A luminous Mongolian poem (doha) by Zava Damdin (b. 1976).
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SOME
(English Translation)
Some beings, when they are born into this world,
come to bring about something of benefit*
Some come with nothing more than a smile,
to dispel ceaseless sorrow and great despair
Some come with no more than a single embrace,
to give another confidence and hope
Some come with a single glance,
leaving a message like a letter, then waiting a thousand years
Some come with just one beautiful, kind word of encouragement,
to support a young person with a sincere heart
Some, though they live only for a moment,
leave behind a blessing that was deeply needed
Some come as clear-hearted physicians,
to give their lives for the beings of Zambuutiv*
Some come as mines of luminous knowledge*,
to clarify and guide the way forward
Those beings called “some”
travel through boundless space*
They are not ruled by determining conditions*
nor do they crave or burn for their own karmic circumstance
And even if some utterly disparage them,
their nature does not change: after all, they are bod’ göröösön*
So let some of us revere them,
our hearts stirred like waves!
Zava Damdin Rinpoche
25.06.2021
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Translated by C.Pleteshner
English interpretation 8.06.2026 from the original Mongolian 25.06.2021
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ЗАРИМ НЭГЭН
(Original Mongolian)
Зарим төрөлхийтэн энэ дэлхийд төрөхдөө
Заавал нэг тустай зүйлийг бүтээхээр ирнэ
Зарим нь зүгээр нэг инээмсэглэлээрээ
Завсаргүй их гуниг гутралыг сарниулахаар ирнэ
Зарим бодгаль ганцхан тэврэлтээр л
Заавал хэн нэгэнд итгэл найдвар өгөхөөр ирнэ
Зарим нэг нь ганцхан удаагийн харцаар
Захидал мэт зурвас үлдээгээд мянган жил хүлээнэ
Зарим нэг нь ганц сайхан урмын үгээр л
Залуу чин зүрхтнийг тэтгэхээр ирнэ
Зарим нь хоромхон хугацаанд амьдарсан ч
Зайлшгүй их тусыг үлдээгээд буцна
Зарим нэг нь саруул сэтгэлт оточ болоод
Замбуутивийн хүнд амиа өгөхөөр ирнэ
Зарим нэг нь гэгээн их мэдлэгийн уурхай болоод
Зам мөрийг тодруулан замчлахаар ажирна
Зарим нэгэн хэмээсэн тэдгээр төрөлхийтэн
Зах хязгааргүй огторгуйд аялан явах тул
Захирагдах хүчин зүйлд үл хамаарагдмуй
Заяа төөрөгдөө ч үл шунан тэчияадмуй
Заримдагууд тэднийг огоот гутаавч
Зан авир үл хувирах бодь гөрөөсөн ажээ
Заримууд тэдгээрт зүрх долгисон биширье
Зава Дамдин ринбүчи
25.06.2021
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NOTES
For readers unfamiliar with Mongolian Buddhist cosmology, I have kept some of the wider resonance carried by the original poem rather than smoothing every term into ordinary English. For example, Zambuutiv (Замбуутив), Jambudvīpa, is not only “the world” in a general sense, but the human realm within Buddhist cosmology — the place of suffering, choice, relationship, karma, compassion, and the possibility of awakening.
This choice noticeably changes the texture of the translation. The doha becomes not only a praise of rare human kindness, but a glimpse of beings who come into human birth with purpose, bringing benefit, encouragement, care, and guidance within a much larger field of existence.
Working Definitions
The following working definitions are offered as a small terminology set for this translation and its notes. They are not intended as fixed definitions, but as a consistent vocabulary for reading this doha. This helps keep recurring ideas steady in English without closing down their fuller meanings. Fixed definitions can be too rigid for Zava Damdin’s dohas, where a single term may carry poetic, Buddhist, nomadic and everyday resonances at once. The explanations are practical rather than exhaustive, and remain open to broader linguistic, Buddhist, and literary interpretations.
Tus (тус), benefit, may be understood in Buddhist terms as help that lessens suffering. It is not simply kindness in a general sense, nor merely doing good as a social virtue. It points to whatever helps beings move away from confusion, fear, and harm, and toward clarity, steadiness, and compassion.
Zambuutiv (Замбуутив) is the Mongolian form of Jambudvīpa, the human world as understood in Buddhist cosmology. In plain terms, it is this human realm: the place where beings suffer, help one another, make choices, and have the possibility of awakening. In the doha, “the beings of Zambuutiv” refers to the beings of this human world, but with a wider spiritual sense than simply “people on earth.”
Gegeen ikh medlegiin uurkhai (гэгээн их мэдлэгийн уурхай), a mine of luminous knowledge, means a deep source of bright, clarifying wisdom. It does not simply describe someone who knows many things, but someone whose understanding helps others see more clearly.
Zakh khyazgaargüi ogtorguid ayalan yavakh (зах хязгааргүй огторгуйд аялан явах), to travel through boundless space, suggests a scale larger than ordinary human life. This need not mean outer space alone. It may point to a vast spiritual field in which such beings are not limited by one lifetime, one place, or one narrow human story.
zakhiragdakh khüchin züild ül khamaaraгdmui (захирагдах хүчин зүйлд үл хамаарагдмуй), not ruled by determining conditions, means not being fully governed by the pressures that usually shape human life: habit, fear, praise, blame, social pressure, or circumstance. In plain English, it suggests an unusual inner freedom.
bod’ göröösön (бодь гөрөөсөн), literally “bodhi-deer,” describes a gentle being marked by awakening. Bod’ carries the sense of bodhi, awakening or awakened understanding, while göröösön means deer. The image suggests a deer-like awakened being: gentle, harmless, alert, and inwardly steady, whose nature does not change even when others speak against them. In Buddhist tradition, the deer is a symbol of gentleness and receptivity to the Dharma, recalling the Deer Park where the Buddha first taught after his awakening.
And finally, I have described this doha as luminous because its central figures, through small acts of kindness, bring clarity, encouragement, guidance, and benefit into the lives of others. I cannot help but wonder how many such people have quietly touched our lives.
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Translation of Buddhist poetry (doha) is always an interpretation into another culture. Any errors in this regard are entirely my own, and for these I humbly apologise.
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FURTHER READING
Letter from Mongolia 18: a deliberately interdisciplinary practice
For those of you who wish to explore this background further, the following essay offers a useful discussion of Mongolian cosmological understandings of place, human life, and unseen relations. Although it does not discuss this doha directly, it helps frame “SOME” as a poem in which human beings, benefit, place, and conditioned circumstances belong to a wider field of existence.
Sneath, David, and Elizabeth Turk. “Knowing the Lords of the Land: Cosmopolitical Dynamics and Historical Change in Mongolia.” In Cosmopolitical Ecologies Across Asia: Places and Practices of Power in Changing Environments, edited by Riamsara Kuyakanon, Hildegard Diemberger, and David Sneath. London: Routledge, 2021.
End of transcript.
Please refer to the INDEX for other poems and articles that may be of interest.
© 2013-2026. CP in Mongolia. “Mongolian Poetry 53: Some” is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. Posted: 20 June 2026. Last updated: 20 June 2026.