In short: Chapter 5 of the Dhammapada, The Fool (Bālavagga), verses 60 to 75. What foolishness looks like, why a fool who knows he is a fool is wise to that extent, and the slow ripening of bad deeds.
Long is the night for the wakeful; long is the league for the weary; long transmigrate the fools who don’t understand the true teaching.
Dhammapada 60, the chapter's first verse.
Pāli and English translation by Bhikkhu Sujato, from SuttaCentral. The introduction is ANEW's.
The verses in Pāli and English
| Verse | Pāli | English |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | Dīghā jāgarato ratti, | Long is the night for the wakeful; |
| dīghaṁ santassa yojanaṁ; | long is the league for the weary; | |
| Dīgho bālāna saṁsāro, | long transmigrate the fools | |
| saddhammaṁ avijānataṁ. | who don’t understand the true teaching. | |
| 61 | Carañce nādhigaccheyya, | If while wandering you find no partner |
| Seyyaṁ sadisamattano; | equal or better than yourself, | |
| Ekacariyaṁ daḷhaṁ kayirā, | then firmly resolve to wander alone— | |
| Natthi bāle sahāyatā. | there’s no fellowship with fools. | |
| 62 | Puttā matthi dhanaṁ matthi, | “Sons are mine, wealth is mine”— |
| iti bālo vihaññati; | thus the fool frets. | |
| Attā hi attano natthi, | For even your self is not your own, | |
| kuto puttā kuto dhanaṁ. | let alone your sons or wealth. | |
| 63 | Yo bālo maññati bālyaṁ, | The fool who thinks they’re a fool |
| paṇḍito vāpi tena so; | is wise at least to that extent. | |
| Bālo ca paṇḍitamānī, | But the true fool is said to be one | |
| sa ve “bālo”ti vuccati. | who imagines that they are wise. | |
| 64 | Yāvajīvampi ce bālo, | Though a fool attends to the wise |
| paṇḍitaṁ payirupāsati; | even for the rest of their life, | |
| Na so dhammaṁ vijānāti, | they still don’t understand the teaching, | |
| dabbī sūparasaṁ yathā. | like a spoon the taste of the soup. | |
| 65 | Muhuttamapi ce viññū, | If a clever person attends to the wise |
| paṇḍitaṁ payirupāsati; | even just for an hour or so, | |
| Khippaṁ dhammaṁ vijānāti, | they swiftly understand the teaching, | |
| jivhā sūparasaṁ yathā. | like a tongue the taste of the soup. | |
| 66 | Caranti bālā dummedhā, | Fools and simpletons behave |
| amitteneva attanā; | like their own worst enemies, | |
| Karontā pāpakaṁ kammaṁ, | doing wicked deeds | |
| yaṁ hoti kaṭukapphalaṁ. | that ripen as bitter fruit. | |
| 67 | Na taṁ kammaṁ kataṁ sādhu, | It’s not good to do a deed |
| yaṁ katvā anutappati; | that plagues you later on, | |
| Yassa assumukho rodaṁ, | for which you weep and wail, | |
| vipākaṁ paṭisevati. | as its effect stays with you. | |
| 68 | Tañca kammaṁ kataṁ sādhu, | It is good to do a deed |
| yaṁ katvā nānutappati; | that doesn’t plague you later on, | |
| Yassa patīto sumano, | that gladdens and cheers, | |
| vipākaṁ paṭisevati. | as its effect stays with you. | |
| 69 | Madhuṁvā maññati bālo, | The fool imagines that evil is sweet, |
| yāva pāpaṁ na paccati; | so long as it has not yet ripened. | |
| Yadā ca paccati pāpaṁ, | But as soon as that evil ripens, | |
| atha dukkhaṁ nigacchati. | they fall into suffering. | |
| 70 | Māse māse kusaggena, | Month after month a fool may eat |
| bālo bhuñjeyya bhojanaṁ; | food from a grass-blade’s tip; | |
| Na so saṅkhātadhammānaṁ, | but they’ll never be worth a sixteenth part | |
| kalaṁ agghati soḷasiṁ. | of one who has appraised the teaching. | |
| 71 | Na hi pāpaṁ kataṁ kammaṁ, | For a wicked deed that has been done |
| Sajjukhīraṁva muccati; | does not curdle quickly like milk. | |
| Ḍahantaṁ bālamanveti, | Smoldering, it follows the fool, | |
| Bhasmacchannova pāvako. | like a fire smothered over with ash. | |
| 72 | Yāvadeva anatthāya, | Whatever fame a fool may get, |
| ñattaṁ bālassa jāyati; | it only gives rise to harm. | |
| Hanti bālassa sukkaṁsaṁ, | Whatever good features they have it ruins, | |
| muddhamassa vipātayaṁ. | and blows their head into bits. | |
| 73 | Asantaṁ bhāvanamiccheyya, | They’d seek the esteem that they lack, |
| Purekkhārañca bhikkhusu; | and status among the mendicants; | |
| Āvāsesu ca issariyaṁ, | authority over monasteries, | |
| Pūjaṁ parakulesu ca. | and honor among other families. | |
| 74 | Mameva kata maññantu, | “Let both layfolk and renunciants think |
| gihī pabbajitā ubho; | the work was done by me alone. | |
| Mamevātivasā assu, | In anything at all that’s to be done, | |
| kiccākiccesu kismici; | let them fall under my sway alone.” | |
| Iti bālassa saṅkappo, | So thinks the fool, | |
| icchā māno ca vaḍḍhati. | their greed and pride only growing. | |
| 75 | Aññā hi lābhūpanisā, | For the means to profit and the path to quenching |
| aññā nibbānagāminī; | are two quite different things. | |
| Evametaṁ abhiññāya, | A mendicant disciple of the Buddha, | |
| bhikkhu buddhassa sāvako; | understanding what this really means, | |
| Sakkāraṁ nābhinandeyya, | would never delight in honors, | |
| vivekamanubrūhaye. | but rather would foster seclusion. |
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Questions people ask
What is chapter 5 of the Dhammapada about?
What foolishness looks like, why a fool who knows he is a fool is wise to that extent, and the slow ripening of bad deeds.
Which verses are in Dhammapada chapter 5?
Chapter 5, The Fool (Bālavagga), contains verses 60 to 75.