Is there an acceptable form of lying and suicide in the Punna Sutta?

>In the SN 35.88 Punna Sutta, the Buddha asks Punna what he would do if the rough Sunaparanta people attack him and he says he will think "These Sunaparanta people are very civilized, in that they don't take my life with a sharp knife" and the Buddha said that was good. Is the Buddha not condoning lying here? Is this an example of some kind of mind conditioning lie? Is it a certain distinct practice in the Buddha's teaching? >The Buddha asks what would you think if they took your life with a sharp knife and Punna says "If they take my life with a sharp knife, I will think, 'There are disciples of the Blessed One who — horrified, humiliated, and disgusted by the body and by life — have sought for an assassin, but here I have met my assassin without searching for him.' It's ok with the Buddha for monks to seek assassins? That wouldn't be breaking the first precept if you consider the assassin as a weapon used for suicide? What is the Pali word for "sought"?