This is an excerpt from the Teaching of Buddha, a book published by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Buddhism. This book is available on internet at:
http://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/buddhist_bible.asp
A Khmer version of that book may be purchased at:
http://www.bdkamerica.org/default.aspx?MPID=53
We thank Dr Lao Mong Hay for pointing out this excerpt.
III. IN SERVICE
1. There are seven teachings which lead a country to prosperity: First, people should assemble often to discuss conditions and to provide for the national defence. Second, in the consideration of national affairs people of all social classes should meet together in unity. Third, people should respect old customs and not change them, they should observe rules of ceremony and maintain justice. Fourth, they should recognize differences of sex and seniority and family rank, thus maintaining the purity of families and society. Fifth, cherish loyalty for parents and teachers. Sixth, honor the ancestral shrines and keep up the annual festivals. Seventh, esteem public morality, honor virtuous conduct, respect virtuous teachers and make offerings to them. If a country follows these teachings, it will prosper and will be held in respect by all other countries.
2. Once there was a King who was notably successful in ruling his kingdom. Because of his wisdom he was called King Great-Light. He explained the principles of his administration as follows: The best method for ruling a country is to first rule oneself. A ruler should come before his people with a heart of compassion, and should first teach them and lead them to remove all impurities from their minds. The happiness that comes from good teachings far exceeds any enjoyment that the material things of the world can offer, therefore, give the people good teaching and keep their minds and bodies in tranquility. When poor people come to me, I open the storehouse and let them take what they want, and then I take advantage of the opportunity to teach them the wisdom of getting rid of all greed and evil. Each man has a different view of things according to the state of his mind. Some people see this city as fine and beautiful, others see it as dirty and dilapidated. It all depends on the state of their minds. Those who hold good teachings in respect see, even in the common things of trees and stones, all the beautiful lights and colors of lapis lazuli, while greedy people who do not know enough to control their own minds are blind even to the splendor of a golden palace. Everything in the nation's daily life is like that. The mind is the source of everything, therefore, in my rule I first seek to have the people train their minds.
3. In wise statecraft the first principle is this principle of King Great-Light, to lead the people to train their minds. To train the mind means to seek enlightenment, therefore, the wise ruler will give his first attention to Buddha's teaching. If a ruler has faith in Buddha, is devoted to his teachings, appreciates and pays tribute to virtuous and merciful people, there will be no favoritism toward either friends or enemies and his country will always remain prosperous. If a country is prosperous it is neither necessary to attack any other country nor does it need weapons of attack. When people are happy and satisfied, class differences disappear, good deeds are promoted, virtues are increased, and people respect each other. Then every one becomes prosperous; the weather and temperature become normal; the sun and moon and stars shine just right; rain and wind come timely; and all the natural evils disappear.
4. The duty of a ruler is to protect his people. The ruler of a people is the parent of his people and he protects them by his laws. He must raise his people like parents raise their children, giving them a dry cloth when they take away a wet one without waiting for the child to cry. In like manner he must remove suffering and bestow happiness without waiting for people to complain. Indeed, his statecraft is not perfect unless his people abide in peacefulness. They are his country's treasure. Therefore, a wise ruler is ever thinking of his people and does not forget them for a moment. He thinks of their hardships, he plans for their prosperity. To rule wisely, he must be advised about everything -about the water, about draught, about storm and rain; he must know about the crops, the chances of harvest, the health of his people, their comforts and their sorrows. He must be thoroughly informed as to the guiltiness of bad men, and as to the merits of good men, thus he is in position to righ tly award both punishment and praise. A wise ruler gives to his people when they are in need, as well as collects from them when they are prosperous. He should exercise good judgement when collecting taxes and make the levy as light as possible, thus keeping his people peaceful. A wise ruler will protect his people by his power and dignity. One who thus rules his people is worthy to be called a King.
