อารัมภบทI shall now explain and expand upon the meaning of the Dhamma theme written above, as a guide for study and practice.

อธิบายบทตั้งTo explain: The words "the accumulation of evil" mean doing evil again and again, until that evil builds up more and more and becomes a habit. This saying teaches that such accumulation of evil brings suffering, because each evil deed is like a drop of water dripping into a vessel: when it keeps dripping, the vessel eventually becomes full.

ขยายความบทตั้งIn the Dhammapada, the Buddha warned: if a person should do evil, he should not do it again and again, and should not take delight in it, for the accumulation of evil brings suffering. Many people think that small evils do not matter, such as telling a small lie or taking a little of other people's things, but it is precisely this way of thinking that makes evil accumulate more and more. Once one has done it until it becomes habitual, the mind no longer feels ashamed, and greater evils can easily follow. In the end, suffering arrives, in the form of legal punishment, disgrace and distress of mind.

ประโยคสะพาน + ที่มา ๑One who does not keep to the truth and habitually lies is ready to do any evil at all, having already cast aside the most important safeguard of goodness. This accords with the sense of the Buddha's saying found in Khuddaka Nikāya, Dhammapada:

อธิบายบทเชื่อม ๑To explain: The word "lying" (musā) means falsehood, telling lies, speaking what does not match the truth in order to deceive others. This saying teaches that for a person who habitually lies, there is no evil at all that he would not do. In other words, a person who does not keep to truthfulness is ready to do every kind of evil, because he has already abandoned the most important safeguard of goodness.

อธิบายบทเชื่อม ๑In the Dhammapada, the Buddha said that for a person who transgresses the one principle, namely truthfulness, who habitually tells lies and has no regard for the next world, there is no evil he would not do. The reason is that lying is the tool for concealing all evil. A person who does wrong and dares to lie thinks he can hide his wrongdoing, and so he dares to go on doing wrong. A person who keeps to the truth, however, admits it when he does wrong, so his wrongdoing does not pile up. Truthfulness is therefore like a gate that holds back all evils; when this gate breaks down, other evils flow in easily.

ตัวอย่างในชีวิตFor example, a child who steals his parents' money a little at a time without anyone knowing may, when he grows up, dare to embezzle larger sums of money, until one day he is caught and must receive a heavy punishment. One who is addicted to gambling also begins by playing only a little, but once the habit has accumulated until he is addicted, he may lose his property, his family and his future. These sufferings do not arise all at once, but gradually accumulate from evil done little by little.

สรุปTo conclude: Those who do not wish for suffering should therefore not be heedless of even a small evil. They should stop from the very first time, and if they have carelessly done it already, they should not do it again, because stopping the accumulation of evil is closing the door of suffering. This accords with the Dhamma saying set forth as the theme at the beginning:

ปิดท้ายThus has the meaning been explained, as set forth above.