The Buddha (c. 6th-5th century BCE)
“Diligence is the path to the deathless.
Negligence is the path of death.
The diligent do not die.
Those who are negligent
are as the dead.
Understanding this distinctly,
those who are skilled in diligence
rejoice in diligence,
delighting in the pasture of the noble ones.”
- The Dhammapada (Verses on the Way, Chapter 2), recorded in the 3rd century BCE. Translation by Glenn Wallis, 2004.
