No narrative setting beyond what the verses state; no closing attribution
Speaker
Not identified with certainty; the verse addresses ‘Abhayā’ by name in the second person
Form
Two four-line verses, nothing more
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
★★☆☆☆ — best read as a pair with Thig 2.8
Why this text
This verse follows immediately after Thig 2.8's instruction from a daughter to her mother, and addresses someone named Abhayā directly — the same name identifying the previous poem's speaker. Read together, the two verses suggest a family whose spiritual concerns run in both directions between a mother and her daughter.
Reading guide
A direct address, following a direct instruction
Where Thig 2.8 instructed a mother to examine the body, this verse opens by addressing ‘Abhayā’ on a related theme: ‘the body is fragile, yet ordinary people are attached to it’ — a continuation of the same concern in a new verse.
A resolve stated plainly
‘I'll lay down the body, aware and mindful’ states an intention with unusual directness — not fear of death, but a clear-eyed readiness, held together with awareness rather than denial.
Difficulty acknowledged, not minimized
‘Though subject to so many painful things’ opens the second verse honestly, before crediting ‘love of diligence’ as what carried the speaker through to ‘the ending of craving’ despite that difficulty.
A closing formula repeated exactly in the next poem
This verse's final four lines — ‘though subject to so many painful things... fulfilled the Buddha's instructions’ — recur word for word as the closing verse of Thig 2.10, immediately after this one, shared between two otherwise distinct poems.
Key terms
Abhayā — the figure addressed in this verse, sharing a name with the speaker of Thig 2.8's instruction to her own mother.
kāya — “body” — described here as ‘fragile’, the same object of examination named in Thig 2.8.
appamāda — “diligence” — credited directly, alongside love for it, as what carried the speaker through difficulty to the ending of craving.
taṇhākkhaya — “the ending of craving” — named as the attainment reached, closing this verse's second half.
cariyā — not used here; another of this book's poems with no closing attribution, closing instead on a formula repeated word for word in the very next poem.
The text
The text in full: two verses, with no attribution. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Abhayā, the body is fragile, yet ordinary people are attached to it. I’ll lay down the body, aware and mindful.
§2Though subject to so many painful things, I have, through my love of diligence, reached the ending of craving, and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.
· · ·
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
How does this verse relate to Thig 2.8, immediately before it?
Correct: B. Read together, the two verses suggest a family whose concerns run in both directions.
Question 2 of 10
What does the first verse say about the body?
Correct: B. A continuation of the concern raised in Thig 2.8.
Question 3 of 10
What resolve does the verse state directly?
Correct: B. Held together with awareness rather than denial.
Question 4 of 10
What does the second verse credit for carrying the speaker through difficulty?
Correct: B. Named directly alongside acknowledging 'so many painful things'.
Question 5 of 10
What happens to this verse's closing four lines in the very next poem, Thig 2.10?
Correct: B. The same closing formula shared exactly between two otherwise distinct poems.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'taṇhākkhaya' mean?
Correct: A. The destination reached despite acknowledged difficulty.
Question 7 of 10
Does this poem have a closing attribution?
Correct: B. No formal attribution note closes this poem.
Question 8 of 10
What position does this poem hold in the Book of the Twos?
Correct: B. Following the instruction addressed to Abhayā's Mother in Thig 2.8.
Question 9 of 10
How does the second verse acknowledge difficulty?
Correct: B. Acknowledged honestly before crediting what carried the speaker through it.
Question 10 of 10
What does 'appamāda' mean?
Correct: A. Named directly, paired with 'love of' it, in this verse's second half.
