TRANSIENT PLEASURES
The DHAMMAPADA
He who does what should not be done and fails to do what should be done, who forgets the true aim of life and sinks into transient pleasures - he will one day envy the man who lives in high contemplation.
Let a man be free from pleasure and let a man be free from pain; for not to have pleasure is sorrow and to have pain is also sorrow.
Be therefore not bound to pleasure for the loss of pleasure is pain. There are no fetters for the man who is beyond pleasure and pain.
From pleasure arises sorrow and from pleasure arises fear. If a man is free from pleasure, he is free from fear and sorrow.
From passion arises sorrow and from passion arises fear. If a man is free from passion, he is free from fear and sorrow.
From sensuousness arises sorrow and from sensuousness arises fear. If a man is free from sensuousness, he is free from fear and sorrow.
From lust arises sorrow and from lust arises fear. If a man is free from lust, he is free from fear and sorrow.
From craving arises sorrow and from craving arises fear. If a man is free from craving, he is free from fear and sorrow.
He who has virtue and vision, who follows DHAMMA, the Path of Perfection, whose words are truth, and does the work to be done - the world loves such a man.
And the man whose mind, filled with determination, is longing for the infinite NIRVANA, and who is free from sensuous pleasures, is called uddham-soto, (he who goes upstream), for against the current of passions and worldly life he is bound for the joy of the Infinite.
Just as a man who has long been far away is welcomed with joy on his safe return by his relatives, well-wishers and friends; in the same way the good works of a man in his life welcome him in another life, with the joy of a friend meeting a friend on his return.
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