Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Therigatha · 6.8

Vijayā

Vijayā — The Book of the Sixes · Poem 8 of 8

Setting
No narrative setting beyond what the verses state; no closing attribution
Speaker
The nun Vijayā, describing early failure, a teacher's instruction, and a night's progress
Form
Six four-line verses, closing the Book of the Sixes
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
★★★★☆ — the most doctrinally complete instruction in this collection so far

Why this text

This poem closes the Book of the Sixes by drawing together several threads from earlier in the collection: its opening confession repeats Thig 2.10's exactly, its teacher's instruction is the most complete doctrinal list given anywhere so far, and its account of a night's progress echoes the three watches of Thig 5.11's thirty nuns — closing with ‘the mass of darkness shattered’ not once, but twice in a single poem.

Reading guide

An opening confession, repeated exactly

‘Four or five times I left my dwelling; I had failed to find peace of heart, or any control over my mind’ is identical to Thig 2.10's opening — the same confession, now given by a further woman closing this book.

The fullest doctrinal instruction in the collection so far

‘The elements and sense fields, the four noble truths, the faculties and the powers, the awakening factors, and the eightfold path’ combines more named categories in a single teaching than any earlier instruction in this collection — a cumulative instruction, not a single compact phrase.

Three watches, echoing the thirty nuns

‘In the first watch of the night, I recollected my past lives... in the last watch... I shattered the mass of darkness’ tracks the same three-watch structure that marked the group realization in Thig 5.11, here applied to one individual's single night.

A phrase, shattered twice in one poem

‘The mass of darkness’ is shattered once in the third watch of the night, and again in the poem's very last line, ‘on the seventh day I stretched out my feet, having shattered the mass of darkness’ — the only poem in this collection to use the phrase twice within itself.

Key terms

Vijayā — this poem's speaker, whose account closes the Book of the Sixes.
dhātuāyatanāni — “the elements and sense fields” — the first category in this poem's cumulative doctrinal instruction.
cattāri ariyasaccāni — the four noble truths, named as part of the same extended teaching.
bojjhaṅgaṭṭhaṅgika magga — “the awakening factors, and the eightfold path” — the final categories completing this poem's instruction.
tamokkhandha — “the mass of darkness” — shattered twice within this single poem, unique among this collection's poems.

The text

The text in full: six verses, closing the Book of the Sixes. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1Four or five times I left my dwelling; I had failed to find peace of heart, or any control over my mind.

§2I approached a nun and politely questioned her. She taught me the Dhamma: the elements and sense fields,

§3the four noble truths, the faculties and the powers, the awakening factors, and the eightfold path for the attainment of the highest goal.

§4After hearing her words, I did her bidding. In the first watch of the night, I recollected my past lives.

§5In the middle watch of the night, I purified my clairvoyance. In the last watch of the night, I shattered the mass of darkness.

§6I then meditated pervading my body with rapture and bliss. On the seventh day I stretched out my feet, having shattered the mass of darkness.

· · ·

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 does this poem's opening verse repeat exactly from Thig 2.10?
Correct: D. The identical confession, now closing this book.
Question 2 of 10
How does this poem's teaching compare to earlier instructions in this collection?
Correct: B. Elements, sense fields, the four truths, faculties, powers, awakening factors, and the eightfold path together.
Question 3 of 10
What structure does this poem's account of a single night share with Thig 5.11?
Correct: C. Past lives, then clairvoyance, then the mass of darkness shattered, across three watches.
Question 4 of 10
How many times does 'the mass of darkness' get shattered within this single poem?
Correct: D. In the third watch of the night, and again in the poem's closing line — unique among this collection's poems.
Question 5 of 10
How does this poem end, on the seventh day?
Correct: B. The phrase's second appearance within this same poem.
Question 6 of 10
What structural marker does bilara-data's underlying source place immediately after this poem?
Correct: C. The same kind of bibliographic close seen at the end of the Books of the Threes, Fours, and Fives.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'dhātuāyatanāni' mean?
Correct: A. Opening a cumulative list extending across several more categories.
Question 8 of 10
What position does this poem hold in the Book of the Sixes?
Correct: A. The final poem of eight in the Book of the Sixes.
Question 9 of 10
How does Vijayā first receive this poem's teaching?
Correct: C. A specific, respectful approach to a trusted teacher.
Question 10 of 10
What does this poem's structure suggest about its place in the collection?
Correct: B. A closing poem that gathers rather than introduces.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

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