[198] "And what, bhikkhus, is the drawback (ādīnava) of sensual pleasures (kāma)? Here, bhikkhus, a clansman makes his living by whatever craft it may be — whether by reckoning on the fingers, by accounting, by calculation, by farming, by trade, by cattle-herding, by archery, by service to the king, or by any other craft — exposed to cold, exposed to heat, vexed by contact with gadflies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, and creeping creatures, dying of hunger and thirst. This too, bhikkhus, is a drawback of sensual pleasures, a mass of suffering (dukkha) visible here and now, having sensual pleasures as its cause, sensual pleasures as its source, sensual pleasures as its basis, the cause being simply sensual pleasures.
If, bhikkhus, while that clansman thus rouses himself, strives, and makes effort, that wealth does not come to hand, he sorrows, is wearied, laments, beats his breast, wails, and falls into confusion: 'Vain indeed is my exertion! Fruitless indeed is my effort!' This too, bhikkhus, is a drawback of sensual pleasures, a mass of suffering visible here and now, having sensual pleasures as its cause, sensual pleasures as its source, sensual pleasures as its basis, the cause being simply sensual pleasures.
If, bhikkhus, while that clansman thus rouses himself, strives, and makes effort, that wealth does come to hand, he experiences pain and grief on account of guarding that wealth: 'How shall kings not carry off this wealth, nor thieves carry it off, nor fire burn it, nor water sweep it away, nor unloved heirs carry it off?' While he thus guards and protects it, kings carry off that wealth, or thieves carry it off, or fire burns it, or water sweeps it away, or unloved heirs carry it off. He sorrows, is wearied, laments, beats his breast, wails, and falls into confusion: 'What was mine is mine no more!' This too, bhikkhus, is a drawback of sensual pleasures, a mass of suffering visible here and now, having sensual pleasures as its cause, sensual pleasures as its source, sensual pleasures as its basis, the cause being simply sensual pleasures.
Again, bhikkhus, with sensual pleasures as the cause, sensual pleasures as the source, sensual pleasures as the basis, the cause being simply sensual pleasures, kings quarrel with kings, khattiyas quarrel with khattiyas, brahmins quarrel with brahmins, householders quarrel with householders; mother quarrels with son, son quarrels with mother, father quarrels with son, son quarrels with father; brother quarrels with brother, brother quarrels with sister, sister quarrels with brother, friend quarrels with friend. And there, having fallen into quarrels, strife, and dispute, they attack one another with fists, they attack with clods, they attack with sticks, they attack with weapons; and there they incur death and death-like suffering. This too, bhikkhus, is a drawback of sensual pleasures, a mass of suffering visible here and now, having sensual pleasures as its cause, sensual pleasures as its source, sensual pleasures as its basis, the cause being simply sensual pleasures.
Again, bhikkhus, with sensual pleasures as the cause, sensual pleasures as the source, sensual pleasures as the basis, the cause being simply sensual pleasures, having taken up sword and shield, having girded on bow and quiver, they charge into battle massed in double array, with arrows being shot, with spears being hurled, with swords flashing; and there they are pierced by arrows, pierced by spears, and their heads are cut off by swords; and there they incur death and death-like suffering. This too, bhikkhus, is a drawback of sensual pleasures, a mass of suffering visible here and now, having sensual pleasures as its cause, sensual pleasures as its source, sensual pleasures as its basis, the cause being simply sensual pleasures.
Again, bhikkhus, with sensual pleasures as the cause, sensual pleasures as the source, sensual pleasures as the basis, the cause being simply sensual pleasures, having taken up sword and shield, having girded on bow and quiver, they charge against plastered bastions, with arrows being shot, with spears being hurled, with swords flashing; and there they are pierced by arrows, pierced by spears, splashed with cow-dung, crushed under a heavy weight, and their heads are cut off by swords; and there they incur death and death-like suffering. This too, bhikkhus, is a drawback of sensual pleasures, a mass of suffering visible here and now, having sensual pleasures as its cause, sensual pleasures as its source, sensual pleasures as its basis, the cause being simply sensual pleasures.
Again, bhikkhus, with sensual pleasures as the cause, sensual pleasures as the source, sensual pleasures as the basis, the cause being simply sensual pleasures, they break into houses, they carry off plunder, they commit burglary of a single house, they lie in ambush on the highway, they go to others' wives. Kings, having seized such a one, inflict various punishments upon him: they flog him with whips, they beat him with canes, they beat him with cudgels; they cut off a hand, they cut off a foot, they cut off both hand and foot; they cut off an ear, they cut off the nose, they cut off both ear and nose; they inflict the 'porridge pot' (bilaṅgathālika), the 'shell-shave' (saṅkhamuṇḍika), 'Rāhu's mouth' (rāhumukha), the 'garland of fire' (jotimālika), the 'flaming hand' (hatthapajjotika), the 'blades-of-grass dress' (erakavattika), the 'bark dress' (cīrakavāsika), the 'antelope' (eṇeyyaka), the 'meat-hooks' (balisamaṃsika), the 'coins' (kahāpaṇaka), the 'caustic pickling' (khārāpaṭicchaka), the 'pivoting pin' (palighaparivattika), the 'straw pallet' (palālapīṭhaka); they douse him with hot oil, they have him devoured by dogs, they impale him alive on a stake, and they cut off his head with a sword; and there they incur death and death-like suffering. This too, bhikkhus, is a drawback of sensual pleasures, a mass of suffering visible here and now, having sensual pleasures as its cause, sensual pleasures as its source, sensual pleasures as its basis, the cause being simply sensual pleasures.
Again, bhikkhus, with sensual pleasures as the cause, sensual pleasures as the source, sensual pleasures as the basis, the cause being simply sensual pleasures, they conduct themselves wrongly by body, they conduct themselves wrongly by speech, they conduct themselves wrongly by mind. Having conducted themselves wrongly by body, wrongly by speech, wrongly by mind, upon the breaking up of the body, after death, they arise in a state of loss, a bad destination, a place of ruin, hell. This too, bhikkhus, is a drawback of sensual pleasures, a mass of suffering pertaining to the life to come, having sensual pleasures as its cause, sensual pleasures as its source, sensual pleasures as its basis, the cause being simply sensual pleasures."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.