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Thag 5.9 Vijitasenattheragāthā: Vijitasena

I’ll cage you, mind,
like an elephant in a stockade.
Born of the flesh, that net of the senses,
I won’t urge you to do bad.

Caged, you won’t go anywhere,
like an elephant who can’t find an open gate.
Demon-mind, you won’t wander again and again,
bullying, in love with wickedness.

Just as a strong trainer with a hook
takes a wild, newly captured elephant
and wins it over against its will,
so I’ll win you over.

Just as a fine charioteer, skilled in the taming
of fine horses, tames a thoroughbred,
so I’ll tame you,
firmly established in the five powers.

I’ll bind you with mindfulness;
devout, I shall tame you;
kept in check by harnessed energy,
mind, you won’t go far from here.


To learn about the five powers, see AN 5.14: Vitthatasutta.

Read this translation of Theragāthā 5.9 Vijitasenattheragāthā: Vijitasena by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net.

Thag 3.5 Mātaṅgaputta

     It’s too cold,
     too hot,
     too late in the evening—
people who say this,
shirking their work:
          The moment passes them by.

Whoever regards cold & heat
as no more than grass,
doing his manly duties,
     won’t fall away
     from ease.

With my chest
I push through wild grasses—
     spear-grass,
     ribbon-grass,
     rushes—
cultivating a heart
               bent on seclusion.


Read this translation of Theragāthā 3.5 Mātaṅgaputta by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org or DhammaTalks.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net.