ཟླ་བའ་མད 2

2

recollecting and taking the Blessed One to heart,²¹ recited this verse:

“I bow to the heroic Buddha.²²
May you swiftly liberate all beings!²³
As I have come into confinement
I take refuge in you.”²⁴

Then the Blessed One, for the sake of the god Candramas, addressed Rāhu, lord of the asuras, with this verse:

“Since buddhas have compassion for the world,
Candramas took refuge
In the Worthy One, the Tathāgata;
Therefore, Rāhu, set the moon free!”²⁵

Thereupon Rāhu, lord of the asuras, set the god Candramas free and hurriedly²⁶ approached Vemacitra,²⁷ lord of the asuras. He then sat to one side, displeased,²⁸ agitated, and with all his body hairs bristling. Vemacitra, lord of the asuras, now questioned Rāhu, lord of the asuras, in verse:

“Why, Rāhu, did you release
The moon in such a fright?
You are a very miserable sight.
Why did you approach in fear?”²⁹

Rāhu replied:³⁰

“Had I, hearing the Buddha’s verse,
Not then released the moon
My head would have split into seven pieces³¹
And my life would be without happiness.”