1094Oh, when will I stay in a mountain cave,
Alone, with no companion,
Discerning all states of existence as impermanent?
This hope of mine, when will it be?

1095Oh, when will I stay happily in the forest,
A sage wearing a torn robe, dressed in ochre,
Unselfish, without desire,
With greed, hatred, and delusion destroyed?

1096Oh, when will I stay alone in the wood,
Fearless, discerning this body as impermanent,
A nest of death and disease,
Oppressed by death and old age;
When will it be?

1097Oh, when will I live, having grasped the sharp sword of wisdom
And cut the creeper of craving that tangles around everything,
The mother of fear, the bringer of suffering,
When will it be?

1098Oh, when will I, seated on the lion’s throne,
Swiftly grasp the sword of the sages,
Forged by wisdom, of fiery might,
And swiftly break Māra and his army? When will it be?

1099Oh, when will I be seen striving in the assemblies
By those who are virtuous, poised, respecting the Dhamma,
Seeing things as they are, with faculties subdued?
When will it be?

1100Oh, when will I focus on my own goal on Giribbaja mountain,
Free of oppression by laziness, hunger, thirst,
Wind, heat, insects, and reptiles?
When will it be?

1101Oh, when will I have samādhi and mindfulness,
And with understanding attain the four truths,
That were realized by the great sage,
And are so very hard to see? When will it be?

1102Oh, when will I, devoted to tranquillity,
See with understanding the infinite sights,
Sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and mental phenomena
As burning? When will it be?

1103Oh, when will I not be downcast
Because of criticism,
Nor elated because of praise?
When will it be?

1104Oh when will I discern the aggregates
And the infinite varieties of phenomena,
Both internal and external, as no more than
Wood, grass, and creepers? When will it be?

1105Oh, when will the winter cloud rain freshly
As I wear my robe in the forest,
Walking the path trodden by the sages?
When will it be?

1106Oh, when will I rise up, intent on attaining the deathless,
Hearing in the mountain cave
The cry of the crested peacock in the forest?
When will it be?

1107Oh, when will I cross the Ganges, Yamunā,
And Sarasvatī rivers, the Pātāla country,
And the dangerous Baḷavāmukha sea,
By psychic power, without hindrance? When will it be?

1108Oh, when will I be devoted to jhāna,
Rejecting entirely the signs of beauty,
Splitting apart desire for sensual pleasures,
Like an elephant that wanders without ties;
When will it be?

1109Oh, when will I realise the teaching of the great sage
And be content, like a poor person in debt,
Harassed by creditors, who finds a hidden treasure?
When will it be?

1110For many years you begged me,
"Enough of living in a house for you!"
Why do you not urge me on, mind,
Now I’ve gone forth as an ascetic?

1111Didn’t you beg me, mind,
"On Giribbaja, the birds with colourful wings,
Greeting the thunder, Mahinda’s voice,
Will delight you as you practice jhāna in the forest"?

1112In my family circle, friends, loved ones, and relatives;
And in the world, sports and play, and sensual pleasures;
All these I have abandoned for the sake of this:
And even then you’re not content with me, mind!

1113This is mine alone, it doesn’t belong to others;
When it is time to don your armour, why lament?
Reflecting that all this is unstable,
I went forth, longing for the deathless state.

1114The methodical teacher, supreme among people,
Great physician, charioteer of tractable people, said,
"The mind sways like a monkey,
So it’s very hard to control if you are not free of lust."

1115Sensual pleasures are diverse, sweet, delightful;
Ignorant unenlightened people are attached to them.
Seeking to be reborn in another state of existence, they wish for suffering;
Led on by their mind, they’re relegated to hell.

1116"Staying in the grove resounding with cries
Of peacocks and herons, and liked by leopards and tigers,
Abandon concern for the body, without fail!"
So you used to urge me, mind.

1117"Develop the jhānas and spiritual faculties,
The powers, factors of awakening, and samādhi meditation;
Realise the three knowledges in the teaching of the Buddha!"
So you used to urge me, mind.

