Pv 41The Prince

– STORIES OF HUNGRY GHOSTS

– THE GREAT CHAPTER

4.6

BJT 755On the slopes of the Himalayas there is a city named Sāvatthī. I have heard it said: 'Two young men, sons of the king, dwelt in that place.'

BJT 756Infatuated with their attachments, delighting in the pleasures of sensual desire, captivated by present enjoyment, they gave no thought to the future.

BJT 757And they died, departing from the human state, and from here they passed on to another world. There, while unseen, they lamented the evil deeds they themselves had done in the past, saying:

BJT 758"Alas, when there were many virtuous ones, when gifts were readily available, we were unable to do even a little that would bring happiness to ourselves.

BJT 759What could be worse than this — that we have died from a royal lineage only to be born in the realm of hungry ghosts, enduring hunger and thirst?"

BJT 760They had been masters here, and are masters no more elsewhere. When they were human beings they were exalted, and now, brought low, they wander in hunger and thirst.

BJT 761Having understood that this misfortune arises from infatuation with power, having abandoned infatuation with power, a person may go to the heavenly realm; at the dissolution of the body, that one of wisdom is reborn in the heavenly realm.

The Story of the Two Young Men, the Sixth.