Some people come to hasty conclusions about others. Depending on their first impression or little knowledge, people tend to evaluate their neighbors, coworkers, guests, etc. The following episode offers a valuable lesson to those people:

The Buddha was residing in a certain building in the city of Savatthi.  One evening he stood up from meditation practice and walked toward the outer door.  There he sat on the seat prepared for him.

Shortly afterward, King Kosala approached the Buddha, greeted him, and sat down by the side. The relationship between the Buddha and the king was a very cordial one. The cheerful king always admired the Buddha’s guidance, as well as his friendship. This time, too, he was about to begin a pleasant and meaningful conversation with the Buddha.

However, a scene on the road just in front of the building seemingly distracted the king momentarily. Several ascetics of different spiritual traditions were walking along the road together, and they were about to pass that building. The ascetics looked well disciplined. Wearing robes, they walked slowly and mindfully.

As the ascetics passed the building, King Kosala immediately stood up and greeted the thirty-five holy persons by saying, “King Kosala shows his respect to you, sirs.” After the ascetics left, the king turned toward the Buddha and said, “Sir, those ascetics have either attained enlightenment or are following the correct path toward enlightenment.”

The Buddha replied that King Kosala’s conclusion might be wrong.  “You live a secular life with attention to sensory satisfaction,” the Buddha said.  “People of your nature may not be able to identify those who have attained enlightenment or those who are striving to attain it.”  He explained that the following three-step process would allow one to find out others’ virtues, purity, mental strength, and wisdom:

1. Long association with people
2. Observation of their behavior
3. Reflection upon and rational evaluation of their behavior.

“What a great wisdom!” the king exclaimed after listening to the Buddha. “Those ascetics, in fact, are my secret agents. They are returning from a mission that I have assigned to them.”

Samyutta Nikaya 1: 3. 11; The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: 173-174