Note: Weingast titles this poem “Tissa the Third.” It has been mentioned here that there is in fact no Tissa the third in the Therigatha. However there is in the Theragatha. See Bhante Sujato’s translation.
KR Norman
KR Norman is one of the foremost modern Pali scholars and translators. His style is to be as precise and literal as possible, avoiding interpretations.
Norman
4. Tissā, be trained in the training; may the opportune occasions not pass you by. Unfettered from all ties, live in the world without āsavas.
Weingast
Why stay here
in your little
dungeon?
If you really want
to be free,
make
every
thought
a thought of freedom.
Break your chains.
Tear down the walls.
Then walk the world a free woman.
Bhikkhu Sujato & Jessica Walton
Sujato & Walton
4. Tissā, train in the trainings—
don’t let the practice pass you by.
Detached from all attachments,
live in the world free of defilements.
Weingast
Why stay here
in your little
dungeon?
If you really want
to be free,
make
every
thought
a thought of freedom.
Break your chains.
Tear down the walls.
Then walk the world a free woman.
Ven. K Gnanananda Thero
The translations by Ven. K. Gnanananda are somewhat more explanatory and simplified than others. They are a good example of a faithful but non-literal translation.
Ven. K. Gnanananda
4. Tissā, be trained in the training of virtue, concentration and wisdom. Don’t miss this very rare opportunity! Liberate yourself from all fetters. Live without taints in the world.
Weingast
Why stay here
in your little
dungeon?
If you really want
to be free,
make
every
thought
a thought of freedom.
Break your chains.
Tear down the walls.
Then walk the world a free woman.
C.R. Davids & Commentary
Published in 1909, the translation by Caroline Rhys Davids was an attempt to render the verses in the Early Modern English that we associate with the King James Version. She also translated the background story for each nun. This is an example of a more creative translation that does not change the doctrine, although it uses very outdated and somewhat Christianized terms.
From the commentary: The following verse is that of Tissā, a student. Heaping up merit under former Buddhas, Tissā was, in this Buddha-dispensation, reborn at Kapilavatthu in the noble clan of the Sākiyas. Made a lady of the Bodhisat’s court, she renounced the world with Great Pajāpatī the Gotamid, and practised herself in insight. To her the Master appeared as to the foregoing Sisters, and said:
C.A. Rhys Davids
O Tissā! train thyself in the trainings three.
See that the great conjuncture now at hand
Pass thee not by! Unloose all other yokes,
And fare thou forth purged of the deadly Drugs. 91 (4)
Weingast
Why stay here
in your little
dungeon?
If you really want
to be free,
make
every
thought
a thought of freedom.
Break your chains.
Tear down the walls.
Then walk the world a free woman.
From the commentary: And she, when she heard the verse, increased in insight, and attained Arahantship. Thereafter she was wont to repeat the lines.
Pali
Pali text from the Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka Buddhavasse 2500: World Tipiṭaka Edition in Roman Script.
Pali
4. “Tisse sikkhassu sikkhāya,
mā taṁ yogā upaccaguṃ;
Sabbayogavisaṁyuttā,
cara loke anāsavā”ti.
Weingast
Why stay here
in your little
dungeon?
If you really want
to be free,
make
every
thought
a thought of freedom.
Break your chains.
Tear down the walls.
Then walk the world a free woman.