The Dragon Bhūridatta’s ConductBhūridattacariya

“Then again when I was“Punāparaṁ yadā homi, Bhūridatta, a dragon of great psychic power,bhūridatto mahiddhiko; together with Virūpakkha the Great KingVirūpakkhena mahāraññā, I went to a heavenly realm.devalokamagañchahaṁ.

There I saw godsTattha passitvāhaṁ deve, wholly given over to pleasure.ekantaṁ sukhasamappite; For the sake of going to that heaven,Taṁ saggagamanatthāya, I undertook the observance of ethics.sīlabbataṁ samādiyiṁ.

After tending to my physical needs,Sarīrakiccaṁ katvāna, and eating enough to get by,bhutvā yāpanamattakaṁ; I resolved on the four factors,Caturo aṅge adhiṭṭhāya, and lay down atop a termite mound, thinking:semi vammikamuddhani.

‘My outer skin and inner, flesh,‘Chaviyā cammena maṁsena, sinews and bones:Nahāruaṭṭhikehi vā; whoever has use for these,Yassa etena karaṇīyaṁ, they are already given, please take them.’Dinnaṁyeva harātu so’.

While lying there the ingrateSaṁsito akataññunā, Ālampāyana grabbed me.ālampāyano mamaggahi; He threw me in a basketPeḷāya pakkhipitvāna, and made me perform in places all over.kīḷeti maṁ tahiṁ tahiṁ.

Though thrown in a basketPeḷāya pakkhipantepi, and crushed by his hands,sammaddantepi pāṇinā; I did not get upset with Ālampāyana,Ālampāyane na kuppāmi, for fear of breaking my ethics.sīlakhaṇḍabhayā mama.

To give up my own lifeSakajīvitapariccāgo, was as light as a blade of grass.tiṇato lahuko mama; To transgress my ethical principlesSīlavītikkamo mayhaṁ, was like overturning the earth.pathavīuppatanaṁ viya.

In a hundred successive livesNirantaraṁ jātisataṁ, I would give up my own life.cajeyyaṁ mama jīvitaṁ; I would not even violate my ethicsNeva sīlaṁ pabhindeyyaṁ, for the sake of the four continents.catuddīpāna hetupi.

For the sake of protecting ethics,Api cāhaṁ sīlarakkhāya, and fulfilling my perfection of ethics,Sīlapāramipūriyā; I did not let my mind change,Na karomi citte aññathattaṁ, even when thrown in a basket.”Pakkhipantampi peḷake”ti.