Buddha! Hero! Praise be to you!
You foremost among all beings!
You who have released me from pain,
And so many other beings too.All suffering has been understood.
The source of craving has withered.
Cessation has been touched by me
On the noble eight-fold path.I've been mother and son before;
And father, brother — grandmother too.
Not understanding what was real,
I flowed-on without finding [peace].But now I've seen the Blessed One!
This is my last compounded form.
The on-flowing of birth has expired.
There's no more re-becoming now.See the gathering of followers:
Putting forth effort, self controlled,
Always with strong resolution
—This is how to honor the Buddhas!Surely for the good of so many
Did Maya give birth to Gotama,
Who bursts asunder the mass of pain
Of those stricken by sickness and death.
thig.6.6 Therigatha
Maha Pajapati (Gotami) Theri: A Mother's Blessing
- Translator: Andrew Olendzki
- Editor: Ayya Kathrin Vimalañāṇī
Mahāpajāpati Gotamī
Oh Buddha, my hero: homage to you!Supreme among all beings,
who released me from suffering,
and many other beings as well.
All suffering is fully understood;
craving—its cause—is dried up;
the eightfold path has been developed;
and cessation has been realized by me.
Previously I was a mother, a son,
a father, a brother, and a grandmother.
Failing to grasp the true nature of things,
I transmigrated without reward.
Since I have seen the Blessed One,
this bag of bones is my last.
Transmigration through births is finished,
now there’ll be no more future lives.
I see the disciples in harmony,
energetic and resolute,
always staunchly vigorous—
this is homage to the Buddhas!
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.