ke known
this way; thus I destroy the hateful company of Trishna's host, the
sorrows of birth and death, old age, disease, and all the unfruitful
aims of men, and other springs of suffering. There are those who warring
against desire are still influenced by desire; who whilst possessed of
body, act as though they had none; who put away from themselves all
sources of true merit--briefly will I recount their sorrowful lot. Like
smothering a raging fire, though carefully put out, yet a spark left, so
in their abstraction, still the germ of 'I,' the source of great sorrow
still surviving, perpetuates the suffering caused by lust, and the evil
consequences of every kind of deed survive. These are the sources of
further pain, but let these go and sorrow dies, even as the seed of corn
taken from the earth and deprived of water dies; the concurrent causes
not uniting, then the bud and leaf cannot be born; the intricate bonds
of every kind of existence, from the Deva down to the evil ways of
birth, ever revolve and never cease; all this is produced from covetous
desire; falling from a high estate to lower ones, all is the fault of
previous deeds. But destroy the seed of covetousness and the rest, then
there will be no intricate binding, but all effect of deeds destroyed,
the various degrees of sorrow then will end for good. Having this, then,
we must inherit that; destroying this, then that is ended too; no birth,
old age, disease, or death; no earth, or water, fire, or wind. No
beginning, end, or middle; and no deceptive systems of philosophy; this
is the standpoint of wise men and sages; the certain and exhausted
termination, complete Nirvana. Such do the eight right ways declare;
this one expedient has no remains; that which the world sees not,
engrossed by error I declare, I know the way to sever all these
sorrow-sources; the way to end them is by right reason, meditating on
these four highest truths, following and perfecting this highest wisdom.
This is what means the 'knowing' sorrow; this is to cut off the cause of
all remains of being; these destroyed, then all striving, too, has
ended, the eight right ways have been assayed.

"Thus, too, the four great truths have been acquired, the eyes of the
pure law completed. In these four truths, the equal, true or right, eyes
not yet born, there is not mention made of gaining true deliverance; it
is not said what must be done is done, nor that all is finished, nor
that the perfec