Theragāthā — Versos dos Monges Anciãos — 6.7 — Kātiyāna

1Get up, Kātiyāna, and sit!
Don’t sleep too much, be wakeful.
Don’t be lazy and let the kinsman of the negligent,
the King of Death, catch you in his trap.

2Like a wave in the mighty ocean,
rebirth and old age sweep you under.
Make a safe island of yourself,
for you have no other shelter.

3The teacher has mastered this path,
which transcends chains, <j>and the fear of birth and old age.
Be diligent in the first and final watches of the night,
and dedicate yourself to practice.

4Free yourself from your former bonds!
Wearing your outer robe, with shaven head, <j>eating almsfood,
don’t delight in play or sleep,
dedicate yourself to absorption, Kātiyāna.

5Meditate and conquer, Kātiyāna,
you’re an expert in the path <j>to sanctuary from the yoke.
Having arrived at unexcelled purity,
you’ll be extinguished as a flame by water.

6A lamp of feeble flame
is bent down by the wind, like a creeper;
just so, kinsman of Indra,
shake off Māra, without grasping.
Free of lust for feelings,
await your time here, cooled.