Pāpavaggo : Chapter 9. Evil
What is “Pāpa” ?
Pāpa means evil, bad, wicked, sinful. This chapter describes a range of evils, from bad things, malice and big evils to small evils.
DhP.9-116
Abhittharetha kalyāṇe, makes-haste goodness pāpā cittaṃ nivāraye; from-evil mind keep-off Dandhañhi karoto puññaṃ, slowly-because does merit pāpasmiṃ ramatī mano. in-evil enjoyable consciousness
Good is haste!
Keep your mind away from evil.
Because while you neglect it,
the mind wants to have fun by doing evil.
explanation
If you decide to do something good, you must do it immediately without hesitation, or else your virtues will diminish rapidly. While you are hesitating, you will say, “Oh well, maybe next time”. The mind is delighted and evil is infested.
DhP.9-117
Pāpañce puriso kayirā, evil-if man does na naṃ kayirā punappunaṃ; not it does again-and-again Na tamhi chandaṃ kayirātha, not on-that intention dukkho pāpassa uccayo. suffering evil-of accumulation
If you do something evil,
do not repeat it.
Without that intention,
you will accumulate evil
and be suffering.
explanation
People make mistakes, so one mistake can be forgiven, but not a second. What are the evil things ? It is the harming of another being by deed, word or thought. Learn more “Pañcasīla(Five precepts)“.
DhP.9-118
Puññañce puriso kayirā, good-if man does kayirā naṃ punappunaṃ; does it again-and-again Tamhi chandaṃ kayirātha, on-that intention sukho puññassa uccayo. happiness virtue-of accumulation
If you do something good,
repeat it.
With that intention,
you will accumulate virtues
and be happy.
explanation
When we feel that we have helped someone, our mind feels happy and power arises. Feelings become more positive and cheerful, and we become more and more stable. We are able to deal with difficulties calmly and everything naturally takes a turn for the better.
DhP.9-119
Pāpopi passati bhadraṃ, evil-also to-see good yāva pāpaṃ na paccati; until evil not cook Yadā ca paccati pāpaṃ, when but suffers evil atha pāpo pāpāni passati. then evil unhappy to-see
Evil looks like fun
until there is a bad result.
When there is the bad result,
unhappiness is found.
explanation
If you do something evil, you will cause trouble for someone. No one will help troublemaker.
When we feel that someone dislikes us, our mind feels hatred and angry arises. Feelings become more negative and dark, and we become more and more unstable. Without co-operation, we cannot cope well and naturally everything takes a turn for the worse.
People who do evil are just shameless and blind to what lies ahead. The more ignorant they are, the more stupid they are, the easier it is for them to do evil.
DhP.9-120
Bhadropi passati pāpaṃ, good-also to-see evil yāva bhadraṃ na paccati; until good not cook Yadā ca paccati bhadraṃ, when but cook good atha bhadro bhadrāni passati. then good happy to-see
Good looks like hard
until there is a good result.
When there is the good result,
happiness is found.
explanation
According to the laws of nature, doing good returns good results and doing bad returns bad results. And if nothing is done, nothing will be returned.
DhP.9-121
Māvamaññetha pāpassa, Do-not-measure evil na mantaṃ āgamissati; not to-me-it coming Udabindunipātena, drop-of-water-falling-by udakumbhopi pūrati; water-pot-even to-be-filled Bālo pūrati pāpassa, foolish to-be-filled evil thokaṃ thokampi ācinaṃ. little by-little accumulate
Even if you do not think
this is such a big evil deed.
Just as a drop of water fills a water jar,
a foolish one gradually accumulates evils
and the mind is filled.
explanation
We must not do bad things, interpreting them to suit ourselves as “everyone else is doing it”, “this is no big deal” or “I’m not causing any trouble.” Bad behaviour, even if it is small, can only make for bad results.
