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friend of whatever is good. For the present, Pasenadi will pass the night in misery, a defeated man.
“Conquest engenders hate; the conquered lives in misery. But whoso is at peace and passionless, happily doth he live ; conquest hath he abandoned and defeat.”
Again it so happened these two kings met in battle a second time. But in that battle the Kosala king Pasenadi defeated Ajatasatru and captured him alive. Then king Pasenadi thought : “Although this king injures me who was not injuring him, yet is he my nephew. What if I were now to confiscate his entire army, elephants, horses, chariots and infantry and leave him only his life ?” And he did so.
And almsmen returning from their alms tour in Shravasti brought word of this to the Exalted One. Thereupon the Exalted One said : “A man may spoil another, just so far as it may serve his ends, but when he’s spoiled by others, he, despoiled, spoils yet again.
“So long as evil’s fruit is not matured, the fool doth fancy ‘now’s the hour, the chance!’ But when the deed bears fruit, he fareth ill.
“The slayer gets a slayer in his turn ; the conqueror gets one who conquers him ; the abuser wins abuse from another.
“Thus by the evolution of the deed, a man who spoils is spoiled in his turn.”
§ 5, The Duty of the Victor Who Has Won Peace
When the Victor in war has won the Peace he claims the right further to degrade the vanquished if not to enslave him. The Buddha had a totally different view on the matter. In His view if Peace had any meaning it means that the Victor has a duty to use his victory for the service of the vanquished. This is what he said to the Bhikkhus on this subject :
“When Peace is won, the adept in warfare needs to prove an able, upright man, of gracious speech,
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