1118"Develop the eight-fold path for realizing the deathless,
Emancipating, plunging into the end of all suffering,
And cleansing all defilements!"
So you used to urge me, mind.

1119"Properly reflect on the aggregates as suffering,
And abandon that from which suffering arises;
Make an end of suffering in this very life!"
So you used to urge me, mind.

1120"Properly discern that impermanence is suffering,
That emptiness is non-self, and that misery is death.
Uproot the wandering mind!"
So you used to urge me, mind.

1121"Bald, unsightly, accursed,
Seek alms amongst families, bowl in hand.
Devote yourself to the word of the teacher, the great sage!"
So you used to urge me, mind.

1122"Wander the streets well-restrained,
With your mind unattached to families and sensual pleasures,
Like the full moon when the night is clear!"
So you used to urge me, mind.

1123"Be a wilderness-dweller and an alms-eater,
One who lives in charnel grounds, a rag-robe wearer,
One who never lies down, always delighting in ascetic practices."
So you used to urge me, mind.

1124Mind, when you urge me towards the impermanent and unstable,
You are acting just like a person who plants trees,
Then, when they are about to fruit,
Wishes to cut down the very same trees.

1125You, incorporeal mind, far-traveller, lone-wanderer:
I won’t do your bidding any more.
Sensual pleasures are suffering, painful, and very dangerous;
I’ll wander with my mind focussed only on nibbāna.

1126I didn’t renounce due to bad luck or shamelessness,
Nor because of a whim, nor banishment,
Nor for the sake of a livelihood;
It was because I agreed to the promise you made, mind.

1127"Having few wishes, abandoning disparagment,
Stilling suffering: these are praised by good people."
So you used to urge me, mind,
But now you continue with your old habits!

1128Craving, ignorance, the loved and unloved,
Pretty sights, pleasant feelings,
And the delightful kinds of sensual pleasure: I’ve vomited them all;
And I can’t swallow back what I’ve vomited up.

1129I’ve done your bidding everywhere, mind!
For many births, I haven’t done anything to upset you,
Yet you show your gratitude by producing craving inside yourself!
For a long time I’ve transmigrated in the suffering you’ve created.

1130Only you, mind, make us holy men;
You make us lords or royal sages;
Sometimes we become traders or workers;
Life as a god is also on account of you.

1131You alone make us titans;
Because of you we are born in hell;
Then sometimes we become animals,
Life as an ghost is also on account of you.

1132Come what may, you won’t betray me again,
Dazzling me with your ever-changing display;
You play with me like I’m mad —
But how have I ever failed you, mind?

1133In the past my mind wandered
How it wished, where it liked, as it pleased.
Now I’ll carefully guide it,
As a rutting elephant is guided by a trainer with a hook.

1134The teacher willed that this world appear to me
As impermanent, unstable, insubstantial.
Mind, let me leap into the conqueror’s teaching,
Carry me over the great flood, so very hard to cross.

1135Things have changed, mind!
Nothing could make me return to your control!
I’ve gone forth in the teaching of the great sage,
Those like me don’t come to ruin.

1136Mountains, oceans, rivers, the earth;
The four directions, the intermediate directions, below and in the sky;
The three states of existence are all impermanent and troubled —
Where can you go to find happiness, mind?

1137Mind, what will you do to someone
Who has made the ultimate commitment?
Nothing could make me a follower
Under your control, mind;
There’s no way you’d touch a bellows
With a mouth open at each end;
Let alone the body flowing with its nine streams!

1138You’ve ascended the mountain peak, full of nature’s beauty,
Frequented by boars and antelopes,
A grove sprinkled with fresh water in the rainy-season;
And there you’ll be happy in your cave-home.

1139Peacocks with beautiful necks and crests,
Colourful tail-feathers and wings,
Crying out at the sweet-sounding thunder:
They’ll delight you as you practice jhāna in the forest.

