A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s3.t1.153

v2.c19.s3.t1.153

Some similes actually belong to the vocabulary of the Buddhist texts and probably of the Buddha and his disciples themselves. When they speak of desire, which is the origin of all suffering, they call this the "thirst," which leads from existence to existence. At this migration from existence to existence, the Saṃsāra, is the "ocean," on the "further shore" of which Nirvāṇa beckons. Desire and sin, the whole bustle of worldly life, is a "flood," and he who has attained Nirvāṇa is "rescued from the flood." The reward of good and bad deeds, the Karman, is the "fruit," and when treating of Karman, the simile of seed and fruit is always in the minds of the speakers. When the Buddha preaches, he "utters the roaring of a lion,"² and so on.