Dhammapada verse 220
Chapter 16, The Beloved (Piyavagga) · verses 209–220
“Just so, when one who has done good goes from this world to the next, their good deeds receive them there, as family welcomes home one they love.”
Tatheva katapuññampi, asmā lokā paraṁ gataṁ; Puññāni paṭigaṇhanti, piyaṁ ñātīva āgataṁ. Piyavaggo soḷasamo.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 220 mean?
Verse 220 belongs to chapter 16, The Beloved (Piyavagga), which gathers verses 209–220 on the beloved, and the grief that follows. 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 219 and verse 221 are part of the same passage.
Twelve verses on the beloved, and this is the chapter that explains grief. Its argument is that sorrow follows from affection — the one you love, the thing you cannot lose — and it does not tell the reader to love less so much as to see what they have taken on. Verses 209–211 are the ones most often quoted.
More verses on this