The Perfection of Ethics (8th)

“Then again when I was

of great retinue and psychic power,

a great spirit named Dhamma,

I had sympathy for the whole world.

Establishing the populace

in the ten ways of skillful deeds,

I wandered from village to town,

with friends and associates.

A wicked, miserly spirit

promoting the ten wicked ways

was also wandering the earth

with friends and associates.

The righteous and unrighteous,

we were each other’s foe.

Slamming chariot shafts,

we collided together.

A dreadful quarrel ensued

between the good and the ill,

a great war loomed

aiming to push the other off the road.

If I had been upset with him,

if I had broken my asceticism,

I could have reduced him to dust,

together with his companions.

Nevertheless, for the sake of guarding my ethics,

I quelled my heart.

I left the road with my folk,

giving it to the wicked one.

As soon as I stepped down off the path,

and I had quelled my mind,

the earth opened up

for that wicked spirit.”