Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Therigatha · 5.10

Paṭācārā

Paṭācārā — The Book of the Fives · Poem 10 of 12

Setting
A dwelling, at evening, washing feet and preparing to sleep
Speaker
The nun Paṭācārā, questioning her own lack of progress, then narrating two ordinary observations
Form
Five verses, mostly four lines, the fourth extending to six
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
★★★☆☆ — ends on one of this collection's most quoted single images

Why this text

Paṭācārā is remembered by later tradition for an elaborate and tragic story; this poem itself tells none of it. Instead, her own verses describe a precise puzzle — ethical, obedient, ‘neither lazy nor restless’, yet still short of quenching — resolved not by further striving but by watching water flow downhill while washing her feet, and then a lamp go out.

Reading guide

A famous name, and a spare verse that tells none of the story

Later Buddhist tradition remembers Paṭācārā for an elaborate account of personal loss; this poem's own verses state none of that narrative, only the puzzle of her practice and the two observations that resolved it.

A precise self-diagnosis, ruling out the usual explanations

‘I am accomplished in ethics, and I do the Teacher's bidding... being neither lazy nor restless — why then do I not achieve quenching?’ rules out the obvious causes before the poem answers its own question.

Water, flowing from high ground to low

Washing her feet, she ‘took note of the water... flowing from high ground to low’ — an entirely ordinary, domestic action, not a teaching or a vision, becomes the first observation that settles her mind.

A lamp extinguished, and the poem's most quoted image

‘The liberation of my heart was like the quenching of the lamp’ closes the poem on a simile that has become one of the most recognized single images in the entire Therigatha — drawn not from doctrine recited, but from putting out a light before sleep.

Key terms

Paṭācārā — this poem's speaker, remembered by later tradition for an elaborate story this verse itself does not narrate.
akuṣitā anuddhatā — “neither lazy nor restless” — her own precise ruling-out of the usual explanations for slow progress.
thalato ninnaṅ — “from high ground to low” — the direction of the water she watches while washing her feet.
samādhi — the settled, serene mind state named directly after this first observation, compared to ‘a fine thoroughbred steed’.
vimokkha — “liberation” — the word at the center of this poem's closing simile, compared to a lamp's quenching.

The text

The text in full: five verses. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1Plowing the fields, sowing seeds in the ground, providing for partners and children, young men acquire wealth.

§2I am accomplished in ethics, and I do the Teacher’s bidding, being neither lazy nor restless—why then do I not achieve quenching?

§3Having washed my feet, I took note of the water, seeing the foot-washing water flowing from high ground to low.

§4My mind became serene, like a fine thoroughbred steed. Then, taking a lamp, I entered my dwelling, inspected the bed, and sat on my cot.

§5Then, grabbing the pin, I drew out the wick. The liberation of my heart was like the quenching of the lamp.

· · ·

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
Does this poem itself narrate the tragic story later tradition remembers Paṭācārā for?
Correct: B. This guide keeps the well-known later tradition distinct from what the verse itself states.
Question 2 of 10
What does Paṭācārā rule out as the cause of her lack of progress?
Correct: B. A precise self-diagnosis, sharpening the puzzle before it is resolved.
Question 3 of 10
What is Paṭācārā doing when she first observes the water?
Correct: C. An entirely ordinary, domestic action.
Question 4 of 10
What direction does she observe the water flowing?
Correct: D. 'Thalato ninnam āgataṁ' — the specific observation named in the text.
Question 5 of 10
What does the poem compare her settled mind to, after this observation?
Correct: A. A specific simile for her mind's new serenity.
Question 6 of 10
What second action leads to this poem's closing image?
Correct: B. The domestic act that produces the poem's most famous simile.
Question 7 of 10
What is this poem's closing simile?
Correct: A. One of the most recognized single images in the entire Therigatha.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'akusītā anuddhatā' mean?
Correct: C. Named directly in her own opening question to herself.
Question 9 of 10
What position does this poem hold in the Book of the Fives?
Correct: A. Following Thig 5.9, continuing the Book of the Fives.
Question 10 of 10
Where does this poem's insight come from, according to its own account?
Correct: D. Not doctrine recited, but everyday actions observed closely.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousThig 5.9 · Bhaddā of the Curly Hair