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Sutta Nipāta 4.6

Jarāsutta

Old Age · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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Appaṁ vata jīvitaṁ idaṁ,
Oraṁ vassasatāpi miyyati;
Yo cepi aticca jīvati,
Atha kho so jarasāpi miyyati.

Short, alas, is this life; you die before a hundred years. Even if you live a little longer, you still die of old age.

Socanti janā mamāyite,
Na hi santi niccā pariggahā;
Vinābhāvasantamevidaṁ,
Iti disvā nāgāramāvase.

People grieve over belongings, yet there is no such thing as permanent possessions. Separation is a fact of life; when you see this, you wouldn’t stay living at home.

Maraṇenapi taṁ pahīyati,
Yaṁ puriso mamidanti maññati;
Etampi viditvā paṇḍito,
Na mamattāya nametha māmako.

Whatever a person thinks of as belonging to them, that too is given up when they die. Knowing this, an astute follower of mine would not be bent on ownership.

Supinena yathāpi saṅgataṁ,
Paṭibuddho puriso na passati;
Evampi piyāyitaṁ janaṁ,
Petaṁ kālaṅkataṁ na passati.

Just as, upon awakening, a person does not see what they encountered in a dream; so too you do not see your loved ones when they are dead and gone.

Diṭṭhāpi sutāpi te janā,
Yesaṁ nāmamidaṁ pavuccati;
Nāmaṁyevāvasissati,
Akkheyyaṁ petassa jantuno.

You used to see and hear those folk, and call them by their name. Yet the name is all that’s left to tell of a personage when they’re gone.

Sokapparidevamaccharaṁ,
Na jahanti giddhā mamāyite;
Tasmā munayo pariggahaṁ,
Hitvā acariṁsu khemadassino.

Those who are greedy for belongings don’t give up sorrow, lamentation, and stinginess. That’s why the sages, seers of sanctuary, left possessions behind and wandered.

Patilīnacarassa bhikkhuno,
Bhajamānassa vivittamāsanaṁ;
Sāmaggiyamāhu tassa taṁ,
Yo attānaṁ bhavane na dassaye.

For a mendicant who lives withdrawn, frequenting a secluded seat, they say it’s fitting to not show themselves in a home.

Sabbattha munī anissito,
Na piyaṁ kubbati nopi appiyaṁ;
Tasmiṁ paridevamaccharaṁ,
Paṇṇe vāri yathā na limpati.

The sage is independent everywhere, they don’t form likes or dislikes. Lamentation and stinginess slip off them like water from a leaf.

Udabindu yathāpi pokkhare,
Padume vāri yathā na limpati;
Evaṁ muni nopalimpati,
Yadidaṁ diṭṭhasutaṁ mutesu vā.

Like a droplet slips from a lotus-leaf, like water from a lotus flower; the sage doesn’t cling to that which is seen or heard or thought.

Dhono na hi tena maññati,
Yadidaṁ diṭṭhasutaṁ mutesu vā;
Nāññena visuddhimicchati,
Na hi so rajjati no virajjatīti.
Jarāsuttaṁ chaṭṭhaṁ.

For the one who is cleansed does not conceive in terms of things seen, heard, or thought. They do not wish to be purified by another; they are neither passionate nor growing dispassioned.

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