Psalms of the Brethren CCXXXI: Panthaka Major

When first I saw the blessed Master, Him
For whom no fear can anywhence arise,
A wave of deep emotion filled my soul
At sight of Him, the peerless man of men.

Had a man erst on hands and knees besought
Favour of Fortune’s goddess hither come,
And won the grace of Master such as this,
Still might he fail to win [the thing he sought].

I for my part [all hindrance] cast away —
[The hope of] wife and children, coin and corn,
And let my hair and beard be shorn, and forth
Into the homeless life I went from home.

The life and training practising, all faculties
Well held in hand, in loyalty to Him,
Buddha supreme, master of self I lived.

Then longing rose within my heart, I yearned
[To consummate]: ‘Now will I no more sit,
Not even for a moment, while the dart
Of craving sticketh and is not outdrawn.

The Threefold Wisdom have I made my own,
And all the Buddha bids us do is done.

I know the where and when of former lives,
And clearly shines the eye celestial.
Ar’hant am I, worthy men’s offerings.
Released and without basis for rebirth.

For as the darkness melted into light,
And the day broke with rising of the sun,
From craving, stanched and dry, had come release,
And on my couch crosslegged I sat in peace.