One should
not, therefore, indulge in grief. Where, O king, is thy sire to-day, and
where thy grandsire? Thou seest them not today, nor do they see thee now.
Reflecting on thy own instability, who dost thou grieve for them? Reflect
with the aid of thy intelligence, and thou wilt understand that verily
thou shalt cease to be. Myself, thyself, O king, thy friends, and thy
foes, shall, without doubt, cease to be. Indeed, everything will cease to
be. Those men that are now of twenty or thirty years of age will, without
doubt, all die within the next hundred years. If a man cannot have the
heart to give up his vast possessions, he should then endeavour to think
his possessions are not his own and by that means seek to do good to
himself.[320] Acquisitions that are future should be regarded by one as
not one's own. Acquisitions that have disappeared, should also be
regarded by one as not one's own. Destiny should be regarded as all
powerful. They that think in this strain are said to be possessed of
wisdom. Such a habit of looking at things is an attribute of the good.
Many persons who are equal or superior to thee in intelligence and
exertion, though deprived of wealth, are not only alive but are never
ruling kingdoms. They are not, like thee. They do not indulge in grief
like thee. Therefore, cease thou to grieve in this way. Art thou not
Superior to those men, or at least equal to them in intelligence and
exertion?'" The king said, 'I regard the kingdom which I had with all its
appendages to have been won by me without any exertion.
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