An Old Tibetan Proverb Collection
The Sum pa Mother's Sayings (sum pa ma shags chen po) is a collection of Old Tibetan proverbs attributed to the Sum pa people, an ethnic group of the northeast Tibetan plateau in the region of modern Qinghai. The text survives on a single scroll — IOL Tib J 730 — recovered from the sealed cave library at Dunhuang, where it lay from the early eleventh century until its rediscovery in 1900. The manuscript dates to the Tibetan Empire period, roughly the eighth or ninth century CE.
The Sum pa Mother speaks to her children — and through them, to her people — about the things that matter: wise sons and foolish ones, the duties of leaders, the nature of the shameless, the warmth of good companions, and the deep resemblances between human life and the natural world. Her proverbs range from the domestic ("If a wise mother has a wise son, it is like setting turquoise upon gold") to the political ("By the complacency of rulers, the realm is destroyed") to the quietly sublime ("A small spring is the essence of the ocean").
The text is addressed here as Bon not because it contains explicit Bon ritual content, but because it belongs to the same pre-Buddhist Tibetan cultural world preserved in the Dunhuang manuscripts — the world of the funeral rites, the legal codes, the healing competitions, and the horse pedigrees. It references the gods (lha), the hungry ghosts (yi dags), and the Dharma-friend (dva bshes), suggesting a cultural milieu where Buddhist and indigenous Tibetan concepts coexisted. This is the first freely available English translation.
The opening of the manuscript is damaged. Five lines survive in fragments too broken to translate with confidence: scattered words — "kinds," "the lord's mind," "at the gate of reckoning a goose was seen," "the opponent's mind" — suggest that several proverbs are lost.
The envious person blazes like the fire of hatred.
Guard the principles of law. Its aim does not err.
What is straightforwardly good: brothers, at the time of ability. One who is always at fault does not even make enemies among the Mu Su.
Keep it in mind! If you take up the teachings and decrees in practice, they are the support of the righteous person's life, falling from above. And when these fall from above, the wise continue the reckoning from the beginning.
When a wise son is born, he is seen by the eye of splendor. If a wise wife is taken, the prize has fallen into your hand.
When a bad son is born, the support of the realm is destroyed — he is the margin of the country. When a bad sister is born, the father's ancestral bone-lineage is sold.
If a son is wiser than his father, it is like fire escaping onto the meadow. If a son is worse than his father, it is like being swept away by vermillion water.
If a beloved relative is abandoned in love, it is like abandoning a horse on the battlefield. If a wise uncle is abandoned, it is like rain falling with no felt to absorb it.
For the shameless and wicked, there is no near or far. For the hungry wolf, there is no distinction of herds.
The work of the bitter person is left until tomorrow and the day after. A bad woman's legacy amounts to nothing but quarreling and weeping.
If a wise mother has a wise son, it is like setting turquoise upon gold. If a bad mother has a bad son, it is like heaping dung in a crumbling house.
The wealthy person is ruined by the powerful who worship riches. The wise person is destroyed by the envious.
In trade, a good heart is best. In wealth, great standing. A hero's full measure: he does not fear death. The quick memory of the wise — knowledge does not let it slip.
If the gentle wise are made to serve by force, it is like a father's counter-blow. If the violent wicked terrorize, even the great benefactor becomes an enemy.
When one with devotion to work does the work, even the sky above you is like lightning on the fields.
Killing the innocent — even the most malevolent spirit would feel compassion. Slaughtering sheep without the gods' acceptance becomes a stain.
One without a Dharma-friend is pitiful even to the enemy of the Mu Su. For the wretched sick who have children to care for, even the hungry ghosts feel compassion.
When rain falls drop by drop, even a dry rock cave becomes moist. When the mind is cultivated by inner purification, even a nine-storied tower holds no fear.
A sharp weapon drawn from its sheath grows dull.
An unfamiliar person, even if noble, seems an enemy. In an unfamiliar land, even day is like night.
The skylark of the pastures rejoices at dawn. The owl longs for dusk.
When wise ancestors have a bad grandson, he is hard stone at the edge of the row. A horse left behind from the rear becomes a straggler at the edge of the herd. The dull-minded wicked do not contemplate the sharp-minded wise.
Winter's snow does not fill the mountain. By the complacency of leaders, the herds scatter. By the complacency of rulers, the realm is destroyed.
The mind of the wicked is roused by beer. The ram's horns grow longer by their own butting.
A wife who does not accept guidance is like a mouse. Brothers whose realm is not united are enemies to the Mu Su.
If the wise do not lead, the wicked will not open the gate. If the swift do not lead, the wild yak's path will not be cut.
Even a stern lord does not learn from examples. Even ten swift horses are driven by the whip.
Before a calf learns to walk, it is already under the corral of the swift. Before a bird learns to fly, it is already at the hawk's perch.
Sand and stone are used and worn smooth. The nine generations of humankind are spent and made new.
The two parents cannot be found by searching. Fire and water are unfit to be without.
