King's Codes

O, you good people

This work is composed according the Pali texts.

A treatise on the principle of dharma,

It is imperative that you take it as your duty

To be bound and to conform.

This dharma offers rules

To guide all living beings,

To ensure their success here and in the afterlife.

It is alive, it is immortal,

This dharma that constitutes a code

By laying bare the aspects of success.

Do not trust or solely rely on the foreigners,

Do not trust someone just because he appears to be an ascetic,

Do not trust a speaker just because he speaks movingly.

Stay observant in all circumstances,

Listen to your elders’ counsel and guidance,

But still, do pull yourself up and stretch your thinking.

Don’t just twist in the wind,

Do not think highly of the words coming from a fool.

Do not let yourself be entirely consumed with women,

Just like you don’t touch a deadly poison,

You do not become too familiar with a loose woman,

Do not become combatant when argue with ascetics and venerable people.

Still don’t be afraid to provoke an argument,

Do not stand to listen to loathsome words,

Nor should you listen to dishonorable words,

Do not go against bad omens,

Do not plant rice where elephants often passing through.

Stanzas 1-5 of Chbab Rajaneti (Moral Codes of Conduct: King’s Neti)

by King Sri Dharmaraja II (1628-1630)