Bhikshuni Sela: The Gate

Long after the front gate swung closed behind me, I could still hear them:

Why talk so much about death?

Find a husband to share your bed.

Bring children into the world to leave behind after you’re gone.

But ever since I invited my own death into bed with me, I no longer feel lonely or afraid of the dark.

What do we really bring into the world? What do we leave behind?

A gate swings closed, then opens.

Where does it come from? Where does it go?

This verse is adapted by Matty Weingast from the Therigatha, a Buddhist text consisting of a collection of 73 short poems of women who were senior nuns. The poems date from a three hundred year period, starting in the late 6th century BCE. It is the companion text to the Theragatha, verses attributed to senior monks. It is the earliest known collection of women’s literature composed in India.

Source: Great Middle Way