DhP.9-122
Māvamaññetha puññassa, Do-not-measure good na mantaṃ āgamissati; not to-me-it coming Udabindunipātena, drop-of-water-falling-by udakumbhopi pūrati; water-pot-even to-be-filled Dhīro pūrati puññassa, wise to-be-filled good thokaṃ thokampi ācinaṃ. little by-little accumulate
Even if you do not think
this is such a big good deed.
Just as a drop of water fills a water jar,
a wise one gradually accumulates virtues
and the mind is filled.
explanation
Even small good deeds can accumulate and become a habit, enabling you to do greater good deeds. And one day t will return as a result of the greater good.
DhP.9-123
Vāṇijova bhayaṃ maggaṃ, trader-as fear road appasattho mahaddhano; having-few-companions great-wealth Visaṃ jīvitukāmova, poison life-desire-as pāpāni parivajjaye. evil should-be-avoided
transration
explanation
Not doing evil acts is a good deed in itself. Specifically, immediately stop any evil acts that you are doing now. And stop any evil acts that you might do in the future. Never mind the past, it’s all about the present.
DhP.9-124
Pāṇimhi ce vaṇo nāssa, hand-at if wound nothing hareyya pāṇinā visaṃ; carry hand-by poison Nābbaṇaṃ visamanveti, woundless poison-follow natthi pāpaṃ akubbato. not-existent evil not-do
If there are no wounds on the hands,
there is no harm in handling the poison.
If a person has no evil,
there is no evil action.
episode
One Sotarpanna (a person who has attained the first stage of awakening) woman had a husband who was a hunter. The monks asked Buddha, “It is the wife who prepares the nets and traps for her husband to use for hunting. Isn’t this part of taking the life of an animal?”. The Buddha replied, “Soterpanna does not kill living beings and does not want them killed. As a wife, she was only following her husband by obtaining things for him. As the unscarred hand is not poisoned, if one does not think of doing evil, no bad karma actually arises‘.
explanation
This episode can be interpreted to mean that there is no absolute evil and that evil is also relative.In different cultures, even murder is a righteous act. For example, in Japan, the death penalty is actually a justifiable act. How about in your country?
DhP.9-125
Yo appaduṭṭhassa narassa dussati, who not-wickedness to-person to-offend-against suddhassa posassa anaṅgaṇassa; for-purity person innocent Tameva bālaṃ pacceti pāpaṃ, it-only foolish return evil sukhumo rajo paṭivātaṃva khitto. small dust against-the-wind-as thrown
If you are offend against
a pure and innocent person without evil,
it will all come back to you,
like sand thrown against the wind.
explanation
Having ‘ill-will‘ is a state of not accepting the subject and being in conflict with them. It is “anger” at others for not acting in accordance with your wishes. The only person you can control is yourself. Others do not exist to satisfy your needs. Only you can satisfy your needs. This is a law of nature.
DhP.9-126
Gabbhameke uppajjanti, womb-someone be-reborn nirayaṃ pāpakammino; hell evil-action-one Saggaṃ sugatino yanti, heaven righteous they-go parinibbanti anāsavā. complete-Nibbāna not-defilement-one
Some are reborn in the womb.
Evil ones are reborn in hell.
Good ones are reborn in heaven.
Those without defilement are completely liberated.
episode
In the town of Servatti lived a man and his wife, who were jewel-polishers. Every day they would give alms to a certain monk. While the man was cutting meat, an envoy of the king came and gave him a ruby to polish. The man took the ruby with hands covered in blood from the meat, put it on the table and went to wash his hands.
The house had a pet bird. The bird saw a bloody ruby, mistook it for flesh and swallowed it right in front of the monk. When the man returned, he could not find the ruby anywhere. He asked his wife, but she said “I know nothing about it“. Finally, he asked the monk who was there, but he replied “I didn’t take it“.
The man was convinced that it must be this monk who took the ruby and decided to torture the monk. His wife said, “That monk is Arahant, our teacher for many years. I have never seen him do anything wrong. It is better to be punished by the king than to accuse the noble one” and she stopped him. But the man tied up the monk and beat him with a stick.
