Show, not Tell

Tell me a thousand times, and I still wouldn’t understand; show me

just once, and I would know for the rest of my life.

Khmer Proverb

To Our Children II

As for the precious holy dharma,

Once brilliant, it shines the most

In this world

And to the far beyond;

Its perfection gleams very far

And its gradual glare

Never dims.

O, my children!

Here is another sage’s advice.

The honey of the bees itself

Is sweeter than all sweet things,

Exquisitely sweet as the other Shore.

But this sweetness once passed

We have no more to hold on, no more memories.

On the other hand, the words of the sage,

The sage, out of compassion,

Proclaims to educate you and to exhort you,

These words are infinitely sweeter

Than sugar from honey and cane.

You must hold them within yourself

As long as you are alive.

The sage says, about figs,

That their outer skin

Is brilliant, shining like a mirror,

But that the fruit interior

Contains only wasps

Which are abound,

That's why, the sage goes on.

Some people peddle gossip,

Indulge in slander,

Are dishonest and envious,

Engage in sycophancy,

Have a false and misleading language,

Just like the appearance of the figs

So pretty, only on the outside.

On the other hand, take the jackfruit

The bark is dry and hard,

Bristling with thorns;

But the interior contains pulpy quarters

Sweet and sweet, until

The fruit heart, without imperfection,

And the delicious flavor.

People faithful to the dharma,

Good people faithful to the Texts,

The sage compares them

To the jackfruit that has fragrant pulps,

Sweet and delicious,

Outside covers with thorns,

But inside full of sweetness.

On the other hand, the sage says:

The bumblebee and the flower

Belong to separate worlds.

But precisely because of the first’s desire to sip

And collect the scent (of the second),

It travels distances to the flight,

And hastens in quest of the flower.

It is similar to a man

Whose heart aspires to acquire

Codes and treaties;

This man goes in search of the one

Who owns science,

And applies to study with zealous,

Diligence and boldness.

Another case is that of the fly

Who gets lured by the stinky things,

Disgusting and infamous;

Like a man without virtue,

Eager for the affairs of justice,

Without thinking about the difficulties,

Nor have fears for the future.

Another case (according to) the treaties:

The sage forbids to imitate

The treacherous conduct of jrai*

(Because) when they occur and develop,

They take sustenance at the expense of the trees.

Whatever the place,

Their guests are subject to ruin.

Another case that the sage is noticing:

The treacherous behavior of the tiger who,

At the sight of abundance meat,

Wants to eat as much,

Without ever being satisfied.

O, all human beings!

Do not imitate this behavior of the tiger.

Humans born in this world are

Like a cartwheel.

Turning, the wheel touches all;

Sometime, it touches others,

In which case we have respite.

Which is why the sage declares,

And recommends to pay attention to the way of the wheel.

It is in the nature of the trees

Growing in the forest

To be twisted, to be righted.

As for the inhabitants of the kingdom

Protect by the good sovereign,

Some are just and honest,

Others are stupid and vile.

All the animals

Ferocious and cruel,

We can force them and command them.

But the ferocious people,

Foolish and abusive,

The sage tells us to turn them away,

And to get away from them.

O, my children! Listen carefully!

These words form a code,

A discourse on education;

These words form a path of passage

That must be kept piously.

O, my children!

Together, listen carefully!

O, all children!

In the future generations

Of your family,

Learn to care for each other,

And to stay together.

Whether false or righteous, wicked or good,

Know how to endure and forgive.

O, my children!

Your father being well aged

Will not be long among you.

Who will stay

To guide you, my children?

Who then will be able

To replace your father?

But your father once gone

Leaves behind a word

To guide and inform you.

This word, your father

Will make a bridge

To allow you all

To reach the other Shore.

That word in question, then,

Should you reject it,

You will likely incur blame for a long time.

But, if your boat breaks,

If your junk rips apart,

Even in the distant Lanka,

You can always come home.