1140When the sky has rained down,
And the grass is four inches high,
And the grove is full of flowers, like a cloud,
In the mountain cleft, like the fork of a tree, I’ll lie;
It will be as soft as cotton-buds.

1141I’ll act as a master does:
Let whatever I get be enough for me.
I’ll make you as supple,
As a good worker makes a cat-skin bag.

1142I’ll act as a master does:
Let whatever I get be enough for me.
I’ll control you with my energy,
As the trainer controls a rutting elephant with a hook.

1143Now that you’re well-tamed and reliable,
I can use you, like a trainer uses a straight-running horse,
To practice the safe path,
Cultivated by those who take care of their minds.

1144I shall strongly fasten you to a meditation subject,
As an elephant is tied to a post with firm rope.
You’ll be well-guarded by me, well-developed by mindfulness,
And unattached to rebirth in all states of existence.

1145You’ll use understanding to cut the follower of the wrong path,
Restrain them by practice, and settle them on the right path;
And when you have seen the cause of suffering arise and pass away,
You’ll be an heir to the greatest teacher.

1146Under the sway of the four distortions, mind,
You led me as if all around the world;
And now you won’t associate with the great sage of compassion,
The cutter of fetters and bonds?

1147Like a deer roaming free in the colourful forest,
I’ll ascend the lovely mountain wreathed in cloud,
And rejoice to be on that hill, free of folk —
There is no doubt you’ll perish, mind.

1148The men and women who live under your will and command,
Whatever pleasure they experience,
They are ignorant and fall under Māra’s control;
Loving life, they’re your disciples, mind.

1094 p_19Th1_1453"Kadā nuhaṁ pabbatakandarāsu,
Ekākiyo addutiyo vihassaṁ;
Aniccato sabbabhavaṁ vipassaṁ,
Taṁ me idaṁ taṁ nu kadā bhavissati.

1095p_19Th1_1454Kadā nuhaṁ bhinnapaṭandharo muni,
Kāsāvavattho amamo nirāso;
Rāgañca dosañca tatheva mohaṁ,
Hantvā sukhī pavanagato vihassaṁ.

1096p_19Th1_1455Kadā aniccaṁ vadharoganīḷaṁ,
Kāyaṁ imaṁ maccujarāyupaddutaṁ;
Vipassamāno vītabhayo vihassaṁ,
Eko vane taṁ nu kadā bhavissati.

1097p_19Th1_1456Kadā nuhaṁ bhayajananiṁ dukhāvahaṁ,
Taṇhālataṁ bahuvidhānuvattaniṁ;
Paññāmayaṁ tikhiṇamasiṁ gahetvā,
Chetvā vase tampi kadā bhavissati.

1098p_19Th1_1457Kadā nu paññāmayamuggatejaṁ,
Satthaṁ isīnaṁ sahasādiyitvā;
Māraṁ sasenaṁ sahasā bhañjissaṁ,
Sīhāsane taṁ nu kadā bhavissati.

1099p_19Th1_1458Kadā nuhaṁ sabbhi samāgamesu,
Diṭṭho bhave dhammagarūhi tādibhi;
Yāthāvadassīhi jitindriyehi,
Padhāniyo taṁ nu kadā bhavissati.

1100p_19Th1_1459Kadā nu maṁ tandi khudā pipāsā,
Vātātapā kīṭasarīsapā vā;
Na bādhayissanti na taṁ giribbaje,
Atthatthiyaṁ taṁ nu kadā bhavissati.

1101 p_19Th1_1460Kadā nu kho yaṁ viditaṁ mahesinā,
Cattāri saccāni sududdasāni;
Samāhitatto satimā agacchaṁ,
Paññāya taṁ taṁ nu kadā bhavissati.

1102p_19Th1_1461Kadā nu rūpe amite ca sadde,
Gandhe rase phusitabbe ca dhamme;
Ādittatohaṁ samathehi yutto,
Paññāya dacchaṁ tadidaṁ kadā me.

