Kata Kaṇḍa — The Section on What the Wise Should Do

196. The Direction for Sleeping (according to ancient belief)

According to ancient belief, sleeping with the head to the east fosters wisdom, in keeping with the rising sun and fresh understanding. The south is associated with long life and the realm of Yama, signifying a respectful posture that guards against having one's life taken away. The west, the direction of the setting sun, leads to a calm and settled mind, while the north is warned against as it may lead to death, since one should not point one's feet disrespectfully toward Yama. (This is a matter of traditional belief, not a scientific fact.)

197. The Direction for Eating (according to ancient belief)

According to ancient belief, facing east while eating is thought to promote long life, being linked to the life-giving sun. Facing south invites wealth, for it is the direction of the ancestors who bestow blessings. Facing west brings enduring fame. The prohibition against facing north emphasizes that it is an inauspicious direction for important undertakings. These verses stress mindful posture: even everyday routines should be done with intention. (This should be understood as a matter of traditional belief.)

198. Post-Meal Activities for Health

This verse presents a gradation of activities: sitting still leads to becoming stout, standing increases physical strength, walking promotes long life, and gentle jogging wards off disease. It reflects a sound understanding of metabolism and digestion, in which greater post-meal activity is associated with better health. The advice progresses from inactivity toward greater movement, favoring action over sluggishness, and praising physical vigor as the foundation of a successful life.

199. One Undismayed by Heat and Cold Does Not Fall from Happiness

One who regards extremes of cold and heat as no more significant than grass possesses equanimity, unbothered by outward conditions that trouble ordinary people. More importantly, this steadiness is paired with diligence in performing one's duties. By combining indifference to inner discomfort with commitment to outer responsibilities, such a person does not fall away from happiness. His happiness is inward and stable, rooted in virtue and duty, not dependent on the shifting weather of circumstance.

200. Take What Is Good Even from a Lowly Source

One should draw out the nectar of wisdom even from a poisonous or hostile source, extract pure gold even from impure ore, receive true knowledge even from a teacher of low social standing, and recognize a jewel-like woman even though she comes from a poor family. The substance matters more than the vessel that contains it. This is a teaching against prejudice, urging one to appraise with a clear eye. True value often lies hidden within an unappealing exterior.

201. One Who Knows Our Secret Holds Power over Us

This verse warns of the dangerous power held by one who has come to know our hidden faults or weaknesses. Whoever knows what ought to be concealed gains a form of power over us; we become like a slave in his presence, because he knows our deepest secret. We must endure his presence, and even his contempt, as a slave must endure. The verse points to the peril of harboring shameful secrets and the vulnerability they create, leaving one prey to blackmail.

202. Endure Even a Slave's Threats While Living in Concealment

If one lives in concealment or in a strange land, maintaining calm is of utmost importance. Therefore, even if a slave or someone of low standing becomes threatening or aggressive, the wise person should forgive and endure. The reason is pragmatic: reacting to such provocation may shatter one's peace, draw unwanted attention, or blow a trivial matter out of proportion. Wisdom here means restraining pride for the sake of a greater goal, such as safety and anonymity.

203. In Worldly Affairs, Set Aside Bashfulness

In matters of wealth, grain, trade, learning, receiving custom, sending messages, and commerce, one must be direct, firm, and clear. Hesitation from needless bashfulness may lead to disadvantageous bargains, misunderstood terms, or missed opportunities. Both business and study demand the courage to negotiate, to inquire, and to transact. This is a call for practical decisiveness, essential to managing worldly affairs effectively.

204. In Working, Leave Something Undone

When work is fully complete, people merely enjoy the fruits and cease to think of the doer. Therefore one should always leave a little of the work outstanding. This ensures that one's presence remains necessary and that one is still needed to carry the task forward. It is a strategy for security in one's position and for preserving one's advantage, warning against making oneself instantly replaceable by delivering everything fully finished. (This is a worldly stratagem, to be applied with due judgment.)

205. Remove an Enemy by Means of an Enemy

One should remove an enemy by relying on the help of another enemy, setting the two at odds with each other. The comparison is direct and practical: a thorn stuck in the foot is best extracted by another thorn held in the hand. This is a lesson in practical stratagem rather than ethics, acknowledging that in conflict one must sometimes use harsh or unpalatable means to achieve a necessary end, turning the nature of the problem into its own solution.

206. Repay Others as They Treat You

One should bow to those who bow, associate with those who associate, and return service to those who serve us; but one need feel no obligation to benefit those who wish us harm. The final line extends the principle: there is no need to associate with those who do not reciprocate. This is not a call to selfishness, but to a wise investment of one's social and moral energy. Relationships should flow both ways; one-sided effort is fruitless.