Chbab Kun Cau stanzas 11-30 (Moral Codes of Conduct: Children and

Grandchildren) Composed in Pad Kakagati (Crowe’s Gait Metre)

17th Century or earlier

Go here for stanzas 1-10

Keep Going

Fear not the future, weep not for the past.

Khmer Proverb

King's Codes II

There are two kinds of sweetness:

Seeing food in front of you,

Do not yet eat,

A sweetness consists of foolish words

Which normally propagate and tend toward arguments,

The other consists of women

Who are only an illusion.

The words of the sage, always severe,

The drink, always intoxicating,

Are not pleasant to the palate,

Veridic words, normally critical,

Are not pleasant to the ear;

Parental guidance

Are considered to be an inconvenience.

A foolish man usually resents a learned man;

The poor, without knowing,

Resents those with fortune;

An eccentric and jealous woman,

Usually detests the favorite servant;

The fool, devoids of principles,

Usually rejects any and all advises.

By desiring good, you get evil;

Too excited to gain,

You usually lose your property;

By being obstinate, you lose friends

And family members;

By being irascible and vicious,

You usually destroy yourself.

By focusing on propriety, you earn a good name

If you seek to acquire properties,

You should know how to preserve them;

If you want to be grand, do not boast

To have illustrated origins;

If you want to stay on the right path,

You must associate with people of good character.

The kite flies thanks to the wind;

An officer is admired because of the soldiers

Surrounding him;

The goods last if the woman

Knows how to save;

The home is full of happiness

If the wife is endowed with virtues.

You lose your dignity because of laziness;

You lose religious virtue

If you drink;

If you practice oppression, you lose merits;

If you are full of anger, you lose wisdom;

If you take pleasure in jests and taunts,

You lose your respectability.

Express understanding, practice forgiveness,

Cultivate goodness,

Will generate richness.

Cultivate friendship will produce

Parents who will always stand beside you.

Avoid unreasonable deed

Will lead you to always smell like a “good perfume”.

Water flows to the lowlands;

Merit is lost because of evil deed;

Your gain is lost because of violence;

Clear water disappears because of the waves

That dispel reflective images;

You harvest wrongfulness

If you are cruel and speak in hurtful way.

Usually, a foolish man detests the sage;

As for the coward,

He normally claims to be brave;

A poor man, without regard,

Pretends to be rich,

Normally a man without good linage,

Regards others with contempt.

 Stanzas 6-15 of Chbab Rajaneti (Moral Codes of Conduct: King’s Neti)

by King Sri Dharmaraja II (1628-1630)

Go here for stanzas 1-5

Don't Eat

If you love your body, be mindful of your food;

if you love your husband, be mindful of your feelings.

Khmer Proverb

Consistency

Such depth to your words, but your ideas proved shallow.

Khmer Proverb

Wise Words

Old words from ancient times

Tell us

You couldn’t see your own faults,

The faults of others,

No matter how small they were,

They were as big as a mountain.

In the forest full of wild beasts

You implored others to join you,

Had sugar and honey

You hid in your home and ate alone.

You kept wanting,

Wanting this, wanting that without forethought,

It’s all about you

Never a second thought of others.

You ate just to eat

But too lazy to chew properly,

You thought a fishing rod for a fishing net

You took a hook for a bait.

You assumed grandpas for grandmas

You mistook a son for a nephew,

You misread two for one

You misunderstood restlessness for contentment.

You assumed vice for virtue

You thought compassion for apathy,

You mistook goodness for wickedness

You assumed excrement for flower.

You donned the monk’s robe

But declined to shave your head,

You looked into a mirror with your eyes closed,

You thought a horse for a donkey

You assumed a lion for a mouse.

Stanzas 1-7 of Chbab Peak Chasa (Moral Codes of Conduct: Old Words)

Composed in Brahmagiti metre (Brahma’s song metre)

Author unknown (Early 16th century)

Here’s my attempt at reciting these short stanzas