Therīgāthā | Poems of the Elder Nuns
- Introduction
- Thig 1:1 An Anonymous Nun — Passion stilled, like a pot of pickled greens boiled dry.
- Thig 1:3 Puṇṇā — Grow full (puṇṇā) with good qualities like the full moon.
- Thig 1:11 Muttā — From three crooked things set free.
- Thig 1:17 Dhammā — Set free after falling down on the ground.
- Thig 2:3 Sumaṅgala’s Mother — From three crooked things set free, I do jhāna.
- Thig 2:4 Aḍḍhkāsī — A high-priced courtesan becomes disgusted with her body.
- Thig 3:2 Uttamā — After running amok, a nun learns the Dhamma and gains awakening.
- Thig 3:4 Dantikā & the Elephant — Seeing an untamed elephant made tame (danta), a nun centers her mind.
- Thig 3:5 Ubbiri — A nun recalls the Buddha’s words that freed her from grief over her dead daughter.
- Thig 5:2 Vimalā, the Former Courtesan — Once adorned as a courtesan, now wrapped in a double cloak, a nun cuts through all ties, human and divine.
- Thig 5:4 Nandā’s Vision — The Buddha’s half-sister contemplates a dead body and so grows enchanted with her own.
- Thig 5:6 Mittakālī — Once greedy for tribute, a nun comes to her senses.
- Thig 5:8 Soṇā, Mother of Ten — After giving birth to ten children, an old nun goes beyond birth and aging.
- Thig 5:10 Paṭācārā — “And taking a pin, I pulled out the wick…”
- Thig 5:11 Paṭācārā’s Thirty Students — Pāṭācārā’s students pay her homage after having followed her instructions.
- Thig 5:12 Candā, the Beggar — Exhorted by Pāṭācārā, a former beggar gains awakening.
- Thig 6:1 Paṭācārā’s 500 Students — Pāṭācārā tells her students of the Buddha’s words that freed her from grief over her dead son.
- Thig 6:2 Vāsiṭṭhī the Madwoman — Once mad with grief over her dead son, a woman regains her mind and goes forth after meeting the Buddha.
- Thig 6:3 Khemā — Two poems. In the first, Māra tries to tempt a nun to enjoy sensuality. In the second, the nun contrasts effective and ineffective ways of paying homage for the sake of purity.
- Thig 6:4 Sujātā — Returning from a picnic, a woman penetrates the Dhamma on hearing the Buddha’s teachings.
- Thig 6:5 Anopamā, the Millionaire’s Daughter — A woman sought after by many potential husbands seeks and finds the Dhamma instead.
- Thig 6:6 Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī — The Buddha’s stepmother pays homage to him.
- Thig 6:7 Guttā — A nun recalls the Buddha’s admonishment.
- Thig 6:8 Vijayā — After running amok, a nun learns the Dhamma and gains awakening.
- Thig 7:2 Cālā — Māra confronts a nun who, approving of the Dhamma, approves of no one’s philosophy.
- Thig 7:3 Upacālā — A nun confronted by Māra explains why she doesn’t approve of birth.
- Thig 8 Sīsūpacālā — Māra tries to tempt a nun to enjoy the pleasures of heaven.
- Thig 9 Vaḍḍha’s Mother — A monk, roused by his mother, attains the highest peace.
- Thig 10 Kīsā Gotamī — A nun achieves the deathless after her entire family suddenly dies.
- Thig 12 Puṇṇikā & the Brahman — Puṇṇikā, a slave woman, teaches the Dhamma to a brahman who is trying to wash his sins away.
- Thig 13:1 Ambapālī — A former courtesan surveys the ravages of time on her body.
- Thig 13:2 Rohiṇī — Rohiṇī convinces her father that, instead of being lazy, monks actually do the best work.
- Thig 13:5 Subhā the Goldsmith’s Daughter — When her relatives try to tempt her to marry, Subhā tells them of the dangers of sensuality, then ordains and gains awakening.
- Thig 14 Subhā & the Libertine — A nun going through the forest is accosted by a man who invites her to be his wife. She gives him a lesson that he will never forget.
