Dhammapada verse 60
Chapter 5, The Fool (Bālavagga) · verses 60–75
“Long is the night for the wakeful; long is the league for the weary; long transmigrate the fools who don’t understand the true teaching.”
Dīghā jāgarato ratti, dīghaṁ santassa yojanaṁ; Dīgho bālāna saṁsāro, saddhammaṁ avijānataṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 60 mean?
Verse 60 belongs to chapter 5, The Fool (Bālavagga), which gathers verses 60–75 on the fool. 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 59 and verse 61 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.
More verses on this