5. The King of Truth is the king of kings. His ancestry is of the purest and the highest. He not only rules the four quarters of the world, he is also Lord of Wisdom and Protector of all Virtuous Teachings. Wherever he goes, fightings cease and ill-will vanishes. He rules with equity by the power of Truth and by vanquishing evil he brings peace to all people. The King of Truth never slays nor steals nor acts lasciviously. He never cheats nor abuses nor lies nor chatters idly. His mind is free from all greed, anger and foolishness. He removes these ten evils and in their place establishes the ten virtues of kindness, generosity, purity, fidelity, appreciation, honesty, sobriety, charity, tranquility and wisdom. Because his rule is based upon Truth he is invincible. Wherever Truth appears violence ceases and ill-will vanishes. There is no dissension among his people, therefore they dwell in quietness and safety; his mere presence brings peacefulness and happiness. That is why he is called the King of Truth, and his Kingdom the Kingdom of Truth. Since the King of Truth is king of kings, all other rulers praise his excellent name and rule their lesser kingdoms after his example. Thus the King of Truth is sovereign over all kings and under his righteous sway they bring safety to their people and fulfill their duties with wisdom.
6. A wise judge will temper his verdicts with compassion. He will try to consider each case with clear wisdom and then make his verdict accord with five principles: First, he must examine into the truthfulness of the facts presented. Second, he must be sure that they fall within his jurisdiction. If he renders a judgement with full authority it is effective, but if he renders judgement without authority it only causes complications; he should wait for a right occasion. Third, he must judge justly, that is, he must enter into the mind of the defendant and if he finds that the deed was done without criminal intent, he should discharge the man. Fourth, he should pronounce his verdict with kindness and not harshness, that is, he should apply a proper punishment and should not go beyond that. A good judge will instruct a criminal with kindness and give him time to reflect upon his mistakes. Fifth, he should judge with sympathy and not in anger, that is, he should condemn the crime but not the criminal. He should let his judgement rest upon a foundation of sympathy, and he should use the occasion to try and make the criminal realize his mistakes and thus give the man an opportunity to be reborn under better conditions.
7. If an important minister of a king neglects his duties, works for his own profit, accepts bribes, it will cause the rapid decay of public morals. Other people will cheat each other, a strong man will attack a less powerful one, a noble will mistreat a commoner, a wealthy man will take advantage of the poor, there will be no justice for any one, mischief will abound and troubles will multiply. Under such circumstances faithful ministers will retire from public service, wise men will keep silent from fear of complications, and only flatterers will hold government positions, and they will use their political power to enrich themselves with no thought for the sufferings of the people. Under such conditions the power of the government becomes ineffective for good and its righteous policies fall in ruins. Such unjust officials are thieves of the people's happiness, and are worse than thieves because they defraud both ruler and people and are the cause of the nation's troubles. The king should root out such ministers and punish them severely. But even in a country which is ruled by a good king and by just laws, there is another form of disloyalty that is even more to be dreaded, the disloyalty of sons to their parents. There are sons who give themselves up to love of wife and children and who forget the grace of the parents who nursed them and cared for them during many years. They neglect their parents, rob their parents of their possessions, and neglect their teaching. Such sons are to be counted among the worst criminals in a country. And why? Because they are disloyal to their parents whose love has been very great and has continued for many years, a love that could not be repaid if the sons honored them and treated them kindly throughout their life. Those who are unfaithful to rulers and unfaithful to parents should be punished as the worst of criminals. And also, in a country which is ruled by a good king and by just laws, there is another form of disloyalty that is even worse than these, disloyalty to religious teachers. There are people in every country who give themselves up to selfish enjoyments, entirely forgetting the three treasures - Buddha, Dharma and the Brotherhood. Such people destroy their country's sanctuaries, burn the sacred scriptures, persecute the teachers of righteousness, and violate all the sacred teachings of Buddha. Such people are a country's worst enemies. And why? Because they destroy the spiritual faith of a nation, which is its foundation and the source of its virtues and prosperity. Such people by ruining the faith of others are digging their own graves. All other sins may be counted light in comparison with these three disloyalties. Those who are thus disloyal should be punished most severely.
8. It is possible there may be a conspiracy against a good king who is ruling his country wisely, or bandits may raid the country. In this case the king should adopt three determinations. He should say to himself: First, these conspirators and bandits are threatening the good order and welfare of our country, I must protect the people and country even to employing its soldiers. Second, I will first try to find some way of controlling them without resorting to the use of soldiers. Third, I will try to capture them alive if possible, and disarm them. By adopting these three determinations the King will be proceeding most wisely. By this procedure the country and its soldiers will be encouraged by the king's wisdom and dignity and will respect both his firmness and his grace. Then if it is necessary to call upon the soldiers they will fully understand the reason for the war and what its nature is to be. Then the soldiers will enter battle with courage and loyalty, grateful for the king's wise and gracious sovereignty. Such a war will not only bring victory but will add virtue to a country.
