“Slaying an arhat or one’s parents, Creating discord in a harmonious saṅgha, Or, with malicious intent, Drawing blood from a tathāgata—

“These heinous acts the Victor called The five deeds with immediate consequences. Deluded people who commit just one of them Will not reach attainment in their present aggregates.

“Destroying a caitya, slaying a bodhisattva, Violating a woman who has exhausted her afflictions, Killing a novice student, or coveting and then stealing Something owned by the saṅgha, however great or small—

“These the Tathāgata called the five secondary deeds with immediate consequences. A person with corrupt discipline who commits them Will experience an eon of suffering in Avīci Hell, And though they strive for mantra siddhis, will not attain them.

“Those who commit evil in the human realm By mistreating, consigning to flames, Or with ill intent throwing into water The volumes of the Tathagata’s words, By forsaking the body of teachings, By killing a monk or nun adorned With the full code of training, By killing a holder of lay vows, male or female, Or by burning a temple with ill intent Will never reach attainment, no matter their austere practice.

“Those who intend harm to the Three Jewels, And then commit even a small amount of harm, Will be cooked in the hells due to their evil nature. Passing on from there, the force of their actions Will lead to rebirth as a human of low caste or an animal— all this I have explained to you in brief.

“If someone who has adopted bodhicitta, in delusion worships the host of worldly gods, They will find no joy in it, And weaken their mantra siddhis.

“When, in the realm of humans, Those of lucid mind adopt bodhicitta, It is they, thenceforth, who are worthy of worship By devas, asuras, and all the world.

“A person who adopts all exalted precepts in full, And who grants fearlessness to all beings, Is a representative of the lineage of the Three Jewels.

“Mantrins should not perform heinous acts, kill a sage, Disrupt or cause harm to a vidyā mantra, Fail to venerate the mantra assembly out of ill intent, Pointlessly pick at grass with their nails, Rub their legs together, Pierce the noses of cattle herds and the like, Fail to respect the noble saṅgha, Or eat gifts to the bhūtas, oblations to the gods, Or food that has a fallen on the ground. They should not, when overcome with desire, Approach animals or prohibited women. They should not tame elephants or handle snakes, Nor whip the flanks of the horse they ride. Those who perform such actions Will never receive the siddhis.

“Mantrins should always cultivate affection For beings who suffer or are beset with disease.

“Just as the extent of the boundless sky Cannot be measured in arm spans, So it is impossible to gauge the extent of virtue and evil Of the benefit and harm done by those supported by the Three Jewels.

“If they use nets, traps, or snares To kill beings such as dogs and the like, Or if they trap crows and other birds in cages, They will not reach accomplishment in this life or the next.

“They should neither trample on, nor adorn their heads with, The old, discarded flowers of Māra’s Foe, Nor should they eat the food offered to them, Even when they are beset with hunger.

“Not even in fear should they pay homage to Brahmā, Śakra, Viṣṇu, Rudra, Vāyu, and the rest. They should not follow the teachings they propound, Practice their austerities, or worship their symbols. They should not harbor animosity to their doctrines, But should never delight in their practice either. They should never praise them or recite their mantras.

“When giving a gift they should give with compassion.

They should venerate places visited by the Sugata, And pay homage to the heirs of the Victor. Pratyekabuddhas and the Victor’s own śrāvakas Should be the object of their constant veneration.

“Just as people who venerate a phase of the moon Do not venerate the moon in all its fullness, So those who faithfully venerate the Victor’s heirs Are not venerating the Sugata himself.

“One who holds the most exalted of all the world’s precepts Is the very embodiment of compassion, taking birth for beings’ sake. Why would we not venerate them all, They who are as if an only child?

“A wicked person who does not bow before An astonishing person, rich in miraculous power, Will be distrusted by the victors, And will not be granted their mantra siddhis.

“Just as a tree’s flower will at first beguile, And only later transform into fruit, Know sublime beings to be like flowers, And the victors to be their fruit.

“Homage to those who uphold the awakened way, Who are naturally free of attachment, Yet show compassion to the kind, Anger to the angry, and desire to the desirous.

“Homage to the guides of mantra, Who with knowledge of actions and results Assume the form of mantras That are most suited to every being.”