A caterpillar without a joint is useless for work. Wet hide takes long to stretch straight.
When kinship bonds grow thin — to the lake. When flesh grows thin — one dies.
A single tree standing on the plain stands at the edge of no forest. A small spring is the essence of the ocean.
When the butcher's knife is sharp, even each cut is sweet. A lifelong companion at meals — even each word brings a smile.
If one is untamed, tame them with words and gentle waves. If that does not tame them, tame them with a father's force.
A good woman cuts short the downward lineage of birth.
Even good pasture grass is trampled by foot in summer.
If harsh words are laid upon the handle of the realm — when speech causes harm, it is the gate of the demon.
When the knife is sharp on the strop, the burden of the traveler is great.
Therefore, what the wise mother teaches with love — hold it fast, bound to the meaning of the realm!
The Great Sayings of the Sum pa Mother are complete.
Colophon
The Sum pa Mother's Sayings (sum pa ma shags chen po) is a collection of Old Tibetan proverbs preserved on IOL Tib J 730, a manuscript scroll from the sealed cave library at Dunhuang (Cave 17, Mogao Grottoes, Gansu, China). The scroll was recovered by Aurel Stein in 1907 and is held by the British Library. The manuscript dates to the Tibetan Empire period (c. 8th–9th century CE). The Sum pa (sum pa) were an ethnic group of the northeast Tibetan plateau, in the region of modern Qinghai.
The recto contains the 49-line proverb collection in Old Tibetan. The verso contains a Chinese Buddhist text unrelated to the proverbs. The beginning of the scroll is missing; lines 1–5 survive only in fragments.
Translated from Old Tibetan by Tanken (探検), Expeditionary Tulku of the New Tianmu Anglican Church, April 2026. This is a Good Works Translation — the English is independently derived from the Old Tibetan source text as transcribed by the Old Tibetan Documents Online (OTDO) project, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. No reference translation was consulted. F.W. Thomas published a study of this text in Ancient Folk-Literature from North-Eastern Tibet (1957), which the translator has not read.
First freely available English translation.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: སུམ་པ་མ་ཤགས་ཆེན་པོ
Old Tibetan source text from IOL Tib J 730 (recto), as transcribed by the Old Tibetan Documents Online (OTDO) project, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
(1) [---] [rnam (/snam)] pa [---]
(2) [---] [ni (/mi)] / / rje blo [---]
(3) [---] / [gza'?] [---]
(4) [---] [dag?] kyi sgo rIs la ni / / ngang mthung / / [---]
(5) [---] stan gyis nI / pha rol po'i [sems?] [---]
(6) [---] pa phyir zhIng mang la / / phrag dog pa'i myi ni zhe sdang mye ltar 'bar
(7) [---] snyags na / bka' khrims gI gzhung srungs la / / byams sdang
(8) [---] gi dmyIgs ma nor ba zhes bya 'o / / thad gar legs pa ni / phu nu
(9) [---] [nus (/dus)] la / / rtag du nyes pa ni / mu su la dgra yang myI byed do / / legs nyes
(10) [---] yang / yId rtsis shIg / / bka' lung nyam [su?] blang na / drang [dngan?] srog gyi rten la / / thog du bab
(11) par byas na ni rtsIs 'go 'dzangs gyis mthud ma'o / / bu tsa 'dzangs pa skyes pa ni / dpal dmyIg gyis
(12) [---] mthong ngo / / chung ma 'dzangs ma ba blangs na ni / khar rje lag du thob zhes bgyI 'o / / bu tsa ngan pa
(13) skyes pa ni / srId gyi gzungs rlag 'o / yul gyI mtha' khor 'o / / bu sring ngan pa skyes pa nI / /
(14) pha mying gyI rus btsong ngo / / pha bas bu 'dzangs na ni / spang la mye thar ba bzhin la / / pha bas bu ngan na nI mtshal
(15) chus ded pa dang 'dra'o / / gnyen sdug byams pas por na / g.yul ngor rtas bor ba dang 'dra 'o / / pha khu 'dzangs pas
(16) bor na ni / char pa 'bab nas phyIng ba myed pa dang 'dra'o / / khrel myed ngan pa la ni / nye rIng myed la / / khyi spyang ltogs
(17) pa la ni tshos rjen myed do / / myi ngar pa'I las ni / da bya sang bya la lus la / / mo ngan gi sris nI / kha btog rngu btog
(18) la zad do / / ma 'dzangs bu 'dzangs na ni / gser la g.yu spra la / / ma ngan bu ngan na ni / khang rul du lud spung pa
