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# Thig 13:2 · Rohiṇī
- URL: https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/thig-13-2/
- Published: 2026-06-01T00:27:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-13T16:41:55.000Z
- Description: Therīgāthā · Thig 13:2. Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu.
- Author: Ninth Heaven Literature & Arts Association (NHLAA)
- Tags: Buddhism, Sutta Piṭaka, Text, Indian, The Elder Nuns, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Therīgāthā, Verse, Pali, Early Buddhist, Library

Rohiṇī’s father:

You go to sleep saying,

“Contemplatives.”

You wake up,

“Contemplatives.”

You praise only

contemplatives.

No doubt you will be

a contemplative.

Abundant food & drink

you give to contemplatives.

Now, Rohiṇī, I ask you:

Why do you hold

contemplatives dear?

They don’t like to work,

they’re lazy,

living off what’s given by others,

full of hankerings,

wanting delicious things:

Why do you hold

contemplatives dear?

Rohiṇī:

For a long time, father,

you’ve quizzed me

about contemplatives.

I’ll praise to you

their

discernment,

virtue,

endeavor.

They do like to work,

they’re not lazy.

They do the best work:

They abandon

passion & anger.

That’s why I hold

contemplatives dear.

They rid themselves

of the three evil roots,[1](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Thig/thig13%5F2.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co)

doing pure actions.

All their evil’s

abandoned.

That’s why I hold

contemplatives dear.

Clean their bodily action,

so is their verbal action.

Clean their mental action:

That’s why I hold

contemplatives dear.

Spotless, like mother of pearl,

pure within & without,

perfect in clear qualities:

That’s why I hold

contemplatives dear.

Learned, maintaining the Dhamma,

noble, living the Dhamma,

they teach the goal

& the Dhamma:

That’s why I hold

contemplatives dear.

Learned, maintaining the Dhamma,

noble, living the Dhamma,

with unified minds

& mindful:

That’s why I hold

contemplatives dear.

Traveling far, mindful,

giving counsel unruffled,

they discern the end

of suffering:

That’s why I hold

contemplatives dear.

When they leave any village

they don’t turn to look back

at anything.

How free from concern

they go!

That’s why I hold

contemplatives dear.

They don’t store in a granary,

pot,

or basket.

They hunt \[only\]

for what’s already cooked:

That’s why I hold

contemplatives dear.

They take neither silver,

nor gold,

nor money.

They live off whatever is present:

That’s why I hold

contemplatives dear.

Having gone forth

from different families

& from different countries,

still they hold

one another dear:

That’s why I hold

contemplatives dear.

Rohiṇī’s father:

Rohiṇī, truly for our benefit

were you born in our family.

You have conviction

in the Buddha & Dhamma,

and strong respect

for the Saṅgha.

You truly discern

this field of merit

unexcelled.

These contemplatives will receive

*our* offering, too,

for here we’ll set up

our abundant sacrifice.

Rohiṇī:

If you’re afraid of pain,

if you dislike pain,

go to the Buddha for refuge,

go to the Dhamma & Saṅgha.

Take on the precepts:

That will lead

to your benefit.

Rohiṇī’s father:

I go to the Buddha for refuge;

I go to the Dhamma & Saṅgha.

I take on the precepts:

That will lead

to my benefit.

\* \* \*

Before, I was a kinsman to Brahmā;

now, truly a brahman.

I’m a three-knowledge man & safe,

consummate in knowledge,

washed clean.

Note

1\. The three unskillful roots are greed, aversion, and delusion. See [DN 2](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/dn-02/), [MN 9](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/mn-9/), and [AN 3:66](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/an-3-66/).

See also: [SN 7:17](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-7-17/); [Sn 1:4](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-1-4/)

---

*Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. © 2014 / rev. 2017 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — released under the [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) licence, for free distribution only. Source: [dhammatalks.org](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Thig/thig13%5F2.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) (Metta Forest Monastery).*