Non-doing: Reeeeaallly Difficult!

I ran across this impressive blog and post the other day. The author, Mike Cross, is translating the Sanskrit teachings of Great Teacher Ashvaghosha:

Mining Ashvaghosha's Gold: SAUNDARANANDA 12.22: Rarity of Non-doing

Here are some excerpts from that post:

loke 'sminn aalay'-aaraame
nivRttau dur-labhaa ratiH
vyathante hy a-punar-bhaavaat
prapaataad iva baalishaaH

12.22
In this world which likes what is close to home,
A fondness for non-doing is rare;
For men shrink from the end of becoming
Like the puerile from the edge of a cliff.

COMMENT:
Non-doing involves going against the habit of a lifetime, which we find uncomfortable, and it is a journey into the unknown, which we find fearful.

How rare is a fondness for non-doing? Maybe rarer than we realise.

Here are some other translations he shares:

EH Johnston:
In this world, which rejoices in attachment, it is hard to find delight in the cessation of active being ; for fools shrink back from release from rebirth as from a precipice.

Linda Covill:
In this world with its liking for the household life, it is hard to take pleasure in abstention from activity; for fools shrink from the prospect of the end of rebirth as from the edge of a cliff.

I can only be reminded of my friend here:
The Wise Fool, the Sacred Fool, does not shrink back from the edge of the precipice.