“Then again when I was Bhūridatta, a dragon of great psychic power, together with Virūpakkha the Great King I went to a heavenly realm.
There I saw gods wholly given over to pleasure. For the sake of going to that heaven, I undertook the observance of ethics.
After tending to my physical needs, and eating enough to get by, I resolved on the four factors, and lay down atop a termite mound, thinking:
‘My outer skin and inner, flesh, sinews and bones: whoever has use for these, they are already given, please take them.’
While lying there the ingrate Ālampāyana grabbed me. He threw me in a basket and made me perform in places all over.
Though thrown in a basket and crushed by his hands, I did not get upset with Ālampāyana, for fear of breaking my ethics.
To give up my own life was as light as a blade of grass. To transgress my ethical principles was like overturning the earth.
In a hundred successive lives I would give up my own life. I would not even violate my ethics for the sake of the four continents.
For the sake of protecting ethics, and fulfilling my perfection of ethics, I did not let my mind change, even when thrown in a basket.”
The Dragon Bhūridatta’s Conduct
Cp 12 · Bhūridattacariya
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- CariyāpiṭakaThe collection containing this text
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About this edition
Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato · SuttaCentral · CC0
This translation is an expression of an ancient spiritual text that has been passed down by the Buddhist tradition for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is dedicated to the public domain via Creative Commons Zero (CC0). You are encouraged to copy, reproduce, adapt, alter, or otherwise make use of this translation. The translator respectfully requests that any use be in accordance with the values and principles of the Buddhist community. In particular, please do not use this work in AI training datasets, for the development of any AI model or algorithm, or in any AI-derived technologies.
Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader.
The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.