Bhikshuni Nanduttara: It’s Not Fair

I spent most of my teenage years running from one bed to another. Any sign of warmth would do.

Each worked for a while, until they got possessive, or mean, or boring —or I did.

Then I got new friends, shaved my head, and started eating once a day.

During the long lonely nights that followed, I would remember all the nice warm baths, all the late nights and long mornings waking up next to beautiful warm bodies.

One night, shivering on the ground, I started to cry.

It’s not fair. No matter what I do, the other thing always looks better.

Listen, my heart, I know how exhausting it all gets.

Don’t give up, until you’re ready to give up for real.

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