146
What is the laughter, what is the joy,
when the world is |perpetually ablaze::burning with desire, aversion, and delusion [niccaṁ + pajjalite]|;
Enveloped by |darkness::blindness, ignorance of how things have come to be [andhakāra]|,
why do you not seek the |light::lamp, cultivate wisdom of how things have come to be, ultimate reality [padīpa]|?
147
Behold this form, a mind-made |adornment::illusion|,
propped up, a body full of sores;
Afflicted, |full of plans::with many intentions [bahusaṅkappa]|,
of which, there is nothing |enduring::continuous, regular [dhuva]| or |stable::constant, persistent [ṭhiti]|.
148
This body is |worn out::become old, decayed [parijiṇṇa]|,
a nest of disease, |fragile::perishable [pabhaṅgura]|;
This |putrid accumulation::decaying mass [pūtisandeha]| breaks apart,
for life surely ends in death.
149
Like discarded |bottle gourds::long melon, calabash [alābu]|,
in the |autumn season::season after the rains, when the leaves fall [sārada]|;
Are these greyish bones,
seeing them, what is the delight?
150
This body is a city built of bones,
plastered with flesh and blood;
Within it dwell old age and death,
along with |pride::conceit, egotism, superiority, comparing oneself [māna]| and |contempt::ungratefulness, depreciation, denigration, disrespect, belittlement, disparagement [makkha]|.
151
The beautifully adorned royal chariots wear out,
and the body too experiences old age;
But the |teaching of the sages::the teaching of the Buddhas that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth [sataṃ + dhamma]| does not age,
the wise |make it known::pass it on, proclaim [pavedayati]| to the virtuous persons.
152
A person of |little learning::having ignorance of how things have come to be, not knowing the nature of reality [appassuta]|,
grows old just like an ox;
They grow in mass,
but their wisdom does not grow.
153
Through countless rebirth in the cyclical existence,
I have wandered without finding [a way out];
Seeking the |house-builder [of this body]::creator of the body, the one who constructs the body, a metaphor for craving [gahakāra]|,
unpleasant is birth again and again.
154
I have seen you, house-builder,
you will not build a house again;
All your |rafters::beams [phāsukā]| are dismantled,
your |ridgepole::top beam, metaphor for ignorance [gahakūṭa]| is |deconstructed::dismantled [visaṅkhata]|;
The mind has |gone beyond all conditions::become unconditioned, unfabricated, unconstructed [visaṅkhāragata]|,
having |exhausted::wore away, slowly destroyed [khayamajjhagā]| |craving::wanting, yearning, longing, attachment, lit. thirst [taṇha]|.
155
Not having lived the |spiritual life::life of a contemplative, relating to people’s thoughts and beliefs, rather than to their bodies and physical surroundings [brahmacariya]|,
and not having obtained wealth in youth;
They |brood::obsess, think moodily [jhāyati]| like |old herons::old cranes [jiṇṇakoñca]|,
in a pond depleted of fish.
156
Not having lived the spiritual life,
and not having obtained wealth in youth;
They sit, |spent and exhausted::worn out [cāpātikhīṇa]|,
|lamenting over::moaning about, sighing about [anutthunanta]| the |past::old times [purāṇa]|.