Thig 8  Sīsūpacālā

In SN 5:7, verses similar to these are attributed to the nun Upacālā.

Sīsūpacālā:

A nun, consummate in virtue,

her faculties well-restrained,

will reach the state of peace,

a nourishment

that never cloys.1

Māra:

The Devas of the Thirty-three,

the Hours, the Contented,

devas who delight in creation,

& devas in control:

Direct your mind there

where you lived before.2

Sīsūpacālā:

The Devas of the Thirty-three,

the Hours, the Contented,

devas who delight in creation,

& devas in control:

Time & again,

from becoming to becoming,

surrounded by self-identity,

not having gone beyond self-identity,

they flow to birth & death.3

The whole world is     burning.

The whole world is     aflame.

The whole world is     blazing.

The whole world is     shaken.4

The unshaken, incomparable

—the Dhamma the Buddha taught to me,

of which people run-of-the-mill

don’t partake—

that’s where my heart

truly delights.

Having heard his words,

I dwell, delighting

in his bidding.

The three knowledges

are attained;

the Buddha’s bidding,

done.

Everywhere enjoyment

is defeated;

the mass of darkness,

burst.

So know,     Evil One,

that you have been,

End-maker,

struck down.

Notes

1. This stanza does not occur in SN 5:7.

2. The parallel stanza in SN 5:7 reads:

The Devas of the Thirty-three,

the Hours, the Contented,

devas who delight in creation,

& devas in control:

Direct your mind there

and it will enjoy

delight.

3. The parallel stanza in SN 5:7 reads:

The Devas of the Thirty-three,

the Hours, the Contented,

devas who delight in creation,

& devas in control:

They are bound

with the bonds of sensuality;

they come again

under Māra’s sway.

4. This is the last line that this poem has in common with SN 5:7. The remainder of SN 5:7 reads:

The unshaken, untrembling

—of which people run-of-the-mill

don’t partake,

where Māra’s

never been—

that’s where my heart

truly delights.