Reading guide
A second former courtesan, described more fully
Thig 2.4's Aḍḍhakāsi named her former worth and moved on quickly. Vimalā's account is longer and more specific about the trade itself — standing ‘at the brothel door’, adorning her body, and openly displaying herself to draw customers in.
A hunter's snare, applied to herself
‘I stood at the brothel door, like a hunter setting a snare’ is Vimalā's own self-description, not an outside judgment — she names her former conduct as predatory toward the men she drew in, a harsher self-assessment than most confessions in this collection.
A single verse spans the entire change
‘Today, having wandered for alms, my head shaven, wearing the outer robe’ opens the poem's fourth verse with the present tense ‘today’, setting the whole of her former trade against the whole of her new life in one compact turn.
Freedom from thought, an unusual way to name attainment
‘I've gained freedom from thought’ (avitakka) is a distinctive way to describe realization, less common in this collection than ‘peace of mind’ or ‘quenching’ — naming the cessation of discursive thought itself as what she gained, before the closing verse's more usual formula of defilements ended.
Key terms
The text
§1Intoxicated by my appearance, my figure, my beauty, my fame, and owing to my youth, I looked down on others.
§2I adorned this body all pretty, lamented by fools, and stood at the brothel door, like a hunter setting a snare.
§3I stripped for them, revealing my many hidden treasures. Creating an intricate illusion, I laughed, teasing those men.
§4Today, having wandered for alms, my head shaven, wearing the outer robe, I sat at the root of a tree to meditate; I’ve gained freedom from thought.
§5All yokes are severed, both human and heavenly. Having wiped out all defilements, I have become cooled and quenched.
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