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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1the hail to be burned in the fierce fire; indeed I fear the objects of these several desires, this whirling in the stream (oh life) troubles my heart, 836 ‘ These five desires, the inconstant thieves *—stealing from men their choicest treasures, making them unreal, false, and fickle—are like the man called up as an apparition®; 837 ‘For a time the beholders are affected (by it), but it has no lasting hold upon the mind; so these five desires are the great obstacles, for ever disarranging the way of peace; 838 ‘If the joys of heaven are not worth having, how much less the desires common to men, begetting the thirst of wild love, and then lost in the enjoyment, 839 ‘As the fierce wind fans the fire, till the fuel be spent and the fire expires; of all unrighteous things in the world, there is nothing worse than the domain of the five desires; 840 ‘For all men maddened by the power of lust, giving themselves to pleasure, are dead to reason. The wise man fears these desires, he fears to fall into the way of unrighteousness ; 841 1 Like frozen hail and fierce burning fire. * Robbers of impermanency. 5 That is, are as unreal as an apparition. 122 FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING. TI, 11. ‘For like a king who rules all within the four seas, yet still seeks beyond for something more, (so is lust); like the unbounded ocean, it knows not when and where to stop. 842 ‘Mandha, the Aakravartin, when the heavens rained yellow gold, and he ruled all within the seas, yet sighed after the domain of the thirty-three heavens; 843 ‘ Dividing with Sakra his seat, and so thro’ the power of this lust he died; Nung-Sha (Nydsa ?), whilst practising austerities, got power to rule the thirty-three heavenly abodes, 844 ‘But from lust he became proud and supercilious, the Ashi whilst stepping into his chariot, through carelessness in his gait, fell down into the midst of the serpent pit. 845 ‘Yen-lo (Yama ?) the universal monarch (Kakravartin) wandering abroad thro’ the Trayastrismsas heaven, took a heavenly woman (Apsara) for a queen, and unjustly extorted’ the gold of a Rzshi; 846 ‘The Ashi, in anger, added a charm, by which the country was ruined, and his life ended. Po-lo, and Sakra king of Devas?, Sakra king of Devas, and Nung-sha (Ny4sa), 847 ‘Nung-sha returning (or, restoring) to Sakra; what certainty (constancy) is there, even for the lord of heaven? Neither is any country safe, though kept by the mighty strength of those dwelling in it. 848 1 The literal translation of this line would be, ‘ Taxing the gold of Lim the Aishi;’ or,‘of the harvest ingathered by the Rishi’ ® These lines refer to the transfer of heavenly power from Sakra to others, but the myth is not known to me; and there is confusion in the text, which is probably corrupt. III, rr. THE REPLY TO BIMBASARA RAGA. 123 ‘But when one’s clothing consists of grass, the berries one’s food, the rivulets one’s drink, with long hair flowing to the ground, silent as a Muni, seeking nothing, 849
2III, rr. THE REPLY TO BIMBASARA RAGA. 123 ‘But when one’s clothing consists of grass, the berries one’s food, the rivulets one’s drink, with long hair flowing to the ground, silent as a Muni, seeking nothing, 849 ‘In this way practising austerities, in the end lust shall be destroyed. Know then, that the province (indulgence) of the five desires is avowedly an enemy of the religious man. 850 ‘Even the one-thousand-armed invincible king, strong in his might, finds it hard to conquer this, The Azshi Rama perished because of lust, 851 ‘How much more ought I, the son of a Kshatriya, to restrain lustful desire ; but indulge in lust a little, and like the child it grows apace, 852 ‘The wise man hates it therefore; who would take poison for food? every sorrow is increased and cherished by the offices of lust. 853 ‘If there is no lustful desire, the risings of sorrow are not produced, the wise man seeing the bitterness of sorrow, stamps out and destroys the risings of desire; 854 ‘That which the world calls virtue, is but another form of this baneful law!; worldly men enjoying the pleasure of covetous desire then every form of careless conduct results; 855 ‘These careless ways producing hurt, at death, the subject of them reaps perdition (falls into one of the evil ways). But by the diligent use of