Skip to main content
Way to Enlightenment

The Fool (Bāla Vagga)

Verse 60

Pāli Source

Dīghā jāgarato rattī, dīghaṃ santassa yojanaṃ; dīgho bālānaṃ saṃsāro saddhammaṃ avijānataṃ.

English Translation

Long is the night for one who lies awake; long is the road for one who is weary. Long is the wandering through repeated existence for the fool who does not know the true teaching.

Way to Enlightenment draft translation — not yet reviewed for accuracy.

Editorial Note

The opening verse of the Bāla Vagga (The Fool) — three everyday images of "long" building to the chapter’s central theme: not knowing the teaching prolongs one’s own difficulty.

Source

Pali critical edition: O. von Hinüber & K.R. Norman (Pali Text Society, 1995), digitized by the Dhammakaya Foundation via GRETIL, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0