1103p_19Th1_1462Kadā nuhaṁ dubbacanena vutto,
Tato nimittaṁ vimano na hessaṁ;
Atho pasatthopi tato nimittaṁ,
Tuṭṭho na hessaṁ tadidaṁ kadā me.

1104p_19Th1_1463Kadā nu kaṭṭhe ca tiṇe latā ca,
Khandhe imehaṁ amite ca dhamme;
Ajjhattikāneva ca bāhirāni ca,
Samaṁ tuleyyaṁ tadidaṁ kadā me.

1105p_19Th1_1464Kadā nu maṁ pāvusakālamegho,
Navena toyena sacīvaraṁ vane;
Isippayātamhi pathe vajantaṁ,
Ovassate taṁ nu kadā bhavissati.

1106p_19Th1_1465Kadā mayūrassa sikhaṇḍino vane,
Dijassa sutvā girigabbhare rutaṁ;
Paccuṭṭhahitvā amatassa pattiyā,
Sañcintaye taṁ nu kadā bhavissati.

1107p_19Th1_1466Kadā nu gaṅgaṁ yamunaṁ sarassatiṁ,
Pātālakhittaṁ vaḷavāmukhañca;
Asajjamāno patareyyamiddhiyā,
Vibhiṁsanaṁ taṁ nu kadā bhavissati.

1108p_19Th1_1467Kadā nu nāgova asaṅgacārī,
Padālaye kāmaguṇesu chandaṁ;
Nibbajjayaṁ sabbasubhaṁ nimittaṁ,
Jhāne yuto taṁ nu kadā bhavissati.

1109 p_19Th1_1468Kadā iṇaṭṭova daliddako nidhiṁ,
Ārādhayitvā dhanikehi pīḷito;
Tuṭṭho bhavissaṁ adhigamma sāsanaṁ,
Mahesino taṁ nu kadā bhavissati.

1110p_19Th1_1469Bahūni vassāni tayāmhi yācito,
‘Agāravāsena alaṁ nu te idaṁ’;
Taṁ dāni maṁ pabbajitaṁ samānaṁ,
Kiṁkāraṇā citta tuvaṁ na yuñjasi.

1111p_19Th1_1470Nanu ahaṁ citta tayāmhi yācito,
‘Giribbaje citrachadā vihaṅgamā’;
Mahindaghosatthanitābhigajjino,
Te taṁ ramessanti vanamhi jhāyinaṁ.

1112p_19Th1_1471Kulamhi mitte ca piye ca ñātake,
Khiḍḍāratiṁ kāmaguṇañca loke;
Sabbaṁ pahāya imamajjhupāgato,
Athopi tvaṁ citta na mayha tussasi.

1113p_19Th1_1472Mameva etaṁ na hi tvaṁ paresaṁ,
Sannāhakāle paridevitena kiṁ;
Sabbaṁ idaṁ calamiti pekkhamāno,
Abhinikkhamiṁ amatapadaṁ jigīsaṁ.

1114p_19Th1_1473Suyuttavādī dvipadānamuttamo,
Mahābhisakko naradammasārathi;
‘Cittaṁ calaṁ makkaṭasannibhaṁ iti,
Avītarāgena sudunnivārayaṁ’.

1115p_19Th1_1474Kāmā hi citrā madhurā manoramā,
Aviddasū yattha sitā puthujjanā;
Te dukkhamicchanti punabbhavesino,
Cittena nītā niraye nirākatā.

1116p_19Th1_1475‘Mayūrakoñcābhirutamhi kānane,
Dīpīhi byagghehi purakkhato vasaṁ;
Kāye apekkhaṁ jaha mā virādhaya’,
Itissu maṁ citta pure niyuñjasi.

1117 p_19Th1_1476‘Bhāvehi jhānāni ca indriyāni ca,
Balāni bojjhaṅgasamādhibhāvanā;
Tisso ca vijjā phusa buddhasāsane’,
Itissu maṁ citta pure niyuñjasi.

