[Tlhingan-hol] Dhammapada verse 1

[Josh Badgley]

jIvHa'wI' ghob paq

wa' chang'engmey

wanI'mey nung tIq
che' tIq, chenmoH tIq
nItHa'taHvIS tIq bIjatlhDI' qoj bIvangDI'
bIbechbej
tanqa' qam tlha'bogh ruth'e' rur bech

Here's the first verse. The original Pali text is:

manopubba"ngamaa dhammaa, manose.t.thaa manomayaa. 
manasaa ce padu.t.thena, bhaasati vaa karoti vaa 
tato na.m dukkhamanveti, cakka.mva vahato pada.m.
 

The Pali word "mano" usually refers to "mind".  However, I have decided that the Klingon term tIq works best here, based upon the way it is used in TKW, PK and other sources.  The main point of these two verses is that our intentional thoughts, words, and deeds are what shape our experience.  Our present lives are shaped by our past and present actions. It is not the will of a creator God or blind natural forces alone that determine our existence, it is our choices. As I understand it, Klingons use the term tIq to refer not only to the organ but also to the mental factor responsible for one's actions.  Thus, if one acts with an impure tIq, one's actions will be unskillful, and one will reap only suffering.  If one's heart is pure, one will find success.

Coincidentally, this use of "heart" rather than "mind" also follows an old Thai tradition.  And I think it would just be more understandable to a Klingon that it's the quality of the heart that shapes one's life, that actions are important, and that one must take control of one's own destiny.

-- jhb