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Thag 5.1

Rājadatta

Rājadattattheragāthā

from: The Book of the Fives

Chapter One

Rājadatta

I, a monk, went to a charnel ground
and saw a woman’s body abandoned there,
dumped in a cemetery,
full of worms that devoured.

Some men were disgusted,
seeing her dead and rotten;
but sexual desire arose in me,
I was as if blind to her oozing body.

Quicker than the cooking of rice
I left that place!
Mindful and aware,
I retired to a discreet place.

Then the realization
came upon me—
the danger became clear,
and I was firmly disillusioned.

Then my mind was freed—
behold the clear rightness of the teaching!
I’ve attained the three knowledges
and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.

Translation: German (Ayyā Sabbamittā), English (Bhikkhu Sujato). Source: SuttaCentral / Bilara (public domain, CC0).

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