Samita ASBL

Theragāthā—Discussions

La série vidéo “Dhammathreads” avec Bhante Sujato & des ami(e)s propose des discussions sur les vers de moines anciens, le Theragāthā, dans la nouvelle traduction anglaise de Bhante Sujato. Lorsqu’ils sont disponibles, nous y joignons des illustrations de Vén. Yodha pour les vers correspondants.

Thag 1.1: Subhūti

Ma cabane a un toit, confortable,
exempt de courants d’air;
mon esprit, bien-centré,
remis en liberté.
Je demeure ardent.
Donc, dieu des pluies.
Vas-y et pleut.

Thag 1.22: Cittaka

Les paons,
à crête, bleus, aux somptueux cols,
crient
dans les bois de Karamvi,
saisis par le vent froid.
Ils éveillent le dormeur
pour qu’il médite.

 

Thag 1.26: Abhaya

A entendre les paroles bien dites
de l’Eveillé,
Parent du Soleil,
j’ai percé ce qui est subtil—
comme si, d’une flèche, [on perçait]
l’extrémité d’un crin de cheval.

Thag 1.43: Sumaṅgala

Si libéré! Si libéré!
Si parfaitement libéré suis-je
de trois choses tordues:
mes faucilles, mes pelles, mes charrues.
Même si elles étaient ici,
juste ici,
j’en aurais fini avec elles,
fini.
Pratique jhana, Sumangala.
Pratique jhana, Sumangala.
Sumangala, reste vigilant.

Thag 1.56: Kuṭi­vihāri

Qui est dans la hutte?
Il y a un moine dans la hutte—
libre de passion,
à l’esprit bien centré.
Sache ceci, mon ami:
La hutte tu ne l’as pas construite
en vain.

Thag 1.120: Isidatta

Les cinq agrégats,
une fois compris,
se retrouvent avec leur racine
tranchée.
Pour moi
la fin du stress
est atteinte;
la fin des fermentations,
atteinte.

Thag 2.10: Vasabha

First one kills oneself,
Then one kills others.
One kills oneself, really dead,
Like one who kills birds using a dead bird as a decoy.

A holy man’s color is not on the outside;
A holy man is colored on the inside.
Whoever does bad deeds
Such a one is truly dark, Sujampati.

Thag 2.16: Mahākāḷo

There’s a big black woman who looks like a crow.
She broke off thigh-bones, first one then another;
She broke off arm-bones, first one then another;
She broke off a skull like a curd-bowl, and then—
She assembled them all together, and sat down beside them.

When an ignorant person builds up attachments,
That idiot returns to suffering, again and again.
So let one who understands not build up attachments:
May I never again lie with a broken skull!

Thag 2.3: Valliya

A monkey went up to the little hut
With five doors.
He circles around, knocking
On each door, again and again.

Stand still monkey, don’t run!
Things are different now;
You’ve been caught by wisdom—
You won’t go far.

Thag 12.2: Sunīta

I was born in a low-class family,
Poor, with little to eat.
My job was lowly—
I threw out the old flowers.

Shunned by people,
I was disregarded and treated with contempt.
I humbled my heart,
And paid respects to many people.

Then I saw the Buddha,
Honoured by the Saṅgha of monks,
The great hero,
Entering the capital city of Magadhā.

I dropped my carrying-pole
And approached to pay respects.
Out of compassion for me,
The supreme man stood still.

When I had paid respects at the teacher’s feet,
I stood to one side,
And asked the most excellent of all beings
For the going-forth.

Then the teacher, being sympathetic,
And having compassion for the whole world,
Said to me, “Come, monk!”
That was my full ordination.

Staying alone in the wilderness,
Without laziness,
I did what the teacher said,
As the conqueror had advised me.

In the first watch of the night,
I recollected my previous births.
In the middle watch of the night,
I purified the divine eye.
In the last watch of the night,
I tore apart the mass of darkness.

At the end of the night,
As the sunrise drew near,
Indra and Brahmā came
And paid homage me with hands in añjalī.

“Homage to you, thoroughbred among men!
Homage to you, supreme among men!
Your defilements are ended—
You, sir, are worthy of offerings.”

When he saw me honored
By the assembly of gods,
The teacher smiled,
And said the following:

“By austerity and by the holy life,
By restraint and by taming:
By this one is a holy man,
This is the supreme holiness.”

Thag 1.18: Siṅgālapitu

Il y avait un Eveillé,
un moine de la forêt de Bhesakala,
qui compénétra cette terre entière
avec la perception des
«os. »
Rapidement, dirais-je, il abandonna
la passion sensuelle.

Thag 1.38: Gavampati

His psychic power made the river Sarabhu stand still;
Gavampati is unbound and unperturbed.
The gods bow to that great sage,
Who has left behind all attachments,
And gone beyond rebirth in any state of existence.

Thag 1.39: Tissa

Comme frappé par une épée,
comme si sa tête était en feu,
un moine doit vivre la vie errante
—attentif—
à l’abandon de la passion sensuelle.

Thag 1.104: Kithaka

Qu’il est léger mon corps!
Touché par un abondant
ravissement et bonheur,
—comme une touffe de coton
portée par la brise—
on dirait qu’il flotte
—mon corps!

Thag 1.112: Vacchagotta

I have the three knowledges, I’m a great meditator,
Skilled in serenity of mind.
I’ve realized my own true goal,
And fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.

Thag 2.4: Gaṅgātīriya

My hut on the bank of the Ganges
Is made from three palm leaves.
My alms-bowl is a funeral pot,
My robe is castoff rags.

In my first two rainy seasons
I spoke only one word.
In my third rainy season,
The mass of darkness was torn apart.

Thag 2.15: Sabbamitta

People are attached to people;
People are dependent on people;
People are hurt by people;
And people hurt people.

What’s the point of people,
Or the things people make?
Go, leave these people,
Who’ve hurt so many people.

Thag 2.40: Kappaṭakura

This fellow, “Rag-rice”, he sure is a rag.
This place has been made for practising jhāna,
Like a crystal vase filled to the brim
With the nectar of the deathless,
Into which enough Dhamma has been poured.

Don’t nod off, Rag—
I’ll smack your ear!
Nodding off in the middle of the Saṅgha?
You haven’t learnt a thing.

Thag 4.5: Jambuka

For fifty-five years
I wore mud and dirt;
Eating one meal a month,
I tore out my hair and beard.

I stood on one foot;
I rejected seats;
I ate dried-out dung;
I didn’t accept food that had been set aside for me.

Having done many actions of this kind,
Which lead to a bad destination,
As I was being swept away by the great flood,
I went to the Buddha for refuge.

See the going for refuge!
See the excellence of the Dhamma!
I’ve attained the three knowledges,
And fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.

jain convert