People cling to their worldly possessions
and selfish passions so blindly
as to sacrifice their own lives for them.
They are like a child who
tries to eat a little honey
smeared on the edge of a knife.
The amount is by no means sufficient
to appease his appetite,
but he runs the risk of wounding his tongue.

The Sutra of Forty-two Chapters (1c CE-), The Sutra of Forty-two Chapters is often regarded as the first Indian Buddhist sutra translated into Chinese. According to tradition, it was translated by two Yuezhi monks, Kasyapa Matanga (迦葉摩騰) and Dharmaratna (竺法蘭), in 67 CE. Because of its association with the entrance of Buddhism to China, it is accorded a very significant status in East Asia.