Poem | The Poetry Foundation

When they plow their fields

and sow seeds in the earth,

when they care for their wives and children,

young brahmans find riches.

But I've done everything right

and followed the rules of my teacher.

I'm not lazy or proud.

Why haven't I found peace?

Bathing my feet

I watched the bathwater

spill down the slope.

I concentrated my mind

the way you train a good horse.

Then I took a lamp

and went into my cell,

checked the bed,

and sat down on it.

I took a needle

and pushed the wick down.

When the lamp went out

my mind was freed.

Source: The First Buddhist Women: Translation and Commentary on the Therigatha (The First Buddhist Women: Translation and Commentary on the Therigatha., 1991)