At 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:

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

Smeared 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.

But 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’.

So 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.”