The Verses of Naga King Drum
The Verses of Naga King Drum (Skt. Nāgarājabherīgāthā; Tib. ཀླུའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་རྔ་སྒྲའི་ཚིགས་སུ་བཅད་པ།, Wyl. klu’i rgyal po rnga sgra’i tshigs su bcad pa) is a short sutra composed entirely in verse, in which the Buddha recounts an episode from one of his former lives as a naga king to illustrate and explain the importance of practising patience and non-violence in order to maintain harmony within the monastic community. The sutra refers to a time when discord had broken out among the monastic sangha. This prompts the Buddha to outline the types of behaviour that are worthy of someone who has adopted the religious life. His lesson takes the form of a parable from one of his previous lives as a righteous naga king named Drum. [1]
Text
The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Kangyur, Toh 325.
- English translation:
The Verses of Naga King Drum
References
- ↑ 84000 Translating the Words of the Buddha.