Buddhism

Thag 6:9 · Jenta, the Royal Chaplain’s Son

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

I was

drunk with the intoxication

of my birth, wealth, & sovereignty.

Drunk with the intoxication

of my body’s build, coloring, & form,

I wandered about,

regarding no one

as my equal or better.

Foolish, arrogant, haughty,

my banner held high.

I—disrespectful, arrogant, proud—

bowed down to no one,

not even

mother,

father,

or those commonly held

in respect.

Then—seeing the ultimate leader,

supreme, foremost of charioteers,

like a blazing sun,

arrayed with a squadron of monks—

casting away pride & intoxication

through an awareness serene & clear,

I bowed down

my

head

to him, supreme

among all living beings.

Haughtiness & contempt

have been abandoned

—rooted out—

the conceit “I am” is extracted,

all forms of pride, destroyed.

See also: AN 3:39; AN 7:48; Thig 5:2

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).