མད་ཆན་པ་རྒྱལ་མཚན་དམ་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ 4

4

This is what the Blessed One said, and the Well-Gone One having spoken those words, the Teacher continued:¹⁷

“In the wilderness, under a tree,
Or in an empty house, monks,
You should recollect the Leader of the World, the Guide,
The Perfectly Awakened One.¹⁸

“If you do not recollect the Leader of the World, the Guide,
the Perfectly Awakened One,
You should recollect the Dharma,
The best of what is free from desire.

“If you do not recollect the Dharma,
The best of what is free from desire,
You should recollect the Saṅgha,
That unsurpassable field of merit.

“If the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha
Are recollected in this way,
Then fear, trepidation, and terror
Will subside, monks.

Many are those, when frightened by terrors,
Who will go to seek refuge
In mountains and forests,
Or worship shrines in trees and groves.¹⁹

“But no such place can be a principal refuge.
They are not the supreme refuge.
Going to such places for refuge
Will not liberate such people from all suffering.

“But for those who have gone for refuge
In the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha,
For them the truths of suffering, of the origin of suffering,
Of the complete cessation of suffering,

“And of the eightfold path of the noble ones
That leads to happiness and nirvāṇa—
These four truths of the noble ones
They will clearly see through their discernment.

“That is the principal refuge.
That is the supreme refuge.
If you rely on these for refuge,
You will be freed from all suffering.”

When the Blessed One had spoken these words, the monks were delighted and praised what the Blessed One had said.

Colophon

Translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Prajñāvarman, the senior editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé, and others.