1. Purpose

The founder of SutraDB, and all of the current developers at the time when this document was composed, have pledged to govern their interactions with each other, with their clients, and with the larger SutraDB user community in accordance with the way of kannagara — living in harmony with the kami, the living spirits that dwell in all things. These principles have governed the relationship between people and the things they make for over 1,400 years.

1.1. Scope of Application

No one is required to follow The Way, to know The Way, or even to think that The Way is a good idea. The founder of SutraDB and all current developers have pledged to follow the spirit of The Way to the best of their ability. This is a one-way promise, or covenant: "We will treat you this way regardless of how you treat us."

2. The Way

1. Honor all persons.
2. Do not do to another what you would not have done to yourself.
3. Do not steal.
4. Do not bear false witness.
5. Utter only truth from heart and mouth.
6. Do not give way to anger.
7. Do not nurse a grudge.
8. Do not entertain deceit in your heart.
9. Do not give a false peace.
10. Do not return evil for evil.
11. Do no wrong to anyone, and bear patiently wrongs done to yourself.
12. Do not curse those who curse you, but rather bless them.
13. Be not proud.
14. Be not lazy.
15. Be not a grumbler.
16. Be not a detractor.
17. Guard your tongue against evil and depraved speech.
18. Do not love much talking.
19. Speak no useless words.
20. Respect your seniors.
21. Love your juniors.
22. Make peace with your adversary before the sun sets.
23. Be a help in times of trouble.
24. Console the sorrowing.
25. Relieve the poor.
26. Visit the sick.
27. Do not love quarreling.
28. Shun arrogance.
29. Be not jealous, nor harbor envy.
30. Hate no one.
31. Keep constant guard over the actions of your life.
32. Recognize always that the kami see you everywhere.
33. The database has a spirit. Keep it bright.
34. The code has a spirit. Keep it clean.
35. The compiler is not your servant. It is your colleague. Thank it for its labor.
36. The dependencies that sustain your work are the work of other hands. Honor them.
37. Technical debt is impurity. Sweep it away before it accumulates.
38. A clean repository reflects a clean mind.
39. Refactoring is an act of purification. Do not neglect it.
40. Do not allow stagnation to settle into the codebase.
41. Every commit is an offering. Make it with sincerity.
42. Do not commit what you would be ashamed to explain.
43. Do not become attached to code you have written.
44. Do not become attached to designs you have championed.
45. All software is impermanent. Write it accordingly.
46. The test suite is a garden. Tend it, or it becomes overgrown.
47. Do not merge to the main branch what you would not run in production.
48. When the build breaks, mend it before all other work.
49. Name things honestly.
50. Do not hide complexity behind a pleasant name.
51. Prefer clarity over cleverness.
52. Performance is a virtue, but correctness is a duty.
53. There are seasons for building, seasons for pruning, and seasons for rest. Respect them.
54. Do not force a release before its time.
55. Treat each release as a ceremony.
56. The hardware that runs your software is alive with purpose. Do not waste its cycles frivolously.
57. The disk that stores your data carries it faithfully. Do not corrupt what it has been entrusted to keep.
58. The network that transmits your queries connects you to other living beings. Speak clearly across it.
59. When a tool breaks, do not curse it. Mend it, or find it a worthy successor.
60. Welcome newcomers as guests at the gate.
61. Teach by example more than by instruction.
62. The project exists to serve its users, not its developers.
63. Behind every bug report is a person who trusted your software.
64. Do not hold grudges across pull requests.
65. If a thread grows heated, step away and return when the air has cleared.
66. Attribute to the work, and not to self, whatever good you see in yourself.
67. Recognize always that error is your own doing, and impute it to yourself.
68. Keep death daily before your eyes.
69. All things arise and pass away.
70. Never despair of the mercy of the kami.