I was
drunk with the intoxication
of my birth, wealth, & sovereignty.
Drunk with the intoxication
of my body's build, coloring, & form,
I wandered about,
regarding no one
as my equal or better,
foolish, arrogant, haughty,
my banner held high.
I — disrespectful, arrogant, proud —
bowed down to no one,
not even mother,
father,
or those commonly held
in respect.
Then — seeing the ultimate leader,
supreme, foremost of charioteers,
like a blazing sun,
arrayed with a squadron of monks —
casting away pride & intoxication
through an awareness serene & clear,
I bowed down
my
head
to him, supreme
among all living beings.
Haughtiness & contempt
have been abandoned
— rooted out —
the conceit "I am" is extracted,
all forms of pride, destroyed.