Verse 1
I was born within a royal hall,
Surrounded by wealth and power tall.
The world called all these treasures mine,
But I could see they would decline.
No royal throne can stop the years,
No treasure can remove our fears.
Aging, sickness, death remain,
No worldly pleasure breaks their chain.
Chorus
I choose the path beyond desire,
Beyond the pleasures that inspire.
Though kingdoms offer all they own,
Nibbāna shines beyond the throne.
Desire is like a serpent's bite,
A burning flame within the night.
What we love will change and fade,
So I will not be bound by what is made.
Verse 2
A king came offering wealth and fame,
A life of pleasure, power, and name.
But I could see beneath the gold
The suffering that the world cannot hold.
Even mighty kings must die,
Even great empires pass by.
Why should I cling to what must cease,
When freedom offers lasting peace?
Chorus
I choose the path beyond desire,
Beyond the pleasures that inspire.
Though kingdoms offer all they own,
Nibbāna shines beyond the throne.
Verse 3
Through countless lives the tears have flowed,
Through endless roads the beings roamed.
Birth and death again and again,
The endless cycle brings no end.
A human birth is hard to gain,
And hearing Dhamma is more rare.
When such an opportunity comes,
Let wisdom guide the journey home.
Verse 4
I cut the hair, I cut attachment,
I turned away from worldly enchantment.
With meditation, faith, and sight,
I walked from darkness toward the light.
From concentration into wisdom,
From wisdom to liberation's freedom.
The chains of craving fell away,
And birth and death no longer stay.
Final Chorus
Beyond the crown, beyond the throne,
There lies a freedom all our own.
No wealth can make the heart complete,
But wisdom makes the journey sweet.
Sumedhā's voice still calls today:
Do not let precious life decay.
See things clearly, walk the Dhamma way,
And move toward freedom day by day.
Sumedhā Therī: Rejecting Royal Power and Choosing the Path to Liberation
The Mahānipāta of the Therīgāthā presents the remarkable story of Sumedhā Therī, a princess who rejected royal wealth, power, and marriage because she understood the impermanent nature of worldly existence. Instead, she chose renunciation, meditation, and the path toward liberation from birth and death.
In Tipitaka Volume 26, Sutta Piṭaka Volume 18, Khuddaka Nikāya, Therīgāthā, Mahānipāta, Sumedhā is portrayed as a wise and spiritually determined princess of Mantāvatī. From an early age, she listened to the Dhamma from Buddhist nuns and developed a deep sense of urgency regarding saṃsāra. As she matured, she turned away from sensual pleasures and expressed her determination to become a nun.
Royal Wealth Could Not Answer the Deeper Questions of Life
Sumedhā's parents intended to give her in marriage to King Anikaratta of Vāraṇavatī. They tried to persuade her by describing royal power, wealth, status, pleasure, and prosperity.
But Sumedhā saw these things differently. She declared that she deeply rejoiced in Nibbāna and understood that even heavenly existence was impermanent. If even celestial pleasures could not last, sensual pleasures were even less worthy of attachment.
Her teaching raises an important question: Should human success be measured only by wealth, status, pleasure, and social recognition?
For Sumedhā, the answer was no.
Sensual Pleasure and Its Hidden Dangers
Sumedhā described sensual pleasures through a series of powerful images. She compared them to poisonous snakes, swords, spears, burning torches, baited hooks, dreams, borrowed possessions, and burning charcoal.
The commentary explains that sensual pleasure brings not only enjoyment but also the burdens of seeking, protecting, possessing, consuming, and experiencing its consequences.
The teaching is therefore not simply a rejection of ordinary life. It is an invitation to recognize that temporary pleasure should not be mistaken for permanent happiness.
Renunciation as Freedom from Attachment
Having clearly seen the dangers of sensuality and worldly existence, Sumedhā chose nekkhamma, or renunciation.
Even when King Anikaratta offered her royal power and sensual pleasures, she refused. She understood that worldly existence remains subject to aging, illness, death, and change.
She even referred to the great King Mandhātā, who possessed extraordinary worldly power yet died before his desires were completely satisfied.
The lesson is direct: desire cannot be permanently satisfied by acquiring more objects of desire.
The Long Cycle of Saṃsāra
Sumedhā reflected on the immense length of saṃsāra through images of tears, milk, blood, bones, and repeated births. These images were intended to awaken spiritual urgency and prevent complacency.
Another famous image is that of a blind turtle rising from the ocean and somehow placing its head through a floating yoke. This illustrates the extraordinary rarity of obtaining a human birth and encountering the Dhamma.
Therefore, once such an opportunity is available, life should not be wasted through heedlessness.
Contemplating the Body
Sumedhā also contemplated the body as impermanent and without lasting essence. Her descriptions emphasize decay and the changing nature of physical existence.
The purpose is not hatred of the body. Rather, it is to weaken delusion and attachment and to see the body, aggregates, elements, and sense bases according to their conditioned nature.
“When Nibbāna Exists, Why Remain Attached to Sensuality?”
One of the central ideas in Sumedhā's teaching is the contrast between sensual pleasure and Nibbāna.
If there is a path leading beyond aging and death, she asks why one should remain attached to things that inevitably decay.
The commentary explains Nibbāna as the state beyond aging and death and emphasizes that those who sincerely wish to escape suffering must practice with wise and skillful effort. Simply wishing for liberation is not enough.
The Decision to Renounce
When her determination could not be changed, Sumedhā cut her hair and began contemplating the unattractive nature of the body. She attained the first jhāna and subsequently entered the monastic life.
After ordination, she developed insight and, according to the commentary, attained arahantship together with the four analytical knowledges.
The commentary also describes Sumedhā as having accumulated spiritual merit through previous lives, including the offering of a monastery to the Saṅgha during the time of Buddha Koṇāgamana and meritorious deeds during the time of Buddha Kassapa.
From Princess to Arahant
After attaining arahantship, Sumedhā reviewed her spiritual journey. The commentary states that she realized the Three Knowledges, Four Analytical Knowledges, Eight Liberations, and Six Higher Knowledges, fulfilling the Buddha's teaching.
The commentary concludes with an important principle: those who trust the Buddha's teaching and practice with wise effort become disenchanted with conditioned existence, develop dispassion, and attain liberation through the Noble Path.
A Message for Modern Society
The story of Sumedhā remains highly relevant in a world where success is often measured through money, status, power, possessions, and comfort.
Sumedhā asks a deeper question: Can these things protect us from aging, illness, and death?
According to the Dhamma, they cannot.
The lesson of the Mahānipāta is therefore not that everyone must abandon ordinary life. Rather, it encourages us to understand impermanence, reduce attachment, live carefully, and cultivate wisdom.
Sumedhā Therī's story reminds us that wealth can make life comfortable, but it cannot guarantee freedom from suffering. Wisdom, renunciation, and diligent practice lead the mind toward seeing reality clearly—and ultimately toward liberation.
[คำแนะนำเพิ่มเติมเกี่ยวกับการใช้งาน: ตามข้อจำกัดของระบบ AI ในปัจจุบัน การสร้างภาพที่มีตัวอักษรภาษาไทยอาจจะยังมีความคลาดเคลื่อนของตัวสะกดหรือรูปสระอยู่บ้าง หวังเป็นพื้นฐานของการศึกษาและจะพัฒนาให้สมบูรณ์ต่อไป]
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น