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 "one of evil nature" mean a person in whose mind an evil disposition is deeply rooted, who habitually likes to do evil. As for the words "suffers because of his own kamma", they mean that the trouble he meets does not come from others, but from his own actions. This saying emphasises the principle of kamma: whoever does a certain kamma must receive the result of that kamma, and no one can receive it in his place.

ขยายความบทตั้งIn the verse from which this saying comes, there is a comparison: just as a thief caught at the very hole he broke through in order to steal is punished because of his own action, so beings who have done evil, after leaving this world, suffer because of their own kamma. That thief cannot blame anyone at all, because the hole where he was caught is the hole he broke through himself. Evil is the same: it is a trap that the doer digs for himself. When the time comes for the result of kamma to appear, there is no escaping it.

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.

ตัวอย่างในชีวิตIn real life, a person who drives while drunk and causes an accident, and is injured, disabled or sent to prison, suffers because of his own actions. A person who is corrupt and embezzles until he is caught loses his position, his reputation and his freedom, all because of his own kamma. A student who does not pay attention to his studies because he is busy playing, until he fails and has to repeat the year, cannot blame his teachers or fate. Everyone must receive the results of his own actions.

สรุปTo conclude: Those who do not want hardship should therefore be careful about their own actions and not set traps of evil to catch themselves. When they meet with suffering, they should consider whether its cause lies in their own actions, instead of blaming others. This accords with the Dhamma saying set forth as the theme at the beginning:

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