經律異相 40.40

40.40

"Life is like a flower or fruit that ripens, / always fearing that it will fall. / All that has been born has suffering; / who can attain deathlessness? / From the beginning delighted in lust and desire, / given over to sensual pleasures, entering this fragile scene, / receiving a form, life is like lightning, / flowing day and night, hard to halt. / This body is a mortal thing; / the conscious spirit is a formless phenomenon. / Actions cause one to die and be reborn again; / vices and blessings do not perish or cease. / The end and beginning span not merely a single life; / through delusion and craving it lasts long. / What one creates, one receives its suffering and joy; / though the body dies, the spirit does not perish."