འཕགས་པ་ཀླའ་རྒྱལ་པ་མ་དྲས་པས་ཞས་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 61

61

characterized by the arising or nonarising of the path. The arising of insight is not the arising of a buddha, nor is the arising of a buddha characterized by the absence of the arising of insight.”

When Blessed One gave this teaching on the arising of a buddha, the five hundred young nāgas reached concordant acceptance. Then the Blessed One spoke these verses:

“The arising of faith is the arising of a victor—
It is characterized by the absence of arising.
Where there is no faith,
No buddha will arise.

“It is said that faith precedes
And generates positive qualities.
For the faithful there are no contradictions
In the fruition of actions and the law of karma.

“Those with faith attend to the noble ones,
And they serve them with respect.
Their minds are free from anxiety,
And they generate trust in others.

“Those with faith listen to the Dharma with respect.
They clear away their obscurations,
Cultivate the branches of awakening,
And properly follow the path.

“Those with faith pursue the wealth of the Dharma.
They are extolled for their generosity,
And they inspire faith in both those who are disciplined
And those with bad habits.

“They are not deterred from the mind of awakening.
They inspire critics and those who are hostile,
They instill faith in the Buddha and the Dharma,
And in the Saṅgha too.

“They renounce pride beyond pride.
They are not self-vaunting.
Like dogs, they have no attachment to country.
These are the defining characteristics of faith.

“Those with faith know themselves.
They do not commit negative deeds.
They speak the truth,
And they follow through on their words.

“Those with faith are beyond attachment.
Those with faith have spotless minds.
Those with faith are, in body, speech, and mind,
In harmony with the noble ones.

“Those with faith have pure livelihoods.