1118p_19Th1_1477‘Bhāvehi maggaṁ amatassa pattiyā,
Niyyānikaṁ sabbadukhakkhayogadhaṁ;
Aṭṭhaṅgikaṁ sabbakilesasodhanaṁ’,
Itissu maṁ citta pure niyuñjasi.

1119p_19Th1_1478‘Dukkhanti khandhe paṭipassa yoniso,
Yato ca dukkhaṁ samudeti taṁ jaha;
Idheva dukkhassa karohi antaṁ’,
Itissu maṁ citta pure niyuñjasi.

1120p_19Th1_1479‘Aniccaṁ dukkhanti vipassa yoniso,
Suññaṁ anattāti aghaṁ vadhanti ca;
Manovicāre uparundha cetaso’,
Itissu maṁ citta pure niyuñjasi.

1121p_19Th1_1480‘Muṇḍo virūpo abhisāpamāgato,
Kapālahatthova kulesu bhikkhasu;
Yuñjassu satthuvacane mahesino’,
Itissu maṁ citta pure niyuñjasi.

1122p_19Th1_1481‘Susaṁvutatto visikhantare caraṁ,
Kulesu kāmesu asaṅgamānaso;
Cando yathā dosinapuṇṇamāsiyā’,
Itissu maṁ citta pure niyuñjasi.

1123p_19Th1_1482‘Āraññiko hohi ca piṇḍapātiko,
Sosāniko hohi ca paṁsukūliko;
Nesajjiko hohi sadā dhute rato’,
Itissu maṁ citta pure niyuñjasi.

1124p_19Th1_1483Ropetva rukkhāni yathā phalesī,
Mūle taruṁ chettu tameva icchasi;
Tathūpamaṁ cittamidaṁ karosi,
Yaṁ maṁ aniccamhi cale niyuñjasi.

1125p_19Th1_1484Arūpa dūraṅgama ekacāri,
Na te karissaṁ vacanaṁ idānihaṁ;
Dukkhā hi kāmā kaṭukā mahabbhayā,
Nibbānamevābhimano carissaṁ.

1126p_19Th1_1485Nāhaṁ alakkhyā ahirikkatāya vā,
Na cittahetū na ca dūrakantanā;
Ājīvahetū ca ahaṁ na nikkhamiṁ,
Kato ca te citta paṭissavo mayā.

1127 p_19Th1_1486‘Appicchatā sappurisehi vaṇṇitā,
Makkhappahānaṁ vupasamo dukhassa’;
Itissu maṁ citta tadā niyuñjasi,
Idāni tvaṁ gacchasi pubbaciṇṇaṁ.

1128p_19Th1_1487Taṇhā avijjā ca piyāpiyañca,
Subhāni rūpāni sukhā ca vedanā;
Manāpiyā kāmaguṇā ca vantā,
Vante ahaṁ āvamituṁ na ussahe.

1129p_19Th1_1488Sabbattha te citta vaco kataṁ mayā,
Bahūsu jātīsu na mesi kopito;
Ajjhattasambhavo kataññutāya te,
Dukkhe ciraṁ saṁsaritaṁ tayā kate.

1130p_19Th1_1489Tvaññeva no citta karosi brāhmaṇo,
Tvaṁ khattiyo rājadasī karosi;
Vessā ca suddā ca bhavāma ekadā,
Devattanaṁ vāpi taveva vāhasā.

1131p_19Th1_1490Taveva hetū asurā bhavāmase,
Tvaṁmūlakaṁ nerayikā bhavāmase;
Atho tiracchānagatāpi ekadā,
Petattanaṁ vāpi taveva vāhasā.

1132p_19Th1_1491Nanu dubbhissasi maṁ punappunaṁ,
Muhuṁ muhuṁ cāraṇikaṁva dassayaṁ;
Ummattakeneva mayā palobhasi,
Kiñcāpi te citta virādhitaṁ mayā.

1133p_19Th1_1492Idaṁ pure cittamacāri cārikaṁ,
Yenicchakaṁ yatthakāmaṁ yathāsukhaṁ;
Tadajjahaṁ niggahessāmi yoniso,
Hatthippabhinnaṁ viya aṅkusaggaho.

