Buddhacarita by Ven Asvaghosa - Ancient Buddhist Texts

Buddha-carita, or Life of Buddha - 134
24. ‘Those men of no self-control who are bitten by them in their
hearts, fall into ruin and attain not bliss, – what man of self-control
could find satisfaction in these pleasures, which are like an angry,
cruel serpent
25. ‘Even if they enjoy them men are not satisfied, like dogs
famishing with hunger over a bone, – what man of self-control could
find satisfaction in these pleasures, which are like a skeleton
composed of dry bones
26. ‘What man of self-control could find satisfaction in these pleasures
which are like flesh that has been flung away, and which produce
misery by their being held only in common with kings, thieves, water,
and fire
27. ‘What man of self-control could find satisfaction in these
pleasures, which, like the senses, are destructive, and which bring
calamity on every hand to those who abide in them, from the side of
friends even more than from open enemies
28. ‘What man of self-control could find satisfaction in those
pleasures, which are like the fruit that grows on the top of a tree, –
which those who would leap up to reach fall down upon a mountain
or into a forest, waters, or the ocean
29. ‘What man of self-control could find satisfaction in those
pleasures, which are like snatching up a hot coal, – men never attain
happiness, however they pursue them, increase them, or guard them