Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Therigatha · 5.7

Sakulā

Sakulā — The Book of the Fives · Poem 7 of 12

Setting
A lay household, where she first hears the teaching, before any renunciation
Speaker
The nun Sakulā, narrating insight while still a layperson, then her subsequent going forth
Form
Five four-line verses
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 the specific cost of her renunciation without euphemism

Why this text

This poem's sequence runs differently from most confessions in this collection: Sakulā sees ‘the stainless Dhamma, extinguishment, the state that does not pass’ while still ‘staying at home’, before she ever renounces — and when she does, the poem names exactly what she left behind: a son, a daughter, riches, and grain, stated without softening.

Reading guide

Insight before renunciation, not after it

‘While staying at home I heard the teaching from a monk. I saw the stainless Dhamma’ places her first moment of clear seeing before she has renounced anything — a different sequence from poems where insight follows years of monastic struggle.

A cost, itemized rather than implied

‘Leaving behind my son and my daughter, my riches and my grain’ states plainly, in a single line, exactly what her going forth required — children and property named together, without euphemism or omission.

Named stages, each with its own attainment

The poem tracks her progress through named stages: as a ‘trainee nun’ she develops ‘the direct path’ and gives up greed and hate; only ‘when fully ordained’ does she recollect her past lives and purify her clairvoyance — each attainment tied to a specific point in her formal progress.

Conditions seen as 'other', closing the account

‘Conditions are born of causes, crumbling; having seen them as other’ closes the poem with a specific insight into causality and impermanence, immediately before she gives up all remaining defilements.

Key terms

Sakulā — this poem's speaker, whose insight into the Dhamma arrives while she is still a layperson.
nibbānaṅ padamaccutaṅ — “extinguishment, the state that does not pass” — what she says she saw even before renouncing anything.
sikkhamānā — a “trainee nun” — the stage at which this poem says she developed the direct path and gave up greed and hate.
upasampadā — full ordination — the later stage at which she recollected her past lives and purified her clairvoyance.
saṅkhāra — “conditions” — named in this poem's closing verse as born of causes and crumbling, seen as other than self.

The text

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

§1While staying at home I heard the teaching from a monk. I saw the stainless Dhamma, extinguishment, the state that does not pass.

§2Leaving behind my son and my daughter, my riches and my grain, I had my hair cut off, and went forth to homelessness.

§3As a trainee nun, I developed the direct path. I gave up greed and hate, along with associated defilements.

§4When I was fully ordained as a nun, I recollected my past lives, and purified my clairvoyance, immaculate and fully developed.

§5Conditions are born of causes, crumbling; having seen them as other, I gave up all defilements, I’m cooled and quenched.

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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
When did Sakulā first see 'the stainless Dhamma', according to this poem?
Correct: A. Insight arrives before renunciation, an unusual sequence in this collection.
Question 2 of 10
What does the poem name as the specific cost of her going forth?
Correct: C. Stated plainly, in a single line, without euphemism.
Question 3 of 10
What did she develop and give up as a 'trainee nun'?
Correct: D. A specific attainment tied to her trainee stage, distinct from what follows full ordination.
Question 4 of 10
What happened when she was fully ordained?
Correct: B. A distinct attainment marked at this later, specific stage.
Question 5 of 10
What insight does the poem's closing verse describe?
Correct: A. A specific insight into causality and impermanence, closing the poem.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'sikkhamānā' mean?
Correct: B. Distinct from 'upasampadā', full ordination, named later in the poem.
Question 7 of 10
How does this poem's sequence differ from many other confessions in this collection?
Correct: D. A different order from poems where clarity follows prolonged monastic effort.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'nibbānaṁ padamaccutaṁ' mean?
Correct: B. Her first, lay-life glimpse of the Dhamma, named directly.
Question 9 of 10
What position does this poem hold in the Book of the Fives?
Correct: C. Following Thig 5.6, continuing the Book of the Fives.
Question 10 of 10
What does 'saṅkhāra' mean, as used in this poem's closing verse?
Correct: C. The specific object of insight closing the poem.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

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