Someone asked me today whether Matty’s rendering of a particular poem, the one by Jenta (Thig 2.2), stayed true to the original. No. The original is a no-frills declaration of victory over rebirth due to following the Buddha’s instruction. Matty’s creative version of it is a lovely poem that elaborates on the original poem’s topic before wandering off into sweet Westerner-friendly vulnerable sentiments.
Hallisey’s Harvard edition of poem of Jenta Thig 2.2 - Footnote 2 indicates her name may mean “Victorious”. (5 paragraph breaks removed )
I have cultivated all seven wings of awakening [bojjhanga], paths to the attainment of nibbana / just as they were taught by the Buddha.
I have seen the lord, this is the last body, the swirl of rebirth finally finished, there is no more birth ahead.
Matty’s version (p. 24) “Jenta ~ Conqueror” (27 paragraph breaks removed)
I was forever getting lost, until one day the Buddha told me:
To walk this Path, you will need seven friends - mindfulness, curiosity, courage, joy, calm, stillness and perspective.
For many years, these friends and I have traveled together. Sometimes wandering in circles. Sometimes taking the long way around. There were days when I thought I couldn’t go on. There were days when I thought I was finally beaten.
It’s scary to give all of yourself to just one thing. What if you don’t make it? Oh, my heart. You don’t have to go it alone. Train yourself to train just a little more gently.