Chapter II
Scrutinizing a Wise Ruler

The rulers of people
Should study various Dharma texts
And should rely on the learned,
In order to understand what one should and should not do.

If one does not read and study Dharma texts,
Then a person with little knowledge
Will not be able to differentiate what to adopt or abandon.
So, one should go through the teachings of the Buddha and their commentaries.

During the time of study
One should give up one’s ego and rely on a master.
If one relies on such a noble one,
One’s knowledge will increase like a river in summer.

Wisdom is the root of
All outer and inner positive qualities.
If one does not have wisdom
One cannot nurture others just by affection.

If a person with wisdom intends to do something,
There is nothing that they cannot achieve.
If such a person could achieve buddhahood through wisdom,
Then it is needless to mention other achievements.

The way to increase one’s wisdom
Is by studying and listening.
So, aside from studying,
What can one gain from engaging in useless activities?

Knowledge is the source
Of Dharma practice and liberation,
And texts are important for increasing knowledge;
Is one not like an animal if one neglects them?

Just a single person with wisdom
Can defeat an army of well-equipped enemies,
Like the blazing sun
Surpassing all the stars.

A person with wealth but without wisdom
Will only be benefitting their enemies.
Their power will be controlled by others
Like a strong bull overpowered by a hook.

If one wishes to be learned,
Then learn a word every day.
It is like the waxing moon,
Increasing stage by stage.

A person who stays idle
Will not have good qualities even after one hundred years.
So, if you want to be learned,
Then be diligent and face all challenges.

A person without diligence does not have knowledge,
And without knowledge, it is useless
To wish for wealth,
Similar to a deciduous tree in winter.

If one is learned,
Even though one experiences temporary downfalls,
In the future one’s fruition is near at hand,
Similar to an evergreen tree in summer.

A ruler is only respected in his own land,
But a learned man is even revered by outsiders.
Therefore, it is all right to opt for learning;
This is more important than the throne.

However, because learning is important,
If one is not learned oneself
And disrespects those who are learned,
Alas! One will be devastated by karma.

Even if many people without wisdom
Thronged together,
One person with wisdom could tame them all,
Like a lion overtakes a herd of bulls.

Even if your enemy is powerful,
He can be tamed with wisdom;
Even though the garuda is victorious,
He is finally ridden by Vishnu.
If a ruler who looks after his land
Is endowed with wisdom,
He alone can conquer
All the land.

If one holds the lamp of wisdom,
There is no place for the darkness of degeneration.
A wise person who is learned in texts
Is an adornment to society, like the sun.

All the good results of Dharma practice and politics
Depend on the power of wisdom,
So first accumulate the vision-like wisdom
And then pursue other plans.

If a person who does not know what they should and should not do
Cannot even achieve a small goal
With much effort,
Then it is needless to mention bigger goals.

What an ordinary person cannot achieve
Can be achieved by the learned through different ideas,
Like the group of Jains whom Punna could not tame,
Was tamed by the learned Manjushri.

When the wisdom of a person broadens,
They become unstoppable in everything.
Similarly, the paths where a thousand blind folk cannot go,
A person with sight can take them all.
Just through the words of a person with wisdom,
Ordinary people can achieve big goals,
Like the King Mirror-Face
Whose words made others happy.

The wise are not content with their knowledge,
The noble ones are not content with their good qualities,
The ocean is content with its water,
And youths are not content with their worldly pleasures.

Fools cannot differentiate between good and bad qualities,
Auspicious and inauspicious days,
And those who are wise and foolish.
Only the wise can.

The difference between a wise man and a fool can be understood
By how they explain the profound meanings of the texts
And how they perform important tasks.
A person pretending to be wise is equal to a fool.

Those who are wise rectify mistakes and adopt good qualities;
Fools make mistakes and abandon good qualities.
They slander the wise,
But the wise pity them.
It does not matter how rich a fool is,
His wealth will be doomed like a flowering bamboo.
It does not matter how much a wise man is doomed,
He will flourish like a good seed.
Wise and learned people
Even learn from those who are younger.
But egoistic fools
Run away from the wise.

To turn deaf ears to good advice,
To neglect important things,
And to strive for less important things
Are the signs of fools.

To not listen to good advice,
To listen to those without manners,
And to be aggressive with the noble ones
Are also the signs of fools.

To disbelieve when they are told the truth,
To follow the person who deceives them
And to be pleased with just artificial praise
Are the signs of ignorant ones.
To trust after a mere sight of anything,
To believe in every kind of talk
And to strive after insignificant tasks
Are also the signs of fools.

To promise to do a task and not follow through,
To repeat all that one hears without examination,
And to blindly speak about something without having knowledge—
These also ways that one can identify a fool.

To speak about one’s knowledge without asking,
To harm others without reason,
To slander others and to be egoistic—
One who does any these is a fool.

Though there are many signs of fools,
The wise ones can easily know fools
From the previously mentioned signs;
Signs contrary to these are indications of the wise.

If one abandons egoistic fools,
A bad king, a bad wife
And bad subjects,
Then one will be happy.

If one relies on wise people,
A good king, good friends
And good subjects,
Then one’s happiness will increase.

After understanding the good and bad qualities
Of the wise and the foolish respectively,
A king who is learned in governance
Should try to acquire the qualities of the wise.

So learn worldly skills,
And moreover, the texts on governance,
Carpentry, pharmacy, language and grammar, valid reasoning
And the Dharma.

There is no subject,
Like that of astrology, poetry, spelling and others,
That a wise king has not studied;
To be wise is the best adornment for a king.
Moreover, if he studies the teachings of the Buddha
And their commentaries,
Then he will be confident
In all matters.

A king endowed with wisdom
Is the incomparable adornment of the world.
He is greater than the sun
That clears away all the darkness in the world.

The thing that the sun cannot dispel—
The defilements of the beings—
Can all be dispelled by sun-like wisdom of the king.
As such, he is extraordinary.

Since the sun-like wise ruler is a friend
To all the lotus-like wise ones
Present under, on and above the earth,
He shines over the three worlds.

The second chapter of “The Adornments of Leaders” from the Shastra on Governance ends here.

To be continued

By Rigzod Editors,
NREC, 2018