At one time Venerable Vaṅgīsa was staying near Āḷavī, at Āḷavī’s premier shrine, together with his mentor, Venerable Nigrodhakappa.
Now at that time Venerable Vaṅgīsa looked down upon other good-hearted mendicants because of his own eloquence.
Then he thought, “It’s my loss, my misfortune, that I look down on other good-hearted mendicants because of my own eloquence.”
Then, on the occasion of arousing remorse in himself, he recited these verses:
“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.
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, a path-victor, never grieves. They enjoy happiness and a good reputation, and they rightly call him a ‘Seer of Truth’.
So being not hard-hearted, but energetic, with hindrances given up, pure; and having completely given up conceit, the one who makes an end with knowledge is assuaged.”