As if one would see a bubble, as if one would see a mirage,
who observes the world like that, the King of Death does not see him.

yathā   bubbuḷakaṃ passe    yathā      passe   marīcikaṃ
|                  |              |            |             |             |
Rel.Adv.   N.m.      V.act.   Rel.Adv.  V.act.      N.f.
|             Acc.Sg.   3.Sg.opt.     |        3.Sg.opt. Acc.Sg.
|                  |________|            |             |_______|
|______________|                    |___________|
            |________________________|
                                 |__________________________________________

List of Abbreviations

evaṃ  lokaṃ avekkhantaṃ maccu+rājā    na      passati
|             |               |               |        |         |           |
Adv.    N.m.      Adj.m.       N.m.  N.m.   neg.  V.act.in.
|        Acc.Sg.    Acc.Sg.          |   Nom.Sg.  |     3.Sg.pres.
|             |________|                |____|          |______|
|___________|                            |                    |
         |______________________|___________|
                             |___________|
_____________________|

yathā, Rel.Adv.: as, just like.

bubbuḷakaṃ: bubbuḷaka-, N.m.: bubble, water bubble. Acc.Sg. = bubbuḷakaṃ.

passe, V.: should see. The verb root is dis- (to see). 3.Sg.act.opt = passe.

yathā: see above.

passe: see above.

marīcikaṃ: marīcikā-, N.f.: mirage. Acc.Sg. = marīcikaṃ.

evaṃ, Adv.: thus, in this way.

List of Abbreviations

lokaṃ: loka-, N.m.; world.

avekkhantaṃ: avekkhant-, Adj.: observing, considering, looking at. It is an a.prp.p of the verb root ikkh- (to see) with the prefix ava- (down, over). Acc.Sg.m. = avekkhantaṃ.

maccurājā: maccurāja-, N.m.: the king of death, Mara. The compound of:
    maccu-, N.m.: death.
    rājan-, N.m.: king. The compound form of rājan- is rāja-.
Nom.Sg. = maccurājā.

na, neg.: not.

passati: sees. The verb root is dis- (to see). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = passati.

List of Abbreviations

    This verse consists of two connected sentences. They are:
    1) yathā bubbuḷakaṃ passe yathā passe marīcikaṃ (as if one would see a bubble, as if one would see a mirage). This can be further analysed into two segments:
    a) yathā bubbuḷakaṃ passe (as if one would see a bubble). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is passe (one would see, 3^rd person, singular, active, optative). The object is the noun bubbuḷakaṃ (a bubble, accusative singular). The relative adverb yathā (as, like) connects the sentence to the following one.
    b) yathā passe marīcikaṃ (as if one would see a mirage). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is passe (one would see, 3^rd person, singular, active, optative). The object is the noun marīcikaṃ (a mirage, accusative singular). The relative adverb yathā (as, like) connects the sentence to the following one.
    2) evaṃ lokaṃ avekkhantaṃ maccurājā na passati (who observes the world like that, the King of Death does not see him). The subject is the compound maccurājā (the king of death, nominative singular). The verb is passati (sees, 3^rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the active present participle avekkhantaṃ (one who observes, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the noun lokaṃ (the world, accusative singular), with its attribute, the adverb evaṃ (thus).

    A group of monks went to the forest to practice meditation. But they made very little progress and decided to return to the Buddha and ask for further instructions. On the way to the monastery it was very hot and they saw a mirage. Then a storm broke out and the rain made bubbles on the ground, which soon disappeared. The monks reflected on the mirage and the bubbles, comparing it to their own bodies. Very soon they all attained Arahantship.
    When they related the matter to the Buddha he uttered this verse, saying that this form of meditation was very good and one is able to reach the goal quickly.

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

yathā
bubbuḷakaṃ
passe
marīcikaṃ
evaṃ
lokaṃ
avekkhantaṃ
maccurājā
maccu
rājā
na
passati