1. There are seven teachings which lead a country to prosperity: First, people should assemble often to discuss conditions and to provide for the national defence. Second, in the consideration of national affairs people of all social classes should meet together in unity. Third, people should respect old customs and not change them, they should observe rules of ceremony and maintain justice. Fourth, they should recognize differences of sex and seniority and family rank, thus maintaining the purity of families and society. Fifth, cherish loyalty for parents and teachers. Sixth, honor the ancestral shrines and keep up the annual festivals. Seventh, esteem public morality, honor virtuous conduct, respect virtuous teachers and make offerings to them. If a country follows these teachings, it will prosper and will be held in respect by all other countries.
2. Once there was a King who was notably successful in ruling his kingdom. Because of his wisdom he was called King Great-Light. He explained the principles of his administration as follows: The best method for ruling a country is to first rule oneself. A ruler should come before his people with a heart of compassion, and should first teach them and lead them to remove all impurities from their minds. The happiness that comes from good teachings far exceeds any enjoyment that the material things of the world can offer, therefore, give the people good teaching and keep their minds and bodies in tranquility. When poor people come to me, I open the storehouse and let them take what they want, and then I take advantage of the opportunity to teach them the wisdom of getting rid of all greed and evil. Each man has a different view of things according to the state of his mind. Some people see this city as fine and beautiful, others see it as dirty and dilapidated. It all depends on the state of their minds. Those who hold good teachings in respect see, even in the common things of trees and stones, all the beautiful lights and colors of lapis lazuli, while greedy people who do not know enough to control their own minds are blind even to the splendor of a golden palace. Everything in the nation's daily life is like that. The mind is the source of everything, therefore, in my rule I first seek to have the people train their minds.
3. In wise statecraft the first principle is this principle of King Great-Light, to lead the people to train their minds. To train the mind means to seek enlightenment, therefore, the wise ruler will give his first attention to Buddha's teaching. If a ruler has faith in Buddha, is devoted to his teachings, appreciates and pays tribute to virtuous and merciful people, there will be no favoritism toward either friends or enemies and his country will always remain prosperous. If a country is prosperous it is neither necessary to attack any other country nor does it need weapons of attack. When people are happy and satisfied, class differences disappear, good deeds are promoted, virtues are increased, and people respect each other. Then every one becomes prosperous; the weather and temperature become normal; the sun and moon and stars shine just right; rain and wind come timely; and all the natural evils disappear.
4. The duty of a ruler is to protect his people. The ruler of a people is the parent of his people and he protects them by his laws. He must raise his people like parents raise their children, giving them a dry cloth when they take away a wet one without waiting for the child to cry. In like manner he must remove suffering and bestow happiness without waiting for people to complain. Indeed, his statecraft is not perfect unless his people abide in peacefulness. They are his country's treasure. Therefore, a wise ruler is ever thinking of his people and does not forget them for a moment. He thinks of their hardships, he plans for their prosperity. To rule wisely, he must be advised about everything -about the water, about draught, about storm and rain; he must know about the crops, the chances of harvest, the health of his people, their comforts and their sorrows. He must be thoroughly informed as to the guiltiness of bad men, and as to the merits of good men, thus he is in position to righ tly award both punishment and praise. A wise ruler gives to his people when they are in need, as well as collects from them when they are prosperous. He should exercise good judgement when collecting taxes and make the levy as light as possible, thus keeping his people peaceful. A wise ruler will protect his people by his power and dignity. One who thus rules his people is worthy to be called a King.
