“I used to be a water-carrier. Even when it was cold, I would always plunge into the water, afraid of my masters’ beatings, harassed by fear of abuse and anger.
Brahmin, what are you afraid of, that you always plunge into the water, your limbs trembling in the freezing cold?”
“Oh, but you already know, Madam Puṇṇikā, when you ask me: I am doing good deeds, to ward off the wickedness I have done.
Whosoever young or old performs a wicked deed, by ablution in water they are released from their wicked deed.”
“Who on earth told you this, one ignoramus to another: ‘Actually, by ablution in water one is released from a wicked deed.’
Would not they all go to heaven, then: all the frogs and the turtles, dragons, dolphins, and other water-dwellers too?
Butchers of sheep and pigs, fishermen, animal trappers, bandits, executioners, and others of evil deeds: by ablution in water they too would be released from their wicked deeds.
If these rivers had carried away your bad deeds in the past, they would also carry away your good deeds, from which you’d be prevented.
Brahmin, the thing that you are afraid of, when you always plunge into the water, do not do that very thing, don’t let the cold harm your skin.”
“I have been on the wrong path, and you’ve guided me to the noble path. Madam, I give to you this ablution cloth.”
“Keep the cloth for yourself, I do not want it. If you fear suffering, if you don’t like suffering,
then don’t do bad deeds either openly or in secret. If you should do a bad deed, or you’re doing one now,
you won’t be freed from suffering, though you fly away and flee. If you fear suffering, if you don’t like suffering,
go for refuge to the Buddha, the unaffected, to his teaching and to the Saṅgha. Undertake the precepts, that will be good for you.”
“I go for refuge to the Buddha, the unaffected, to his teaching and to the Saṅgha. I undertake the precepts, that will be good for me.
I used to be brahmin only by kin, today I truly am a brahmin! Master of the three knowledges, accomplished in wisdom, I’m a scholar, a bathed initiate.”
Puṇṇikā
Thig 12.1 · Puṇṇātherīgāthā
Connections
Collection & context
- TherīgāthāThe collection containing this text
- The Pāli canonCanonical collection in which this edition is preserved
- Theravāda traditionsTransmission and study context
- The early Buddhist communityHistorical and traditional setting
About this edition
Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato and Jessica Walton · SuttaCentral · CC0
This translation is an expression of an ancient spiritual text that has been passed down by the Buddhist tradition for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is dedicated to the public domain via Creative Commons Zero (CC0). You are encouraged to copy, reproduce, adapt, alter, or otherwise make use of this translation. The translator respectfully requests that any use be in accordance with the values and principles of the Buddhist community. In particular, please do not use this work in AI training datasets, for the development of any AI model or algorithm, or in any AI-derived technologies.
Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader.
The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.