means, and careful continuance therein, 856 ‘The consequences of negligence are avoided, we should therefore dread the non-use of means; recol- 1 The sense of this passage seems to be that what is called by men a virtuous life, is but a form of regulated vice. 124 FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING. TI, 11. lecting that all things are illusory, the wise man covets them not; 857 ‘He who desires such things, desires sorrow, and then goes on again ensnared in love, with no certainty of ultimate freedom; he advances still and ever adds grief to grief, 858 ‘Like one holding a lighted torch burns his hand, and therefore the wise man enters on no such things. The foolish man and the one who doubts, still encouraging the covetous and burning heart, 859 ‘In the end receives accumulated sorrow, not to be remedied by any prospect of rest; covetousness and anger are as the serpent’s poison; the wise man casts away 860 ‘The approach of sorrow as a rotten bone; he tastes it not nor touches it, lest it should corrupt his teeth, that which the wise man will not take, 861 ‘The king will go through fire and water to obtain, the wicked sons! labour for wealth as for a piece of putrid flesh, o'er which the hungry flocks of birds contend. 862 ‘So should we regard riches; the wise man is ill pleased at having wealth stored up, the mind wild with anxious thoughts, 863 ‘Guarding himself by night and day, as a man who fears some powerful enemy, like as a man’s feelings revolt with disgust at the (sights seen) beneath the slaughter post of the East Market, 864
3‘So the high post which marks the presence of lust, and anger, and ignorance, the wise man always avoids; as those who enter the mountains or the seas have much to contend with and little rest, 865 ‘As the fruit which grows on a high tree, and is 2 The foolish world. II, 11. THE REPLY TO BIMBASARA RAGA. 125 grasped at by the covetous at the risk of life, so is the region (matter) of covetous desire, tho’ they see the difficulty of getting it, 866 ‘Yet how painfully do men scheme after wealth, difficult to acquire, easy to dissipate, as that which is got in a dream, how can the wise man hoard up (such trash)! 867 ‘Like covering over with a false surface a hole full of fire, slipping thro’ which the body is burnt, so is the fire of covetous desire. The wise man meddles not with it. 868 ‘Like that Kaurava [Kau-lo-po], or Pih-se-ni Nanda, or Ni-&’#e-lai Danta, as some 4andala’s (butcher’s) appearance}, 869 ‘Such also is the appearance of lustful desire ; the wise man will have nothing to do with it, he would rather throw his body into the water or fire, or cast himself down over a steep precipice. 870 ‘Seeking to obtain heavenly pleasures, what is this but to remove the place of sorrow, without profit. Siin-tau, Po-sun-tau (Sundara and Vasundara), brothers of Asura, 871 ‘Lived together in great affection, but on account of lustful desire slew one another, and their name perished ; all this then comes from lust; 872 ‘It is this which makes a man vile, and lashes and goads him with piercing sorrow; lust debases a man, robs him of all hope, whilst through the long . night his body and soul are worn out; 873 ‘Like the stag* that covets the power of speech 1 This line may be translated, ‘as the appearance of the shambles.’ 2 I do not know to what this refers; the symbol ‘shing’ may not only mean ‘the power of speech,’ but also ‘musical power’ or ‘music ;’ or it may mean ‘celebrity.’ 126 FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING. TTI, rx. and dies, or the winged bird that covets! sensual pleasure (the net), or the fish that covets the baited hook, such are the calamities that lust brings; 874 ‘Considering what are the requirements of life, none of these possess permanency; we eat to appease the pain of hunger, to do away with thirst we drink, 875 ‘We clothe ourselves to keep out the cold and wind, we lie down to rest to get sleep, to procure locomotion we seek a carriage, when we would halt we seek a seat, 876 ‘We wash to cleanse ourselves from dirt, all these things are done to avoid inconvenience; we may gather therefore that these five desires have no permanent character; 877 ‘For as a man suffering from fever seeks and asks for some cooling medicine, so covetousness seeks for something to satisfy its longings; foolish men regard these things as permanent, 878
