Budi

Diribut runduklah padi
Dicupak Datuk Temenggung
Hidup kalau tidak berbudi
Duduk tegak ke mari canggung.

Paddy was made to bow by the storm
Measured by Datuk Temenggung32
If life were to go on without budi
Even sitting upright will be awkward.

Tegak rumah karena sendi
Runtuh budi rumah binasa
Sendi bangsa ialah budi
Runtuh budi runtuhlah bangsa.

A house can stay upright because of joints
If budi collapses, the house will be destroyed
The joints of a nation is budi
If budi collapses, the nation will collapse.

Orang Melayu memang amat tinggi konsep budinya.

Budi now carries so many nuances of meanings in the Malay worldview and plays a pivotal role in every aspect of the Malay life. It can mean intellect as shown by the phrase akal budi, which meanscommon sense or healthy mind. It can also carry the meaning of kindness or virtue as shown in the lasttwo lines of the famous pantun: Pisang emas bawa belayar/ masak sebiji di atas peti/ hutang emasdapat dibayar/ hutang budi dibawa mati (Sail away with a bunch of bananas/ one ripe fruit remains on
the box/ Debts of money we can repay/ Debts of kindness, we take to the grave – translation [Sim1987, 30]). Commonly, however, it can be denoted as moral behaviour or moral character/action likebudi pekerti.29 It can also be understood as discretion or good judgement with flexibility as accorded tothe use of akal (mind) and hati (feelings) and as reflected by budi bicara. Budi should also contributeto the aspect of practicality like budidaya. Overall, when we deal with the mind of the Malay, it is the
budi and its networks30 that determine their thinking (judgement), their moral attitudes, their goodnessand how argument should be presented. Pure “budi” nevertheless can be led astray if not guided by the
ethical aspect of “budi.” It should be noted that “budi” can alsomean “akal (dl arti kecerdikan menipuatau tipu daya) (Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia 1991, 150)” like bermain budi, “to deceive” by using
the intelligence of mind, which is rather rhetorical31 in terms of argumentation. The Malay mind develops through a spectrum of akal budi and hati-budi which include “mind-emotion-moralgoodness-practicality” as their scales of decision-making. A wise person, budiman should bethoughtful, considerate (berhati perut, literally means has liver and stomach, normally means not cruelin decision), of good conduct and his decision should be an enlightened and practical one that helps society towards prosperity.