Returning to the study of Mongolian poetry, here is a seriously weighty doha by Zava Damdin Rinpoche (b. 1976), whose unflinching and clear-eyed account of thought, action, and consequence, grounded in both Buddhist and humanitarian perspectives, invites us to reflect on how each of us might live with care for ourselves and others at a time when the fragile harmony of our world is under such strain.
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THERE WILL BE GREAT SUFFERING, TAKE HEED!
If, having grown deluded, one forgets the kindness of one’s mother and father, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one heedlessly casts aside the injunctions of one’s parents and forebears, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one tramples underfoot the noble Dharma and the deeper order of human relations, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one has grown wealthy by splitting open and digging out the breast of Mother Etügen, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If the bond between teacher and student is broken, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one breaks trust and, betraying one’s mentors, turns renegade and bolts, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one disparages others and elevates oneself, there will be great suffering in one’s downfall, take heed!
If one mocks and belittles the Victorious Realm beginning with the Buddha, there will be great suffering, take heed!
To the degree that one has devoured the wealth of the State, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one has grossly embezzled the taxes gathered up from below, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one has shamelessly wavered and shifted, being fed by others through dependency, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one relentlessly pursues only one’s own self-interest, there will be grievous great suffering, take heed!
If one has stolen the precious things of others without shame, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If in darkness and ignorance one has vindictively harmed others, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one persists in affliction, shamelessly consumed by greed, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If through gross and disgraceful conduct one has slandered and falsely accused others, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one has schemed in factions and cast knives behind the backs of one’s companions, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one has looked askance at the poor and lowly and heedlessly cast them aside, when the time comes there will be great suffering, take heed!
If, amid all the tiny intersections of this vast and unstable world, one grows arrogant, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one sits in a high seat without ever understanding what benefits others, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one neither examines nor guards against the causes and conditions of suffering, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one does not strive to recognise the karmic fruit of one’s own deeds and those of others, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one lets this human birth, obtained by rare good fortune, pass by in vain, there will be great suffering, take heed!
If one does not discern a way out of the ceaselessly turning wheel of saṃsāra, there will be great suffering, take heed!
Zava Damdin Rinpoche
21.10.2025
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In the above translation, I have chosen a gentler diction, as the force and authority of Zava Damdin Rinpoche’s original do not come naturally to my own voice. If there are errors of judgement on this account, they are entirely my own, and for these I humbly apologise.
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ИХ ЗОВНО ЗА!
Эх эцгийн ачийг умартан мунхарсан аваас их зовно за!
Эцэг өвгөдийн захиасыг ялдар хаясан аваас их зовно за!
Эрхэм ном, ертөнцийн ёсыг уландаа гишгэсэн бөгөөс их зовно за!
Этүгэн эхийн элгийг цөмлөж ухаж хөрөнгөжсөн бөгөөс их зовно за!
Багш, шавийн барилдлага алдагдсан аваас их зовно за!
Батыг эвдэж дээдсээс урваж шарвасан аваас их зовно за!
Бусдыг ялгаварлан өөрсдийг өргөмжилсөн бөгөөс уналаар их зовно за!
Бурхан тэргүүтэй ялангуйт орныг басамжлан шоглосон аваас их зовно за!
Улсын хөрөнгийг хэдий чинээ идсэн бол их зовно за!
Ул дороос инү хураасан татварыг ихэд гударсан бөгөөс их зовно за!
Увайгүй холбирон хөрвөж бусдаар дамжин тэжээгдсэн бол их зовно за!
Уйга үгүй амин хувиа хичээсэн бол уршигтай их зовно за!
Бусдын эрдэнийг ичгүүр үгүй хулгасан аваас их зовно за!
Бурангуй мунхгаар өрөөлийг өшлөн хорлосон аваас их зовно за!
Буртагт ичгүүр үгүй бээр ихэд шунаж явсан аваас их зовно за!
Булай их бүдүүлэг явдлаар бусдыг гутаан гүжирдсэн аваас их зовно за!
Нам сүлбээлж нөхдийнхөө араас мэс талбисан аваас их зовно за!
Нармай дордсыг нүд үзүүрлэн ялдар хаясан аваас цаг нь болохоор их зовно за!
Найр үгүй их орчлонгийн хамаг өчүүхэн огтлолцол дор омогдвоос их зовно за!