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1the hail to be burned in the fierce fire; indeed I fear the objects of these several desires, this whirling in the stream (oh life) troubles my heart, 836 ‘ These five desires, the inconstant thieves *—stealing from men their choicest treasures, making them unreal, false, and fickle—are like the man called up as an apparition®; 837 ‘For a time the beholders are affected (by it), but it has no lasting hold upon the mind; so these five desires are the great obstacles, for ever disarranging the way of peace; 838 ‘If the joys of heaven are not worth having, how much less the desires common to men, begetting the thirst of wild love, and then lost in the enjoyment, 839 ‘As the fierce wind fans the fire, till the fuel be spent and the fire expires; of all unrighteous things in the world, there is nothing worse than the domain of the five desires; 840 ‘For all men maddened by the power of lust, giving themselves to pleasure, are dead to reason. The wise man fears these desires, he fears to fall into the way of unrighteousness ; 841 1 Like frozen hail and fierce burning fire. * Robbers of impermanency. 5 That is, are as unreal as an apparition. 122 FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING. TI, 11. ‘For like a king who rules all within the four seas, yet still seeks beyond for something more, (so is lust); like the unbounded ocean, it knows not when and where to stop. 842 ‘Mandha, the Aakravartin, when the heavens rained yellow gold, and he ruled all within the seas, yet sighed after the domain of the thirty-three heavens; 843 ‘ Dividing with Sakra his seat, and so thro’ the power of this lust he died; Nung-Sha (Nydsa ?), whilst practising austerities, got power to rule the thirty-three heavenly abodes, 844 ‘But from lust he became proud and supercilious, the Ashi whilst stepping into his chariot, through carelessness in his gait, fell down into the midst of the serpent pit. 845 ‘Yen-lo (Yama ?) the universal monarch (Kakravartin) wandering abroad thro’ the Trayastrismsas heaven, took a heavenly woman (Apsara) for a queen, and unjustly extorted’ the gold of a Rzshi; 846 ‘The Ashi, in anger, added a charm, by which the country was ruined, and his life ended. Po-lo, and Sakra king of Devas?, Sakra king of Devas, and Nung-sha (Ny4sa), 847 ‘Nung-sha returning (or, restoring) to Sakra; what certainty (constancy) is there, even for the lord of heaven? Neither is any country safe, though kept by the mighty strength of those dwelling in it. 848 1 The literal translation of this line would be, ‘ Taxing the gold of Lim the Aishi;’ or,‘of the harvest ingathered by the Rishi’ ® These lines refer to the transfer of heavenly power from Sakra to others, but the myth is not known to me; and there is confusion in the text, which is probably corrupt. III, rr. THE REPLY TO BIMBASARA RAGA. 123 ‘But when one’s clothing consists of grass, the berries one’s food, the rivulets one’s drink, with long hair flowing to the ground, silent as a Muni, seeking nothing, 849
2III, rr. THE REPLY TO BIMBASARA RAGA. 123 ‘But when one’s clothing consists of grass, the berries one’s food, the rivulets one’s drink, with long hair flowing to the ground, silent as a Muni, seeking nothing, 849 ‘In this way practising austerities, in the end lust shall be destroyed. Know then, that the province (indulgence) of the five desires is avowedly an enemy of the religious man. 850 ‘Even the one-thousand-armed invincible king, strong in his might, finds it hard to conquer this, The Azshi Rama perished because of lust, 851 ‘How much more ought I, the son of a Kshatriya, to restrain lustful desire ; but indulge in lust a little, and like the child it grows apace, 852 ‘The wise man hates it therefore; who would take poison for food? every sorrow is increased and cherished by the offices of lust. 853 ‘If there is no lustful desire, the risings of sorrow are not produced, the wise man seeing the bitterness of sorrow, stamps out and destroys the risings of desire; 854 ‘That which the world calls virtue, is but another form of this baneful law!; worldly men enjoying the pleasure of covetous desire then every form of careless conduct results; 855 ‘These careless ways producing hurt, at death, the subject of them reaps perdition (falls into one of the evil ways). But by the diligent use of means, and careful continuance therein, 856 ‘The consequences of negligence are