Discourse on Letting Go of Sensual Attachment

The human life is very short;
Not even one hundred years.
Even if it were beyond a hundred years,
One still could not avoid death.

Pleasures give rise to worries;
Sensual attachment leads to fear of impermanence.
Whether we love or hate someone,
In the end, separation from them is inevitable.
Having seen this, there are those who no longer delight in living a couple’s life.

There is nothing that the flood of death does not sweep away.
The things we once desired, the things we once cherished as self,
If one uses wisdom to contemplate and seek the truth,
One will see that "this is not me," and "I am not this."

The pleasures of life are like things seen in a dream.
Upon waking, nothing remains.
The worldly things people now crave are likewise.
When consciousness ceases manifesting,
What is left?

The name of that person may still be heard,
But that person has already gone.
Whether endearing or not endearing,
Now, one can no longer see them.
They have abandoned this life — where have they gone?
The consciousness has departed;
Only the name remains behind.

Feeling sorrow, anger, loving, then jealousy —
People cannot let go of entanglement with craving and sensual desire.
The wise, seeing this, let go of sensual attachment.
They leave behind fear and attain the realm of peace.

The monastic must live with the truth,
and not losing mindfulness.
One must distance oneself from sensual desires,
Knowing that this body will inevitably be destroyed one day.
Practice not to chase after objects of sexual desire.
Contemplate the mind in the mind.
On the path of seeking the absolute truth,
Do not stop anywhere.

Not stopping is also the practice of the noble ones.
Loving, hating, jealousy, sorrow, and worry
Do not disturb the practitioner,
Just as falling drops of water
Do not stick to the lotus leaf.

Without clinging, without seeking.
Do not get caught in unwholesome sights and sounds.
Even if liberation is not sought —
What more is there to seek among defilements?

Not caught in sensual attachment,
Pure like a lotus flower,
Though arising from the mud,
The mud cannot cling to it.
The noble ones in this world act likewise:
What is seen and heard is as if never seen, never heard.