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and placed Goṭhābhaya in the position of commander-in-chief. 42. He gave gifts, observed constant virtue, Endured patiently, cultivated diligence; With a mind set on the welfare of the people, of gentle form, That righteous one shone, free from conflict. 43. Knowing the nature of the world, His chief course of action followed the path of effort, Wishing to establish Dhamma among beings, He himself was devoted to the choice of Dhamma. Thus ends the fourth chapter, on the Royal Consecration. 44. That king, in the great monastery, had a magnificent, very large alms-hall built, and established a perpetual alms-meal for many thousands of monks. And for his maternal uncle, the great elder, he had a great monastic residence built bearing his own name, and together with many requisites, he gave villages and fields with their surrounding lands, suitable for the Sangha's use. Seven times each night, in solitude, reflecting on the Great Bodhisatta's difficult practices, he aspired to accomplish such a miracle in himself. Thus: 45. "Give!" with words like whetstones, Not able to say, "I have not, I do not give"; In the heart, great compassion having found space, Like a distant village, his desire went. When will such a great festival of giving away external things be mine, like that of our Bodhisatta? 46. Being brought near by the sharp fall of a sword, And repeatedly dragged away by the joy of giving; Thus, again and again, weary with the speed of going and coming, Suffering did not, indeed, oppress his heart. Thus, truly, suffering and pain did not disturb the mind of that Great Being at the time of giving away internal things like flesh and blood. When will such a great and auspicious occasion of internal giving be mine? 47. That Saṃkhapāla snake-king, even in the power of poison, Not wavering for fear of breaking his virtue; Willingly, for the sake of compassion for his own body, To go of his own accord, alas, pitiable. When shall I find such glory of giving in protecting virtue? 48. A child drinks milk, even nectar, Grown up, he loathes it; Having once experienced kingship thus, In the ripening of knowledge, he constantly abandons it. Thus, I too must soon, without fail, renounce. 49. That Senaka knew the snake in the basket of the ascetic brahmin, Wonderful, with a mind defiled by malice; What need is there to praise him, truly, free from malice, For his omniscience, achieved through the ten perfections? When will such an attainment of auspicious knowledge be accomplished for me? 50. Even with a hair, one might try to bail out The water of the ocean with a small pot; That would not be great in wisdom due to foolishness, But capable of accomplishing what is desired. When shall I be a vessel for such a perfection of effort? 51. Though the king Kalābu, a speaker of patience, Inflicted death, yet was not satisfied; When struck on the chest with a foot, in the purification of patience, He understood the taking of a false oath. When shall I adorn myself with such a perfection of patience? 52. False They could not bear his power, Even the sandals of him called Rāma; The wise one spoke no other than the truth, He was truth-bound, a speaker of the four truths. When will I too, by the power of such perfection of truth, be able to awaken the entire world to the four truths? 53. He was known as the mute bird to the glorious Bheeruka, Having undertaken the vow of silence and so forth; Though he endured such unbearable suffering, He did not break his resolve until he departed. When will my perfection of resolution be fulfilled in this way? 54. With the power of loving-kindness, his hair stood on end, Causing affection with love; Even to all beings who were constant enemies, The wise one spoke words of opposite meaning. When will I reach the peak of such perfection of loving-kindness? 55. He was known as the sole king for his equanimity, Like a scale, not making distinctions of honor or dishonor; Without indulging in joy or anger, he cultivated equanimity, Everywhere with a mind devoid of delight or aversion. When will I become universally accessible through the perfection of equanimity? Thus he constantly pondered. Thus ends the fifth chapter, the aspiration for perfections. 56. While he was thus ruling with flawless righteousness, once, due to the evil consequences of some beings' unwholesome deeds— With a belly like a pot, a body bent with the burden, crooked knees, A dreadful body like a cloud-covered mountain, With crooked, hard fangs, biting with the tips of his jaws, A demon appeared, like a sun on the ninth day. 57. He sits at the outskirts of those villages, and whichever people come and look at his red eyes, their eyes become red. At that very moment, a deadly disease called the red-eyed killer arises and kills them. 58. That demon eats those who are dead and abandoned. Even those who are sick and see that demon without giving him anything, that disease also enters them. Thus, the countryside became sparsely populated due to the fear of the new demon and the disease. 