146
Ko nu hāso kimānando,
niccaṁ pajjalite sati;
Andhakārena onaddhā,
padīpaṁ na gavesatha.
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
Passa cittakataṁ bimbaṁ,
arukāyaṁ samussitaṁ;
Āturaṁ bahusaṅkappaṁ,
yassa natthi dhuvaṁ ṭhiti.
Behold this form, a mind-made |adornment::image [bimba]|,
propped up in a body full of sores;
Afflicted, |full of plans::with many intentions, the object of many considerations [bahusaṅkappa]|,
of which, there is nothing |enduring::continuous, regular [dhuva]| or |stable::constant, persistent [ṭhiti]|.
148
Parijiṇṇamidaṁ rūpaṁ,
roganīḷaṁ pabhaṅguraṁ;
Bhijjati pūtisandeho,
maraṇantañhi jīvitaṁ.
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
Yānimāni apatthāni,
alābūneva sārade;
Kāpotakāni aṭṭhīni,
tāni disvāna kā rati.
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
Aṭṭhīnaṁ nagaraṁ kataṁ,
maṁsalohitalepanaṁ;
Yattha jarā ca maccu ca,
māno makkho ca ohito.
This body is a city built of bones,
plastered with flesh and blood;
within it dwell old age and death,
along with |conceit::self-view expressed as comparison—seeing oneself as superior, inferior, or equal; the persistent “I am” conceit (asmimāna) that underlies identification [māna]| and |contempt::ungratefulness, depreciation, denigration, disrespect, belittlement, disparagement [makkha]|.
151
Jīranti ve rājarathā sucittā,
Atho sarīrampi jaraṁ upeti;
Satañca dhammo na jaraṁ upeti,
Santo have sabbhi pavedayanti.
The well adorned chariots of kings wear out,
this body too undergoes decay;
but the |Dhamma 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
Appassutāyaṁ puriso,
balībaddhova jīrati;
Maṁsāni tassa vaḍḍhanti,
paññā tassa na vaḍḍhati.
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
Anekajātisaṁsāraṁ,
sandhāvissaṁ anibbisaṁ;
Gahakāraṁ gavesanto,
dukkhā jāti punappunaṁ.
Through countless births in |cyclic existence::wandering on, moving on continuously, passing from one state of existence to another, stream of existence [saṃsāra]|,
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]|,
experiencing the suffering of birth again and again.
154
Gahakāraka diṭṭhosi,
puna gehaṁ na kāhasi;
Sabbā te phāsukā bhaggā,
gahakūṭaṁ visaṅkhataṁ;
Visaṅkhāragataṁ cittaṁ,
taṇhānaṁ khayamajjhagā.
House-builder, you are seen!
You will not build a house again;
all your |rafters::beams [phāsukā]| are dismantled,
your |ridgepole::top beam, metaphor for ignorance [gahakūṭa]| is |destroyed::deconstructed [visaṅkhata]|;
The mind has |gone beyond all conditions::become unconditioned, unfabricated, unconstructed [visaṅkhāragata]|,
having achieved the wearing away of |craving::wanting, yearning, longing, attachment, lit. thirst [taṇha]|.
155
Acaritvā brahmacariyaṁ,
aladdhā yobbane dhanaṁ;
Jiṇṇakoñcāva jhāyanti,
khīṇamaccheva pallale.
Not having lived the |spiritual life::a life of celibacy, contemplation, and ethical discipline lived for the sake of liberation; oriented toward inner development rather than sensual pleasures [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
Acaritvā brahmacariyaṁ,
aladdhā yobbane dhanaṁ;
Senti cāpātikhīṇāva,
purāṇāni anutthunaṁ.
Not having fulfilled 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]|.