughter.

thig6.5:2 I was sought by princes, coveted by sons of the wealthy. One sent a messenger to my father: “Give me Anopamā!

thig6.5:3 However much your daughter Anopamā weighs, I’ll give you eight times that in gold coin and gems.”

thig6.5:4 When I saw the Awakened One, the world’s Elder, unsurpassed, I paid homage at his feet, and withdrew to one side.

thig6.5:5 Out of compassion, Gotama taught me the Dhamma. While sitting in that seat, I realized the third fruit.

thig6.5:6 Then, having shaved off my hair, I went forth to homelessness. This is the seventh day since my craving dried up.

The Book of the Sixes

Mahāpajāpati Gotamī

thig6.6:1 Oh Buddha, my hero: homage to you! Supreme among all beings, who released me from suffering, and many other beings as well.

thig6.6:2 All suffering is fully understood; craving—its cause—is dried up; the eightfold path has been developed; and cessation has been realized by me.

thig6.6:3 Previously I was a mother, a son, a father, a brother, and a grandmother. Failing to grasp the true nature of things, I wandered without reward.

thig6.6:4 Since I have seen the Blessed One, this bag of bones is spent. The wandering of heedlessness is finished, now I await the Hereafter in peace.

thig6.6:5 I see the disciples in harmony, energetic and resolute, always staunchly vigorous— this is homage to the Buddhas!

thig6.6:6 It was truly for the benefit of many that Māyā gave birth to Gotama. He swept away the mass of suffering for those stricken by sickness and death.

The Book of the Sixes

Guttā

thig6.7:1 Guttā, you have given up your child, your wealth, and all that you love. Foster the goal for which you went forth; do not fall under the mind’s control.

thig6.7:2 Beings deceived by the mind, playing in Satan’s domain, ignorant, they journey on, wandering astray in countless ways.

thig6.7:3 Sensual desire and ill will, and substantialist view; misapprehension of precepts and observances, and doubt as the fifth.

thig6.7:4 O nun, when you have given up these lower fetters, you won’t come back to this world again.

thig6.7:5 And when you’re rid of desire, conceit, ignorance, and restlessness, having cut the fetters, you’ll make an end to suffering.

thig6.7:6 Having wiped out heedlessness, and fully understood this life, hungerless in this very life, you will live at peace.

The Book of the Sixes

Vijayā

thig6.8:1 Four or five times I left my dwelling; I had failed to find peace of heart, or any control over my mind.

thig6.8:2 I approached a nun and politely questioned her. She taught me the Dhamma: the elements and sense fields,

thig6.8:3 the four noble truths, the faculties and the powers, the awakening factors, and the eightfold path for the attainment of the highest goal.

thig6.8:4 After hearing her words, I did her bidding. In the first watch of the night, I reflected on my past deeds.

thig6.8:5 In the middle watch of the night, I purified my clairvoyance. In the last watch of the night, I shattered the mass of darkness.

thig6.8:6 I then meditated pervading my body with rapture and bliss. On the seventh day I stretched out my feet, having shattered the mass of darkness.