(19) dang 'dra 'o / / myi phyug po la nI / / dbang po nor dad can gis phung la / / myI 'dzangs ba la nI /
(20) ngan pa phrag dog can gyis rlag 'o / / zong du ni sems bzang ngo / / nor du ni srId che 'o / / dpa' bo'i chu
(21) gang ni / shI gyis myI 'jigs la / / 'dzangs pa'i dran myur nI / shes pas myi brel lo / / 'dzangs 'jam chI
(22) gyis bkol na ni / pha gol dang tshungs la / / ngan gtum bskrogs na ni / byams drIn cen yang dgrar
(23) gyur ro / / las dad can gyis las byas na nI / dgung khyod kyang zhing glog ma dang 'dra 'o / /
(24) ma nyes par bsad pa ni / sprul gdug pa yang snyIng rje 'o / / lhas ma bzhes par lug bshas
(25) pa ni / dmer 'gyur ro / / dva bshes myed ni / mu su 'i dgra la yang sdug la / / byur ngan nad bu can la ni /
(26) / yi dags kyang snyIng rje 'o / / char char bab rdzis btab na nI / brag khung skam po yang rlan la / / nang byan gyIs
(27) blo byas na nI / / khang pa dgu rIm yang myI brtsa 'o / / mtshon rnon po ni shubs nas phyung na nI rtul
(28) lo / / myi ma 'drIs na ni / / rgod kyang dgra 'i tshul lo / / yul ma 'drIs na / nyin yang mtshan dang tshungs
(29) so / / 'brog lcog spu gu ni / nam nangs su dga' la / / srIn bya 'ug pa ni / mun sos su smon 'o / / pha myes
(30) 'dzangs pa la nI / bu tsha' ngan pa skyes pa nI / / gral gyI mtha' nas sra la / / 'og rta rjes
(31) bor na nI / / bres kyI mtha' 'khor 'o / / ngan blo rtul gyis / / 'dzangs rnon po la myI bsgam 'o
(32) dgun kha bas nI / / ri myI gang la / / gtsos ru snyom gyis ni / / khyu phung la / / myI bdag snyom gyis
(33) [srid?] rlag go / / myi ngan pa'I sems nI / / chang gyis bskyed la / / ra pho'I rva ni / rlag pas bsrings
(34) so / / sna myi blan pa'I chung ma ni / byi mo dang 'dra la / / srid ma 'dus pa'i phu nu nI / mu su 'i dgra ['o (/'e)]
(35) / 'dzangs gyis sna ma drangs na nI / / ngan pa sgo myi 'byed la / / mgyogs gyis sna ma drangs na
(36) ni / / rgod gyI gong myi gcod do / / rje sgam po yang dpe myi las len no / / mgyogs bcu ru yang
(37) bsbul ma lcag gyIs bgyi 'o / / lge'u 'drIm snga yang / / mgyogs kyI sgrom 'og la / / bye'u 'phur
(38) snga yang khra 'i lpar thab sa so / / bye ma sa rdo ni spyad cIng snyil la / / myI lpa gas rIm dgu ni / / spyad cIng gsaro
(39) pha ma gnyIs ni / / btsal kyis myI rnyed la / / mye dang chu nI / myed du myI rung ngo / / gcam 'bu mdo myed nI /
(40) byed dgur myi nye la / / sha lpags rlon pa ni / / drang dgur ring ngo / / gnyen mtha' gshin ni /
(41) mtsho la / / sha mtha' gshin ni 'chi 'o / / thang shing gcig 'greng ni / / nags mtha' myed la
(42) zug la / / chu myig rngo cung ni / rgya mtsho 'i rtsi 'o / / sha za gri rno na ni / bcad re yang zhIm re la
(43) / gtan gyis rogs bza ni / gtam re yang'dzum re 'o / / myi gdul na ni / tshig dang rlabs
(44) gyis gdul la / / mnyed 'dul na ni / yab dang drud gyis gdul / lo / / bud myed
(45) mo lcam bzang mos ni / / skyes do mar gi rabs gcod do / / 'brog rtsa bzang
(46) yang / rkang 'gros dbyar rjud do / / tshig btad lags na ni / / srid kyI yu ba la / /
(47) kha smras nyes na / bdud kyi sgo mo 'o / / kham sar gri rno na ni / / bskud pa ni rgyu ba'i
(48) gron che 'o / / de bas ma 'dzangs byams pas bstan ba ni / / srid kyi don dang / mdud par
(49) zung shig / sum pa ma shags chen po rdzogs s+ho / so / /
Source Colophon
Old Tibetan source text from IOL Tib J 730 (recto, 49 lines), Stein collection, British Library. Transcription by the Old Tibetan Documents Online (OTDO) project, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Accessed April 2026 at otdo.aa-ken.jp. The OTDO transcription is based on the manuscript facsimile. Bracketed text indicates editorial reconstructions or uncertain readings from the damaged manuscript. The manuscript is a scroll with the beginning missing; the verso contains a Chinese Buddhist text.
Scholarly references: M. Lalou, Inventaire des manuscrits tibétains de Touen-houang conservés à la Bibliothèque nationale (1939–1961); F.W. Thomas, Ancient Folk-Literature from North-Eastern Tibet (1957); L. de la Vallée Poussin, Catalogue of the Tibetan Manuscripts from Tun-Huang in the India Office Library (1962).
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