59. The king, hearing of that event, thought, "While I am ruling, such a fear for the people..." Thinking it not fitting to arise, having partaken of the eight precepts that very day, recollecting the ten meritorious deeds constantly done by himself, and commanding that ogre, "I shall be victorious in Dhamma," he lay down in his chamber, firmly resolving not to rise. By the power of his virtuous conduct and royal majesty, that ogre, tormented and terrified, unable to stand even for a moment, went through the air, and unable to enter the inner chamber at the time of the strong dawn, stood outside and showed himself to the king. And asked by the king, "Who are you?" he said, "I am a demon named Rattakkha, dwelling in a remote region, unable to stand even for a moment, bound as if by your power, I have come here. I fear seeing you, O king." 60. Then the king, rising from his bed, opening the lion-window, looked out and said, "Hey, wretch! Why do you eat humans in my domain?" "Great king, I have not killed and eaten even one in your domain, but I eat corpses that are common food for jackals and the like, I have no offense, if there is, let royal punishment be inflicted on me," he said, trembling, unable to stand still, with hair standing on end from the force of fear, he spoke imploringly, "The king's realm is prosperous, full of wealth and grain, the king's treasury is full with showers of wealth, chariots and men, now even beggars are not many, having come to such a realm, without obtaining food, with unfulfilled desires, like one who is thirsty, I live in a wretched state, thus, having come to such fear, grant me refuge, great king." 61. Then the king, hearing his wretched words, his heart trembled with compassion, "Fear not, ogre! I give you refuge, whatever you desire," he said. Thus, hearing the sound of the king and the ogre conversing with each other, the attendants who had entered surrounded the king, then the conversation... The ogre, hearing that the king was "coming, conversing with," all the ministers, citizens, and the army gathered, filling the royal courtyard and palace, and as the sun rose, they made a great uproar. 62. Then, Sorakkha, seeing the assembled fourfold army and the many thousands of soldiers with weapons in hand, was exceedingly frightened and could neither stand, nor go by the king's command, nor say anything. The king, seeing him in that state, said, "Having received safety, speak what you desire." Knowing that the righteous king would not cause me any fear, he spoke to the king himself, "Your Majesty knows indeed that all beings exist by food. Thus, the gods dwelling in the upper world live satisfied by divine nectar. The nāgas dwelling in the lower world live content by eating frogs. Humans live satisfied by various kinds of food, such as sweets. But do ogres and demons like us delight in the taste of flesh and blood? Among them, I am one. Though hungry and thirsty, even seeing such a compassionate great man, I am unfortunate, with incomplete desires, and I grieve." 63. Then he said, "I live by eating corpses. Truly, Your Majesty! A dead body is tasteless like a dry leaf. Why would I be pleased by such a wretched existence, Your Majesty? Grant me a boon: let one district with new inhabitants be given to me for pasture. There, by eating the undiminished vitality, blood, and living flesh of humans, I can live long and happily." Then the king said, "Ah, wicked ogre! I will not permit the taking of life. Abandon this craving of yours." "Then give me one human sacrifice each day." When told, "I will not give even one living sacrifice," he stood, his eyes filled with despair, gloomy, dejected, and unresponsive, thinking, "Truly, even wish-fulfilling trees grow sparingly for those like me. Alas, I am ruined! What shall I do?" 64. Then, that lord of men, A compassion arose, and with the cessation of his thought, it greatly disturbed him. Then the king pondered thus: 65. "I do not recall ever seeing the faces, Of those who came to beg, their splendor gone, By disappointment and sorrow stricken; Like lotuses withered by winter's cold blast." 66. "It is never possible for this ogre to cause suffering to others, and I desire to give an internal gift. This is the right time. I alone am the master of my own body. I will satisfy him with my flesh and blood." Having made this determination, he addressed his ministers and said: 67. "This body, stained and beloved, I maintain for the good of the world; If it now serves as a gift, What else is dearer to me?" The ministers said, "Is this the path of righteousness for the king, who wishes to make the whole world helpless for the sake of one ogre?" Then the king said: 68. "Constant is the enjoyment of wealth, But I cannot see a beggar; Such an opportunity to gain merit exists,