Thig 6:4 Sujātā

Ornamented, well-dressed,

garlanded, sprinkled with sandalwood,

covered all over with jewelry,

surrounded by a group of slave-women,

taking food & drink,

and not a little staple & non-staple food,

leaving the house,

I fetched myself to the pleasure garden.

Having enjoyed ourselves & played there,

we headed back to our home.

I saw in Sāketa a hall at the Añjana wood.

I entered.

Seeing the light of the world,

I, paying homage, sat nearby.

He, the One with Eyes,1

from sympathy,

taught me the Dhamma.

Hearing the Great Seer, I

fully penetrated

the truth.

Right there I touched the Dhamma,

dustless, the deathless state.

Then, knowing the True Dhamma,

I went forth

into homelessness.

The three knowledges

are attained.

The Buddha’s bidding

is not in vain.

Note

1. Since Vedic times, there has been a belief in India that the eyes of holy individuals where particularly powerful because they could see so deeply into reality. From this belief grew a further belief: that the eyes of such individuals were so powerful that their eyes could transmit some of that power to others. Thus, to be gazed on by such an individual, or to gaze into that individual’s eyes, was considered to be very auspicious. Sujātā’s reference to the Buddha as “the One with Eyes” carries all of these connotations. For more on this topic, see Sn 5:5 and DN 16, note 44.