Buddhism

Thag 2:32 · Sivaka

Thai temple painting: Prince Vessantara gives away the white elephant — Vessantara Jātaka, Chapter 2 (Himavanta Forest) · Thai, Rattanakosin, c. 1850–1870 · Walters Art Museum

Inconstant little houses:

now here,

now there, again

& again,

I sought the house-builder.

Painful is birth, again

& again.

House-builder, you’re seen!

You will not build a house again.

All your rafters are broken,

and your gables torn down.

Released from restriction, the mind

will

be blown out

right here.1

Note

1. Compare Dhp 153–154:

Through the round of many births I roamed

without reward,

without rest,

seeking the house-builder.

Painful is birth again

& again.

House-builder, you’re seen!

You will not build a house again.

All your rafters broken,

the roof plate destroyed,

immersed what’s without limits, the mind

will

diffuse

right here

See also: Thag 1:57

Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. © 2014 / rev. 2017 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 licence, for free distribution only. Source: dhammatalks.org (Metta Forest Monastery).