Blind is the world,
few are those who clearly see.
Only a handful go to heaven,
like a bird freed from a net.
The miserly don’t ascend to heaven,
it takes a fool to not praise giving.
The wise celebrate giving,
and so find happiness in the hereafter.
The fruit of stream-entry is better
than being the one king of the earth,
than going to heaven,
than lordship over all the world.
Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 167–178 Lokavagga by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.