Dhammapada verse 26
Chapter 2, Diligence (Appamādavagga) · verses 21–32
“Fools and simpletons devote themselves to negligence. But the wise protect diligence as their best treasure.”
Pamādamanuyuñjanti, bālā dummedhino janā; Appamādañca medhāvī, dhanaṁ seṭṭhaṁva rakkhati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 26 mean?
Verse 26 belongs to chapter 2, Diligence (Appamādavagga), which gathers verses 21–32 on heedfulness and negligence. It is filed under wisdom & folly. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 25 and verse 27 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