20.

Look at this body, ornamented with jewels, bracelets, and ear-rings, as diseased and subject to decay, as changing and impermanent.

21.

The fool in his stupidity adorns his curls, paints his eyes with collyr, and seeks not after the other world.

22.

The fool in his stupidity paints (his body) with colours,1 covers with jewels this corrupt body, and seeks not after the other world.

23.

The fool in his stupidity anoints this body with perfumes, rubs his feet with gerika,3 and seeks not after the other world.

24.

He who is entirely devoted to desires, and who sees not the sinfulness of his devotion, is unable through his devotion to desires to cross the wide and eternal stream.

25.

He who has commenced by casting off the principal desires, and finally all of them, who looks neither to the I or the mine, crosses the until then impassable stream, and finishes with existence.

26 (344).

He who having freed himself of the forest,1 being without the forest, runs to the forest, though he has freed himself of it; look at that miserable man who gives up freedom for bondage!

27.

Look at that sinless being,2 agreeable (to look at) in every limb, with a chariot well made (down to) the spokes, (see her) clothed in a white gown,3 and free yourself of the stream of bondage.4

28 (188).

The common of men, driven by fear, seek a refuge in mountains, forests, groves, sacrificial places, and in great trees.5

29 (189).

These are not the best of refuges, these are not the chief refuges, for a man who goes to them for a refuge is not freed from all suffering.

30 (190).

He who seeks a refuge in the Buddha, the law (dharma), and the church (sangha), (he who sees with understanding) suffering, the production of suffering, the destruction of suffering:

perfect knowledge; 3. pleasing spokes means perfect memory, understanding, and meditation; 4. a chariot means correct views; it is consequently the way and its branches. The verse would consequently mean: "Look at that sinless being with correct views, morality, perfect memory, perfect understanding, &c., with perfect freedom, &c., do as she has done and destroy what holds you in bondage.

5 Comp. Burnouf, loc. cit., p. 187, and Apaṇṇaka Jâtaka.

31 (191).

He who sees with understanding happiness, the way to nirvâņa, the eightfold holy way and the four blessed. truths:

32 (192).

This is the chief refuge, this is the holy refuge; he who goes to this refuge becomes freed from all suffering.1

33.

He who perceives (mentally) what he sees, can perceive also the unseen with his sight; 2 he who sees not the unseen does not perceive what he ought to see; ordinary sight 3 and spiritual insight (vipassanâ) are by their nature as different as day and night, which never are at the same time.

3

34.

With ordinary sight one cannot perceive (suffering, &c.); if one sees, he loses sight of form (rûpa); with this sight (ie., vipassanâ) one perceives not form; with ordinary sight one is without perceiving anything.5

35.

He who perceives nothing, sees (but) form; he who perceives, sees not form; thus they who perceive not form have freed themselves of ordinary sight (i.e., have obtained vipassanâ).

1 See Apannaka Jâtaka.

66

2 He has vipassana, in Tibetan lhag-mthong, sight which is free from any darkness (sin), which has overcome sin."-P.

3 Hdra-mthong, "sight that has not been put to good account (medpa-la sgro-btags)." Hdra means also "form, shape, body." The first two lines of this udâna, which is very obscure, are: Mthong-bas mthong-dsing mthong-bas ma-mthong mthong ma

mthong mi mthong-bya mthong-mi hygur.

He loses sight of the self.-P. 5 Not perceiving the state of the world, he does not perceive his own nature. The sight of the world is very coarse, and the truth (sight of truth?) very minute.-P.

This verse is to sum up the teaching of the two preceding cnes.

36.

When one perceives not suffering, then he considers but the self (ie., he has ordinary sight); but when one distinguishes suffering, then he perceives not form.

37.

He who is in the midst of darkness of repeated regeneration perceives not the suffering of the sanskâra, consequently he has but ordinary sight, and does not perceive how to put an end to form.

Chapter on Sight, the Twenty-seventh.

XXVIII.

SIN.

I (183).

AVOID doing all wicked actions, practise most perfect virtue, thoroughly subdue your mind; this is the doctrine of the Buddha.1

2.

By charity one's merit is increased, by being well controlled one makes no enemies: the virtuous man, having cast off sin, puts an end to misery (kleça) and obtains nirvâņa.2

3.

If the wise man is mixed with fools and lives in their midst, he remains separate; as one naturally drinks milk rather than water, so does the wise man cast away evil-doers.3

4.

Seeing all the wickedness of the world, having seen the means to put an end to it, the elect take no pleasure in sin; the wicked cannot please the virtuous.

5.

He (the elect) knows the sweetness of perfect peace,

1 See Pratimoxa Sûtra, 8; Mel. Asiat., viii. p. 591; Beal, Catena, p. 156; Vasubandhu's Gâthâsamgraha, 14; Mel. Asiat., viii. p. 564.

2

Comp. Pratimoxa Sûtra, 7, loc. cit., p. 591.

3 Who are like water.

4 The sinfulness of transmigration, disease, old age, vice, &c.-P.