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 of evil nature, with bad habits rooted in the mind, suffers hardship and distress through their own deeds, not because of others, for whoever does a deed receives its result. This accords with the Buddha's saying found in Majjhima Nikāya, Majjhimapaṇṇāsaka:

อธิบายบทเชื่อม ๑To 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.

อธิบายบทเชื่อม ๑In 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.

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.