[444] 6.
Having gone forth in faith (saddhā) from home into homelessness,
I wandered here and there, eager for gain and honor (lābhasakkāra).
Neglecting the supreme goal, I pursued an inferior goal;
having come under the sway of the defilements (kilesa), I took no delight in the goal of the ascetic life.
Then, as I sat in my little dwelling, a sense of urgency (saṃvega) arose in me:
"I have entered upon a wrong path; I have come under the sway of craving (taṇhā).
My life is but little; aging and sickness crush it.
Before this body breaks apart, there is no time for me to be heedless."
Contemplating, as it really is (yathābhūta), the rise and fall of the aggregates (khandha),
I rose up with mind (citta) liberated — the Buddha's teaching has been done.
Mittakālī.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.