Forms and sounds and flavors and smells
And touches and all mental states,
Are wished for, cherished and pleasing,
As long as it's said that "They're real."
For the world and for its devas
These are equal to happiness;
Whereas when they come to an end...
This for them is equal to pain.
'Happiness,' viewed by the nobles,
Comes from restraining the ego.
This is just the opposite of
How it is seen by all the world.
That which is pleasant for others,
For the noble ones is painful.
And what for others is painful,
The noble ones know as pleasant.
Behold! A teaching hard to know.
The deluded are confused here.
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipi...3.12.olen.html