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iti.95 Itivuttaka

Sensual Desire

This was said by the Lord…

“Bhikkhus, there are these three ways of obtaining the objects of sensual desire. What three? There are those objects of sensual desire already existent; there is the way of those who delight in creating them; and there is the way of those who gain control over objects created by others. These are the three ways…”

Those who enjoy what exists,
Those devas exercising control,
Those who delight in creating,
And others who enjoy sense-objects—
Being in this state or another
They cannot pass beyond saṁsāra.

Understanding this danger
In objects of sensual enjoyment,
Let the wise person abandon all sense pleasures,
Those both heavenly and human.

By severing the flow of craving,
The flow so difficult to overcome
Of greed for pleasing, enticing forms,
They attain to final Nibbāna
And overcome all suffering.

The noble seers, masters of knowledge,
Wise ones with perfect understanding,
By directly knowing the end of birth
Come no more to renewal of being.

- Translator: John D. Ireland

- Editor: Bhikkhu Sujato