Here he grieves, he grieves hereafter. In both worlds the wrong-doer grieves. He grieves, he’s afflicted, seeing the corruption of his deeds.
Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
I lived in Ghana for a couple of years in my twenties. Shops and restaurants in Ghana often have quite distinctive names such as ‘Jesus Finger’s Carpentry’, ‘Be a Man Shoemaker’ and ‘Meek and Mild Prep School‘. Ghana is a colourful place and this is part of that colour. One of the names you frequently came across was ‘First and Last’. The bar or restaurant called ‘First and Last’ would invariably be on the edge of town. It was the first place you would come to when you came into town and it was the last place that you encountered when you left. First and Last.
Daniel Ingram describes ethics in a similar way, as being the first and last training. It is first because this is where you start on the Buddhist path – you start with your ethical conduct. It is a prerequisite for the other two trainings, that of meditation and wisdom. It is last, because unlike the other two trainings, it can’t be perfected. You can perfect meditation and you can perfect wisdom but there is always further to go with ethics, there is always ethical refinement. Your ethics are the first thing that you encounter on your way into the spiritual path and the last thing you have to work with. First and Last.