5. The King of Truth is the king of kings. His ancestry is of the purest and the highest. He not only rules the four quarters of the world, he is also Lord of Wisdom and Protector of all Virtuous Teachings. Wherever he goes, fightings cease and ill-will vanishes. He rules with equity by the power of Truth and by vanquishing evil he brings peace to all people. The King of Truth never slays nor steals nor acts lasciviously. He never cheats nor abuses nor lies nor chatters idly. His mind is free from all greed, anger and foolishness. He removes these ten evils and in their place establishes the ten virtues of kindness, generosity, purity, fidelity, appreciation, honesty, sobriety, charity, tranquility and wisdom. Because his rule is based upon Truth he is invincible. Wherever Truth appears violence ceases and ill-will vanishes. There is no dissension among his people, therefore they dwell in quietness and safety; his mere presence brings peacefulness and happiness. That is why he is called the King of Truth, and his Kingdom the Kingdom of Truth. Since the King of Truth is king of kings, all other rulers praise his excellent name and rule their lesser kingdoms after his example. Thus the King of Truth is sovereign over all kings and under his righteous sway they bring safety to their people and fulfill their duties with wisdom.
6. A wise judge will temper his verdicts with compassion. He will try to consider each case with clear wisdom and then make his verdict accord with five principles: First, he must examine into the truthfulness of the facts presented. Second, he must be sure that they fall within his jurisdiction. If he renders a judgement with full authority it is effective, but if he renders judgement without authority it only causes complications; he should wait for a right occasion. Third, he must judge justly, that is, he must enter into the mind of the defendant and if he finds that the deed was done without criminal intent, he should discharge the man. Fourth, he should pronounce his verdict with kindness and not harshness, that is, he should apply a proper punishment and should not go beyond that. A good judge will instruct a criminal with kindness and give him time to reflect upon his mistakes. Fifth, he should judge with sympathy and not in anger, that is, he should condemn the crime but not the criminal. He should let his judgement rest upon a foundation of sympathy, and he should use the occasion to try and make the criminal realize his mistakes and thus give the man an opportunity to be reborn under better conditions.
7. If an important minister of a king neglects his duties, works for his own profit, accepts bribes, it will cause the rapid decay of public morals. Other people will cheat each other, a strong man will attack a less powerful one, a noble will mistreat a commoner, a wealthy man will take advantage of the poor, there will be no justice for any one, mischief will abound and troubles will multiply. Under such circumstances faithful ministers will retire from public service, wise men will keep silent from fear of complications, and only flatterers will hold government positions, and they will use their political power to enrich themselves with no thought for the sufferings of the people. Under such conditions the power of the government becomes ineffective for good and its righteous policies fall in ruins. Such unjust officials are thieves of the people's happiness, and are worse than thieves because they defraud both ruler and people and are the cause of the nation's troubles. The king should root out such ministers and punish them severely. But even in a country which is ruled by a good king and by just laws, there is another form of disloyalty that is even more to be dreaded, the disloyalty of sons to their parents. There are sons who give themselves up to love of wife and children and who forget the grace of the parents who nursed them and cared for them during many years. They neglect their parents, rob their parents of their possessions, and neglect their teaching. Such sons are to be counted among the worst criminals in a country. And why? Because they are disloyal to their parents whose love has been very great and has continued for many years, a love that could not be repaid if the sons honored them and treated them kindly throughout their life. Those who are unfaithful to rulers and unfaithful to parents should be punished as the worst of criminals. And also, in a country which is ruled by a good king and by just laws, there is another form of disloyalty that is even worse than these, disloyalty to religious teachers. There are people in every country who give themselves up to selfish enjoyments, entirely forgetting the three treasures - Buddha, Dharma and the Brotherhood. Such people destroy their country's sanctuaries, burn the sacred scriptures, persecute the teachers of righteousness, and violate all the sacred teachings of Buddha. Such people are a country's worst enemies. And why? Because they destroy the spiritual faith of a nation, which is its foundation and the source of its virtues and prosperity. Such people by ruining the faith of others are digging their own graves. All other sins may be counted light in comparison with these three disloyalties. Those who are thus disloyal should be punished most severely.
8. It is possible there may be a conspiracy against a good king who is ruling his country wisely, or bandits may raid the country. In this case the king should adopt three determinations. He should say to himself: First, these conspirators and bandits are threatening the good order and welfare of our country, I must protect the people and country even to employing its soldiers. Second, I will first try to find some way of controlling them without resorting to the use of soldiers. Third, I will try to capture them alive if possible, and disarm them. By adopting these three determinations the King will be proceeding most wisely. By this procedure the country and its soldiers will be encouraged by the king's wisdom and dignity and will respect both his firmness and his grace. Then if it is necessary to call upon the soldiers they will fully understand the reason for the war and what its nature is to be. Then the soldiers will enter battle with courage and loyalty, grateful for the king's wise and gracious sovereignty. Such a war will not only bring victory but will add virtue to a country.
