Standing to one side, the godling Khema recited these verses in the Buddha’s presence:
Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho khemo devaputto bhagavato santike imā gāthāyo abhāsi:
“Fools and simpletons behave like their own worst enemies, doing wicked deeds that ripen as bitter fruit.
“Caranti bālā dummedhā, amitteneva attanā; Karontā pāpakaṁ kammaṁ, yaṁ hoti kaṭukapphalaṁ.
It’s not good to do a deed that plagues you later on, for which you weep and wail, as its effect stays with you.
Na taṁ kammaṁ kataṁ sādhu, yaṁ katvā anutappati; Yassa assumukho rodaṁ, vipākaṁ paṭisevati.
It is good to do a deed that doesn’t plague you later on, that gladdens and cheers, as its effect stays with you.”
Tañca kammaṁ kataṁ sādhu, yaṁ katvā nānutappati; Yassa patīto sumano, vipākaṁ paṭisevati.
“As a precaution, you should do what you know is for your own welfare. A thinker, an attentive one would not proceed thinking like the cart driver.
Paṭikacceva taṁ kayirā, yaṁ jaññā hitamattano; Na sākaṭikacintāya, mantā dhīro parakkame.
Suppose a cart driver leaves the highway, so even and well compacted. They enter upon a rough road, and fret as soon as their axle is broken.
Yathā sākaṭiko maṭṭhaṁ, samaṁ hitvā mahāpathaṁ; Visamaṁ maggamāruyha, akkhacchinnova jhāyati.
So too, a dullard leaves the good to follow what’s against the good. Fallen in the jaws of death, they fret like one whose axle is broken.”
Evaṁ dhammā apakkamma, adhammamanuvattiya; Mando maccumukhaṁ patto, akkhacchinnova jhāyatī”ti.