avoided, we should therefore dread the non-use of means; recol- 1 The sense of this passage seems to be that what is called by men a virtuous life, is but a form of regulated vice. 124 FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING. TI, 11. lecting that all things are illusory, the wise man covets them not; 857 ‘He who desires such things, desires sorrow, and then goes on again ensnared in love, with no certainty of ultimate freedom; he advances still and ever adds grief to grief, 858 ‘Like one holding a lighted torch burns his hand, and therefore the wise man enters on no such things. The foolish man and the one who doubts, still encouraging the covetous and burning heart, 859 ‘In the end receives accumulated sorrow, not to be remedied by any prospect of rest; covetousness and anger are as the serpent’s poison; the wise man casts away 860 ‘The approach of sorrow as a rotten bone; he tastes it not nor touches it, lest it should corrupt his teeth, that which the wise man will not take, 861 ‘The king will go through fire and water to obtain, the wicked sons! labour for wealth as for a piece of putrid flesh, o'er which the hungry flocks of birds contend. 862 ‘So should we regard riches; the wise man is ill pleased at having wealth stored up, the mind wild with anxious thoughts, 863 ‘Guarding himself by night and day, as a man who fears some powerful enemy, like as a man’s feelings revolt with disgust at the (sights seen) beneath the slaughter post of the East Market, 864
3‘So the high post which marks the presence of lust, and anger, and ignorance, the wise man always avoids; as those who enter the mountains or the seas have much to contend with and little rest, 865 ‘As the fruit which grows on a high tree, and is 2 The foolish world. II, 11. THE REPLY TO BIMBASARA RAGA. 125 grasped at by the covetous at the risk of life, so is the region (matter) of covetous desire, tho’ they see the difficulty of getting it, 866 ‘Yet how painfully do men scheme after wealth, difficult to acquire, easy to dissipate, as that which is got in a dream, how can the wise man hoard up (such trash)! 867 ‘Like covering over with a false surface a hole full of fire, slipping thro’ which the body is burnt, so is the fire of covetous desire. The wise man meddles not with it. 868 ‘Like that Kaurava [Kau-lo-po], or Pih-se-ni Nanda, or Ni-&’#e-lai Danta, as some 4andala’s (butcher’s) appearance}, 869 ‘Such also is the appearance of lustful desire ; the wise man will have nothing to do with it, he would rather throw his body into the water or fire, or cast himself down over a steep precipice. 870 ‘Seeking to obtain heavenly pleasures, what is this but to remove the place of sorrow, without profit. Siin-tau, Po-sun-tau (Sundara and Vasundara), brothers of Asura, 871 ‘Lived together in great affection, but on account of lustful desire slew one another, and their name perished ; all this then comes from lust; 872 ‘It is this which makes a man vile, and lashes and goads him with piercing sorrow; lust debases a man, robs him of all hope, whilst through the long . night his body and soul are worn out; 873 ‘Like the stag* that covets the power of speech 1 This line may be translated, ‘as the appearance of the shambles.’ 2 I do not know to what this refers; the symbol ‘shing’ may not only mean ‘the power of speech,’ but also ‘musical power’ or ‘music ;’ or it may mean ‘celebrity.’ 126 FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING. TTI, rx. and dies, or the winged bird that covets! sensual pleasure (the net), or the fish that covets the baited hook, such are the calamities that lust brings; 874 ‘Considering what are the requirements of life, none of these possess permanency; we eat to appease the pain of hunger, to do away with thirst we drink, 875 ‘We clothe ourselves to keep out the cold and wind, we lie down to rest to get sleep, to procure locomotion we seek a carriage, when we would halt we seek a seat, 876 ‘We wash to cleanse ourselves from dirt, all these things are done to avoid inconvenience; we may gather therefore that these five desires have no permanent character; 877 ‘For as a man suffering from fever seeks and asks for some cooling medicine, so covetousness seeks for something to satisfy its longings; foolish men regard these things as permanent, 878
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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