Dhammapada Verse 314
Issapakata Itthi Vatthu
Akatam dukkatam seyyo
paccha tappati dukkatam
katanca sukatam seyyo
yam katva nanutappati.
Verse 314: It is better not to do an evil deed; an evil deed torments one
later on. It is better to do a good deed as one does not have to repent for
having done it.
The Story of a Woman of Jealous Disposition
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (314) of
this book, with reference to a woman who was by nature very jealous.
Once, a woman with a very strong sense of jealousy lived with her husband in
Savatthi. She found that her husband was having an affair with her maid. So one
day, she tied up the girl with strong ropes, cut off her ears and nose, and shut
her up in a room. After doing that, she asked her husband to accompany her to
the Jetavana monastery. Soon after they left, some relatives of the maid arrived
at their house and found the maid tied up and locked up in a room. They broke
into the room, untied her and took her to the monastery. They arrived at the
monastery while the Buddha was expounding the Dhamma. The girl related to the
Buddha what her mistress had done to her, how she had been beaten, and how her
nose and ears had been cut off. She stood in the midst of the crowd for all to
see how she had been mistreated. So the Buddha said, "Do no evil,
thinking that people will not know about it. An evil deed done in secret, when
discovered, will bring much pain and sorrow; but a good deed may be done
secretly, for it can only bring happiness and not sorrow."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
| Verse 314: It is better not to do an evil deed; an
evil deed torments one later on. It is better to do a good deed as one
does not have to repent for having done it.
|
At the end of the discourse the couple attained Sotapatti Fruition.