1134p_19Th1_1493Satthā ca me lokamimaṁ adhiṭṭhahi,
Aniccato addhuvato asārato;
Pakkhanda maṁ citta jinassa sāsane,
Tārehi oghā mahatā suduttarā.

1135p_19Th1_1494Na te idaṁ citta yathā purāṇakaṁ,
Nāhaṁ alaṁ tuyha vase nivattituṁ;
Mahesino pabbajitomhi sāsane,
Na mādisā honti vināsadhārino.

1136 p_19Th1_1495Nagā samuddā saritā vasundharā,
Disā catasso vidisā adho divā;
Sabbe aniccā tibhavā upaddutā,
Kuhiṁ gato citta sukhaṁ ramissasi.

1137p_19Th1_1496Dhitipparaṁ kiṁ mama citta kāhisi,
Na te alaṁ citta vasānuvattako;
Na jātu bhastaṁ ubhatomukhaṁ chupe,
Dhiratthu pūraṁ nava sotasandaniṁ.

1138p_19Th1_1497Varāhaeṇeyyavigāḷhasevite,
Pabbhārakuṭṭe pakateva sundare;
Navambunā pāvusasitthakānane,
Tahiṁ guhāgehagato ramissasi.

1139p_19Th1_1498Sunīlagīvā susikhā supekhunā,
Sucittapattacchadanā vihaṅgamā;
Sumañjughosatthanitābhigajjino,
Te taṁ ramessanti vanamhi jhāyinaṁ.

1140p_19Th1_1499Vuṭṭhamhi deve caturaṅgule tiṇe,
Sampupphite meghanibhamhi kānane;
Nagantare viṭapisamo sayissaṁ,
Taṁ me mudū hehiti tūlasannibhaṁ.

1141p_19Th1_1500Tathā tu kassāmi yathāpi issaro,
Yaṁ labbhati tenapi hotu me alaṁ;
Na tāhaṁ kassāmi yathā atandito,
Biḷārabhastaṁva yathā sumadditaṁ.

1142p_19Th1_1501Tathā tu kassāmi yathāpi issaro,
Yaṁ labbhati tenapi hotu me alaṁ;
Viriyena taṁ mayha vasānayissaṁ,
Gajaṁva mattaṁ kusalaṅkusaggaho.

1143p_19Th1_1502Tayā sudantena avaṭṭhitena hi,
Hayena yoggācariyova ujjunā;
Pahomi maggaṁ paṭipajjituṁ sivaṁ,
Cittānurakkhīhi sadā nisevitaṁ.

1144 p_19Th1_1503Ārammaṇe taṁ balasā nibandhisaṁ,
Nāgaṁva thambhamhi daḷhāya rajjuyā;
Taṁ me suguttaṁ satiyā subhāvitaṁ,
Anissitaṁ sabbabhavesu hehisi.

1145p_19Th1_1504Paññāya chetvā vipathānusārinaṁ,
Yogena niggayha pathe nivesiya;
Disvā samudayaṁ vibhavañca sambhavaṁ,
Dāyādako hehisi aggavādino.

1146p_19Th1_1505Catubbipallāsavasaṁ adhiṭṭhitaṁ,
Gāmaṇḍalaṁva parinesi citta maṁ;
Nanu saṁyojanabandhanacchidaṁ,
Saṁsevase kāruṇikaṁ mahāmuniṁ.

1147p_19Th1_1506Migo yathā seri sucittakānane,
Rammaṁ giriṁ pāvusaabbhamāliniṁ;
Anākule tattha nage ramissaṁ,
Asaṁsayaṁ citta parā bhavissasi.

1148p_19Th1_1507Ye tuyha chandena vasena vattino,
Narā ca nārī ca anubhonti yaṁ sukhaṁ;
Aviddasū māravasānuvattino,
Bhavābhinandī tava citta sāvakā"ti.