Intoxicated with my complexion
figure, beauty, & fame;
haughty with youth,
I despised other women.Adorning this body
embellished to delude foolish men,
I stood at the door to the brothel:
a hunter with snare laid out.I showed off my ornaments,
and revealed many a private part.
I worked my manifold magic,
laughing out loud at the crowd.Today, wrapped in a double cloak,
my head shaven,
having wandered for alms,
I sit at the foot of a tree
and attain the state of no-thought.All ties — human & divine — have been cut.
Having cast off all effluents,
cooled am I,unbound.
thig.5.2 Therigatha
Vimala
- Translator: Thanissaro Bhikkhu
- Editor: Ayya Kathrin Vimalañāṇī
Vimalā, the Former Courtesan
and owing to my youth,I despised other women.
I adorned this body,
Intoxicated by my appearance,
my figure, my beauty, my fame,
so fancy, cooed over by fools,
and stood at the brothel door,
like a hunter laying a snare.
I stripped for them,
revealing my many hidden treasures.
Creating an intricate illusion,
I laughed, teasing those men.
Today, having wandered for alms,
my head shaven, wearing the outer robe,
I sat at the root of a tree to meditate;
I've gained freedom from thought.
All bonds are cut off,
both human and divine.
Having wiped out all defilements,
I have become cooled and quenched.