Dhammapada verse 120
Chapter 9, Wickedness (Pāpavagga) · verses 116–128
“Even the good see wicked things, so long as their goodness has not ripened. But as soon as that goodness ripens, then the good see good things.”
Bhadropi passati pāpaṁ, Yāva bhadraṁ na paccati; Yadā ca paccati bhadraṁ, Atha bhadro bhadrāni passati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 120 mean?
Verse 120 belongs to chapter 9, Wickedness (Pāpavagga), which gathers verses 116–128 on wickedness and its ripening. It is filed under good & evil. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 119 and verse 121 are part of the same passage.
Thirteen verses on wickedness and its ripening. The chapter’s repeated claim is that an evil deed is not done in one motion — it is done, then repeated, then made a habit — and that the person who does it grieves in both places, here and after. It is one of the chapters most explicitly concerned with consequence rather than intention.
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