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Theragatha

Verses of the Elder Monks

(selected passages)

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The Theragatha, the eighth book of the Khuddaka Nikaya, consists of 264 poems — 1,291 stanzas in all — in which the early monks (bhikkhus) recount their struggles and accomplishments along the road to arahantship. Their stories are told with often heart-breaking honesty and beauty, revealing the deeply human side of these extraordinary men, and thus serve as inspiring reminders of our own potential to follow in their footsteps.

The translator appears in the square brackets []. Pali verse numbers appear in the braces {}.

An excellent print translation of the complete Therigatha is Elders' Verses I translated by K.R. Norman (Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1995).



See also:

Revised: Sunday 2005-07-03
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/khuddaka/theragatha/index.html