The Perfection of Ethics (3rd)

“Then again when I was

Campeyyaka, a dragon of great psychic power, ^[1]

I was just,

furnished with precepts and vows.

Then the snake-charmer who caught me

lived righteously,

observing the Sabbath,

and he made me perform at the royal gate.

Whatever color he thought of—

blue, yellow, or red—

I conformed to his wish,

taking the appearance of his thought.

I could turn dry land to water,

and water to dry land.

If I were upset with him

I could reduce him to ash in an instant.

If I was under the sway of my thoughts,

I would have fallen from my ethics.

But one who has fallen from their ethics

does not succeed at the highest goal.

Gladly, let this body be broken!

Let it be scattered in this very place!

Not even for that would I break my ethics,

if it were being scattered like hay.”