Preface
Patachara and Chanda are two of the first female disciples of the Buddha, but they are also teacher and student. Patachara was the leader of a group of ordained bound together by the shared experience of losing children to death. Patachara, who had lost her own children, was able to dispel their grief through her teaching, just as the Buddha had done for her. Chanda’s poem about her life before and after she encountered Patachara is an eloquent testament to the significance of women living together in mutual care and intimacy.
Patachara’s Poem
Furrowing fields with plows, sowing seeds in the ground,
Taking care of wives and children, young men find wealth.
So why have I not experienced freedom,
when I am virtuous and I do what the Teacher taught,
when I am not lazy and I am calm?
While washing my feet I made the water useful in another way,
by concentrating on it move from the higher ground down.
Then I held back my mind,
as one would do with a thoroughbred horse,
and I took a lamp and went into the hut.
First I looked at the bed, then I sat on the couch,
I used a needle to pull out the lamp’s wick.
Just as the lamp went out, my mind was free.
Translated from Pali by Charles Hallisey.
Charles Hallisey, translator, Therigatha:The Poems of the First Buddhist Women (Murty Classical Library of India 3). Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2015, pages 67 and 71.
Chanda’s Poem
In the past, I was poor, a widow, without children,
Without friends or relatives, I did not get food or clothing.
Taking a bowl and stick, I went begging from family,
I wandered for seven years, tormented by cold and heat.
Then I saw a nun as she was receiving food and drink.
Approaching her, I said, “Make me go forth to homelessness.”
And she was sympathetic to me and Patachara made me go forth,
She gave me advice and pointed me towards the highest goal.
I listened to her words and I put into action her advice.
That excellent woman’s advice was not empty,
I know the three things that most don’t know,
Nothing fouls my heart.
Translated from Pali by Charles Hallisey.
Charles Hallisey, translator, Therigatha:The Poems of the First Buddhist Women (Murty Classical Library of India 3). Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2015, pages 67 and 71.