Dhammapada · 24.5

Yathāpi mūle anupaddave daḷhe, chinnopi rukkho punarevarūhati;Evampi taṇhānusaye anūhate, nibbattatī dukkhamidaṃ punappunaṃ.

Yathapi mule anupaddave dalhe, chinnopi rukkho punarevaruhati; Evampi tanhanusaye anuhate, nibbattati dukkhamidam punappunam.

Just as a tree, though cut down, grows up again if its root remains undamaged and firm, so suffering arises again and again if the latent craving is not uprooted.

— Dhammapada 24.5

Source: Pali text from the Khuddaka Nikāya of the Pali Canon (oldest extant Buddhist scripture, compiled c. 3rd century BCE). Public-domain English readings drawn from F. Max Müller's translation in Sacred Books of the East, Vol X (1881) and the Buddhist Publication Society's freely-licensed Acharya Buddharakkhita rendering.