Texts from the Buddhist canon : commonly known as Dhammapada

, THOUGHT. ,
73
permanency of all earthly things, and indulging in the
six pleasures of sense, fell an easy victim to M§,ra ; l his
body dissolved, his spirits gone, he was whirled again
through the endless forms of repeated births, a victim of
the sorrows and the misery formed by his ill-regulated
thoughts ; and then he repeated these g§,th§,s
" This body of thine shall soon return to the
earth— your form destroyed, your s'pirit fled—why,
then, covet such an abode ? It is the mind that
makes its own dwelling-place ; from earliest time,
the mind reflecting on evil ways, itself courts its
own misery. It is the very thought that itself
.makes (its sorrow). Not a father or mother can do
^ so much ; if only the thoughts be directed to that
which is right, then happiness must necessarily fol-
low. Concealing the six appetites as the tortoise
conceals his limbs, guarding the thoughts as a city
is surrounded by the ditch, then the wise man in
his struggle with M^ra shall certainly conquer, and
free himself from all future misery."
Then the Bhikshu, having heard these words, putting
away all lustful desires, attained Eahatship, and recog-
nising Buddha in the form of the Shaman, he prostrated
himself at his feet ; and all the Devas, N^gas, and Spirits,
who surrounded the spot, were filled with unutterable joy.
1 M4ra the Tempter (in whatever ss. of the Pali. This story of the
sense). tortoise occurs throughout all the
2 Shin=spirit or "soul." versions.
' These stanzas correspond with 40
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