1At one time Venerable Vaṅgīsa was staying near Āḷavī, at the Aggāḷava Tree-shrine, together with his mentor, Venerable Nigrodhakappa.

Now at that time Venerable Vaṅgīsa looked down on other good-hearted mendicants because of his own poetic virtuosity.

Then he thought: “It’s my loss, my misfortune, that I look down on other good-hearted mendicants because of my own poetic virtuosity.”

Then, on the occasion of arousing remorse in himself, he recited these verses:

2“Give up conceit, Gotama!
Completely abandon the different kinds of conceit!
Besotted with the different kinds of conceit,
you’ve had regrets for a long time.

3Smeared by smears and slain by conceit,
people fall into hell.
When people slain by conceit are reborn in hell,
they grieve for a long time.

4But a mendicant who practices rightly,
owning the path, never grieves.
They enjoy happiness and a good reputation,
and they rightly call him a ‘Seer of Truth’.

5So don’t be hard-hearted, be energetic,
with hindrances given up, be pure.
Then with conceit given up completely,
use knowledge to make an end, and be at peace.”

1Ekaṁ samayaṁ āyasmā vaṅgīso āḷaviyaṁ vihārati aggāḷave cetiye āyasmatā nigrodhakappena upajjhāyena saddhiṁ.

Tena kho pana samayena āyasmā vaṅgīso attano paṭibhānena aññe pesale bhikkhū atimaññati.

Atha kho āyasmato vaṅgīsassa etadahosi: "Alābhā vata me, na vata me lābhā; dulladdhaṁ vata me, na vata me suladdhaṁ; yvāhaṁ attano paṭibhānena aññe pesale bhikkhū atimaññāmī"ti.

Atha kho āyasmā vaṅgīso attanāva attano vippaṭisāraṁ uppādetvā tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imā gāthāyo abhāsi: 

2"Mānaṁ pajahassu gotama,
Mānapathañca pajahassu;
Asesaṁ mānapathasmiṁ,
Samucchito vippaṭisārīhuvā cirarattaṁ.

3Makkhena makkhitā pajā,
Mānahatā nirayaṁ papatanti;
Socanti janā cirarattaṁ,
Mānahatā nirayaṁ upapannā.

4Na hi socati bhikkhu kadāci,
Maggajino sammāpaṭipanno;
Kittiñca sukhañca anubhoti,
Dhammadasoti tamāhu pahitattaṁ.

5Tasmā akhilodha padhānavā,
Nīvaraṇāni pahāya visuddho;
Mānañca pahāya asesaṁ,
Vijjāyantakaro samitāvī"ti.