Snp. 4.2 — Guhaṭṭhaka Sutta

Snp. 4.2

Guhaṭṭhaka Sutta

“Buried in a Cave”

772. “The man sunk deep in delusion stays buried in a cave, immersed fully in defilements. Thus, he is far from ever looking for seclusion, for the world and the never-ending sensual pleasures it offers, always keep him tightly bound.

773. “The strong desire in the heart to rebecome, while shackled by enjoyable experiences of the senses, does not allow them to ever taste escape, as they are too busy recollecting experiences and memories of the past, while longing for more sense pleasures, to be tasted in the future.

774. “Deluded by sensual pleasures, always hungry for more sensual enjoyments, they remain heedless, maintaining a wrong lifestyle that is continuously immoral and without virtue. Consequently, they fall into misery as they cry and wail, ‘Oh, what shall become of me, once I am no more?’

775. “For this reason, one must make the most of this life, training and preparing oneself now, in this Dispensation, by avoiding actions that one knows to be wrong; for, as the wise proclaim, ‘this life is indeed very short,’ and will soon come to an end.

776. “I see people around me trembling in the world, caught in the net of craving ‘to become’ this or that in their future birth; meanwhile they remain in misery, caught in the jaws of death, unable to cut free from the longing ‘to be.’

777. “Look at how they struggle in horror, worried about possessions they leave behind, throbbing like fish in a dried- up stream. In seeing this yourself, do not be miserly and live unselfishly, and abandon the drive in you to seize anything, anymore.

778. “Enough of desiring in the see-saw of the two extremes; come to finally recognize contact for what it is, free from lust. Never do anything, that the wise may consider blameworthy, and do not get attached to what is seen or heard.

779. “By fully understanding perception for what it is and by giving it up, just like the Sage, cross over the flood, unstained by whatever you touch; never grabbing onto anything. Thus, with the poisoned arrow pulled out, do not wish for this or any other world.”

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