यद्यत्प्रीतिकरं पुंसां वस्तु मैत्रेय जायते ।
तदेव दुःखवृक्षस्य बीजत्वमुपगच्छति ॥
कलत्रपुत्रमित्रार्थगृहक्षेत्रधनादिकैः ।
क्रियते न तथा भूरि सुखं पुंसां यथासुखम् ॥
yad yat prītikaraṁ puṁsāṁ vastu maitreya jāyate |
tad eva duḥkha-vṛkṣasya bījatvam upagacchati ||
kalatra-putra-mitrārtha-gṛha-kṣetra-dhanādikaiḥ |
kriyeta na tathā bhūri sukhaṁ puṁsāṁ yathāsukham ||
(Viṣṇu Purāṇa: 6.5.55–56)
“O Maitreya, indeed every object pleasing to a person that comes about [in the course of saṁsāra] becomes [later] a seed of the tree of suffering. Not so much happiness is produced by one’s wife, children, friends, possessions, houses, lands, wealth, and so forth as is unhappiness [i.e., these aforementioned aspects of saṁsāras produce more unhappiness than happiness].”