Насад бусдын тусыг ойлгож чадал үгүй өндөр суудал дор суусан аваас их зовно за!
Зовлонгийн шалтгаан нөхцлийг үл судлан, үл сэрэмжилвээс их зовно за!
Зон олны болон өөрийн үйлийн үрийг танин хичээх үгүй бол их зовно за!
Золоор олдсон хүмүүний төрлийг утга учиргүй өнгөрүүлбээс их зовно за!
Зогсолт үгүй эргэх орчлонгийн хүрднээс гарах ерөндгийг олох үгүй бол их зовно за!
Зава Дамдин Ринбүчи
21.10.2025
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TRANSLATOR’S NOTES
1. “их зовно за!” I have rendered the emphatic refrain as “there will be great suffering, take heed!” to preserve, in contemporary English, something of the Rinpoche’s forceful urgency and moral directness.•их зовно = “will suffer greatly / there will be great suffering” •за is not literally “okay” here; it functions as emphatic admonition: a forceful warning akin to take heed, mark this, or let this be clearly understood. •“take heed!” is slightly interpretive, but it stays close to the original warning force while remaining clear in English.
2. “ач” in “эх эцгийн ач” Here ач means kindness, beneficence, grace, what one owes to parental care, not merely “favour.”
3. “эцэг өвгөдийн захиас” Rendered as “the injunctions of one’s parents and forebears.”This carries both immediate family guidance and ancestral counsel, while keeping the line gender-inclusive in English.
4. “эрхэм ном” Translated as “the noble Dharma.” In this Buddhist register, ном is not simply “book” or “teaching” in a secular sense.
5. “ертөнцийн ёс” Rendered as “the deeper order of human relations.” This includes worldly ethics, proper conduct, and the right way of living among others.
6. “Этүгэн эх” I leave this as Mother Etügen, a culturally specific figure tied to earth / land / the maternal ground. The line strongly suggests exploitative extraction from the earth.
7. “багш, шавийн барилдлага”Translated as “the bond between teacher and student.”барилдлага is more than a casual relation; it implies a binding connection, spiritual linkage, or structured tie.
8. “батыг эвдэж” I translated “батыг эвдэж” as “breaks trust” to convey not just the sense of breaking something firm or binding, but of violating trust, loyalty, or an ethical-relations bond.
9. “ялангуйт орон” Rendered as “the Victorious Realm.” This is a Buddhist expression. Depending on context, it can gesture toward the enlightened domain, Buddha-realm, or exalted sacred sphere.
10. “улсын хөрөнгө” / “татвар” These lines are explicitly social and political: state wealth, tax revenue, embezzlement.
11. “увайгүй холбирон хөрвөж” Rendered as “shamelessly wavered and shifted.” This has the sense of opportunistic flip-flopping, instability of allegiance, or morally unsteady self-repositioning.
12. “бурангуй мунхгаар” I kept the doubleness in “in darkness and ignorance.” The phrase intensifies moral and mental blindness.
13. “буртаг” Rendered as “defilement.” It can also suggest filth, stain, moral pollution, or corruption.
14. “нам сүлбээлж” This is difficult. I take it as scheming in factions / partisan knotting. It conveys a sense of covert alignment, clique-building, or factional entanglement.
15. “мэс талбих” I translated idiomatically as “cast knives behind the backs” of companions. This clearly implies betrayal.
16. “нармай дордос” I render this as “the poor and lowly.” The phrase points to people regarded as socially inferior, downtrodden, or abject.
17. “нүд үзүүрлэх” Translated as “looked askance at.” This means to disdain, slight, or treat with contempt.
18. “үйлийн үр” Rendered as “the karmic fruit of deeds.” This is standard Buddhist causality, not mere consequence in a secular sense.
19. “хүмүүний төрөл” Translated as “human birth.” This is a specifically Buddhist moral-spiritual phrase: the precious opportunity of being born human.
20. “эргэх орчлонгийн хүрд” Rendered as “the wheel of saṃsāra.” I use saṃsāra because the original is unmistakably Buddhist in register and refers to cyclic existence.
Refer to the INDEX for other articles that may be of interest.
End of transcript.
© 2013-2026. CP in Mongolia. “Mongolian Poetry 36: There Will Be Great Suffering, Take Heed!” is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. ScholarGPT provided an additional channel for research. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. Posted: 4 April 2026. Last updated: 4 April 2026.