I entreat the oneThe Buddha:
who is very intelligent,
released, unperturbed --
who has abandoned home,
abandoned delight,
abandoned resemblances,
cut through craving,
crossed over the flood.
Having heard the Great One, they will leave --
the many gathered
from many lands, hero,
in hopes of your words.
So tell them, please,
how this Dhamma has
been known to you.
Subdue craving & clinging -- all --
above, below,
across, in between. [1]
For whatever people cling to in the world,
it's through that
that Mara pursues them.
So a monk, mindful,
seeing these people
clinging to entanglement
as entangled in Death's realm,
should cling to nothing
in all the world,
every world.
1. For Nd.II's discussion of the various meanings of the objects of craving "above, below, across, in between," see Note [2] to Sn.V.4 (Mettagu's Question). [Go back]