[413] 6. Short indeed is this life!
One dies even within a hundred years;
and even if¹ one lives beyond that,
then one surely dies of old age.
People sorrow over things cherished as "mine,"
for there are no possessions that are permanent;
seeing that this exists only to be parted from,
one should not dwell in the household life.
Even by death is that left behind
which a man conceives as "this is mine";
understanding this too,² a wise man,
a devoted follower (māmaka), should not incline to possessiveness (mamatta).
Just as a man, upon awakening,
does not see what he encountered in a dream,
so too one does not see a beloved person
who has departed, who has died.
[Variant readings: ¹ The Po., Ma., and Yu. editions read "yo cepi." ² Also read "evampi."]
Seen and heard of, too, were those people
of whom this name is spoken;
yet only the name will remain
to be declared of the person who has departed.
Those greedy for things cherished as "mine"
do not abandon sorrow, lamentation, and avarice;
therefore the sages (muni), having left possessions behind,
wandered forth as seers of security (khema).
For a bhikkhu who lives withdrawn,
resorting to a secluded seat,
they say it is fitting for him
that he should not display himself in the abode [of existence].
The sage, dependent on nothing anywhere,
makes nothing dear, nothing not dear;
lamentation and avarice do not smear him,
just as water does not smear a leaf.
Just as a drop of water on a lotus leaf,
just as water does not smear the lotus,
even so the sage is not smeared
by what is seen, or heard, or sensed.
For the cleansed one (dhona) does not conceive
on account of what is seen, or heard, or sensed;
he does not wish for purity through anything else,
for he neither becomes impassioned nor dispassioned.
The Jarā Sutta, the sixth.
______________
The Tissametteyya Sutta, the seventh [discourse] of the Aṭṭhakavagga, the fourth [chapter] of the Suttanipāta.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.