Jenta, the Royal Chaplain's Son

Category: Theragatha

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

• Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

I was drunk with the intoxication of my birth, wealth, & sovereignty. Drunk with the intoxication of my body's build, coloring, & form, I wandered about, regarding no one as my equal or better, foolish, arrogant, haughty, my banner held high. I — disrespectful, arrogant, proud — bowed down to no one, not even mother, father, or those commonly held in respect.

Then — seeing the ultimate leader, supreme, foremost of charioteers, like a blazing sun, arrayed with a squadron of monks — casting away pride & intoxication through an awareness serene & clear, I bowed down my head to him, supreme among all living beings.

Haughtiness & contempt have been abandoned — rooted out — the conceit "I am" is extracted, all forms of pride, destroyed.