[146] "Bhikkhus, 'peril' is a designation for sensual pleasures (kāmā). Bhikkhus, 'suffering (dukkha)' is a designation for sensual pleasures. Bhikkhus, 'disease' is a designation for sensual pleasures. Bhikkhus, 'boil' is a designation for sensual pleasures. Bhikkhus, 'dart' is a designation for sensual pleasures. Bhikkhus, 'tie' is a designation for sensual pleasures. Bhikkhus, 'mire' is a designation for sensual pleasures. Bhikkhus, 'womb' is a designation for sensual pleasures.
"And why, bhikkhus, is 'peril' a designation for sensual pleasures? Because this person, impassioned with sensual lust, bound by desire and lust, is not freed from perils pertaining to the present life, nor is he freed from perils pertaining to the life to come; therefore 'peril' is a designation for sensual pleasures. And why, bhikkhus, is 'suffering' … 'disease' … 'boil' … 'dart' … 'tie' … 'mire' …
"And why, bhikkhus, is 'womb' a designation for sensual pleasures? Because this person, impassioned with sensual lust, bound by desire and lust, is not freed from the womb pertaining to the present life, nor is he freed from the womb pertaining to the life to come; therefore 'womb' is a designation for sensual pleasures."
Peril, suffering, and disease,
boil, dart, and tie,
mire and womb — both these:
these are called sensual pleasures,
to which the worldling is attached;
sunk down in what seems agreeable,
he goes again to the womb.
But when a bhikkhu is ardent
and does not neglect clear comprehension,
such a one, having passed beyond
this miry, hard-going path,
looks upon this generation trembling,
fallen into birth and aging.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.