Tujjana Kaṇḍa — On Fools and the Wicked

68. Do not lavish love on the wicked

In this verse of the Loka Nīti, the teacher warns all good people: do not lavish your love, care, support, kindness, and trust upon the wicked — those who have wronged you before, who have harassed and oppressed you, betrayed you, slandered you, cheated and deceived you, abandoned you in hardship, or refused your pleas for help. Even if they have not done such things to you, but have done them to others, you should not take them on as partners. For once you help them, they bring nothing but trouble, and given the chance they will trample you to save themselves. It is like balancing a pot half-full of water upon your head: inevitably it spills and soaks you.

Yet do not harm them, speak ill of them, or wish them ill, for by being what they are, they already reap enough of the bitter fruit of their unwholesome deeds. Better to extend loving-kindness to them instead.

69. The fool is more dangerous than a venomous snake

In this verse of the Loka Nīti, the teacher compares the fool to a venomous snake, yet the fool's poison is the more deadly. Among all venomous creatures — snakes, centipedes, scorpions, bees, and every poisonous animal — the snake's venom is reckoned the most severe, able to snatch away the victim's life in an instant. Yet even so, there are still remedies to relieve and cure it: the power of medicinal antidotes, the force of charms and incantations, or the potency of a truthful resolution and vow to subdue the poison. But the wicked person carries every kind of poison, biting all without discrimination, biting even those who once did him kindness. Once someone is struck by a wicked person's poison, no medicine and no charm can guard against it, relieve it, or cure it — only ruin follows. Therefore the teacher declares that the poison of the wicked is many times more deadly than the venom of a snake.

70. The fool who thinks himself wise

The fool and the wise person are two different sorts, never mingled; foolishness and wisdom do not dwell together in one and the same person. The fool inclines to what is low: the work he does, the words he speaks, and the thoughts he thinks all tend toward decline and destruction. The wise person does not incline to what is low: the work he does, the words he speaks, and the thoughts he thinks all tend toward growth and creation.

One is called a fool who habitually does only evil and unwholesome deeds — oppressing and menacing, snatching, cheating, violating good customs and traditions, harsh and rude, lying and deceiving, sowing discord, coarse in speech, extravagant, vengeful, and deluded. Yet there are some fools whose foolishness is slight and thin, enough that they can recognize themselves as fools and are changing their behavior, turning to develop their body, speech, and mind for the better — and these may still be counted as having something of the wise in them. But the fool who mistakenly believes himself wise, who flaunts his knowledge, puts on airs, schemes at grand things, and craves to lead — he is the one truly called a fool.

71. The fool sees evil as honey until it bears fruit

For the fool, all unwholesome deeds are something sweet. Even before he does them, they are fragrant and enticing, drawing his heart to crave them, to long to witness them and to do them. And once he has seen and done them, he feels happy and satisfied. So long as the evil he has done has not yet borne its fruit, he thinks there is no such thing as evil and that what he has done is no sin at all. Only when the evil he has done bears its stinging, searing, scorching fruit does he realize it was wrong and see that evil truly exists — but by then it is too late to undo.

There was once a man of evil heart who would not heed his mother's warnings; instead he grew coarse of heart, struck his mother and cursed her as a demon obstructing his advancement, and then set out to seek his fortune. Meeting a fatal misfortune, he died and was reborn as a hungry ghost (peta) in the lower realms. There the hungry ghosts were reaping the fruit of their deeds, suffering terrible torment, a razor-sharp wheel grinding upon their heads. Yet this coarse-hearted ghost, mistaking the source of it for a beautiful, fragrant lotus, asked that the whirling wheel be set upon his own head. Such is one who sees a wheel of torment as a lotus flower — and after this, what will become of him? For the fruit of his deeds is waiting.

72. It is no good when a fool holds power

An unlivable land is one that is parched, without a source of water, and has a fool for its leader. A parched land one can still bear to endure, but a land whose leader is a fool is no place to live. On hearing such news, one ought not to journey there; and if one must travel and the rains permit a stop along the way, or if one is already living there, one should move away and flee. For a leader who is a fool inevitably drives the nation to collapse — wielding unjust power, using his influence to threaten and coerce, exploiting others, swindling, and using his authority to seek wealth, rank, and fame through corruption and misconduct.

But wherever a nation dwells in peace, its people should help each other stay watchful, guarding against letting the wicked rise to greatness and power, for that leads to ruin. They should instead strive to support good people in rising to greatness and power, so that the nation may be led toward lasting prosperity. And even where there are as yet no good people, they should encourage their children and grandchildren to become good, so that they may be good leaders in days to come.

73. Four kinds of villain, each among its own kind

In this verse of the Loka Nīti, the teacher sets forth four kinds of villain: the rat, the monkey, the crow, and the false ascetic.

