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235
Resembling a withered leaf,
you have the messenger
of death at your side.
Although a long journey lies ahead,
you have still made no provision.
236
Hasten to cultivate wisdom.
Make an island for yourself.
Freed from stain and defilement,
you will enter noble being.
237
It is time for you to come
into the presence of the Lord of Death.
There is no time for rest on this journey,
yet what provision have you made?
238
Hasten to cultivate wisdom;
make an island for yourself.
Freed from stain and defilement
you are released
from birth and death.
239
Gradually, gradually,
a moment at a time,
the wise remove their own impurities
as a goldsmith removes the dross.
240
As iron is destroyed by the rust it produces,
so those who perform evil are corroded
by their own action.
241
Lack of study leads
to forgetting the teachings;
neglect spoils the home;
laziness leads to loss of beauty;
heedlessness ruins attention.
242
Sexual misconduct
diminishes those who perform it,
stinginess diminishes
those who could give.
Acts that diminish their doer
are stains indeed.
243
But the worst stain of all
is ignorance.
Be purified of this
and you are free.
244
Life is apparently easy
for one who lacks shame,
who is as impudent as a crow,
who is arrogant, aggressive,
invasive and corrupt.
245
Life is not easy for those
who have a sense of shame,
who are modest,
pure-minded and detached,
morally upright and reflective.
246 -247
Whoever destroys life,
disregards truth,
is sexually irresponsible,
takes what is not rightfully theirs,
and heedlessly indulges in drugs,
destroys the very roots
of their own life.
248
Whoever is intent on goodness
should know this:
a lack of self-restraint is disastrous.
Do not allow greed and misconduct
to prolong your misery.
249 -250
People are inspired to be generous
according to their faith and trust.
If we become discontented
with what we have been given
our meditation will be filled
with endless mental affliction;
but if we are free from this discontent,
our meditation is full of peace.
251
There is no fire like lust,
no obstruction like hatred,
no trap like delusion,
and no vortex like craving.
252
It is easy to see the faults of others,
but it takes courage to look at one’s own.
As with chaff,
one might winnow others’ shortcomings
while hiding one’s own,
as a stealthy hunter
might conceal himself from his prey.
253
Those who always look for
the faults of others –
their corruptions increase
and they are far from freedom.
254
No tracks are found in the air,
there is no liberation apart from the Way.
Most people tend to indulge in proliferation,
from which Awakened Ones are free.
255
No tracks are found in the air,
there is no liberation apart from the Way.
There are no conditioned things
that are permanent
and yet the Buddhas remain unperturbed.
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© 2006 Aruna Publications |