Do not challenge a person who has influence; you may fall into his power. Do not quarrel with someone who is rich; he will bribe people to turn against you. Money and gold have destroyed many people and corrupted kings.
Don’t argue with someone
who talks too much; you will just be adding fuel to his fire. Don’t make fun of
someone who has bad manners; he may insult your ancestors.
Don’t criticize someone
if he is already turning away from his evil ways; remember that we all are
guilty. Never think less of someone because he is old; you will equally get
old.
Don’t be happy at the
death of anyone; remember that all of us will die someday. Pay attention to
what old people say, for they learnt from those who came before them. They can
teach you how to have an answer ready when you need one.
Don’t disregard
what the wise have said; study their proverbs and learn from them. Learn to be
cultured and to serve great people.
Don’t give a bad person
more leverage to continue on his evil path, you might hurt yourself. It is as
easy as getting burnt while adding logs to a fire.
If you keep away from someone who has the power to put you to death, you will not have to fear for your life. But if you must go close to him be very careful or he may kill you. Be careful as you walk among them; hidden traps that could make you an easy target.
You should not get up
and walk out of an impertinent and insolent person. He might twist your words
and use them against you.
Do not lend anything to
someone more powerful than you. If you do, you might as well consider it lost.
You should not guarantee anyone else’s loan to an extent that you cannot
afford. You must be buoyant enough to pay any such guarantee.
It is unwise to bring a
lawsuit against a judge. He will win because of his position.
If you travel with
someone who is reckless, it will cause you nothing but trouble. He will do
anything foolish he pleases and you will get hurt or die with him.
Try as much as possible
to avoid an argument with anyone who has a bad temper or go to a place where
the two of you will be alone. Violence means nothing to such a person; he will
attack you without notice with no one to help you.
You should not ask or seek advice from a stupid person; he will not be able to keep a secret you tell him.
Be careful with strangers; do not do anything that should be kept secret in their presence. There is no way of knowing what will happen if you do.Hide your most inner
intentions and private thoughts; do not reveal it to anyone. If you do, you may
as well throw away any chance of happiness.
Don’t be jealous of a
bad person’s success, you don’t know what kind of disaster is in store for
him.