Dhammapada · 2.1

Appamādo amatapadaṃ, pamādo maccuno padaṃ;Appamattā na mīyanti, ye pamattā yathā matā.

appamado amatapadam, pamado maccuno padam; appamatta na miyanti, ye pamatta yatha mata.

Heedfulness is the path to the Deathless. Heedlessness is the path to death. The heedful do not die; the heedless are as if already dead.

— Dhammapada 2.1

Source: Pali text from the Khuddaka Nikāya of the Pali Canon (oldest extant Buddhist scripture, compiled c. 3rd century BCE). Public-domain English readings drawn from F. Max Müller's translation in Sacred Books of the East, Vol X (1881) and the Buddhist Publication Society's freely-licensed Acharya Buddharakkhita rendering.