thag.16.9 Theragatha

Anuruddha

Leaving my mother and father behind,
as well as sisters, kinsmen, and brothers;
having given up the five sensual titillations,
Anuruddha practices absorption.
Surrounded by song and dance,
awakened by cymbals and gongs,
he did not find purification
while delighting in Māra’s domain.
But he has gone beyond all that,
and delights in the Buddha’s teaching.
Having crossed over the entire flood,
Anuruddha practices absorption.
Sights, sounds, tastes, smells,
and touches so delightful:
having crossed over these as well,
Anuruddha practices absorption.
Returning from almsround,
alone, without companion,
seeking rags from the dust heap,
Anuruddha is without defilements.
The thoughtful sage
selected rags from the dust heap;
he picked them up, washed, dyed, and wore them;
Anuruddha is without defilements.
The principles of someone
who has many wishes and is not content,
who socializes and is conceited,
are wicked and corrupting.
But someone who is mindful, few of wishes,
content and untroubled,
delighting in seclusion, joyful,
always resolute and energetic;
their principles are skillful,
leading to awakening;
they are without defilements—
so said the great hermit.
“Knowing my thoughts,
the supreme Teacher in the world
came to me in a mind-made body,
using his psychic power.
He taught me more
than I had thought of.
The Buddha who loves non-proliferation
taught me non-proliferation.
Understanding that teaching,
I happily did his bidding.
I’ve attained the three knowledges,
and have fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.
For the last fifty-five years
I have not lain down to sleep.
Twenty-five years have passed
since I eradicated drowsiness.”
“There was no more breathing
for the poised one of steady heart.
Imperturbable, committed to peace,
the seer became fully extinguished.
He put up with painful feelings
without flinching.
The liberation of his heart
was like the extinguishing of a lamp.”
“Now these touches and the other four
are the last to be experienced by the sage;
nor will there be other phenomena
since the Buddha became fully extinguished.
Weaver of the web in the company of the gods,
now there are no future lives.
Transmigration through births is finished,
now there’ll be no more future lives.”
“Knowing in an hour the galaxy,
together with the Brahmā realm;
that mendicant, a master of psychic powers,
knowing the passing away and rebirth of beings, sees even the gods at that time.”
“In the past I was Annabhāra,
a poor carrier of fodder.
I practiced as an ascetic,
the renowned Upariṭṭha.
Then I was reborn in the Sakyan clan,
where I was known as ‘Anuruddha’.
Surrounded by song and dance,
I was awakened by cymbals and gongs.
Then I saw the Buddha,
the Teacher, fearing nothing from any quarter;
filling my mind with confidence in him,
I went forth to homelessness.
I know my past lives,
the places I used to live.
I was born as Sakka,
and stayed among the Thirty-Three gods.
Seven times I was a king of men
ruling a kingdom,
victorious in the four quarters,
lord of all India.
Without rod or sword,
I governed by principle.
Seven here, seven there,
fourteen transmigrations in all.
I remember my past lives;
at that time I stayed in the realm of the gods.
I have gained complete tranquility
in immersion with five factors.
Peaceful, serene,
my clairvoyance is purified.
Steady in five-factored absorption,
I know the passing away and rebirth of beings,
their coming and going,
their lives in this state and that.
I’ve served the teacher
and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.
The heavy burden is laid down,
the conduit to rebirth is eradicated.
In the Vajjian village of Veḷuva,
my life will come to an end.
Beneath a thicket of bamboos,
being undefiled, I will be fully extinguished.”