The mind, deluded by the appearance of samsara,
Sees the faults of others with the senses.
It is darkened by the prison of samsara;
It is made intolerable by the fire of samsara;
It is caught in the spider web of samsara;
It is stuck in samsara as the bee is in nectar;
It is encased in samsara like a silkworm in a cocoon.
There is no substance to the hollow tree of samsara.
Samsara is like the moon’s reflection in water,
Without essence;
Samsara is like an animal chasing a mirage;
He who desires samsara falls into a pit.
Samsara is like being trapped in the jaws of a crocodile;
Samsara is like wandering in the land of the rakshas;
Samsara is like a poisonous snake which destroys anyone who sees or touches it;
Samsara is bordered by the precipice of karma;
Samsara is like a wave in water, or fog;
Samsara is tied by the lasso of karma;
Samsara is bound by the seal of karma;
Samsara is the density of darkness;
Samsara is the deep mud of the three poisons;
Samsara is the dance of impermanence;
Samsara is the enchantment of this life;
Samsara is the shadow of birth and death;
Samsara is a merciless hunter;
Samsara is snared by the hound of death;
Samsara is a vast, sorrowful field of grasping and fixation;
Samsara is the galloping horse of the eight worldly dharmas;
Samsara si caught by the iron hook of desire;
Why should I not search for the Lama
While I have this precious, impermanent body?
Naropa
quoted in the book The Great Kagyu Masters: The Golden Lineage Treasury
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