A Collection of Buddhist Wisdom Verses - Ancient Buddhist Texts

4: Good
Dhp 155 Mahādhanaseṭṭhiputtavatthu
Profiting in Neither Way
A wealthy youth takes to drink and squanders
both his own and his wife's money and ends up a
beggar. The Buddha explains that if he had
applied himself as a layman he would have been
amongst the chief treasurers; and if he had
become a monk he would have attained the paths
and fruits.
79. Acaritvā brahmacar i yaṁ, aladdhā yobbane dhanaṁ,
Jiṇṇakoñcā ca jhāyanti khīṇamacche va pallale.
Not having lived spiritually,
Not having gained wealth in their youth,
They waste away like the herons
In a small lake devoid of fish.
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