ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ 23.16

23.16

and weep.’

“When they hear this, the five hundred lay vow holders in Kauśāmbī will emerge from the monastery, throw up their hands, and lament, ‘The holy Dharma the Tathāgata cultivated for over three countless eons has now vanished into contention and is no more!’ And they will say:

“ ‘Who among the ineloquent persons
Of this fearful world
Could preach the holy Dharma?
Who could transcend sorrow?

“ ‘Light is shrouded in gloom.
The deluded wander about,
Bereft of the Sage’s teachings,
Virtuous deeds cast aside.

“ ‘Lacking sorrow for saṃsāra, they behave like beasts—
Nonvirtue is their constant Dharma.’

“When the king of Kauśāmbī hears that the arhat Sūrata and the Tripiṭaka master Śiṣyaka have been killed, in a fit of rage and fury he will attack the teachings, destroying the temples of the saṅgha, demolishing the stūpas, and slaying all the monks.

“Lords, in the future you must band together to protect the teachings wherever they incur harm.”

“We shall,” they said.

“Lord,” the great king Dhṛtarāṣṭra declared, “I shall protect the teachings in the east.”

“Lord,” Virūḍhaka declared, “I shall protect the teachings in the south.”

“Lord,” Virūpākṣa declared, “I shall protect the teachings in the west.”

“Lord,” Vaiśravaṇa declared, “I shall protect the teachings in the north.”

“Lord,” Śakra, King of the Gods, declared, “I shall protect the teachings in all directions.”

Having spoken thus, Śakra, King of the Gods, and the four great kings