KN.DHP60-75 — The Dhammapada, Chapter on the Fool
The night is long for one who is awake; the journey is long for one who is weary; samsara is long for the foolish who do not know the true Dhamma.
If one does not find a companion who is better or equal, let him firmly pursue a solitary life; there is no companionship with a fool.
The fool worries, I have sons, I have wealth. Indeed, he himself is not his own. How then are sons, how is wealth?
The fool who thinks he is foolish is for that very reason wise. The fool who thinks he is wise is called a fool indeed.
Though a fool associates with a wise man his whole life, he does not understand the Dhamma, just as a spoon does not taste the soup.
If an intelligent person associates with a wise man even for a moment, he quickly understands the Dhamma, just as the tongue tastes the soup.
Fools with little understanding are their own enemies, as they move about doing evil deeds, which bear bitter fruit.
That deed is not well done if, after having done it, one repents; if with a tearful face, one reaps the result.
That deed is well done if, after having done it, one does not repent; if with a joyful and satisfied mind, one reaps the result.
As long as an evil deed does not bear fruit, the fool thinks it is like honey; but when it ripens, the fool suffers.
Month after month, a fool may eat his food with the tip of a blade of grass, but he is not worth a sixteenth part of those who have understood the Dhamma.
An evil deed, like milk, does not turn immediately; it smolders like fire covered by ashes, following the fool.
For as long as the knowing of the fool brings him no benefit, it destroys his good fortune and splits his head.
The fool desires undeserved reputation, precedence among disciples, authority in monasteries, and honor among householders.
Let both laymen and disciples think that it was done by me. Let them be under my influence in all matters, great or small. Such is the ambition of the fool; his desires and pride increase.
One path leads to worldly gain, another to Nibbana. Knowing this, a disciple, a disciple of the Buddha, should not delight in honor, but should cultivate solitude.