I see in the world
people with wealth
who, from delusion,
don't make a gift
of the treasure they've gained.
Greedy, they stash it away,
hoping for even more
sensual pleasures.
A king who, by force,
has conquered the world
and rules over the earth
to the edge of the sea,
dissatisfied with the ocean's near shore,
longs for the ocean's
far shore as well.
Kings & others
— plenty of people —
go to death with craving
unabated. Unsated,
they leave the body behind,
having not had enough
of the world's sensual pleasures.
One's relatives weep
& pull out their hair.
'Oh woe, our loved one is dead,' they cry.
Carrying him off,
wrapped in a piece of cloth,
they place him
on a pyre,
then set him on fire.
So he burns, poked with sticks,
in just one piece of cloth,
leaving all his possessions behind.
They are not shelters for one who has died —
not relatives,
friends,
or companions.
His heirs take over his wealth,
while the being goes on,
in line with his kamma.
No wealth at all
follows the dead one —
not children, wives,
dominion, or riches.
Long life
can't be gotten with wealth,
nor aging
warded off with treasure.
The wise say this life
is next to nothing —
impermanent,
subject to change.
The rich & the poor
touch the touch of Death.
The foolish & wise
are touched by it, too.
But while fools lie as if slain by their folly,
the wise don't tremble
when touched by the touch.
Thus the discernment by which
one attains to mastery,
is better than wealth —
for those who haven't reached mastery
go from existence to existence,
out of delusion,
doing bad deeds.
One goes to a womb
& to the next world,
falling into the wandering on
— one thing
after another —
while those of weak discernment,
trusting in one,
also go to a womb
& to the next world.
Just as an evil thief
caught at the break-in
is destroyed
by his own act,
so evil people
— after dying, in the next world —
are destroyed
by their own acts.
Sensual pleasures —
variegated,
enticing,
sweet —
in various ways disturb the mind.
Seeing the drawbacks in sensual objects:
that's why, O king, I went forth.
Just like fruits, people fall
— young & old —
at the break-up of the body.
Knowing this, O king,
I went forth.
The contemplative life is better
for sure.
[3]