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Buddhism

Thag 2:26 · Puṇṇamāsa

Thai temple painting: Prince Vessantara gives away the white elephant
Vessantara Jātaka, Chapter 2 (Himavanta Forest) · Thai, Rattanakosin, c. 1850–1870 · Walters Art Museum

Shedding five hindrances1

to reach rest from the yoke,

taking the Dhamma as mirror

my own knowledge & vision,

I reflected on this body—

the whole thing,

inside & out,

my own & others’.

How vain & empty the body appeared!

Note

1. The five hindrances are sensual desire, ill will, sloth & drowsiness, restlessness & anxiety, and uncertainty. See SN 46:51.


Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. © 2014 / rev. 2017 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 licence, for free distribution only. Source: dhammatalks.org (Metta Forest Monastery).

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