經律異相 18.56

18.56

"In the past I was a favored child, / knowing not the ways of benevolence and righteousness. / Arrogant and noble, I indulged myself, / becoming then a great king. / Thinking there was neither sin nor merit, / that with this I could secure permanence, / I only now realize the retribution of birth and death, / and suffer its calamity today. / From sin I again receive protection, / and am able to behold the God among Gods. / Delivered from past transgressions, / with life nearly spent, I enter the Dharma gate. / Forever free from a stingy and greedy mind, / I shall long receive the roots of wisdom. / Life after life, never far from the Buddha, / preserved and enduring for ten thousand kalpas."
(Extracted from the Destitute Old Man Sūtra, single scroll)