No narrative setting beyond what the verses state; a closing attribution names the speaker
Speaker
The senior nun Jentā, speaking entirely in the first person
Form
Two four-line verses, with a closing attribution note
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
This reading guide does not assert a specific matching text for this poem in other Buddhist literatures.
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — names a specific doctrinal list by number
Why this text
Where Thig 2.1 gave an instruction still to be followed, this verse reports a specific, named practice already completed: Jentā states she has developed all seven of the awakening factors — not vaguely, but naming the number and the source, ‘just as the Buddha taught’.
Reading guide
A specific doctrinal list, named and counted
Jentā's report is precise: ‘of the seven awakening factors... I have developed them all’ — not a general claim of progress, but a specific, countable list stated as complete.
Attributed directly to the Buddha's own teaching
The verse credits its method explicitly: ‘just as the Buddha taught’ — crediting a specific source for the path followed, rather than presenting the attainment as self-derived.
A body already described as final
‘This bag of bones is my last’ echoes the same phrase used to instruct Nandā in Thig 2.1, but here spoken in the first person about an already-final body, not as an instruction toward seeing it that way.
A closing claim about the future itself
The verse ends with the clearest possible statement about what comes next: ‘transmigration through births is finished, now there'll be no more future lives’ — not hopeful language, but a flat declaration.
Key terms
Jentā — the senior nun (therī) this verse's closing attribution credits as its speaker.
bojjhaṅga — the “awakening factors”, seven qualities (mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, tranquility, immersion, and equanimity) traditionally cultivated together on the path.
nibbāna — “extinguishment” — named directly as the goal the seven awakening factors are described as the path toward.
aṭṭhimasañcayo — “this bag of bones” — the same phrase used in Thig 2.1's instruction to Nandā, here describing Jentā's own final body.
cariyā — not used here; this poem, like most in the Therigatha, closes with a simple attribution note rather than a formula naming a perfection.
The text
The text in full: two verses, with a closing attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Of the seven awakening factors, the path for attaining extinguishment, I have developed them all, just as the Buddha taught.
§2For I have seen the Blessed One, and this bag of bones is my last. Transmigration through births is finished, now there’ll be no more future lives.
§3That is how these verses were recited by the senior nun Jentā.
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Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What specific doctrinal list does Jentā say she has developed in full?
Correct: B. A precise, countable claim, not a vague statement of progress.
Question 2 of 10
What source does the verse credit for this method?
Correct: B. The path is credited directly, not presented as self-derived.
Question 3 of 10
What phrase does this verse share with Thig 2.1's instruction to Nandā?
Correct: B. Here describing Jentā's own already-final body, not as an instruction.
Question 4 of 10
How does the verse describe the future, in its closing lines?
Correct: B. A declarative statement, not hopeful or tentative language.
Question 5 of 10
What does 'bojjhaṅga' refer to?
Correct: B. Traditionally cultivated together on the path to awakening.
Question 6 of 10
Who does the closing attribution credit as this verse's speaker?
Correct: B. Unlike Thig 2.1's attribution to the Buddha.
Question 7 of 10
What does Jentā say having 'seen the Blessed One' relates to?
Correct: B. Connected directly to her declaration of final attainment.
Question 8 of 10
What position does this poem hold in the Book of the Twos?
Correct: B. Following Abhirūpanandā's verses.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'nibbāna' mean, as named in this verse?
Correct: A. Named as the destination of the path Jentā describes completing.
Question 10 of 10
How does this poem's tone compare to Thig 2.1's?
Correct: B. A shift from instruction to first-person report.
