50. Life and Death

He who aims at life achieves death.
If the “companions of life” are thirteen,
So likewise are the “companions of death” thirteen.
How is it that the “death-stops” in man’s life
And activity are also thirteen?
It is because men feed life too grossly.
It is said that he who has a true hold on life,
When he walks on land does not meet tigers or wild buffaloes;
In battle he is not touched by weapons of war.
Indeed,
A buffalo that attacked him would find nothing for its horns to butt,
A tiger would find nothing for its claws to tear,
A weapon would find no place for its point to enter in.
And why?
Because such men have no “death-spot” in them.