The Buddha-Carita or The Life of Buddha by Ven. Aśvaghoṣa

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Buddha-carita, or The Life of Buddha - 139 gītairhriyate hi mgā vadhāya rūpārthamagnau śalabhāḥ patati | matsyo giratyāyasamāmiṣārthī tasmādanartha viṣayāḥ phalati || 11.35 35. ‘Deer are lured to their destruction by songs, 1 insects for the sake of the brightness fly into the fire, the fish greedy for the flesh swallows the iron hook, — therefore worldly objects produce misery as their end. kāmāstu bhogā iti yanmata syādbhogyā na kecitparigaṇyamānāḥ | vastrādayo dravyaguṇā hi loke duḥkhapratīkāra iti pradhāryāḥ || 11.36 36. ‘As for the common opinion, "pleasures are enjoyments," none of them when examined are worthy of being enjoyed; fine garments and the rest are only the accessories of things, — they are to be regarded as merely the remedies for pain. iṣṭa hi tarṣapraśamāya toya kṣunnāśahetoraśana tathaiva | vātātapābvāvaraṇāya veśma kaupīnaśītāvaraṇāya vāsaḥ || 11.37 37. ‘Water is desired for allaying thirst; food in the same way for removing hunger; a house for keeping off the wind, the heat of the sun, and the rain; and dress for keeping off the cold and to cover one’s nakedness. nidrāvighātāya tathaiva śayyā yāna tathādhvaśramanāśanāya | tathāsana sthānavinodanāya snāna mjārogyabalāśrayāya || 11.38 38. ‘So too a bed is for removing drowsiness; a carriage for remedying the fatigue of a journey; a seat for alleviating the pain of standing; so bathing as a means for washing, health, and strength. duḥkhapratīkāranimittabhūtāstasmātprajānā viṣayā na bhogyāḥ | aśnāmi bhogāniti ko ’bhyupeyātprājñaḥ pratīkāravidhau pravttān || 11.39 39. ‘External objects therefore are to human beings means for remedying pain, not in themselves sources of enjoyment; what wise man would allow that he enjoys those delights which are only used as remedial? yaḥ pittadāhena vidahyamānaḥ śītakriyā bhoga iti vyavasyet | duḥkhapratīkāravidhau pravttaḥ kāmeṣu kuryātsa hi bhogasajñām || 11.40 40. ‘He who, when burned with the heat of bilious fever, maintains that cold appliances are an enjoyment, when he is only engaged in alleviating pain, — he indeed might give the name of enjoyment to pleasures. 1 Cf. Kādambarī (Calc. ed.), p. 27, 1. 6 infra.
Buddha-carita, or The Life of Buddha - 140 kāmeṣvanaikātikatā ca yasmādato ’pi me teṣu na bhogasajñā | ya eva bhāvā hi sukha diśati ta eva duḥkha punarāvahati || 11.41 41. ‘Since variableness is found in all pleasures, I cannot apply to them the name of enjoyment; the very conditions which mark pleasure, bring also in its turn pain. gurūṇi vāsāsyagurūṇi caiva sukhāya śīte hyasukhāya gharme | cadrāśavaścadanameva coṣṇe sukhāya duḥkhāya bhavati śīte || 11.42 42. ‘Heavy garments and fragrant aloe-wood are pleasant in the cold, but an annoyance in the heat; 1 and the moonbeams and sandal-wood are pleasant in the heat, but a pain in the cold. dvadvāni sarvasya yataḥ prasaktānyalābhalābhaprabhtīni loke | ato ’pi naikātasukho ’sti kaścinnaikātaduḥkhaḥ puruṣaḥ prṭhivyām || 11.43 43. ‘Since the well-known opposite pairs, 2 such as gain and loss and the rest, are inseparably connected with everything in this world, — therefore no man is invariably happy on the earth nor invariably wretched. dṣṭvā ca miśrā sukhaduḥkatā me rājya ca dāsya ca mata samānam | nitya hasatyeva hi naiva rājā na cāpi satapyata eva dāsaḥ || 11.44 44. ‘When I see how the nature of pleasure and pain are mixed, I consider royalty and slavery as the same; a king does not always smile, nor is a slave always in pain. ājñā npatve ’bhyadhiketi yasmātmahāti duḥkhānyata eva rājñaḥ | āsagakāṣṭhapratimo hi rājā lokasya hetoḥ parikhedameti || 11.45 45. ‘Since to be a king involves a wider range of command, therefore the pains of a king are great; for a king is like a peg, 3 — he endures trouble for the sake of the world. rājye npastyāgini vakamitre viśvāsamāgacchati cedvipannaḥ | athāpi viśrabhamupaiti neha ki nāma saukhya cakitasya rājñaḥ || 11.46 46. ‘A king is unfortunate, if he places his trust in his royalty which is apt to desert and loves crooked turns; 4 and on the other hand, if he does not trust in it, then what can be the happiness of a timid king? 1 I have adopted Professor Keilhorn’s suggested reading sukhāya śite hyasukhāya gharme. [Ed: text prints sukhāya gīte hyasukhāya dharme, which makes no sense; Johnson’s edition agrees with the text printed here.] 2 Cf. hē sustoikhia [Ed: written in Greek letters in the original] of the Pythagoreans (Arist. Ethics, I, 6). 3 Cf. Isaiah xxii. 23, 24 [Ed: Hebrew characters are included, but are illegible in my edition of the text, and so cannot be transliterated here]. 4 Professor Keilhorn would read rakamītre.
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The Buddha-Carita or The Life of Buddha by Ven. Aśvaghoṣa

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