NISAMMA KARANAM SEYYO

In Buddhism, there are many precious proverbs taught by the Buddha and his disciples. In this lesson we will learn a proverb which is the word of His Royal Prince Vajirananavororasa, the famous Supreme Patriarch of Thailand. He was the tenth Supreme Patriarch of the Present Ratanakosin period. This proverb means that it is advisable to think before doing anything.

In English there is a similar proverb, “ Look before you leap.” Some people make mistakes, because they do not think before they do things. We can avoid many mistakes if we think before we do everything. On the contrary, if we do first and think afterwards, we cannot avoid mistakes that we have done. Then we will have to repent for it, because we have done things which we do not want to do. Why is it so? It is because we do not think before we act.

It is advantageous for us to think before doing, for we can know the good or bad result of our actions. If we know that its result will be bad, we should not do it. It this way we can see that it is advisable to think before we do anything.

In taking an examination, for example, you should think before you answer the questions. Many students fail in their examinations, because they answer the questions without first thinking. They repent and are sorry when they come out of the examination hall.