207. Abandon Those Who Abandon You, Like a Bird Seeking a New Tree

If someone abandons us, we too should abandon them in return, without clinging or longing. Do not preserve affection for one who no longer thinks of us. A bird that knows a tree has run out of fruit wisely flies off to another. The world is vast, and opportunities for fruitful relationships are many. This verse teaches the wisdom of non-attachment to fruitless relationships and the courage to seek new places for growth when the old ones are exhausted.

208. Sacrifice the Lesser for the Greater

One should give up a single person for the welfare of the whole family, give up a family for the survival of the village, give up a village for the security of the whole country, and finally be ready to give up the whole world for one's own true good—meaning spiritual liberation. This calculation concerns the scale of responsibility, justifying hard choices for the greater good, and culminating in the highest value: one's own ultimate spiritual goal above all worldly attachments.

209. Sacrifice Wealth, Limb, and Life for the Dhamma

One should be ready to give up wealth to preserve a limb, and to give up a limb to preserve life; but for the sake of the Dhamma—the truth and the path to liberation—one should be ready to give up all three: wealth, limb, and even life. The Dhamma is worth more than physical existence. This verse reflects the highest ideal of the Buddhist path, in which holding fast to truth and virtue is of supreme importance, even at the cost of everything worldly.

210. Life Grows Shorter Every Day—Do Not Be Heedless

The lifespan of all beings is ever passing, dwindling toward death at every moment. Given this undeniable truth of impermanence, one must not be heedless. The only rational and urgent response is to come to, and take refuge in, the teaching of the Conqueror (Jina). It is a call to action: understanding that time is short and death is certain, to delay the practice of the Dhamma is a grave folly. The path must be walked from now on.

211. Accepting Fault Strengthens the Bond

When one person confesses a wrong and the other understands the purpose of the confession—which is forgiveness and healing—the two are able to bear with each other. This act draws them closer, and the bond is restored rather than eroded. It teaches that a relationship is made stable not by perfection, but by the humility to admit fault and the wisdom to forgive, turning a rift into an opportunity for a deeper bond than before.

212. Six Things to Be Avoided

Fire and water, though necessary, can destroy if not treated with respect and caution. Woman (in the sense of lust), the fool, the snake, and the royal court are classed as perils that can swiftly take life. Each represents a source of ruin—lust, folly, venom, and the intricacies of politics. The advice is to recognize these inherent dangers and keep a wary distance. Survival and peace depend on knowing what to approach and what to avoid. (Here "woman" should be understood in the context of a warning about lust, not as a generalization.)

213. Even What Is Well Known Still Requires Vigilance

Even a well-studied text still requires continued reflection, for deeper understanding is always possible. Even a king who has been pleased must still be treated with caution, for favor can change. Even a young wife in one's own household must still be watched over, for loyalty cannot be taken as certain. The rhetorical question concedes that complete control or certainty over knowledge, power, or love is an illusion. The wise therefore remain vigilant, thoughtful, and never heedless.

214. See Through the Outer Shell

True effort, though demanding and challenging like an enemy, is in fact one's greatest ally, for it achieves goals and builds character. Laziness, comfortable and flattering like a friend, is a treacherous enemy that erodes potential and invites failure. True knowledge, though bitter and hard-won like poison, is the liberating nectar of wisdom. In contrast, heedlessness—the avoidance of duty that feels sweet and easy like nectar—is a deadly poison that destroys virtue and opportunity. True discernment sees past superficial appearances to the essence of things.

215. Carry the Enemy Until the Time Comes

One should endure, and even outwardly show support for, an enemy for a time, until the fitting opportunity arrives. This requires self-restraint and the suppression of immediate anger. But when the right moment comes—when one has the advantage or the enemy is vulnerable—one must act with decisive and resolute force, destroying the threat utterly, as one shatters an earthen pot against a rock. This is a teaching about the timing of conflict: endure while weak, and strike without hesitation while strong. (A worldly stratagem, to be considered in context.)

216. The Distance for Avoiding Dangerous Things

Dangerous horned animals such as bulls or rams should be avoided when within close range. A vehicle that may pose a danger should be avoided at a hundred cubits. A rutting elephant must be avoided at a thousand cubits. But for the most stubborn and corrosive danger of all—the evil person—the required remedy is the most drastic: one must abandon the entire region or district. True safety from a poisonous person requires complete geographic separation, for his influence cannot be escaped by distance alone; one must change one's environment.

217. Whom to Praise, and When

Elders or those worthy of respect should be praised directly to their face, for this affirms the hierarchy and encourages their kindness. Friends, kin, workers, and servants are best praised behind their backs, spoken of to others, for this builds their reputation and loyalty indirectly. Finally, sons and wife are best praised chiefly after they have passed away, for praise after death avoids the danger of fostering conceit, appears sincere and free of flattery, and helps affirm the legacy and honor of the family. (This is a practical observation according to tradition.)

