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The Dhammapada
Chapter Twenty Four: Craving
The craving of a person who lives negligently
Spreads like a creeping vine.
Such a person leaps ever onward,
Like a monkey seeking fruit in the forest.
Sorrow grows
Like grass after rain
For anyone overcome by this miserable craving
And clinging to the world.
Sorrow falls away
Like drops of water from a lotus
For anyone who overcomes this miserable craving
And clinging to the world.
This I say to you:
Good fortune to all assembled here!
Dig out the root of craving
As you would the fragrant root of birana grass.
Don't let Mara destroy you again and again,
As a torrential river breaks a reed.
Just as a felled tree grows again
If the roots are unharmed and strong,
So suffering sprouts again and again
Until the tendency to crave is rooted out.
With the thirty-six streams of craving
Flowing mightily toward anything pleasing,
The person of wrong views
Is carried away on the currents of lustful intent.
The streams flow everywhere;
The creeper of craving sprouts and remains.
Seeing that the creeper has sprouted,
Use insight to cut it at the root.
When desire flows,
Pleasure arises.
Attached to happiness, seeking enjoyment,
People are subject to birth and old age.
Surrounded by craving,
People run around like frightened hares.
Held by fetters and bonds,
They suffer, repeatedly, over a long time.
Surrounded by craving,
People run around like frightened hares.
Seeking dispassion,
A monastic should dispel craving.
Though clear of the underbrush
And out of the forest,
Someone attached to the forest
Runs right back to it.
Come, see that free person
Run back into bondage.
It's not a strong bond, say the wise,
That is made or iron, wood, or grass.
A strong bond, say the wise,
Is infatuation with jewels and ornaments
And longing for children and spouse -
That bond is weighty, elastic, and hard to loosen.
Having cut even this, they go forth,
Free from longing, abandoning sensual pleasures.
Those attached to passion
Are caught in a river of their own making
Like a spider caught in its own web.
But having cut even this, the wise set forth,
Free from longing, abandoning all suffering.
Let go of the past, let go of the future,
Let go of the present.
Gone beyond becoming,
With the mind released in every way,
You do not again undergo birth and old age.
For people who
Have agitated thoughts
And intense passion,
And who are focused on what's pleasant,
Craving grows more and more.
Indeed, they strengthen their bonds.
But those who
Delight in calming their thoughts,
Are always mindful,
And cultivate a focus on what's unpleasant,
Will bring an end to craving.
They will cut Mara's bonds.
Fearless, free of craving, and without blemish,
Having reached the goal
And destroyed the arrows of becoming,
One is in one's final body.
Free of craving and grasping,
Skilled in words and their usage,
Knowing the order of the teachings -
What precedes and what follows -
One is said to be "a great person of much wisdom,
In one's final body."
"I am all-conquering, all-knowing,
Stained by nothing.
Letting go of everything,
Released through the destruction of craving
And having known directly on my own,
Whom could I point to as my teacher?"
The gift of Dharma surpasses all gifts.
The taste of Dharma surpasses all tastes.
The delight in Dharma surpasses all delights.
The destruction of craving conquers all suffering.
Wealth destroys those who lack in wisdom,
But not those who seek the beyond.
Craving wealth, those lacking wisdom
Destroy themselves
As well as others.
Weeds are the ruin of fields;
Passion is the ruin of people.
So offerings to those free of passion
Bear great fruit.
Weeds are the ruin of fields;
Ill will is the ruin of people.
So offerings to those free of ill will
Bear great fruit.
Weeds are the ruin of fields;
Delusion is the ruin of people.
So offerings to those free of delusion
Bear great fruit.
Weeds are the ruin of fields;
Longing is the ruin of people.
So offerings to those free of longing
Bear great fruit.
...excerpt from The Dhammapada
Continue to Chapter Twenty Five...
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