These Khmer Proverbs are taken from the Khmer Institute website. There were a lot of proverbs and adages listed, however, these are the one that I enjoy reading most. For more visit www.khmerinstitute.org
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| Anger causes lack of mindfulness, leading to impairment of work, impairment of purpose; the nature of anger leads to impurity, error, waste, and injury caused by absent-mindedness. | |
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| Work hard to make a living for indolence is pointless, that way no matter your misfortunes you will have enough to eat without asking for handouts from others. | |
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| Prison and keys are something to which thieves gave birth; medicinal remedies are born from germs; sleep is born from feelings of sleepiness; people in the world are born from karma. | |
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| Control your temper through concentration and patience; control everyday evil/crimes through rules/authority; those who control their hearts to reject anger deserve the greatest praise of all. | |
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| Controlling yourself to reject feelings of love involving worldly lust and desires is like using cotton thread to tie up an elephant, so exceedingly difficult that you should try to avoid it beforehand.————————-
Interpretation: Try to avoid falling into forbidden passion as it will be difficult to control yourself once you do. Worldly lust and desires can incite many evils, such as violence and murder. |
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| Associating with evil people will bring you suffering. | |
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| Do not plan to study with the desire to become a government minister; hate and loathe this quagmire that leads to poverty; you must study to become a farmer in order to have wealth in the future.*****
Interpretation: Be practical and do not waste your time seeking that which is unavailable to you. |
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| Do not sit on a basket to raise yourself; do not be boisterous while carrying goods on your head; do not lie with your head covered waiting for good luck; do not rely upon the god of mercy, you must work hard. | |
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| Do not develop the habit of being idle, wasting time that could be spent working; do not develop the habit of keeping something for later; do not develop the habit of carelessly looking down upon others, bringing a response (confrontation); do not develop the habit of not giving gifts to beggars not expressing compassion). | |
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| Do not commit evil deeds such as practicing usury; betraying your wife with a secret mistress leads to misery. | |
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| The function of great knowledge is not to simply weigh down your brain, just as a woman does not wear costly jewelry simply to weigh herself down. | |
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| Do not rely upon the notion that those who are rich need not exert effort or those who have fallen need not push themselves up.*****
Interpretation: We dictate our own future and should not wait around for luck/fate to dictate it for us. Do not believe that if your are rich you no longer need to work hard or if you have fallen (literally, financially, or otherwise) that it is pointless to struggle to get back on your feet. |
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