Dhammapada verse 68
Chapter 5, The Fool (Bālavagga) · verses 60–75
“It is good to do a deed that doesn’t plague you later on, that gladdens and cheers, as its effect stays with you.”
Tañca kammaṁ kataṁ sādhu, yaṁ katvā nānutappati; Yassa patīto sumano, vipākaṁ paṭisevati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 68 mean?
Verse 68 belongs to chapter 5, The Fool (Bālavagga), which gathers verses 60–75 on the fool. It is filed under no theme. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 67 and verse 69 are part of the same passage.
The fool, in sixteen verses. The chapter is not kind about it: the fool who knows they are a fool is at least partly wise, the fool who thinks they are wise is beyond help, and the harm a fool does lands on themselves first. It includes the image of evil tasting sweet until it ripens.