others, but I tremble because of myself. Help me; cure me of my fear."4
The poet replied: "There is help for him who has compassion on others, but there is no help for thee so long as thou clingest to thine own self alone. Hard times try the souls of men and teach them righteousness and charity. Canst thou witness these sad sights around thee and still be filled with selfishness? Canst thou see thy brothers, sisters, and friends suffer, yet not forget the petty cravings and lust of thine own heart?"5
Noticing the desolation in the mind of the pleasure-seeking man, the Buddhist poet composed this song and taught it to the brethren in the vihāra:6
"Unless refuge you take in the Buddha and find in Nirvāna rest
Your life is but vanity—empty and desolate vanity.
To see the world is idle, and, to enjoy life is empty. The world, including man, is but like a phantom, and the hope of heaven is as a mirage.7
"The worldling seeks pleasures fattening himself like a caged fowl
But the Buddhist saint flies up to the sun like the wild crane.
The fowl in the coop has food but will soon be boiled in the pot.
No provisions are given to the wild crane, but the heavens
and the earth are his."8
The poet said: "The times are hard and teach the people a lesson; yet do they not heed it." And he composed another poem on the vanity of worldliness:9
"It is good to reform, and it is good to exhort people to reform.
The things of the world will all be swept away.
Let others be busy and buried with care.
My mind all unvexed shall be pure.10
