| AN.VII.20 | Vassakaara Sutta | Ajaatasattu wished to attack the Licchavis to bring them to wretchedness and ruin. He sends his chief minister, the Brahmin Vassakaara, to see the Buddha. The Buddha asks if the Licchavis are still following the practices to protect a dynasty from decline, i.e.: 1. regularly and frequently holding meetings; 2. Meeting in unison, adjourning in unison, going about business in unison; 3. Not decreeing the undecreed nor abolishing what is already decreed but conforming to the long-established tradions of the dynasty; 4. Honouring and respecting the elders of the dynasty and deeming them worth listening to; 5. the woman of the dynasty should be allowed to live in the dynasty without being there by force or abduction; 6. traditional shrines of the dynasty, within and without the kngdom should not be neglected or left free of offerings, and; 7. rightful shelter and support should be provided for the arahants already come to the kingdom and the wish should be extended that those arahants not yet come may come thither. The brahmin answers that the Licchavis are still maintaining that tradition. Vassakaara concludes that as long as the Licchavis continue to maintain their harmonious tradition, they cannot be conquered directly -- and will have to be infiltrated by cunning. | 37/053 | Sattaka Nipaata, Pa.thamapa.n.naasaka | A"nguttara | A.iv. | |