thag.12.2 Theragatha

Sunīta

I was born in a low-class family.
We were poor, with little to eat.
My job was lowly—
I threw out the old flowers.
Shunned by people,
I was disregarded and held in contempt.
I humbled my heart
and paid respects to many people.
Then I saw the Buddha
at the fore of the mendicant Saṅgha;
the great hero
was entering the capital city of Magadhā.
I dropped my flail
and approached to pay homage.
Out of compassion for me,
the supreme man stood still.
When I had paid homage at the Teacher’s feet,
I stood to one side
and asked the supreme being
for the going-forth.
Then the Teacher, being sympathetic,
and having compassion for the whole world,
said to me, “Come, monk!”
That was my ordination.
Staying alone in the wilderness,
meditating tirelessly,
I have completed what the Teacher taught,
just as the victor advised me.
In the first watch of the night,
I recollected my past lives.
In the middle watch of the night,
I purified my clairvoyance.
In the last watch of the night,
I shattered the mass of darkness.
At the end of the night,
as the sunrise drew near,
Indra and Brahmā came
and revered me with joined hands.
“Homage to you, O thoroughbred!
Homage to you, supreme among men!
Since your defilements are ended,
you, sir, are worthy of a religious donation.”
When he saw me honored
by the assembly of gods,
the teacher smiled
and said the following:
“By austerity and spiritual practice,
by restraint and by self-control:
that’s how to become a brahmin,
this is the supreme brahmin.”