ཀླའ་རྒྱལ་པ་རྔ་སྒྲའ་ཚགས་ས་བཅད་པ 9

9

“ ‘Those practicing the Dharma will have no fear.
Those practicing the Dharma will not go to the lower realms.
Those practicing the Dharma will go wherever they wish.
Those not practicing the Dharma will die and suffer.

“ ‘The learned take no joy in gaining wealth,
Nor do they lose their minds when it runs out.
The ability to move easily wherever one wants in the world
Is what makes humans so special among all its beings.

“ ‘Those who happily give to others,
Abandon arrogance and harm, remain truthful,
And possess oceanic minds
Are indeed courageous, valorous, courteous, and skillful.

“ ‘Whoever trains in all these things
Will become learned in all subjects.
Such gentle and amiable people
Will be praised by sublime beings.’

“Tambour then replied,
‘O Drum, as time has passed,
My faith in you has greatly increased.
Whether my body becomes emaciated,

“ ‘Or I lose my senses, I care not!
Even if I fall into unbearable suffering,
I shall not commit negativities in the future.
Rather than living with impaired discipline,

“ ‘It is better to die with my discipline intact.
Therefore, within a single lifetime,
I will train correctly and untiringly.’ ”
The Blessed One continued,

“In the past, wherever I dwelled,
And wherever I was born,
I wound up committing negative deeds
Due to keeping all sorts of negative company.

“Once I met a spiritual friend,
I abandoned negative deeds
And so I eradicated negative karma.”⁵

The Blessed Thus-Gone One
Knows the realities of all former lives.
Therefore, the Sage now turned to the monks
And spoke these words:

“In the past, I was Drum,
Ānanda was Tambour, and
Devadatta was Drumbeat.
Remember our past lives in this fashion.”

Having heard this meaningful discourse
That condenses the entire Dharma,
All the monks respectfully engaged
In the practice of the Dharma.