In English
Every source of pleasure has its limitations
So too, when you examine the quality of the pleasure you hope to derive or the fame you toil to earn, you will certainly blame-yourselves for being so serious about them. It may be asked: We build a house for us to live in; is that not a source of joy? We listen to fine music; is that not a source of joy? Does it not fill the heart with tenderness? In the same manner, are not these worldly pleasures real? Consider for a moment, whether even fine music will give uniform joy, if listened to, continuously, for hours! Even the heavenly musicians, and , will tire a listener if they hold forth for too long, however mellifluent their voice. Sweetness too is bound to be disgusting after some mouthfuls. After the limit is reached, every additional mouthful gives less and less pleasure, until disgust intervenes. The classical poet-philosopher asks, "How can medicine, resorted to for the sake of curing an illness, be deemed a luxury, a desirable pleasure?" Hunger is a disease. Food is the medicine that cures the disease. That is the plain fact but no one recognises it and behaves accordingly! They have made it a costly ritual, 'a futile feast, a fertile source of further diseases! For, they cater to the whims and fancies of the tongue and behave like slaves of the senses. The king was hunting in the depths of a forest from dawn until early afternoon. He was afflicted by intense thirst. At last, he found a hermitage where he took refuge. The inmates gave him cool clear water to drink. That was the medicine which he needed most. It made him fresh and fine. If the drink intoxicates him, robs him of reason and degrades his personality it causes many other diseases. Discrimination will reveal the dangers lurking in becoming a bond-slave of the senses.