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CHAPTER ONE
without distinction rich man, poor man; king, beggar ; wise man, fool ; good man, bad man. He has no friendliness to virtue ; no hostility to vice. Death devours people, like a forest-fire a great forest.
But do not fear this, confused even by missiles of kusagrass! By what means could the body be free from destruction ? The ones who are able to make a staff out of Meru, or an umbrella out of the earth, are not able to protect themselves nor another from Death. The rule of Death being lord from a worm to an Indra, a sane man could not begin to tell the trickery of Death. If any one could see anywhere any man of past times alive, then the trickery of Death would be passed over by philosophical systems. Let the wise understand even youth to be transitory, becoming decrepit from old age which destroys youthful beauty. The men who in youth are loved by fair women with the semblance of love, in old age are abandoned with the sound of spitting made by the greedy. The money which is acquired by rich men with much trouble and is preserved without being enjoyed disappears in a moment. What need is there to compare money, which disappears inevitably while its possessors look on, with bubbles and lightning ? Meetings with friends, relatives, and people are accompanied by separations in case of death, change, or injury of one's self or another. One who meditates constantly on impermanence does not grieve even for a dead son ; but one who is confused by persistence in (the idea of) permanence cries out even at the breaking of a wall. Not only body, youth, money, relations, etc. are transitory, but also this world comprising everything moving and motionless. A man knowing everything to be transitory as described, free from possessions, should strive for a permanent abode and permanent bliss.”
Founding of the congregation (373-384) After they had listened to the Lord's sermon, many men and women took initiation at his lotus-feet at that
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