法苑珠林 97.10

97.10

命如華果熟　常恐會零落
已生皆有苦　孰能致不死
從初樂愛欲　可望入胞影
受形命如電　晝夜流難止
是身為死物　精神無形法
作命死復生　罪福則不亡
終始非一世　從癡愛長久
自作受苦樂　身死神不喪

"Life is like flowers and fruit ripening, / Ever fearing they will fall. / All that has been born has suffering; / Who can attain immortality? / From the initial delight in lustful desires, / One may be expected to enter into the shadow of the womb. / Receiving form, life is like lightning, / Flowing day and night, hard to halt. / This body is a dead thing; / The conscious spirit is a formless phenomenon. / Creating life, it dies and is born again; / Offenses and blessings do not perish. / The end and beginning are not of one lifetime; / Following ignorance and craving for a long time, / One creates deeds oneself and suffers pain or pleasure; / When the body dies, the spirit is not lost."