Ways to Eliminate Unwholesome People

(The Perfectly Enlightened One told the Brāhmin Kūțadanta about the story of the King Mahāvijita calling his chaplain to instruct him on how to make a great sacrifice.)

The chaplain replied: Your Majesty’s country is overrun by thieves. It is severely damaged; villages and towns are being destroyed; the countryside is infested with criminals. If Your Majesty were to tax this region, that would be the wrong thing to do. Suppose Your Majesty were to think: ‘I will get rid of this disease of robbers by executions and imprisonment, or by confiscation, threats, and punishment by sending them away from the country,’ the disease would not be properly ended. Those who survived would later harm Your Majesty’s country.

However, with this plan you can completely eliminate the disease.

To those in the Kingdom who are engaged in cultivating crops and raising cattle, let Your Majesty distribute grain and food for livestock; to those in trade, give capital; to those in government service assign proper living wages.

Then those people, being intent on their own occupations, will not harm the Kingdom. Your Majesty’s revenues will be great; the land will be tranquil and not overrun by thieves; and the people, with joy in their hearts, playing with their children, will reside in open houses.

(Reference: DN 5)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares how a leader can eliminate unwholesome people from a population. This Teaching can be applied for a leader of a population or even a leader of one’s own home.

The Buddha explains that it is not through punishing wrongdoing that one will experience an improved result in people around them but instead, through rewarding wholesome behavior.

This Teaching can be applied to leaders of populations or even parents who are looking to improve the peacefulness and well-being of their home.

As people around you are engaged in harmful conduct, rather than looking to punish others for their shortcomings, mistakes, or wrongdoing, instead, look for ways to incentivize the wholesome behavior. Through supporting, encouraging, and motivating wholesome moral conduct, you will experience much better results than through punishing the unwholesome conduct.