19 comments:
This is very good book that everybody has to take chance to read it.
Buddha's teaching is universal truth...as we can apply with all aspects of society including politics, businesses, economic, governance, liberal democracy...etc
Awesome!
Well, almost every buddha's teaching is right but one. Here it is. When khmers rouge killed people, buddhists did not even BLAME POLPOT, they blame themselve .They called it KARMA.i say FUCK You idiot . AIN'T gonna believe you, i want to go after the killers....
Dr.Lao,
It's all well and good. But what will you do to help get rid of Viet Hanoi and Hun Sen Viet puppet regime in Phnom Penh? What will you do? Answer me, answer me, answer me, please?
Indeed we have our own great Buddha already to give us good guidance for our lives. But noone is really listen to him. We have buddhism since after Angkor watt. But we used Buddhism for our happiness and for our culture. we haven't in dept to all the teaching and have followed to the teaching in practical lives. Therefore, we haven't learnt any thing from Buddhism in the past 700 years. Areak Prey
Cut the bullshit, gangs, You have
been snatched by evil since the day you were born. I doubt it that
you really understand what it is
all about. It is clearly shown all
over your writing.
And you @6:52 AM, you are a smart mouth, is that it?
Mr. 4:54AM
It's the role of our historians and other knowledgeable Cambodian fellows to research and publish the histories of both Vietnam and Cambodia, free of all emotions, based on facts. They have scarcely done that. All of us are perhaps too inward-looking.
They need to trace the reasons why the use of the phrase Yuon was banned at one time when Yuon in the old days had no discrimatory connotation at all.
They need to trace the reasons why Khmers are seen as anti-Vietnamse when they talk about the settlement Vietnamese nationals in their country: (1)Vietnamse are mostly catholic and are defended by their fellow catholic and other Christians? (2) failure by Khmer historians to expose Vietnamese disrimination against Khmers and Vietnamse hatred of Chinese in Cambodia and in Vietnamse (persecutions of Khmers and Chinese in both countries)? (3) failure to show that Khmers were and still are victims of Vietnamse expansionism (Namtien-southward expansionism)? (4) failure to show that those foreigners who say that Khmers discriminate against Vietnamse are themeselves or their ancestors were expansionists like Vietnamese (Americans, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians, even Indians, etc...) (5) failure to prove that some 300,000 Vietamese nationals in Cambodia were sent back to Vietnam and were accepted by the then South-Vietnamese government for resettlement in their homeland, and then only some 10,000 Vietnamse stayed on and were allowed to live on in Cambodia, then under the Khmer Rouge no Vietnamese were living in Cambodia? (6) failure to show that during the Vietnamse occuption Khmer authorities were instructed to facilitate the settlement of Vietnamese settlers in Cambodia? (7) failure to show places of their settlement and sizes of Vietnamse communities on the map of Cambodia, (8) failure to study contemporary developments in Vietnam (demographic pressure -85 million inhabitants now, land conflicts with hilltribes - montagnards, economic development, etc..), (etc...)
Because of such failures Khmers who are victims of aggressors have turned out to be seen as aggressors, and have not been able to devise ways amd measures to counters their expansionism.
There is also an unwise policy of granting Khmer or nowadays Cambodian nationality to Khmers who aree indigenous people of South Vietnam. All those Khmers could be pressurised one way or another to leave their homeland to join their motherland in Cambodia, and noboday could help them because, in international law, they are not stateless or refugees. In contrast the Vietnamse government has refused to take back Vietnamse people who have fled their country or who have lived in Cambodia. Look at the boad people who standed at different places in Southeast Asia. Look at Vietmanese who wanted to return to Vietnam after Khmer Rouge attacks in UNTAC times.
