Verses of the Senior Monks 6.6

The Book of the Sixes

Chapter One

Sappadāsa

In the twenty-five years

since I went forth,

I have not found peace of mind,

even as long as a finger-snap.

Since I couldn’t get my mind unified,

I was racked by desire for pleasures of the senses.

Wailing, with outstretched arms,

I left my dwelling.

Shall I … or shall I commit suicide?

What’s the point of living?

For how on earth can one such as me die

after resigning the training?

Then I picked up a razor,

I sat on a cot:

the razor was ready

to slice my vein.

Then the realization

came upon me—

the danger became clear,

and I was firmly disillusioned.

Then my mind was freed—

behold the clear rightness of the teaching!

I’ve attained the three knowledges,

and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.