Dhammapada verse 67
Chapter 5, The Fool (Bālavagga) · verses 60–75
“It’s not good to do a deed that plagues you later on, for which you weep and wail, as its effect stays with you.”
Na taṁ kammaṁ kataṁ sādhu, yaṁ katvā anutappati; Yassa assumukho rodaṁ, vipākaṁ paṭisevati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 67 mean?
Verse 67 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 66 and verse 68 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.