Thig 5:6 Mittakālī
Going forth through conviction
from home into homelessness,
I wandered this place & that,
greedy for tribute & gains.
Missing out on the foremost goal,
I pursued a lowly one.
Under the sway of defilements,
I didn’t awaken1 to the goal
of the contemplative life.
Then, sitting in my dwelling,
I suddenly came to my senses:
I’m following a miserable path.
I’m under the sway of
craving.
Next to nothing, my life,
crushed
by aging & illness.
Before the body breaks apart,
I have no time
for heedlessness.
After watching, as it actually was,
the arising-disbanding of aggregates,
I stood up with mind released,
the Awakened One’s bidding
done.
Note
1. Reading na bujjhi’ham with the Burmese and Sinhalese editions.