The rat likes to gnaw and ruin the belongings in a house, so the teacher calls it the villain of the house — especially in a house where the owner leaves things cluttered and unkempt, so that they are gnawed and spoiled by rats. Even the rat, though, treats such things as already discarded by their owner, and gnaws away only some useful part to build a nest for its little ones.

The monkey, whose form and face somewhat resemble a human's, yet has no wisdom to build itself a dwelling; worse still, it likes to destroy the dwellings of other creatures. So the monkey is the villain of the forest.

The crow, being marked by its black color, likes to chase and peck at other birds that are more beautiful than itself. So the crow is the villain among all the birds.

The false ascetic lives off the people who support him out of faith, yet being unwise and immoral he destroys that very faith, all for the sake of gains and offerings. So the false ascetic is counted the villain among people.

74. The night is long for the wakeful

Length and lingering slowness belong to these three kinds of people:

One who cannot sleep — because he covets another's wealth, or because lust and defilements assail his mind and make it restless; because ill will vexes him over his work, his kin and friends, or his followers who do not do as he wishes; because delusion leaves him lost and intoxicated in what is of no benefit. For such a one, even a single night is long.

One who is spent and weary — disheartened, hopeless, his trade running at a loss, everything he sets his hand to never succeeding. For him, a road of even a single league is unbearably long.

The fool — absorbed only in doing evil deeds, infatuated and intoxicated, clinging to gain, rank, praise, and pleasure as though they would never change; assailed by lust, ill will, and delusion that drag his mind down, without even a little of the wisdom to see the truth. He must wander on through birth and death in this vastly long round of rebirth for ages upon ages.

75. The fool sees others' faults as small and his own great faults not at all

The fool has yet more traits, such as forever watching to catch others out and finding fault with them. Even when another has flawless qualities and gives no opening to be faulted, the fool contrives to frame him with wrongdoing. And if he cannot contrive it, he levels all manner of slanders, gossips and disparages, and digs up damaging matters from the past to expose them. All of this is the belittling and demeaning of others, and good people find it repugnant.

So this verse of the Loka Nīti describes the nature of the fool: ordinarily the fool is intent only on eyeing others to catch them at fault. Another's fault, even a mere sesame seed in size, the fool spots at once and brings out to shame him. But his own fault, though it be great and huge as a coconut — many hundreds of times larger than a sesame seed — the fool does not see; and even when he does see it, he tries to conceal it from others' knowledge. For he supposes that others are fools like himself, who, once they learn of any fault, will go about broadcasting it to shame him far and wide.

76. The fool hides his own faults and exposes others'

This verse of the Loka Nīti is like the one before it, but here the teacher offers a simile to make it vivid. The turtle is the creature the teacher likens to the fool, for they share the same trait: both like to hide away whatever they think unsightly.

The fool likes to conceal his own shortcomings so that others cannot see them, yet likes to pry into and expose the faults of others. When he himself does wrong, he covers and disguises it; he watches only to catch out others, never speaking of his own faults. Seeing that this person is ugly, he brings it up to criticize him to anyone and everyone, and tries to raise other matters to gloss over his own faults.

It is like the turtle, which has four legs like other animals, yet on meeting another creature draws its own legs in to hide them within its shell, and then criticizes the other animal: "You have far too many legs — wherever you go, your legs are all in a clumsy tangle."

77. Praise from the wise, and praise from the fool

The honoring and praising of one another goes on throughout every society and every rank of people. A good person tends to praise others with sincerity and no hidden motive — not to flatter or ingratiate, not hoping for anything else in return. Seeing that someone is truly a good person, possessed of qualities worthy of praise, he praises him, in order to show his agreement, to give encouragement, and to hold up the good person so that he may stand out.

The fool, however, tends to praise others in order to egg them on to arrogance, or to flatter and ingratiate himself — even when the one praised has no qualities worthy of praise. The fool praises all the same, hoping that the person will regard him as important, will remember him once he has risen to greatness and success, and will do him favors.

Therefore the teacher declares that a fool's praise is praise meant to destroy; whoever is taken in by a fool's praise will meet ruin in days to come. But a good person's praise is praise that truly builds up.

78. How to win over four kinds of people

When you would form a bond of friendship and goodwill with someone, you should consider what sort of person he is. If he is greedy and grasping, you should hold his heart by sharing benefit with him as is fitting, and by knowing how to be generous rather than stingy and miserly. If he is arrogant, standing on his rank and status or flaunting his power, you should hold his heart by showing him reverence and humble respect, with gentle and sweet speech. If he is foolish and set on having his own way, you should hold his heart by agreeing and going along with him without dispute. And if he is a wise person, you should hold his heart by acting truthfully, speaking truthfully, and being sincere and true to your word.