..续本文上一页rd stage of the path to liberation, called the stage of non-return (anagamita). At that stage, no return to the "here" of existence in the sense sphere can any longer come about, while the end of the "beyond," that is, the existence in the fine-material and immaterial spheres,[7] will also be assured.

　　 You must slay wrath if you would happily live;

　　You must slay wrath if you would weep no more.

　　The slaughter of anger with its poisoned source And fevered climax, murderously sweet —

　　That is the slaughter noble persons praise;

　　That you must slay in order to weep no more.

　　Samyutta Nikaya, 11:21

　　 2. He who entirely cuts off his lust

　　As entering a pond one uproots lotus plants,

　　— such a monk gives up the here and the beyond,

　　just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin.

　　Lust (raga) is here compared to the lotus flower as a symbol of beauty. Because of its loveliness one too easily forgets that the enchanting blossoms of sense enjoyment will soon wilt and lose their beauty and attraction. But the mere awareness of that impermanence is not enough, for it may even add to the enchantment and whet the desire to pluck the flowers of lust again and again as long as strength lasts. But desire often lasts longer than the strength to seek or obtain its fulfillment — and this is just one of the ways in which lust brings suffering and frustration.

　　In a single moment the roots of lust can sink deeply into a man”s heart; its fine hair roots of subtle attachments are as difficult to remove as the great passions, or even more so. Thus the Buddha says that "greed is hard to overcome" but in the same text he also says that greed "is a lesser evil"[8] (or, literally rendered, "less blameworthy"). This statement may appear strange in view of the fact that greed is one of the evil roots and also a form of craving, the fundamental cause of suffering. Yet greed is "less blameworthy" than hate in all those cases where the gratification of lust does not violate basic morality and is not harmful to others; for instance, in the enjoyment of delicious food, sexual gratification within the bounds of the third precept, and so forth.

　　Nevertheless, all forms of lust, be they inside or outside the moral norms, are still unwholesome (akusala), as they chain man to kammic bondage and necessarily result in suffering. Therefore, for one who aspires to perfect purity and final liberation, all forms of lust, coarse or refined, are obstructions. "All lust wants eternity" (Friedrich Nietzche) — but cannot obtain it. For, though lust itself may well go on eternally without ever being quenched, its objects are all inevitably evanescent. When the objects of lust perish, as they must, or are unattainable, as they often are, suffering results for the lusting person; and when his desire for a loved person fades and changes, suffering will result for the beloved.

　　Lust receives its full dimension of depth as an expression of craving, an inexhaustible neediness, the state of ever being in want. This craving is the subject of the next verse.

　　Lust is "entirely cut off" at the stage of Arahatship, when desire even for the worlds of refined material form or the immaterial has vanished forever. With the elimination of lust, its unavoidable concomitants also disappear: the frustration, torment or despair of non-gratification and the listlessness, boredom or revulsion of surfeit. He who frees himself of lust is also free of its "both sides," attraction and repulsion, like and dislike. He too has given up the here and the beyond.

　　 3. He who entirely cuts off his craving

　　by drying up its fierce and rapid flow,

　　— such a monk gives up the here and the beyond,

　　just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin.

　　Craving (tanha) is the mighty stream of desire that flows through all existence, from the l…

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