Tied down by the allure
of what seems dear,1
hosts of devas, most human beings,
worn out with misery,
fall under the sway
of the King of Death.
But those who, day & night,
heedfully abandon
what seems dear,
dig up misery
by the root–
Death’s bait
so hard
to overcome.
Notes
1. Following the reading, piyarūpassāda-gaddhitāse in the Thai, Burmese, and BJT editions. The Sri Lankan edition available from the Journal of Buddhist Ethics has, piyarūpa-sātarūpa-gaddhitā ye: “Those tied down by what seems dear & what seems agreeable”; the PTS edition, piyarūpāsāta-gaddhitā ve: “Truly tied down by what seems dear & what is disagreeable.” The parallel passage in the Udānavarga (5.10) has, priyarūpa-sāta-grathitā: “Tied down by what seems dear and is agreeable.”
Origin URL: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Ud/ud2_7.html