I contributed in a small ways to highlighting the issue of Vietnamse settlers in Cambodia at the International Conference on Cambodia in Paris in 1989 that led to the conclusion of the Peace Agreements in 1991. I circulated an official instruction to Cambodian authorities to help Vietnamse nationals to settle down and live in Cambodia. I was bitterly attacked with name calling by the delegate of the State of Cambodia who denied the presence of such Vietnamse settlers. He calimed that those were indegenous Khmers from Vietnam (Khmer Kroms). The Vietnamese delegate wanted to continue the discussions of this issue, but he was replaced and the new Vietnamese delegate did not utter a word about the issue.
At the same conference, I heartedly agreed with the Vietnamse delegate (Vietnamse ambassador to Cambodia) who asserted that the Cambodian problem had existed before the Vietnamse went into Cambodia. But I added that the Cambodian problem had started when Vietnam had swallowed up the Kingdom of Champa in 16th century. The delegates of the State of Cambodia and Vietnam angrily reacted to my reference to the Khmer-Viet relations. They implicated Thailand in the aggression against Cambodia, which made the Thai delegate very angry with them. I was laughfing inside myself.
I happened to encounter the charges of Khmer discrimination against the Vietnamse by Justice Michael Kirby from Australia, the first UN Special Envoy for human rights in Cambodia. He asserted that Vietnamese in Cambodia had lived there for generations and they had their family books to prove their residence.
I told that Australian judge that there had not been any family books before in Cambodia. Such books were the invention of the communists to control people. He was caught off guard there. Then I asked him to enlighten me if there was any international law which determined any number of generations of aliens that qualified descendants of those aliens to the nationality of the country of their residence. He could not give me any answer for there was no such international law. I then taught him a lesson from Cambodian history: if he refered to generations, many generations ago there had been no Vietnamese in South Vietnam for that part of Vietnam had been Cambodian territory. He made a fool of himself by charging that Khmer discrimated against Vietnamse in front of a Khmer who knew a little bit of the history of his country, and also the history of Australia. Many original Australians were convicts, unwanted elements in the society, the English had sent to Australia to serve their sentences there. After serving their sentences they continued to live there. They and other English people expanded their conquest of Australia at the expenses of the Aborigenese. One tribe at least became extinct due to this expansion.
Having said all that, I continue to dissociate myself from any racial discrimination or any form form of hatred.
LAO Mong Hay, Hong Kong
Dr Lao, well done. Justice Kirby was not even a descendant of the English convicts, but a Jew who came to Australia in the 20th century.
Justice M. Kirby,
Justice Kirby was born and educated in Sydney...read on in:
http://www.lawfoundation.net.au/ljf/app/&id=F2174D33AC85F6BCCA2571A30021F9EF
He is gay?
http://astroqueer.tripod.com/charts/michaelkirby.html
Yes, but still a descent of a Jewish family.
How do you know that?
Hehe, Dr. Loa, I didn't even know
that the word "Yuon" was banned
at one time. What did we called
Vietnamese people then? What about
"Barang"? Is it bad to called the
French which such a word?
Anyway, as for historian, there is
no such thing as an impartial
historians (East or West,) unless
he/she wished to be a jobless
historian. Therefore, we each need
to learn how to think for
ourselves individually.
Well 11:20AM, what are you saying?
Dr. Lao said that "Many original Australians were convicts...". He did not say every one of them or all of them...
This teaching should recognize it faults for teaching Cambodians not to be brave, not to stand up against aggression. This teaching teaches Cambodians to be weak, to be obedience, and to be naive. The Vietnamese and the Chinese have been taking advantage of Cambodians because of this teaching. Cambodians lost land, culture, identity, heritage, and many more because of this teaching. This teaching teach a nation to be harmonious. The only way a nation can be harmonious is when other nations don't invade your land and bring nightmare to your people. What khmer needs is a teaching that teaches us to an aggressor, to be our own boss,and to keep other people from taking our land. This is what we need!!!
So what Dr. Lao said is that Khmer is screwed. No khmer intellectuals, khmer scholars, Khmer politicians or anybody doing anything about it, thus YUON YOR DEI KHMER OSS TOV, is that it?
Doing anything about what?
Somehow, i think islam is ok. when you died, you get 7 virgins. Just imagine 7 virgins in the same bed with you hehehe...
Damn, someone hooks me up please!
Post a Comment