The monk was covered in blood and the bird came again, drawn by the blood. The man got angry and kicked the bird, killing it. The monk then asked him, “Please show me if the bird is dead“. The man showed him the bird and replied, “You will die like this bird“. When the monk saw that the bird was dead, he said quietly, “The bird swallowed the ruby“. The man cut the bird open and found the ruby in its stomach.
The man realised his mistake and was terrified, so he asked the monk for forgiveness. The monk then said, “This is neither your fault nor mine. This is the result of my entering the house“.
“I became too close to you despite being a monk. You invited me in to do good deeds, but got caught up in my deeds and did unnecessary evil deeds. The fact that I was almost killed today must be retribution for some sin I committed in my own previous life. This is not your fault. From today onwards I will never enter any house, I will only stand at the door”.
The monk eventually died from this wound. Later, the disciples asked the Buddha where the various characters in this story had been reborn. Buddha replied, “The bird was reborn as the son of a jewel-polisher soon after that, the jewel-polisher who died a few years later was reborn in the lower realms, and his wife was reborn in the heavenly realms. The monk, who was already an arahant when he was alive, realised nirvana“.
explanation
This is the law of cause and effect. It is the natural law that the cause of an action A determines the result of an action B. However, even if several persons experience a single event at the same time, the cause and effect of an action are different for each person.
If the monk had not entered the house, neither the man’s intention to hit the monk nor the wife’s intention to help him would have occurred.
The causative act is always done at the will of the doer, and the reward for the result is received by the person who did it. Sometimes the result is in the next life, but always only deserved.
Arahan’s response is excellent. If he had replied that the bird had swallowed it, it would have been killed. Nevertheless, he did not lie, but answered only with the facts, “I didn’t take it”. He was trying to save the bird’s life even if it killed him.
DhP.9-127
Na antalikkhe na samuddamajjhe, not sky not sea-in na pabbatānaṃ vivaraṃ pavissa; not mountain-of fissure enter Na vijjatī so jagatippadeso, not exists he world-on-spot yatthaṭṭhito mucceyya pāpakammā. in-which-place escape evil-deed-from
There is no place in the sky,
in the sea or in mountain caves.
There is nowhere in the world
to escape the results of evil deeds.
explanation
Can you escape the shadows that follow you? If you do bad things, bad things will follow you like shadows.
If you do something evil, you know that fact about yourself. No man can escape his own mind. The actions you do are stored in your mind as karma (potential energy). This potential energy cannot leave the mind even when the body dies. And when the conditions are right, the results appear.
DhP.9-128
Na antalikkhe na samuddamajjhe, not sky not sea-in na pabbatānaṃ vivaraṃ pavissa; not mountain-of fissure enter Na vijjatī so jagatippadeso, not exists he world-on-spot yatthaṭṭhitaṃ nappasaheyya maccu. in-which-place not-overcoming death
There is no place in the sky,
in the sea or in mountain caves.
There is nowhere in the world
to escape death.
explanation
We actually cannot accept the impermanent teaching that “Whoever is born must die.” If we can accept this fact, the “It is me! It is mine!” assertiveness will cease and there will be no more conflict with others. In a positive sense, most things become less of a big deal because “We are going to die anyway“. There is no longer any need to be obsessed. When obsession or attachment disappears, there is no more worry and suffering. We will be happy.
Pāpavaggo navamo niṭṭhito. evil-chapter 9th finish
9. The evil chapter is ended.
“Desire, anger and ignorance” These three energy impulses are the driving force of life. That is why the mind takes pleasure in being bad. It is instinctive to do bad things if there is a chance, if you do not get caught, if you can gain. It is an easy habit to get into. Unless you understand this nature of the mind and discipline yourself, evil will not disappear from the world.
Thus, regulate yourself rather than others.