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

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.