A Fool and his Greed

VERSES BY ARAHANT RATTHAPALA

I see men wealthy in the World who yet
Give not, from ignorance, their gathered riches,
But greedily will hoard away their wealth
Through longing for further sensual pleasures.

A King who by his force conquered the earth
And even Lords the land the ocean bounds,
Is yet unsated with the sea's near shore
And hungers for its further shore as well.

Most other men as well, not just a King,
Encounter death with Craving Unabated;
With plans still incomplete they leave the corpse;
Desires remain unsated in the world.

His relatives lament him, rend their hair,
Crying "Ah me! Alas! Our love is dead!"
Then bear away the body wrapped in shrouds,
To place on a pyre and burn it there.

Clad in a single shroud, he leaves behind
His property, impaled on stakes he burns,
And as he died, no relatives or kin
Or friends could offer refuge to him here.

Then while his heirs annex his wealth, this being
Must now arise according to his Deeds;
And as he dies Nothing can follow him;
Nor child nor wife nor wealth nor royal estate.

Longevity is Not acquired with wealth,
Nor can prosperity banish old age;
Short is this Life, as all the sages say,
Eternity it knows not, only Change.

The rich man and the poor man both shall feel
Death's touch, as do the fool and sage alike;
But while the fool lies stricken by his folly,
No sage will ever tremble at the touch.

Better than Wealth is Understanding, then,
By which the final goal can here be gained;
For, doing evil deeds in many lives,
Men fail, through Ignorance, to reach the goal.

As one goes to the womb and to another world,
Renewing the successive rounds, so others
With no more understanding, trusting him,
Go also to the womb and to another world.

Just as a robber caught in robbery,
An evil-doer, suffers for his deed,
So people after death, in the next world,
The evil-doers, suffer for their deeds.

Sense pleasures, varied, sweet, delightful,
In many different ways disturb the Mind.
Seeing the peril in these sensual joys,
O King!* I chose to lead the Homeless Life.

As fruits fall from the tree, so also men,
Both young and old, fall when this body breaks,
Seeing this too, I have gone forth, O King!
Better by far is the Monk's life assured.

*Refering to King Koravya who owns Migacira Garden where Arahant Ratthapala was residing.