Acharya Buddharakkhita (trans.), Dhammapada V (Pali Text Society: Dhammapada 60-75); Sheldon S., Crystal Quintero, Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly
60. Long is the night for the sleepless; long is the league for the weary. Long is samsaric wandering for fools who know not the Dharma (Truth).
61. Should a seeker not find a companion who is equal or better, let one resolutely pursue a solitary course. There is no fellowship with fools.
62. The fool worries thinking, "I have children! I have wealth!" Indeed, when oneself is not one's own, how are children, how is wealth?
63. A fool who knows one's own foolishness is wise at least to that extent, but a fool who thinks oneself wise is a fool indeed!
64. Though all one's life a fool associates with a wise person, that fool no more comprehends the Truth than a spoon knows the flavor of soup.
65. Though only for a moment a discerning person associates with a wise person, quickly one comprehends the Truth, just as the tongue knows the flavor of the soup.
66. Fools of little wit are enemies to themselves as they move about doing harmful deeds, the fruits of which are bitter.
67. Ill-done is that karma (action) the doing of which one repents later, and the fruit of which one, weeping, reaps bitterness with tears.
68. Well-done is that action (karma, deed) the doing of which one does not repent later, and the fruit of which one reaps with delight and happiness.
69. So long as a harmful deed has not ripened, the fool thinks it as sweet as nectar. But when the harmful deed ripens, the fool comes to grief.
70. Month after month a fool [an ordinary worldly person] may eat food with the tip of a blade of grass, but is still not worth a sixteenth part of those who have comprehended the Truth.
71. Truly, a harmful deed committed does not immediately bear fruit, like milk that does not turn sour all at once. But smoldering, it follows the fool like fire hidden by ashes.
72. To one's own ruin the fool gains knowledge, for it cleaves the head and destroys innate goodness.
73. The fool seeks undeserved reputation, precedence among monastics, authority over monasteries, and honor among householders.
74. "Let both laypeople and monastics think that it was done by me! In every work, great and small, let them follow me" — such is the ambition of the fool. Therefore, craving and pride [deluded self-view] increase.
75. The quest for worldly gain is one thing, but quite another is the path to nirvana. Clearly understanding this, let not the wandering ascetic, the disciple of the Buddha, be carried away by worldly acclaim, but develop letting go instead.
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