Nalikae lullaby*

Dear little child, listen to me,
There was once a Nalikae Tree,
Alone it stood amidst the hot wax sea, Untouched by rain,
Unthreatened by thunder,
It can be reached only by those
Who go beyond merit and matter

The Nalikae lullaby is a very old song of unknown origin from Southern Thailand. Throughout his lifetime, Buddhadasa Bhikkhu referred to the lullaby in his various teachings. He revealed a hidden message about the supreme goal of Buddhism—nibbana—within this lullaby. Each phrases, he explained, implies a specific meaning:

The “Nalikae tree” represents the goal of nibbana, or ultimate liberation from suffering.

“Alone it stood” describes the nature of nibbana, which is free of any dualism. We suffer because we are attached to positive and negative life experiences—happiness and suffering, the wholesome and unwholesome, gain and loss, ups and downs, likes and dislikes. The state of true liberation, or nibbana, is free from attachments to either.

“Amidst the hot wax sea” characterizes samsara, or the cycle of suffering and rebirth. Here, beings tend to bounce between positive and negative experiences like wax, which is hardened or softened according to changing temperatures. While in the Wax Sea, we are buffeted by the ever-changing waves of impermanence, and this is difficult to endure.

“Untouched by rain, Unthreatened by thunder” refers to the state of nibbana, which is unshakeable and absolutely free from all happiness and suffering.

“It can be reached only by those who go beyond merit and matter.” The final key phrase describes the Noble Ones and how they transcend the most refined obscurations to achieve ultimate liberation. Not only do they abstain from wrongdoings and develop virtue, they have no attachment to either.

It is important to note that even though one does not commit any wrongdoing, if one cannot let go of seeking goodness and pleasures through all the five senses, then one is trapped in the cycle of rebirth and suffering. All attachment is a trap. The Noble Ones are beyond attachments since they view the world as constantly changing aggregates that are not worth clinging to, whether good or bad.

Buddhadasa urged us to find nibbana amidst samsara, or to seek freedom from suffering amidst the suffering itself. Similarly, wherever there is a fire, it is logical to extinguish it right there by pouring water on it. The root cause of suffering is craving. In order to cease suffering, one must extinguish the craving itself.

*Translated from the original Thai: “เอ่อ น้องเอย ต้นเดียวโนเน ฝนตกไม่ต้อง กลางทะเลขผี้ ึ้ง

มะพร้าว นาฬิเกร์ กลางทะเลขผี้ ึ้ง ฟ้าร้องไม่ถึง ถึงได้แต่ผู้พ้นบญุ เอย”