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Although the Tibetan title literally translates into English as “The Verses of Nāga King Drumbeat,” we have decided to translate the title as The Verses of Nāga King Drum for the following reasons: First, the nāga Drumbeat (Tib. rnga sgra) is not the main protagonist of the sūtra, nor is he said to be a king. Second, the verses of advice that make up the bulk of the sūtra are spoken by Drum, not Drumbeat. Third, the transliterated Sanskrit title that is included in the Tibetan translation names the king Bherī, which in Sanskrit means “kettledrum.”
Translated according to the reading in the Stok Palace and Shey Kangyurs, rnyed pa dka’, which seems to make most sense. The Degé, Lithang, and other Kangyurs have rnyed pa dga’, while the Peking (Qianlong) has rnyed pa dkar.
A major śrāvaka disciple and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni during the last twenty-five years of his life. He was a cousin of the Buddha (according to the Mahāvastu, he was a son of Śuklodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana, which means he was a brother of Devadatta; other sources say he was a son of Amṛtodana, another brother of King Śuddhodana, which means he would have been a brother of Aniruddha).
Ānanda, having always been in the Buddha’s presence, is said to have memorized all the teachings he heard and is celebrated for having recited all the Buddha’s teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist saṅgha, thus preserving the teachings after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. The phrase “Thus did I hear at one time,” found at the beginning of the sūtras, usually stands for his recitation of the teachings. He became a patriarch after the passing of Mahākāśyapa.
A cousin of Buddha Śākyamuni who broke with him and established his own community. He is portrayed as engendering evil schemes against the Buddha and even succeeding in wounding him. He is usually identified with wicked beings in accounts of previous lifetimes.
A nāga king; one of Buddha Śākyamuni’s past lives.
A belligerent nāga; one of Devadatta’s past lives.
Abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, intoxication, eating after noon, dancing and singing, and lying on an elevated bed.
Epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.
A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.
A female nāga.
A group of eight vows taken for one day on certain days of the month to restore one’s connection to the virtuous path. The Tibetan translation glosses the practice (rather than translating the original Sanskrit) as “reviving (virtue) and purifying (nonvirtue).” The vows include the traditional five “lay precepts,” plus the vows not to sit on high cushions or thrones, not to eat at inappropriate times, and not to engage in or listen to song or dance.
Indian sage or wise man (often a wandering ascetic or hermit).
Here also used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.
An epithet for the historical Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama: he was a muni (“sage”) from the Śākya clan. He is counted as the fourth of the first four buddhas of the present Good Eon, the other three being Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, and Kāśyapa. He will be followed by Maitreya, the next buddha in this eon.
An individual who, in his or her final life, attains realization by realizing the nature of dependent origination without relying upon a spiritual guide.
A nāga king; one of Ānanda’s past lives.
A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.
klu’i rgyal po rnga sgra’i tshigs su bcad pa. Toh 325, Degé Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 204.b–208.b.
klu’i rgyal po rnga sgra’i tshigs su bcad pa. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 72, 613–23.
klu’i rgyal po rnga sgra’i tshigs su bcad pa. Stok Palace Kangyur (stog pho brang bris ma bka’ ’gyur). Vol. 54 (mdo sde, ga), folios 351b-357a.
dkar chag ’phang thang ma / sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa. Pe cin: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
The Verses of Nāga King Drum contains the Buddha’s narration of a tale from one of his past lives as the nāga king Drum. While traveling with his younger brother Tambour, they come under verbal attack by another nāga named Drumbeat. Tambour’s anger at their mistreatment and desire for retaliation prompts Drum to counsel Tambour on the virtues of patience and nonviolence in the face of aggression and abusiveness. Through a series of didactic aphorisms, he advises his brother to meet disrespect and persecution with serenity, patience, compassion, and insight, in order to accomplish what is best for oneself and others. The Buddha now recounts King Drum’s wise counsel as a helpful instruction for his own followers.
Translated by Sonam Tsering Ngulphu and Norzin Dolma.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Verses of Nāga King Drum is a short sūtra composed entirely in verse, in which the Buddha recounts an episode from one of his former lives as a nāga king to illustrate and explain the importance of practicing patience and nonviolence in order to maintain harmony within the monastic community. The sūtra refers to a time when discord had broken out among the monastic saṅgha. This prompts the Buddha to outline the types of behavior 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 nāga king named Drum. The story recounts how King Drum, accompanied by his brother Tambour, set out in search of the Dharma, only to encounter the belligerent nāga Drumbeat, who proceeds to harass and verbally abuse the two brothers. Tambour is unable to withstand such ill treatment from someone he considers inferior and, in a burst of anger, makes plans to lay waste to Drumbeat’s city. However, King Drum intervenes with wise counsel as to why one should eschew violence at all costs and face belligerence with patience and wisdom. Tambour takes this message to heart, and his need for retaliation is assuaged. The Buddha concludes the sūtra by disclosing that in their past lives, he was King Drum, Ānanda was Tambour, and Devadatta was Drumbeat.
There are no known Sanskrit manuscripts or Chinese translations of this sūtra. As for the Tibetan translation, the text is found in Kangyur collections of different periods and is also recorded in the Denkarma and Phangthangma catalogs of Tibetan imperial translations. Thus, it appears that it was first translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan no later than the early ninth century, as the Denkarma is dated to 812
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
The Verses of Nāga King Drum contains the Buddha’s narration of a tale from one of his past lives as the nāga king Drum. While traveling with his younger brother Tambour, they come under verbal attack by another nāga named Drumbeat. Tambour’s anger at their mistreatment and desire for retaliation prompts Drum to counsel Tambour on the virtues of patience and nonviolence in the face of aggression and abusiveness. Through a series of didactic aphorisms, he advises his brother to meet disrespect and persecution with serenity, patience, compassion, and insight, in order to accomplish what is best for oneself and others. The Buddha now recounts King Drum’s wise counsel as a helpful instruction for his own followers.
Translated by Sonam Tsering Ngulphu and Norzin Dolma.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Verses of Nāga King Drum is a short sūtra composed entirely in verse, in which the Buddha recounts an episode from one of his former lives as a nāga king to illustrate and explain the importance of practicing patience and nonviolence in order to maintain harmony within the monastic community. The sūtra refers to a time when discord had broken out among the monastic saṅgha. This prompts the Buddha to outline the types of behavior 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 nāga king named Drum. The story recounts how King Drum, accompanied by his brother Tambour, set out in search of the Dharma, only to encounter the belligerent nāga Drumbeat, who proceeds to harass and verbally abuse the two brothers. Tambour is unable to withstand such ill treatment from someone he considers inferior and, in a burst of anger, makes plans to lay waste to Drumbeat’s city. However, King Drum intervenes with wise counsel as to why one should eschew violence at all costs and face belligerence with patience and wisdom. Tambour takes this message to heart, and his need for retaliation is assuaged. The Buddha concludes the sūtra by disclosing that in their past lives, he was King Drum, Ānanda was Tambour, and Devadatta was Drumbeat.
There are no known Sanskrit manuscripts or Chinese translations of this sūtra. As for the Tibetan translation, the text is found in Kangyur collections of different periods and is also recorded in the Denkarma and Phangthangma catalogs of Tibetan imperial translations. Thus, it appears that it was first translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan no later than the early ninth century, as the Denkarma is dated to 812
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!