Theragāthā 222

Verses of the Senior Monks 6.13

The Book of the Sixes

Chapter One

Sirimaṇḍa

1 The rain saturates things that are covered up;

it doesn’t saturate things that are open.

Therefore you should open up a covered thing,

so the rain will not saturate it.

2 The world is beaten down by death

and surrounded by old age.

The dart of craving has struck it down,

and it’s always fuming with desire.

3 The world is beaten down by death,

caged by old age,

beaten constantly without respite,

like a criminal being flogged.

4 Three things are coming, like a wall of flame:

death, disease, and old age.

No power can stand before them,

and no speed’s enough to flee.

5 Don’t waste your day,

a little or a lot.

Every night that passes

shortens your life by that much.

6 Walking or standing,

sitting or lying down:

your final night draws near;

you have no time to be careless.