[850] Having heard the words of Vedeha, Vījaka said this:
"There is no painful feeling (vedanā) in me; great king, hear me.
I too remember a former birth of mine, with its happiness:
formerly I lived in Sāketa as the merchant Bhāva (Bhāvaseṭṭhī), delighting in virtuous qualities;
esteemed by brahmins and wealthy householders, delighting in sharing, pure;
and I recall no evil deed done by myself.
Passing away from there, O Vedeha, I was born here of a wretched woman,
in the womb of a pot-slave; and from the time I was born I have been utterly destitute.
Yet even being thus destitute, I have stood firm in righteous conduct:
I give half a portion of my food to whoever wishes it of me;
on the fourteenth and the fifteenth day I always observe the fast;
I do no violence to living beings, and I have abstained from theft.
But surely all this that has been well practiced proves fruitless;
this virtue (sīla), I think, is worthless — just as Alāta declares.
Surely I grasp only the losing throw, like a gambler without skill,
while Alāta grasps the winning throw, like a trained gamester.
I do not see the door by which I might go to a good destination (sugati);
therefore, O king, I weep, having heard what Kassapa has said."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.