“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 mind.
I left the road with my folk,
giving it to the wicked one.
As soon as I left the path,
and I had quelled my mind,
the earth opened up
for that wicked spirit.”