← Sutta collectionTHAG6.5Verses of the Senior Monks 6.5SuttaCentral (Bhikkhu Sujato translation)Select any verse to keep it — saved passages go to your Dhamma Deck, the same one the app uses.Verses of the Senior Monks 6.5The Book of the SixesChapter OneMāluṅkyaputta (1st)When a man lives heedlessly,craving grows in them like a camel’s foot creeper.They jump from life to life, like a langurgreedy for fruit in a forest grove.Whoever is beaten by this wretched craving,this attachment to the world,their sorrow grows,like grass in the rain.But whoever prevails over this wretched craving,so hard to get over in the world,their sorrows fall from them,like a drop from a lotus-leaf.I say this to you, good people,all those who have gathered here:dig up the root of craving,as you’d dig up the grass in search of roots.Don’t let Māra break you again and again,like a stream breaking a reed.Act on the Buddha’s words,don’t let the moment pass you by.For if you miss your momentyou’ll grieve when sent to hell.Negligence is always dust;dust follows right behind negligence.Through diligence and knowledge,pluck out the dart from yourself.