Dhammapada verse 22
Chapter 2, Diligence (Appamādavagga) · verses 21–32
“Understanding this distinction when it comes to heedfulness, the astute rejoice in heedfulness, happy in the noble ones’ domain.”
Evaṁ visesato ñatvā, appamādamhi paṇḍitā; Appamāde pamodanti, ariyānaṁ gocare ratā.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 22 mean?
Verse 22 belongs to chapter 2, Diligence (Appamādavagga), which gathers verses 21–32 on heedfulness and negligence. It is filed under wisdom & folly, happiness. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 21 and verse 23 are part of the same passage.
This chapter is built on one opposition: heedfulness and negligence. Its twelve verses return again and again to the claim that the heedful person does not fall where the negligent one does, and it closes with a portrait of the diligent practitioner advancing like fire. Verses 21–23 are the ones usually quoted on death and the deathless.
More verses on this