By Kang Shing (Sangjie Gyatso)
T ranslation by Dr. Kunchok Gyaltsen and Angela Vuagniaux

The Karma of The Dog

In the Time of Darkness
I keep watch.
I am the keeper of the door,
the protector of my family.

The Time of Darkness is when I am awake
and I work, keeping watch over
and protecting my family.

They have given me this honor
and I must do my duty
as their guardian, the door keeper.

I am awake in the Time of Darkness.
I work in the darkness.

The Time of Darkness,
when the daylight ends and the darkness comes,
is a very frightful time.
The night is alive with activity.
I hear movement in the darkness.
I hear the sound of birds fluttering on the edge of the night,
In the dark of night I can hear many animals,
I hear the tigers and the wolves growling and moving about…

In the Time of Darkness
many animals are waking and becoming active
the night is alive with motion.
The Time of Darkness is a scary time.
outside is so much activity.

While inside, my family sleeps in a deep sleep,
their animals sleep in a deep sleep,
And the farmland, too, all around me is in a deep sleep.

But I must stay awake, for I am the door keeper,
the guardian of the night.
I must be alert and vigilant
while my family is in a deep sleep.

I cannot sleep
for I am the door keeper.
I will keep my watch
until I see the first rays of the sun…

And when I see the first rays of the morning sun
only then, will I let out a loud bark
to wake my family
to wake my family
to the new dawn.