Wise Words

Old words from ancient times

Tell us

You couldn’t see your own faults,

The faults of others,

No matter how small they were,

They were as big as a mountain.

In the forest full of wild beasts

You implored others to join you,

Had sugar and honey

You hid in your home and ate alone.

You kept wanting,

Wanting this, wanting that without forethought,

It’s all about you

Never a second thought of others.

You ate just to eat

But too lazy to chew properly,

You thought a fishing rod for a fishing net

You took a hook for a bait.

You assumed grandpas for grandmas

You mistook a son for a nephew,

You misread two for one

You misunderstood restlessness for contentment.

You assumed vice for virtue

You thought compassion for apathy,

You mistook goodness for wickedness

You assumed excrement for flower.

You donned the monk’s robe

But declined to shave your head,

You looked into a mirror with your eyes closed,

You thought a horse for a donkey

You assumed a lion for a mouse.

Stanzas 1-7 of Chbab Peak Chasa (Moral Codes of Conduct: Old Words)

Composed in Brahmagiti metre (Brahma’s song metre)

Author unknown (Early 16th century)

Here’s my attempt at reciting these short stanzas