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THE CANTO OF DESIRE [1] The desire of the man of
deluded movements grows like the golden creeper. And as the monkey in pursuit
of fruits in the forest leaps from tree to tree even so the man wanders from birth
to birth ceaselessly. [2] For one who is overpowered by this poisonous growing desire, the miseries increase overwhelmingly like wild weeds. [3] For one who overpowers this growing desire, so hard to tame, the miseries slip off like water-drops from the lotus-leaf. [4] To all who are gathered
here, I say, for your welfare: Dig out the roots of desire even as you dig out
the roots of wild weeds [5] If the roots are left intact, even when the tree is cut down, it will grow again; likewise when the very source of desire is not destroyed, these sorrows will come back again and again. [6] If your mind takes delight in the three dozen streams that are in you your will becomes a product of your desire; it will give you a wrong vision and lead you to grief. [7] Desire streams out everywhere; like a creeper it crops up and grows. If you see it sprouting anywhere, cut out its roots with all the force of your conscious will. [8] Things that pass, things that bring comfort are attractive to creatures: It is those men who flow with the tide, who seek pleasures that go the round of birth and age.
Page – 241 [9] With desire in forefront creatures go round and round, even as does a rabbit caught in a trap: Bound by the chains of attachment they go through sorrows again and again for ever. [10] With desire in forefront creatures go round and round, even as does a rabbit caught in a trap: Therefore, to remove desire the aspirant seeks detachment of self. [11] He who desires Nirvana and has come out of desire and is free from desire and yet runs after it, behold, the man even when freed runs towards bondage. [12] The wise do not call that a strong bondage which is of iron or of wood or of rope, but that hankering for jewels and ornaments and for wife and children, considering them as most substantial things. [13] That the wise call a strong bondage which pulls you down, which seems to be loose, but hard to remove. This too they cut away and take to the wandering path, they who have no more hankering, they who have discarded the pleasures of desire. [14] They who are attached to their passions are dragged into the Stream even like a spider drawn into his self-woven web. This too the wise cut away and take to the wandering path: they have no hankering, they have discarded all sorrowing. [15] Abandon all that is in
front, abandon all that is behind, abandon all that is
in the middle; go beyond earth's shores. Thus the mind freed in all ways, you
will suffer neither birth nor age.
Page – 242 [16] Creatures have a mind in .turmoil, they are full of fears, passions, they seek pleasures only: And this serves only to increase their desires and so to strengthen their bondage. [17] One who strives to quieten his mind, who is ever discriminating and spots out the unclean: He, indeed, is the person who cuts away the bonds of the enemy, cuts away to the very last. [18] Firm in faith, fearless, desireless, stainless, he pulls out the world as though a spear lodged in him: For him this is the last incarnation. [19] Freed from desire, unattached, he knows the words and their meanings, he knows the collocation of the letters and their sequence: For the last time he has put on the body and is called the great Wise. [20] Almighty, all-wise am I; I am attached to no mode of conduct; I have renounced all: With no desire, I am free. Whom should I then approach for the sake of knowledge? [21] He has passed beyond all giving, even the giving of dharma; he has passed beyond all enjoyment, even the enjoyment of dharma. He has gone beyond all delights, even the delight of dharma: Desire exhausted, he has passed beyond all grieving. [22] Sense-enjoyments kill the deluded who does not seek the other shore. In his craving for enjoyment the deluded kills himself even as he may kill his neighbour. [23] In a field,
weed is the evil, in a human creature attachment is
Page – 243 the evil. Make your gift to one free from attachment: that is a truly fruitful act. [24] In a field the weed is the evil, in a human creature hatred is the evil: Make your gift to one free from hatred, that is a truly fruitful act. [25] In a field, the weed is the evil, in a human creature infatuation is the evil: Let your giving be to one free from infatuation: that is a truly fruitful giving. [26] In a field, the weed is
the evil, in a human creature the wishfulness is the evil: Let your giving be
to one free from wishfulness: that is a truly fruitful giving.
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