A bad deed is better left undone, for it will plague you later on. A good deed is better done, one that does not plague you.

When kusa grass is wrongly grasped it only cuts the hand. So too, the ascetic life, when wrongly taken, drags you to hell.

Any lax act, any corrupt observance, or suspicious spiritual life, is not very fruitful.”

That is what the godling Tāyana said. Then he bowed and respectfully circled the Buddha, keeping him on his right, before vanishing right there.

Then, when the night had passed, the Buddha told the mendicants all that had happened. “Mendicants, tonight, the glorious godling Tāyana, formerly a religious founder, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, came to me, bowed, stood to one side, and recited these verses in my presence.” The Buddha repeated the verses in full, adding: