The Rhinoceros

[BMcGilly07]

I came across Kevin's link to this Sutta in i-Sangha, and remembered my favorite translation:

The Rhinoceros

Put by the rod for all that lives,
Nor harm thou any one thereof;
Long not for son- how then for friend?
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Love cometh from companionship;
In wake of love upsurges ill;
Seeing the bane that comes of love,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

In ruth for all his bosom-friends,
A man, heart-chained, neglects the goal:
Seeing this fear in fellowship,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Tangled as crowding bamboo boughs
Is fond regard for sons and wife:
As the tall tops are tangle-free,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros

The deer untethered roams the wild
Whithersoe'er it lists for food:
Seeing the liberty, wise man,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros

Free everywhere, at odds with none,
And well content with this and that:
Enduring dangers undismayed,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

If one find friend with whom to fare,
Rapt in the well-abiding, apt,
Surmounting dangers one and all,
With joy fare with him mindfully.

Finding none apt with whom to fare,
None in the well-abiding rapt,
As rajah quits the conquered realm,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Gay pleasures, honeyed, rapturous,
In divers forms churn up the mind:
Seeing the bane of pleasure's brood,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

'They are a plague, a blain, a sore,
A barb, a fear, disease for me!"
Seeing this fear in pleasure's brood,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

The heat and cold, and hunger, thirst,
Wind, sun-beat, string of gadfly, snake:
Surmounting one and all of these,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

As large and full-grown elephant,
Shapely as lotus, leaves the herd
When as he lists for forest haunts,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

'Tis not for him who loves the crowd
To reach to temporal release:
Word of Sun's kinsman heeding right,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Leaving the vanities of view,
Right method won, the way obtained:
"I know! No other is my guide!"
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Gone greed, gone guile, gone thirst, gone grudge,
And winnowed all delusions, faults,
Wantless in all the world become.
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Play, pleasures, mirth and worldly joys,
Be done with these and heed them not;
Aloof from pomp and speaking truth,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Son, wife and father, mother, wealth,
The things wealth brings, the ties of kin:
Leaving these pleasures one and all,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

They are bonds, and brief their joys,
And few their sweets, and more their ills,
Hooks in the throat!- this knowing, sure,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

With downcast eyes, not loitering,
With guarded senses, warded thoughts,
With mind that festers not, nor burns,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Shed thou householders' finery,
As coral tree its leaves in fall:
And going forth in yellow clad,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Crave not for tastes, but free of greed,
Moving with measured step from house
To house, support of none, none's thrall,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Rid of the mind's five obstacles,
Void of all stains whate'er, thy trust
In none, with love and hate cut out,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

And turn thy back on joys and pains,
Delights and sorrows known of old;
And gaining poise and calm, and cleansed,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Astir to win the yondmost goal,
Not lax in thought, no sloth in ways,
Strong in the onset, steadfast, firm,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Neglect thou not to muse apart,
'Mid things by Dharma faring aye,
Alive to all becomings' bane,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Earnest, resolved for craving's end,
Listener, alert, not hesitant,
Striver, assured, with Dharma summed,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Like lion fearful not of sounds,
Like wind not caught within a net,
Like lotus not by water soiled,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

As lion, mighty-jawed and king
Of beasts, fares conquering, so thou;
Taking thy bed and seat remote,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Poise, amity, ruth, and release
Pursue, and timely sympathy;
At odds with none in all the world,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

And rid of passion, error, hate,
The fetters having snapped in twain,
Fearless as when life ebbs away,
Fare lonely as rhinoceros.

Folk serve and follow with an aim;
Friends who seek naught are scarce to-day:
Men, wise in selfish aims, are foul:
Fare lonely as rhinoceros!


From E.M. Hare's translation of the Sutta-Nipata (published as "Woven Cadences")

[Blair]

Yeah. Rhino's do breed though, right? They must have at least a momentary lapse of reason.

[paco]

That was warm and heart felt.

=)

What gives these bring. Outstretched upon the warm sea! Till heavens bring a girl to me! ON savage days we all go out and play, so, see, and believe the warmth in me! Saturday comes, with the morning fully arrayed! Heart felt notion of laughing and pain. The warm wind brushes against the sculpture, with the trees laughing " I'ts all o.k."

Hope you like it!

[DHodges]

Lone rhinoceros by Adrian Belew

I'm a lone rhinoceros
there ain't one hell of a lots of us
left in this world
I stand alone in my concrete cell
where people stare and toss me Coke cans
I guess it's better than being poached
but I'd give my horn just to see my homeland
I'm a lone rhinoceros
there ain't one hell of a lots of us
left in this world
They say I am ugly,
call me a beast
I hear them snicker
when I'm half asleep
Is beauty such a big commodity
I always heard it was only so deep
I'm a lone rhinoceros
there ain't one hell of a lots of us
left in this world
I know the zoos protect my species
they give me food, collect my feces
but I can't help it, I miss the past
I'll never again see my good old mudbath

[BMcGilly07]

Yeah. Rhino's do breed though, right? They must have at least a momentary lapse of reason.

Surely, but this isn't about being a rhinoceros, but faring lonely as a rhino does.