法苑珠林 46.35

46.35

Day and night indolent and remiss, / in old age not ceasing lust, / having wealth but not giving,
not receiving the words of the Buddha: / having these four defects, / one defrauds and deceives oneself.
Alas, when old age arrives, / physical appearance alters and grows senile! / While young, everything went as wished;
in old age, one is trampled upon and despised. / One did not cultivate pure conduct (brahmacarya), / nor did one acquire wealth or nobility;
in old age one is like a white crane / watching and waiting by an empty pool. / Having neither guarded the precepts
nor accumulated wealth, / in old age one is feeble and one's breath is exhausted; / how can longing for the past catch up?
Old age is like autumn leaves; / conduct is defiled, clothes tattered and torn. / When life swiftly comes to its end,
it will be useless to regret it.