A poem by the Mongolian scholar-poet Zava Damdin (b. 1976).

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PUT YOURSELF IN ANOTHER’S PLACE ¹I regret that I do not have a record of this doha’s original title. I have added the editorial title Put Yourself in Another’s Place, drawn from the poem’s repeated instruction to imagine oneself in the place of another.

(English Translation)

Always put yourself in another’s place and think
What if you were alone in another land?
What if no one understood your heart, wounded and aching within?
Even sugar and sweets would feel like cold, frozen ice, would they not?

Always imagine another in your place and think
What if there were no one with the heart to share and understand your deepest feelings?
What if no one understood the language you speak?
Even cream and milk would seem like water, would they not?

Put yourself in the place of someone who is ill and think
What if, when you were ill, there were no one to care for you?
If you are able to feel another’s illness
Your innermost heart will soften, and compassion will deepen

Imagine yourself in the place of one who has left this life and think
Then you will come to understand karma and impermanence more deeply
If you contemplate mortality rather than wandering around dazed, as though all were everlasting
Your attachment to the affairs of this troubled world would lessen

Imagine yourself in the place of a beggar and think
Who would enter into your life of despair and understand it from within?
Even if they took off their shoes and gave them to you, could they truly ease your sorrow?
Rather than a few begging coins, might a sincere, kindly conversation be of more help?

Try placing yourself on a ruler’s throne
Think and reflect for a moment on what this sovereign world rests upon
Even if holding the jade seal in your hand, you will realise you are a slave of slaves
Though surrounded by the multitudes, you will realise you too are an ordinary person, without rank or title

Always put yourself in another’s place and think
If you wish to come closer to what is true, this is where it begins
There is no use in talking on and on; genuine reflection is precious
If you truly seek bodhicitta, put others before yourself. ²Bodhicitta (Mongolian бодь сэтгэл) refers to the awakened heart directed towards wisdom and compassion for all beings. In this doha, it is expressed with striking simplicity: learning to place another where the self would usually stand. ³Translated by C.Pleteshner. English interpretation 8.12.2025 from the original Mongolian 28.06.2021. Translation is always an interpretation into another language and culture. Any errors in this regard are entirely my own, and for these I humbly apologise.

Zava Damdin Rinpoche
28.06.2021

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БУСДЫН ОРОНД ӨӨРИЙГӨӨ ТАВЬЖ БОД*

(Original Mongolian)

Бусдыг өөрийнхөө оронд ямагт тавьж бод
Бус газар та ганцаардан байвал яанам бэ
Буглаж бэтгэрсэн сэтгэлийг тань хэн ч ойлгохгүй бол яанам бэ
Бурам амттан өгсөн ч хүйтэн цэвдэг мөс шиг байх бус уу

Өөрийнхөө оронд өрөөлийг ямагт тавьж бод
Өр зүрхийг тань хуваалцаж ойлгох сэтгэлтэн үгүй бол яанам бэ
Өгүүлэх хэлийг тань хэн ч ойлгодоггүй бол яанам бэ
Өрөм сүүгээр дайлсан ч ус шиг байх бус уу

Өвдсөний оронд өөрийгөө тавьж бод
Өвдөх үед чинь асрах хүнгүй бол яанам бэ
Өрөөлийн өвчнийг мэдэрч чадваас
Өр зүрх чинь нимгэрч нинжин сэтгэл арвидах болмуй

Үхсэний оронд өөрийгөө тавьж бод
Үйлийн үр болон мөнх бусыг илүү ойлгодог болмуй
Үргэлжид мөнх юм шиг алмайрч явах үгүй үхлийг бясалгаваас
Үймцэх ертөнцийн явдалд шунал багасах болмуй

Гуйлгачны оронд өөрийгөө тавьж бод
Гутранг амьдралыг тань хэн дотор нь орж ойлгох вэ
Гутлаа тайлаад өгсөн ч гунигийг гүйцэд арилгаж чадах болов уу
Гуйлгын хэдэн зоосоор бус гудиггүй сайхан яриа тус болох болов уу

Хааны сэнтийд өөрийгөө тавиад үз
Хан орчлон юун дээр тогтон буйг нэг бодож тунгаа
Хасбуу тамга атгасан ч боолын боол гэдгээ ухаарах болмуй
Хамаг олноор огоот хүрээлсэн ч харц ард гэдгээ тэнд ухаарнам

Үргэлж бусдын оронд өөрийгөө тавьж бод
Үнэнд ойртохыг хүсвэл эхлэл нь тэнд байх шиг
Үглэж өгүүлээд хэрэггүй үнэмлэхүй бодол чухагтай шиг
Үнэхээр бодь сэтгэл хэрэгтэй бөгөөс өөрийнхөө оронд өрөөлийг тавь

Зава Дамдин Ринбүчи
28.06.2021

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NOTES

• 1
  I regret that I do not have a record of this doha’s original title. I have added the editorial title Put Yourself in Another’s Place, drawn from the poem’s repeated instruction to imagine oneself in the place of another.
• 2
  Bodhicitta (Mongolian бодь сэтгэл) refers to the awakened heart directed towards wisdom and compassion for all beings. In this doha, it is expressed with striking simplicity: learning to place another where the self would usually stand.
• 3
  Translated by C.Pleteshner. English interpretation 8.12.2025 from the original Mongolian 28.06.2021. Translation is always an interpretation into another language and culture. Any errors in this regard are entirely my own, and for these I humbly apologise.

End of transcript.

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© 2013-2026. CP in Mongolia. “Mongolian Poetry 61: Put Yourself in Another’s Place” is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. Posted: 31 July 2026. Last updated: 31 July 2026.