Verses of the Senior Monks 4.9

The Book of the Fours

Chapter One

Candana

Covered over with gold,
surrounded by all her maids,
with my son upon her hip,
my wife came to me.

I saw her coming,
the mother of my son,
adorned with jewelry and all dressed up,
like a snare of death laid down.

Then the realization
came upon me—
the danger became clear,
and I was firmly disillusioned.

Then my mind was freed—
see the excellence of the teaching!
I’ve attained the three knowledges
and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.