218. Five Things That Grow Little by Little

Knowledge or skill must be learned step by step; wealth should be accumulated slowly and steadily; a mountain is climbed one step at a time. Even powerful inner forces such as desire and anger should be understood and dealt with little by little—that is, not acted upon impulsively, but observed and understood as they build before one responds. The repetition of "little by little" emphasizes that success and self-mastery in any endeavor are the fruit of continuous, incremental effort, not of a hasty leap by force.

219. A Leader Has a Hundred Eyes and Ears, Yet Is Still Blind and Deaf

A king or leader may have a hundred eyes and ears—a vast network of spies, ministers, and informants—and so may believe he always knows everything. But despite such mechanisms, he remains fundamentally blind and deaf. This is the nature of leadership: no one can know everything. Information is filtered, biased, or incomplete; schemes are concealed; the whole truth is hard to reach. The wise leader therefore governs with caution and humility, aware of the gaps in his own knowledge, never mistaking a network of intelligence for omniscience.

220. Small People United Are Hard to Overcome

Many people who are insignificant on their own become exceedingly hard to conquer when they unite. A single blade of grass is weak, but many woven together form a rope strong enough to bind a great elephant. This teaching serves both the weak and the strong: the weak must band together to gain strength, and the strong must not underestimate the power of a collective, however insignificant each individual unit may seem. Unity transforms quantity into a new quality of power.

221. Quell Anger and Craving with Similes

When anger arises, one should reflect on the simile of the saw (the Kakacūpama Sutta), recalling that even if one were cut limb from limb by a saw, it would still be better than letting the mind fall under the power of anger. When craving for the pleasure of taste arises, one should recall the simile of a son's flesh: like parents who are forced to eat the flesh of their own child to cross a desert wasteland, and who surely do not eat it with relish, one should see the loathsome danger of indulgence in sensual pleasure. These reflections are tools to restore mindfulness at once. (Drawn from the Kakacūpama Sutta and the Puttamaṃsa Sutta.)

222. Giving Is Medicine, Stinginess Is Poison

Giving is a medicine that produces affection in others and brings honor; it is a remedy for loneliness and obscurity. In contrast, stinginess is an addictive drug favored by the wicked and the poor, for it feeds greed and reinforces a poverty-minded outlook. Stinginess is thus a poisonous addiction that corrodes character and ensures continued decline, whereas generosity is a healthy medicine that nourishes social bonds and a good reputation.

223. To Desire Something, Cultivate Its Cause

This is the direct logic of cause and effect: if you desire wealth, you must engage in trade; if you desire a particular skill or knowledge, you must associate with the learned; if you desire a son, you must take a wife; and if you desire something still greater, you should approach and consult the king's minister. Desire alone is fruitless; each goal has its own specific and concrete practical path bound to it. This is a call to proactive effort and a rejection of idle daydreaming.

224. A Small Seed Yields Great Fruit, Like Good and Evil Deeds

A great tree bears abundant fruit, though it springs from a single tiny seed. Seeing such a vast result arise from so small a cause, a person should reflect that his own actions are like seeds: a single good or evil deed may bear far-reaching fruit over time, just as a small seed yields a great tree. This reflection aims to cultivate care and intention in every action, understanding that even a minor deed may grow into great happiness or great suffering in the future.

225. Give Up Low Conduct, Establish Yourself in the Highest Good

If a person behaves basely and disrespectfully toward those worthy of respect, he sinks into a low state himself. But there is a remedy: he must first abandon that low or debased mindset. Having done so, he can then establish himself in the highest good—meaning virtue, respect, and right livelihood. A flaw is not permanent; it can be corrected by consciously abandoning a wrong attitude and committing to right conduct thereafter.

226. Winning Over Each Kind of Person

To win over one of the highest standing and virtue, one must approach with great humility, shown through deference. The brave or the proud are won over by special recognition—honor or distinction that sets them apart from others and satisfies their need for esteem. The low or the greedy are easily won with small gifts, since their chief motive is immediate gain. Finally, to overcome an equal, one must display superior effort.

227. Conceal Your Own Faults, Know Others' Faults Like a Tortoise Drawing In Its Limbs

One should not let others come to know one's own flaws; one should guard them like a tortoise drawing its limbs into its shell for self-protection. At the same time, one should keenly perceive the faults and true nature of others. This is not for the sake of gossip, but for discernment and self-protection. Knowing others' weaknesses helps one navigate relationships prudently, while concealing one's own weaknesses guards against being exploited. It is a strategy for preserving security and advantage in a complex social world.